Europe Tour Day 9 Dublin to Killarney

After a rest day yesterday, today we left Dublin and headed off for our first stop of the day to the The Irish National Stud.  This Stud is actually owned by the country and is home to a quite a few famous and expensive horses.  The first horse we were introduced to on our tour is Vintage Crop, a name we are familiar with in Australia as the 1993 Melbourne Cup winner. 

Vintage Crop, the 1993 Melbourne Cup winner

Enjoying retirement off the track

Another stallion at the stud, 

Big Bad Bob

Big Bad Bob's stable

This is the studs main man, so to speak,

Invincible Spirit, the most expensive horse at the stud

One of the stallions that we saw was this beautiful horse named Invincible Spirit.  This is the highest paid stud stallion at the Irish National Stud with the fee for his services set at 60,000 Euro.  This horse is what they call a proven stud so has offspring that have already had their own successes on the racetrack hence the high fees.  A sheik negotiated to buy this horse last year but was knocked back by the stud, so if you want to know what 60 million Euro looks like, this is it.  60 million euro for one horse, hard to comprehend really.

with his service fee being 60000 euro

This is 60 million euro walking around the paddock

His stable



Grounds of the Irish National Stud

A sculpture recently unveiled by the Queen

Some of the gardens of the Irish National Stud

Country side on the way to County Tipparary

After leaving the Irish National Stud we headed off towards the county of Tipparary to the see the Rock of Cashel.  I didn't have much of an idea of what we were going to and was expecting to see a rock, even though our tour guide had given us a little of its history. 

This is The Rock of Cashel, taken off the web, prior to the restorations

Long before the Norman invasion in the 1100s,  The Rock of Cashel was the seat of the High Kings of Munster,  its history dating back as far as the 5th century. There is little structural evidence of the Normans’  time here, with most of the buildings on the current site dating  from the 12th and 13th centuries when the rock was gifted to the Church.

The Rock of Cashel here and below, definately not what we were expecting



The Rock

Have wall, or rock, will climb it

Now its all three of them!

A nice family picture of us at the Rock

Yes I was there too

Views from a different angle here and below

The whole area was quite large

A statue at the Rock

It's a long way, I believe

After leaving the Rock of Cashel, we drove to Adare, a pretty little village with thatched roof cottages.  We had a brief stop and then headed off to Killarney where we spent the next two nights.  

Ice creams at Adare village

One of the little thatched cottages, I thought it was quite unusual with its front porch

Views over the countryside

More rolling countryside

One happy boy

Tonight we had a dine around dinner at a restaurant of our choice.  Since it is Brodies birthday tomorrow we had a little surprise arranged for him at dinner.  He was one very surprised and happy young man.

Tomorrow we drive around The Ring of Kerry in the Ireland highlands.