We’ve had an absolutely hectic time here in Redwood for the past 10 days. I’ve been away to Dublin to do some minding of nieces and nephews, and then we’ve had some of my family and some of Alfie’s family come to stay. All good fun.
In honour of such visitors we actually managed to take a day off on Wednesday, and went to Limerick to visit King John’s Castle.
I grew up in Limerick. Spent the first 16 years of my life there. I have many memories of those years, but one, in particular, which relates to King John’s Castle, was walking (always walking) over to my Nana’s every single Sunday afternoon. My Nana lived just down the road from the Castle.
In those days the Castle was completely off limits. It was locked up and no-one was allowed inside.
Despite crossing over Thomond Bridge and seeing the Castle every Sunday, I really didn’t know much about the history.
Let me tell you if you get the opportunity to visit…. you simply must go. Millions of euro have been spent on the restoration, creating a wonderful interactive experience, and every penny has been well spent. 800 years of history is told in such an interesting and creative way… needless to say I was particularly interested in the ‘food history’.
However, there is so much to the exhibition…. the lives of the people through the ages, the battles…. something to enthral everyone of every age.
You can go right up to the top of the towers, which gave amazing views in every direction. Those folks back in the 13th century must have already known the phrase ‘location, location, location’! Look at that view.
There is another story to go with this photo. See those houses on the left…. when I was a little girl I swear I saw Santa and his reindeer land on the roofs of those houses (Nana’s house was on the other side of the river)…. we had to rush home immediately!!!
However, back to King John’s Castle… as an Irish person visiting the Castle we really were proud of how it has been developed. Despite it being a dreary October afternoon, there were quite a few tourists about, all of whom seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the experience. There were four adults in our group. We each came away with different aspects having impressed us, and had a lively discussion in the car on the way home, on the lives of the folks who used to live in the Castle.
Be sure to get there 🙂
Have been there on my last visit to Limerick,Margaret, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Also loved the cathedral, and the Hunt Museum. In fact, Limerick is delightful.
Have been to Hunt Museum before…. wanted to get to the Cathedral this time round, but young grand-daughter dictated otherwise! 🙂 Yes, my home town, has come along way.
King John’s Castle is a fantastic experience – I met Andrew Todd, the man who was in charge of the experience redesign a little over a year ago, and the level of detail they went into on that project was amazing. Looking forward to taking the boys again in a few weeks!
Just loved it. And it is so well done… something for every age and interest.
M
It is now ‘on the list’ … sounds so cool and the bit about the Rabbit is very interesting. I would love to do a course on Irish Food History … I just realised that I now am starting to sound like a nerd …
You will all love it 🙂 And, yes, I couldn’t believe when I looked back over the photos I took… they were mainly about food!!!!!
M