(Privately shared on October 9, 2022 with a select group of friends). Photo of my rental car, that I eventually named Pierre! More photos can be found here.
As a reminder, words written in italics represent the original journal. Underlined words are edits for clarification within the original journal. I’m also adding new notes in my journal as I share it, mostly historical information of the things I’ve seen and researched upon my return and random thoughts. This will be represented in regular type.
6pm ~ New Ross 13 September
By the Grace of God, I got to the Dublin airport without issue via the bus. I picked up my car – again without issue. It’s a lovely grey Peugeot that seems brand new. I reserved a mini class car and expected a Ford Ka or similar (like Violet, my current car (Honda Fit), and was pleased to have been given an upgrade. I’ll have to check if the price is the same but I think it was. It was not. Joe, the car rental agent who helped me, was as smooth as Jameson whiskey and upgraded my car selection in such a way that I didn’t even notice the price difference when I signed everything. Still, my car was very nice and I can laugh at my naivety! I didn’t get the GPS after all as I have an Irish phone. Obviously, there isn’t a cell phone holder but it works well enough. Driving stick shift was second nature, though I am glad that Bob let me drive his Jeep last time I was visiting him! Driving on the left again was second nature. My car is smarter than I am! It gently nudges me if it thinks I’m too far to the right or left and alerts me if it senses something near it – like the guy who crossed the street in front of me! I suspect I cross lanes at times at roundabouts, must be careful! A quick funny story: I bypassed highways in Ireland and got turned around when I started off on my adventure. Google directed me to IKEA to turn around. I knew there was an IKEA in Dublin and anyone who knows me well knows I’m a sucker for shopping at IKEA, but before I left for my trip, I forbade myself to visit it. I had quite the chuckle that I went there after all to turn around! I swear I didn’t go in!
Google sent me down the M11 though I did stray from navigation. I saw a sign for Fern Castle and had to check it out. I think I found it on the grounds of an old church. I made my way back to the church and of course it had a centuries old cemetery. I got out and spent maybe 30 minutes on the grounds – it was amazing. And happily the weather was perfect – sunny and about 65^. I actually ended up at the Cathedral Church of St Edan and mistook the nearby St Mary’s Augustinan Abbey as Ferns Castle. The castle was actually a stone’s throw away from St Edan’s but I didn’t realize and never went to find it. However, I enjoyed St Edan’s immensely. St Edan’s was originally built in the 1230s and the original ruins are still there. St Mary’s is older as it was founded around 1160-1162.
When I was finished shooting the church, I saw that it was almost 4pm. I had wanted to head to the coast but also wanted time to spend in New Ross, as I will be leaving after breakfast. I ended up going to New Rossand checked in around 430p. I had a bit of a scare because the door to the B&B was locked! But I eventually saw a doorbell and was granted entry.
My room is quite nice – a queen and a twin sized bedswith my own private bathroom. After I checked in and got settled, I realized that I hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast in Dublin, which was very yummy white bread with Irish butter. My hostess, Mary I think her name is (her name is Bridget) suggested Ann McDonald’s restaurant which is just down the lane. But she warned me that they might close early. I grabbed my camera and went off to explore New Ross.
My New Ross exploration was short on account of my hunger but the city (village?) is beautiful. There is a John F Kennedy connection here and I saw a memorial to him by the river. President Kennedy visited New Ross in the summer of 1963. New Ross is the Irish town that the Kennedy family emigrated from. New Ross is also the town where many Irish emigrated from during the potato famine. New Ross is so pretty. I went back to Ann McDonald’s and had merlot x2, lasagna, chips and red coleslaw. (I had stopped in before I went exploring to see what time they stopped serving dinner). It was very very good. I’m going to pay my bill and hopefully get some photos at sunset. Or I’ll just get into jams!
Some things of note: I am not a light packer! My Monos carryon is top notch but my hiking shoes take up half a side! My boots don’t even fit in the show bags! Overall, though, I’d give my Monos five stars. It held up nicely on sidewalks, stairs, cobblestone and rain. My Bento Bag thankfully is well-made because it is stuffed! Granted, my camera takes up most of the space and I have to say a little prayer that it will zip close every time I move on. I”m not convinced that it fits under an airplane seat as advertised, but that might be because it’s so full. Still five stars!. Both bags are well worth the extra money because I think they will last a long time! Before my trip, I treated myself to new luggage. Whenever I visited Bob in Florida, I usually packed my backpack and a soft canvas bag, and wanted something nicer for my Ireland trip. After many hours of research, I decided to purchase the Monos Carry On Pro bag. It is a hard sided rolling carry on that is very structured, organizationally, and comes with a lifetime guarantee. It’s the perfect size for overhead bins and even though my hiking boots took up a lot of space, it holds a lot of clothes. It also held up nicely being thrown into the car, the bins in the airplane and on rough surfaces. For my personal item bag, again after a lot of research, I selected the Nomad Lane Bento’s Bag. Again, it is very well organized but most importantly for me, I felt safe keeping my camera equipment in it. I took my Nikon D750 with me to Ireland and wanted something to keep my gear safe, without looking like a camera bag (and a potential target for theft). The bag is very well made, with a strong zipper, and lots of pockets to keep one organized. It only comes with a one year warranty, but it’s so well made and convenient, that I’m sure it will become my ‘go to’ bag for long weekend trips. There were cheaper options for both bags, but I nabbed both of them on sale and am pleased with my choices.
13 Sept – evening
After a second glass of Merlot, I was off chasing the sunset. I had noticed a beautiful church on my first walkabout and headed towards it, hoping to catch it in the setting sun. Once I got there, I realised there was a service called Invitation. A lovely lady invited me in, so I sat down on a pew and prayed. It was a lovely service – very simple and moving. It was just people praying in the pews. A few people lit candles. At the end there was a short group prayer then dismissal. The woman who invited me in checked on me because I was emotional (duh) and said I was welcomed any time. When I got outside, I took some photos and saw a man walking out. I told him he was blessed to be able to worship in such a beautiful place and we got to talking. His name was Dennis and in the end he gave me a keychain he got from Jerusalem that had been blessed by a priest. It was incredibly thoughtful and generous and he shall always remain in my heart.
A quick Google search revealed that the Church was St Mary and Michael Catholic Church which opened in 1210! The service was Adoration, not Invitation.
St Mary and Michael Catholic Church was built in 1894 and opened in 1902.
Also, New Ross has cats!
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