This castle was once the ancestral home of the O'Donoghue clan who built the castle in the late 15th century. During the Irish Confederate Wars, this house was the last one to surrender to Oliver Cromwell's Roundheads. It was once believed that the castle could never be taken, at least by land. Therefore when the castle surrendered to General Ludlow's army during the Wars, it was only because of the warship that they were scared into complying. Luckily at the end of the Wars, the owners of the castle proved that their heir was too young to have taken part in the rebellion so they regained ownership of the castle until they were exiled at the end of the 17th century due to their loyalty to the king of England. The castle then became military barracks until the beginning of the 19th century when it slowly turned into what it is today: a tourist attraction.
I personally thought that this castle was quite grand, but not the most beautiful one I have seen. The design seemed somewhat plain and boring, unlike other castles and houses we have observed in Ireland thus far. The design could be attributed to the fact that it was built during a time when protection and defense was more important than beauty. (Yet it is still very beautiful). This castle in particular seems to be of shell structure because it is made of singular stone walls. Although it doesn't thin towards the top, it does appear to be load-bearing construction because the stones stack upwards. Overall a magnificent structure.
Another stop that we made during our weekend adventures was the Derrynane House, where the famous politician/writer/speaker Daniel O'Connell lived for the majority of his life. The estate is located in the middle of the Killarney National Park and overlooks a beach on the Iveragh Peninsula.
Daniel O'Connell was not born in this house, but he grew up here with his brother and his uncle raised them. This was also the house where Daniel would come when he needed a vacation from the hardships of being a politician and wanted to get away from the city. We learned that Daniel was the very first Catholic to ever be elected into the House of Commons. He dedicated most of his life's work to the rights of Catholics and made a huge impact for the future of Ireland. In 1823 he organized the Catholic Association which later helped pass the Catholic Emancipation Act in 1829.
The house itself was quite beautiful, and I know I wouldn't mind living somewhere that close to the mountains and the beach. The house was originally built in 1702 by Daniel's grandfather, but was reconstructed and added onto over the years. However, no significant changes have been made since Daniel's death, so we can assume that the house is in its true form from the mid 1800's, except for the restoration done in 1967 to keep the house from deprication. I would analyze the house as being a skeleton and skin system due to the reconstruction of the house, it probably has some new additions to the walls. Otherwise it is difficult to say exactly what the house is in true form since it has been changed so much.
One of the final places (and structure) we visited before our return trip home was St. Mary's Cathedral, a Roman Catholic cathedral in Killarney.
The inside and outside are so beautiful... walking through the cathedral made me feel so small as I looked up at the tall ceilings and intricate stain-glass windows. It was definitely built for worship of a great God of small people He loves. There were even people in the cathedral praying when we arrived and walked through. This cathedral is most well-known as the most important Gothic-revival churches of the 19th century in Ireland. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Mary's_Cathedral,_Killarney) It was designed by Augustus Welby Pugin and was built sometime between 1842 and 1855. The width of the nave (or part of the building meant for the congregation to be) is considered small, but it was intentionally built this way to imitate the medieval models in Ireland and England. The building is made from stone, brown and grey interchanging across the length of it. There are many pointed arches as doorways throughout the interior of the cathedral. Some may consider this structure to be neo-gothic since it refers back to gothic architecture although it wasn't built during that time. The interior is also very intricately decorated with various statues and stain-glass windows, which can also be considered as gothic.
Overall, we saw many great sights and beautiful places during our trip to Kerry and going on this excursion adds more to my gratefulness for choosing this study abroad program.
No comments:
Post a Comment