From Cork to Dublin via Kilkenny

This is the day we traveled to Kilkenny, with a detour along the way with stops at Cobh and Midleton.
We said goodbye to our hosts in Grange, and set out for Cobh (formerly Queenstown) to go to the Cobh Heritage Museum, a fascinating history of the town and the Titanic, and to see St. Colman's Cathedral.
After an easy drive, we walked around the waterfront, getting breakfast at the Coffee Cove cafe, then trudging up the hill to the cathedral. The grounds offered a glorious view of the town, plus we found an easier route back down the hill. The museum was informative and moving, telling the stories of individuals that helped form the town, as well as passengers on the Titanic, for which Cobh was the last stop before beginning the fateful voyage across the

Atlantic.
After, we headed east to Midleton, and the original Jameson Distillery. We joined a small group tour, which included a tasting as well as a drink at the end. The highlight, though, was the walk through the cask room, where the air is thick with the smell of whiskey, and you can feel the Angel's Share in the air. Lunch in the restaurant was surprisingly good, and our tour guide Clodagh was adorable and funny.
Then we're off to Kilkenny, which took us onto a freeway for the first time, then transferring to a smaller road, with tight curves and big rain puddles. Needless to say, by the time we reached Kilkenny, we were ready to be out of the car. Unfortunately, the GPS again gave us issues navigating the streets of the town, and it took us a while to find our AirBnb. But eventually, we located O'Gorman's House of Kilkenny.
This was the place that we were both most excited to stay, as it was a room above a small Irish pub. And we weren't disappointed. The pub was tiny, with a short bar, a fireplace, and pool table. It was also empty, save the obligatory old man at the end of the bar, and the grizzled bartender. We announced ourselves as lodgers, and he

showed us up some rickety stairs to a room with a door which locked with an old fashioned key. He let us into our room, barely bigger than the bed, with an attached bathroom. We returned to our car to collect our bags, and took stock of our room, noting the overwhelming flower scent coming from the bedding, so we opened to window to air things out. Then it was back downstairs to the bar for a pint. Another couple had come in while we were gone, and they too were on staying upstairs, were from the States, and were also on their honeymoon. We asked the bartender for dinner ideas, and he directed us to Breathnach's, a few doors down. We had a quick, satisfying meal, then returned to the pub. It had filled up considerably while we were gone, and we found two seats with a small table just inside the door. Naturally, before long, some of the locals had befriended us, and introduced us around to people whose names we could never have remembered. The evening ended with a boxing match on the telly

featuring a local Irish girl fighting in a unified title match. It was exciting to be cheering along with the rowdy crowd, especially when the Irish fighter won. Cheers and beers all around. After we decided to go to bed, we quickly discovered what it really means to stay above a popular pub in a small town. Loud patrons, yelling, fights, sirens. It was an incredible experience that we wont soon forget.
The next day, Sunday, we woke up and examined our itinerary. The plan had been to travel up through the middle of the country, hitting Offaly County, seeing castles, cemeteries, and visiting the Tullamore D.E.W. distillery. But the five plus hours of driving, not counting stops, was looking particularly daunting, knowing that we had to have the car at the Dublin airport by half 4. So, we made an on-the-fly decision and chose to stay in Kilkenny to see more of the town, then drive straight through to the car drop-off.
We gathered our stuff and drove to the opposite end of town and parked near St. Mary's Cathedral, walked to the Black Abbey, St.

Canice's Church, the Cathedral Church of St. Canice, and then down through the center of town for breakfast.
A quick bite at Nostalgia Cafe, and then it was off to the Medieval Mile Museum, followed by the beautiful Kilkenny Castle.
A leisurely walk back to our car, and then we were off to Dublin. We put the destination into our phone and off we went. The drive started with a short stint on another narrow windy road, but we soon joined another major freeway for what we figured would be a straight shot into the city. But 30 minutes into our scheduled 1.5 hour drive, we temporarily lost signal on the GPS, and when it reconnected, we were directed to take the next exit onto a different, smaller road. Not having studied this section of the map, we didn't question it. But as we went further, we became more uncertain, as our surroundings did not seem to be becoming more urban the 'closer' we got to the city. But we assumed Google was correct.

We were held up in stopped traffic going through one small town, finally learning that we were passing a rather large funeral at the edge of town. We kept on our plotted course, and eventually, as our time ticked down, we began to see larger buildings and businesses, and were assured in our path. That is, until GPS announced that we had arrived at our destination on the right, which turned out to be the Enniscorthy Castle in Enniscorthy, a town in the Southeast of Ireland. After a short stop to reset the GPS and take a few breaths, we discovered that even with the detour, we should arrive at the airport in time to avoid charges for an extra day with the car. We were led out of town onto another major freeway, which we stayed on for the remainder of the trip (with a short stop in Gorey to fill the car up for the first time).
The part of the drive we dreaded most, the M50m, a six to eight lane bypass freeway around Dublin, ended up being one of the easier

routes of the day, with the amazing signage and easy merges and exits. We arrived at the car hire return with 19 minutes to spare. The counter person called a cab for us, and it was a nice 20 minute taxi ride into the heart of the city to the Academy Plaza Hotel, our stop for the night.
We decided to walk the route we'd be walking in the morning to catch our tour bus, and then find something to eat on our way back. We chose the Celt, which appeared to be a small pub on a pedestrian only street near our hotel. But, as we would learn, many pubs in the cities are narrow, but deep, and we passed through many rooms on the way to our table. We also found that service in the big city is just as fast and efficient as in the small towns, with our food, like every meal we had on our trip, arriving within five to ten minutes of ordering. A few beers, some great food, a lot of laughs, and then it was back to the hotel for sleep.