Patrick related to us the etymology of the name, “Fuller.” Wool sheared from sheep contains unwanted lanolin. Farmers found this could be removed by putting the wool and urine in a vat and stamping on it for 7-8 hours. This produced ammonia, which was noticeable on the people named Fuller who used the process called fulling! The urine used in this process was so important that it was taxed.
The medieval town of Kilkenny in southeast Ireland has deep religious roots and many well-preserved churches and monasteries. In Kilkenny in southeast Ireland, we visited one of the largest castles in Ireland, the Cahir Castle, built by Normans in 1195 on a small island in the river Suir; the river helped to protect the castle. The castle a appears to grow from the actual rock. Mike Mihall was our very interesting guide.
The castle was the scene of sieges and bombardments for centuries, and has several special protective features. In addition to vertical slits in the walls for arrows, cross-shaped openings were cut for the use of crossbow archers. Archers could shoot as many as 12 arrows per minute. A trap door could be sprung from above trapping an intruder below. Hot sand, burning pig fat, and rocks could be dropped from above onto the trapped victim. (Hence the term “crush one’s neck.”) Because left-handedness was considered to come from the devil, everyone was trained to be right-handed, so walls were constructed to favor the right hand for soldiers within the castle – which made it very difficult for enemy soldiers coming up the stair to shoot their arrows effectively. Low doors increased defense. Round towers could be entered on ladders by castle occupants; pulling their ladders up behind them made it difficult for an invader to enter without being killed. Defense was planned to protect the castle Lord and Lady and their children in the keep (top floor) in the best way possible. A cannon ball stuck in a high was can still be seen. The first time the castle suffered a defeat was in 1599.
Michael explained that instead of the dirty sign sometimes used in America, the two fingers used to anchor an arrow are considered a dirty gesture in Ireland.
Of special interest here (as in other wealthy homes we’ve visited), were deer antlers on display above the wealthy home’s mantle. These antlers are believed to be from extinct giant Irish deer and extinct for 7000 years. It is believed that these huge creatures were trapped in a bog and preserved by acidic conditions and a lack of oxygen.
Cromwell seemed to be the general who conquered many of these old buildings. In 1650 Cromwell threatened destruction of this castle and its 10-year-old heir. The occupants surrendered to preserve the medieval building.
Verle and I and Patrick walked part-way down to the ruins of a church at the bottom of the hill.
It was interesting for us to see a big load of hay or large farm equipment moving through the small towns we went through. We wonder about such big equipment being used when so many of the farms are so small.
The last stop of our day was of very special interest to Verle and me because of Bruce and Maureen’s Bed and Breakfast! This stop was at the 1750 Ballyowen House near Kilkenny. The owners conducted a tour of the house and stables and served us tea, coffee, homemade jam, and fresh scones at the end of the tour. Deirdre and PJ Maher gave us a tour of the grounds and their home. Their story is so much like that of the Prairie Creek Inn – I hope they can meet Bruce’s some day. Their webpage address is: www.ballyowenhouse.ie They live in the house with their 3 children, aged 17, 14, and 11 and have been restoring the house and grounds for the last 16 years. The house suffered roof damage in a recent hurricane and scaffolding was set up beside the house for ongoing work to repair the roof.
They call the house a Georgian Irish Country Home in a Gothic style.
pillars like our house.
3 floors and a basement
“protected” by waterless moat
originally 2000 acres – now 60 acres productive land
Was sheep farm for food and wool (before synthetic products were available)
Race horses
Lessons offered in horse riding, jumping, fox hunting
Old walled garden- 2 1/2 acres
80 people worked here
Unique grape wall 30m long – fireplace on shade side to ripen grapes
Broken window can be replaced without government permission – others need approval
Bell pulls like Muckross house
PJ repainted gold trim in fancy ceiling and replaced spindles in stairway
Separate staircase and servant food preparation like Muckross house
Servant’s kitchen was in basement – now family kitchen main floor
Kitchen cupboards and windows had to be hand-made because of perspective for high ceilings
Dumb waiter still works but had to be disabled because of safety for DJ’s kids
Fun place for kids to grow up!
Was 30 rooms – some rooms combined for bigger bedrooms
Would like to replace window panes in kitchen but can’t without gov. Approval
We returned to Kilkenny and Patrick had arranged for us a tour of Kilkenny on a cute little train that played an explanation of all the sights as we drove by – fun and cooling. David Nyce explained to us that this was Patrick’s attempt to make up for the hot bus we’ve been riding in all these days! kilkennycitytours.com