Ross Castle

Ross Castle sits in Killarney National Park on the edge of Lough Leane which is Killarney’s lower lake. It is believed that Ross Castle was built in the 15^th century by O’Donoghue Mór and is the ancestral home of the O’Donoghue Clan. Ownership changed hands during the Second Desmond Rebellion to the MacCarthy Mór in the 1580s. The castle and its lands were leased to Sir Valentine Browne, whose descendants include the Earls of Kenmare.

During the Irish Confederate War, the castle was one of the last to be surrendered to Oliver Cromwell’s Roundheads. There was a prophecy that the castle could not be taken until a warship could sail on the lake. Well, it was believed that it would never happen, but it did. General Ludlow accepted the surrender of the castle.

After the wars were over, the Brownes were able to prove that the heir was too young to participate in the rebellion and the castle and land was returned to them. One hundred years later saw a mansion built on the land near the castle, but also saw the exile of the Brownes due to a relationship that was too close to James II. The castle then became a military barracks and continued with that purpose until the 19^th century. The Brownes returned to the area, but did not return to the castle, instead building Kenmare House in Killarney.

There is still a legend that “O'Donoghue leaped or was sucked out of the window of the grand chamber at the top of the castle and disappeared into the waters of the lake along with his horse, his table and his library. It is said that O'Donoghue now lives in a great palace at the bottom of the lake where he keeps a close eye on everything that he sees.” (Wikipedia) If this is so, he must be amazed at the change in clothing over the years, and the change in customs, habits, and technology.

Castle Ross was built to be a defensive structure, to protect the people in the area in time of need, and to assure the people that they will be protected. The castle has an iron gate that can be lowered while the front door is closed, the exterior doors were two ply with the layers at 90° angles to each other. There was at least one murder hole, and slits for arrows, and later guns. There are other defensive measures. The tower was five stories high and can be quite formidable to the attacker.

Castle Ross is now run by the Office of Public Works and run tours seasonally. Tours for more than 10 people have to be prebooked. The following is the contact information for Ross Castle:

Telephone No: +353 64 6635851 Fax: +353 64 6635852 Email: rosscastle@opw.ie

A Medieval Dinner

How many people have been to Medieval Times for a dinner show? There is only one place in Canada that you can go to Medieval Times and that is at Exhibition Place in Toronto. However, there are 8 more places in the United States: Kissimmee, Florida; Buena Park, California; Lyndhurst, New Jersey; Schaumburg, Illinois; Dallas, Texas; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Hanover, Maryland; and Lawrenceville, Georgia. This dinner show features jousting, falconry, and a showing of medieval arms. My husband and sons took me for my birthday in 1997 and I enjoyed every minute of it.

I had been thinking for about the last six months that it was time to go again. After all, it has been almost 20 years since we went and I enjoy watching things like this. I especially enjoy it if I can be at a live performance. Imagine my surprise when I read the itinerary to find that we would be going to a medieval dinner in a medieval castle while we were in Ireland.

The castle in question was the Bunratty Castle in County Clare. There are other castles in Ireland that hold medieval dinners but we only went to this one. I don’t know how the others compare to this one. Maybe some day, I will have the chance to visit all of the Irish medieval dinners and write a blog on it.

When we arrived at the castle, we were piped into the Great Hall to be greeted, given the bread of welcome, and a cup of mead (fruit punch for those that don’t drink alcohol). There was entertainment provided in the form of a harpist, a violinist, and singers. We socialized and the “Earl of Thomond” for the evening and his Lady were chosen.

Once the Earl and his Lady were conducted to another room to learn of their duties, we were then led to the dining room. There we sat on benches at tables which designs would have been used during the medieval period. The Earl and his Lady were piped in to be seated at the head table. All of the announcements were done by the Earl’s butler. You have to remember that when you go, everything is meant to give you a fun look at the medieval time period. As an example, every dinner will have a “scoundrel” who gets thrown into the dungeon and has to do something chosen by the Earl to be able to get out of the dungeon. In our case, Brian Anderson was the scoundrel and was supposed to sing a song. I don’t know if he actually did as I know that he doesn’t like to sing.

When eating dinner, you are provided with only a knife. Our ancestors from that time period did not have such things as forks for eating. A fork was considered a tool for serving food. They had wooden spoons that they would use for soup. They would drink the soup from the bowl as from a cup. The spoon was to assist with the chunkier parts of the soup such as bits of meat and vegetables. Everyone from that time period carried knives. They were used for cutting rope, meat, etc, defending yourself from mad dogs, and so on. When our ancestors visited for a meal, they provided their own knives, but the host would provide the spoon when necessary.

The dinner that we had started off with some spiced parsnip soup which was quite nice. This was followed by spare ribs and honey and whiskey sauce. I don’t usually care for spare ribs, but I was hungry and the meat was tender and flavourful. The main course was pan smeared supreme of chicken, fresh garden vegetables, baby roast potatoes, and Bordelaise sauce. I tasted the chicken but could not eat much of it even though it was delicious. I had some of the vegetables which were nicely good, and I did enjoy a couple of the roast potatoes. The final course was Bramley apple and cinnamon crunch with Chantilly cream. This was a nice finish to an extremely delicious meal. Although I was not able to eat everything, I did enjoy what I was able to eat.

The staff gave us some fine renderings of medieval Irish music. There were some songs that told serious stories and others that were fun songs. I do have to say that I enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed Medieval Times in Toronto 20 years ago. Would I do it again? Yes, I would. Do I recommend others to go? Yes, I do recommend it.

I did find a review that said that it was crowded seating with not much room to move about. I suppose that this is true to a certain extent, but if you want to get the Irish experience, sometimes you need to take a bit of discomfort to understand how your Irish ancestors lived.

Life was not as comfortable for them as it is for us today. Those of us that think that they have it hard would be shocked at what their ancestors took for granted. They were happy to have a roof over their heads, a bed to sleep in, food to eat, and clothes to wear. They had to work hard to provide for themselves. There were times when the poor of Ireland of long ago actually had better conditions than the third or fourth son of a nobleman. This son would not be able to marry until he was able to support his wife or have his eldest brother guarantee that he would be able to live with his eldest brother and help to keep the family home safe and in working condition. Many younger sons either went into service as knights. They just could not afford to have a wife and family for many years if at all.

Just think about your ancestors when you think about your problems. Think about how much harder they had to work to get maybe a quarter of the way in society that you have the privilege of being in. Would you like to go back and take their place so that they can experience your life? Count your blessings that you live in the 21^st century and not the 12^th century.