Tag Archives: Brilliance of the Seas

Northern Ireland — Carrickfergus


Our next port of call aboard Brilliance of the Seas was Belfast, which I’ve already covered from our previous visit just six days prior. So on this trip to Belfast, Ursula had us scheduled for yet another tour. Our first stop: Carrickfergus in County Antrim. So sit back as we take in the sights, beginning with King William III (a.k.a., William of Orange), and continuing on to Carrickfergus Castle:

Carrickfergus Castle

Carrickfergus Castle is a Norman castle built by Sir John de Courcy, and it dates all the way back to 1177. Here you can see a Red Coat guarding the castle from a 1778 raid conducted by Revolutionary War hero John Paul Jones:

The Red Coats fighting off John Paul Jones

Another view of Carrickfergus Castle before we move on to the town of Carrickfergus:

Carrickfergus Castle

Alas, we didn’t get to see much of Carrickfergus itself, as we had other destinations for this day. Here are a couple of views, however:

Carrickfergus, County Antrim, Northern Ireland
Small Boats

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Fun Photo Friday — Glendalough Favorites


And here are today’s Fun Photo Friday pic picks from Glendalough:

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Ireland — Glendalough


Glendalough Monastic City

I will today show you yet another Irish wonder. This is Glendalough, the ruins of an entire Early Medieval monastic city dating back to the 6th century. Glendalough by the way means “Valley of Two Lakes”, and this monastic city does indeed sit just east of both the Glendalough Upper Lake and Glendalough Lower Lake.

Glendalough Upper Lake
The hills above Glendalough Upper Lake

Let us wander around the monastic city and take in a few of the sights, beginning with St. Kevin’s Church:

St. Kevin’s Church, a.k.a., St. Kevin’s Kitchen because of the chimney-looking tower

Another striking feature here is the 30-meter/98-foot Round Tower:

The Round Tower

And here are the remains of the St. Peter and St. Paul’s Cathedral:

St. Peter and St. Paul’s Cathedral

Today I’ll leave you with this photo gallery/slide show of this hauntingly beautiful monastic city:

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