Midleton, Castles & the Ring of Kerry | Ireland Photography

Hopefully by now, everyone has recovered from their St Patty’s Day shenanigans. It’s time to pick up with my Ireland posts! In the last few posts, I’ve outlined the details on photographing Kristen & Tony’s  Destination Ireland Wedding in Adare. This post covers our little adventure getting to Adare!    Ireland has so much to see, it’s impossible to see it in a little over a week… but we wanted to make sure we saw what we could!  Brent’s two items on his to-do list included the Jameson Factory and the Guinness Storehouse. Luckily,  I had already checked  the Waterford and Belleek factories off my to-do list during my first visit to the Emerald Isle in 2001 with my mom and sister Lori. This time I wanted to see more castles!

We landed in Dublin on Monday, October 2oth and had a little over 24 hours to explore before we were expected in Adare. We headed south to Midleton to knock out the Jameson Tour. Along the route, we took a tour of the Kilkenny Castle with it’s lush gardens and beautiful interior.  Then, we did a drive by of Cahir Castle. Jet-lag had reared it’s ugly head and we weren’t up for actually spending time in the city.  We decided to keep on moving to Midleton so we could participate in one of the hourly tours of the Jameson distillery.  I highly recommend the Jameson Tour. Even a teetotaler will enjoy learning about the history and rich culture that makes up the Jameson Irish Whiskey Company.  Following the tour, we walked to the delicious  Finin’s Public House for Shepard’s Pie and a night cap.  Such a great way to end our first day!!

We woke up early Tuesday and continued on to the Ring of Kerry. The Ring of Kerry traces the coastline of the Iveragh Peninsula and is a sight to behold. Driving on the opposite side of narrow, bumpy roads has it’s challenges but Brent handled it like a boss. It was a little foggy and rainy but singing along to old Irish folk songs made it all worth it.  We stopped a little here and there for pictures throughout but I underestimated the time to travel the Ring of Kerry so we had to book it  to make it to Adare Manor in time for our portrait session with Kristen & Tony. My favorite stop was along the Kenmare Bay. We hiked down a steep ledge so we could look out over the water. Naturally, it started to pour down rain as soon as we go to the bottom of the ledge.  We tucked the camera under Brent’s shirt for safety and continued to glance out over the water! Such a majestic place.   For those adventurers at heart, the Ring of Kerry is a must… it’s definitely not a road-trip for the weary or easily car sick!