O'Connor said:
No boubt.. I'd love to catch a Hurling Match.
Our ice hockey probably came from Hurling.
Yeah, I think the consensus is that it came directly from shinty introduced by Scottish settlers (shinty sticks actually look very similar to ice hockey sticks too), but shinty is itself a descendant of hurling, as a result of Irish tribes invading and settling in Scotland around 500 AD.
Anyway... I would suggest a visit to Gougane Barra (in West Cork). There's a lake surrounded by mountains and woods and fed by waterfalls. The lake is the source of the river Lee, which flows through Cork city. In the middle of the lake there's a small chapel and a much older monastic settlement said to have been inhabited by Saint Finbarr (or Fionn Barra - hence the name) and his monks around 1400 years ago. Finbarr supposedly took a boat up the river and founded Cork city making him the patron saint of Cork. It's a beautiful spot.
If you're going to Kerry, I'd suggest Killarney - not so much the town itself, but the National Park, which encompasses the three lakes and much of the area around it. It's extremely scenic. There's Muckross Abbey and Muckross House (a 19th century Tudor-style mansion built by British planters) near Muckross lake and the impressive 15th century Ross Castle on the shores of Loch Leane (the biggest of the lakes). It means the lake of learning in Irish, because of the monastery on Innisfallen Island, which can be accessed by boat from Ross castle, I think. Torc waterfall is quite nice as is the meeting of the waters - the point where all three lakes come together.
Ross Castle
It might be a bit out of your way, but you might be interested in Staigue Fort (a few miles outside Sneem). It's one of the biggest ring forts in the country. The Skellig islands are fairly spectacular and Skellig Michael is a UNESCO world heritage site, but you need excellent weather as it's a fairly long boat trip. Skellig Michael is home to an early christian monastic settlement. There's stone beehive huts, crosses and chapels and hundreds of steps hewn out of the rock.
The Dingle peninsula is very beautiful too.
I don't think anyone mentioned Blarney castle. It's a few miles west of Cork city. It's home to the famous Blarney stone, if you're into kissing the spittle of a million American tourists.
On the subject of Cork pubs, don't listen to the Youghal fella - Mulligan's is best avoided, as is Youghal.
Sin é, Mutton Lane and The Oval are all very good pubs (The last two are especially good if the weather is shit). The Franciscan Well is nice too.
