Charleville Castle. Stunning Gothic Castle, Tullamore.

Charleville Castle.

Today I headed for Charleville Castle, Tullamore in Offaly. Follow the R421 out of Tullamore (town) past the County Council offices in the Mucklagh/Blueball direction and you'll see it signposted on the right about a Kilometre outside town.

There's a badly rutted forest road up to the Castle so it's not a spin for your best Carbon bike although a road bike with robust wheels is fine. That's what I used today.

Charleville is a "Gothic" style Castle and it is hugely imposing close up. Pictures fail to do it justice. 

It was built for Charles William Bury, 1st Earl of Charleville between 1800 and 1812 and is referred to as "the finest example of Gothic Revival architecture in Ireland". After viewing it close up I can completely agree, it is stunning.

The Castle is run by Charleville Castle Heritage Trust and its volunteers and I presume upkeep and restoration work is ongoing. I didn't go inside on this occasion so I can't comment on the interior just yet but if its anything like the outside it should be a treat.

It appears as if there are ownership and legal issues at play here as to the reason why this Castle hasn't been given more care and attention. This one of a kind site deserves to be centre stage. It should be a showcase for Tullamore with national exposure. It's up there with the best of them. A beautiful building which with the right funding could be an international attraction.

There was a sign on the front door (Feb/2019) : Tours @ 12, 2, and 4 p.m. €8 per adult. I'll be back for the tour another day... Looking forward to it. Phone in advance to check if open.

If you are at the gates shown in the picture you are on the wrong side. Lynagh is also signposted here but don't head for Lynagh. Go through the roundabouts in the direction of the town and you'll get there.

Charleville Castle Website

Discover Ireland Charleville Castle

Murphy's Law

The bike got a puncture today wheeling it from the house into the garden !!!  

This was quickly followed by a sudden downpour..... Murphy's Law..... I ditched the bike and hopped on the turbo instead.

Friar versus Monk

While visiting and cycling around various sites and Abbeys I noticed that some were described as Monasteries while others were called Friaries.

Naturally enough I decided to find out what lay in the distinction between both so I'll give a quick overview of what I found.

Monks are generally "cloistered". They chiefly live, work, pray and study, within the walls of their Monasteries. They are mainly unordained and are not priests (though some are). The head Monk, the Abbot is usually an ordained Monk (Priest) in order to be able to provide mass and the sacrements.

Friars are not confined to their place of residence and in fact more often live within communities or travel around in order to help the poor or spread the gospel depending on the ethos and mission of the particular order to which they belong. Friars are mendicants (they hold vows of poverty and rely on donations for survival and day to day living), a tradition which started to take a bigger hold on the christian world in the 12th and 13th centuries as people became disillusioned with the monastic traditions and the seemingly distanced and often rich world of the Monasteries.

There are literally pages and pages of information on rites, ordination, vows and orders, but as far as I am aware those are the basic differences between Monks and Friars. Hope it helps.

Portarlington on an Icy day

Portarlington.

A spin through Portarlington today quickly followed by getting back onto main roads in an effort to avoid the icy conditions.

I stopped in the Square at the 1798 monument for the local United Irishmen who were executed there and followed this with a quick stop to photograph the sadly broken and graffiti covered Hartpole effigy in the Park.

The effigy tomb was originally located in Carlow as Robert Hartpole was at sometime in the mid 1500's "The Constable of Carlow." This once fine effigy is in a particularly bad state unfortunately.

Luckily I noticed nearby a little granite memorial dedicated to the signatories of the 1916 proclamation of Independence. Its a small memorial but beautifully made, worth a look if you are passing. It was erected in 2016 and is a nice addition to the Park. 

Some days there's nothing for it but the Turbo

Late off the mark today so the easy choice was the Turbo. It was my first real "pushing on" session this year with seated and standing intervals........ You really notice it when you've not been doing much, boy did I suffer....

Rock of Dunamase, Laois

Rock of Dunamase Spin.

 

Just a quick post to show a few photo's of Rock of Dunamase in Laois.

This outpost was part of Aoife's Dowry to Strongbow and was previously settled and used as a fortification long before the Norman's first arrived.

 

  The Rock of Dunamase looking atmospheric in the mist.

It is an impressive heritage site with fantastic views across the surrounding countryside on a clear day. Well worth a visit if you ever get a chance.

 

The Rock Of Dunamase viewed from a different angle.

Slieve Bloom Mountains

" There is no such thing as bad weather, merely bad clothing."

Slieve Bloom Mountains Spin.

Yesterday was a bright spring day in the Slieve Bloom mountains in Laois (Ireland). I didn't pass another cyclist during my spin and the brisk but beautiful day reminded me of the old saying I've used in the post header.

 

 

Sure enough I was snug as a bug in a rug and never really noticed the cooler temperatures which made a nice change from many previous occasions when I've often departed on the bicycle foolishly under dressed for the weather, only to regret my clothing decision as the biting cold took hold. Perhaps after all wisdom does indeed come with age.

 

Finn Macool ( Fionn Mac Cumhail) was raised in the Slieve Blooms and nearby Ballyfin translates as the town of Fionn.

 

There are a few old abandoned stone houses that you can see from the trails but there's also a little group of hidden houses complete with an old stone wall lined trail hidden in a wooded area here. Life must have been tough in such a remote area all those years ago. The little group of houses is difficult to find.

 

 

Sometimes in Winter it's easier to access the area by MTB on the trails. There's whats believed to be a collapsed Dolmen, the Giants Grave, on the edge of the mountains. If you travel towards Cadamstown on the trails you might come across it.

As well as the buildings shown below there are several other deserted areas with small abandoned houses buried in the undergrowth dotted throughout the hills. Some are hard to find.

Snow dusted Singletrack (Hardtail) at Kinnity side

Laois/Offaly Singletrack in light Snow (no music)

As of 2021 there are Red and Blue Singletrack MTB trails at both Kinnity in Offaly and Baunreagh in Laois. These are a wonderful reacreational facility and hopefully post Corvid 19 lockdowns we will all get to enjoy them again soon.

Sometimes seclusion is nice. It's very peaceful in this weather when you have the surrounding hills to yourself.

The Slieve Bloom mountains in Laois are largely undiscovered. Although there are "Hotspots" which attract visitors there are many large tracts of the uplands where you will meet no one at all.