Goodbye Castlebar, hello Adare. This was a two hour drive from our previous location and while boring, it was uneventful which was greatly appreciated. We had been through here on our last visit, and we waved a hearty hello to our old friend Bunratty Castle, seen here in an older photo.

Adare is a wonderful village, probably the best we have visited thus far. I can’t believe we had been this close the last time but never stopped by.

Right off the bat, when coming in by Limerick, we glimpsed Desmond Castle. This is one of several castles owned by the Desmonds, making it almost like a franchise.

We took a guided tour of this one, the first guided tour of ruins we have booked this trip. We left from the Adare Historical Society office, and our guide was very knowledgeable about the castle and its history. Fun fact: the castle and the original town of Adare had been abandoned to the point where it was no longer included on maps. After Cromwell invaded Ireland, he made a habit of just blowing away any castles, occupied or not, to prevent them from being used against him or England later on.

The huge “U-shaped” hole in the wall on the right in the image above was done by Cromwell’s cannons, positioned on the opposite bank of the River Maigue. Several cannonballs had been recovered from the ruins and are in the care of the Adare Historical Society, but our guide knows that one cannonball is actually in the possession of a local resident. He didn’t say who.

At the time of this post, we only have one more full day here in Ireland, so we’re taking things easy. We spent the rest of the day walking around the town, following a recommended route that saw us walking back past Desmond Castle, along the Maigue, and back through the center of town. We stopped in a few shops and bought some souvenirs as well. We took a nap back at our B&B and then booked dinner downtown.

Additional fun fact: The Ryder Cup (golf) is taking place in Adare next year! The Adare Manor is a manor house (duh) located next to the Desmond Castle on the other side of the river, and will be where the event is held. Our castle guide told us that to stay in the Manor is normally pretty pricey — around €1500 per night — but the price during the Ryder Cup has ballooned the price to €2000 per night.