Desmond Turner has been convicted.

http://www.theindychannel.com/print/21395379/detail.html

Today we went to Kilkenny.

We were just families – no TU students, because today they had class and a paper to finish. We three (Mom, Dad, and I) stayed with the family I mentioned yesterday – the parents are great company, and the teen daughter was a lot of fun. It was a full day – we left early for the long drive, and got home late.

The first thing we all did was to tour Kilkenny Castle together as a group. I expected armor lining hallways, antique furniture, tapestries, and fur rugs – too much TV, I guess. The inside of the building was just… a building. The restorers did an outstanding job, especially considering that the whole place had been run down and all but demolished by time and misuse, but it lacked the movie-set details I expected. =)

What it DID have that I didn’t expect was modern art exhibits. It was really haphazard – the installations (and they were video and built models, not painting and sculpture like you’d expect) were just scattered in some of the more formal first floor rooms, as if someone had just tossed them together. Didn’t look planned – just… messy.

There was no photography allowed in the castle (only on and around the grounds), else I’d have taken and posted photos of the most interesting rooms. There were replica bedrooms with interesting wallpapers and furniture, and there was a long portrait gallery containing paintings of generations of the family who owned the castle and lands.

Kilkenny Castle

When we’d finished with the castle, our group went up the street to a bookstore cafe. We had a fabulous lunch (and wonderful coffee) before heading off to St. Canice’s Cathedral.

St. Canice’s Cathedral

This church, unlike some of the other cathedrals we’ve visited here, is still in use and NOT completely commercialized. The woman taking tickets said they’d rather not have charged admission, but that the state didn’t subsidize that church, so they had to do their own upkeep. It was an enormous building that housed a very obviously active body, so I didn’t mind paying the entrance fee. =)

There was the same kind of memorial plaques and tombs and iconography as in the other churches, but somehow here it wasn’t distracting. Maybe I felt that way because I could also see evidence of the congregation’s use of the building as well – information about reaching the neighborhood, beanbag chairs for a weekly kids’ group meeting, choir stalls that were obviously used…

There weren’t extensive grounds like we found at the Dublin cathedrals – this church was surrounded (completely) by a graveyard. The headstones were so interesting – and so beautiful!

St. Canice’s Cathedral

Once we left the cathedral (but not before Rachel, the teen daughter, climbed the 100ft-high round tower), we headed back toward the castle part of town. We wanted to see the Dominican Black Abbey and do a little shopping before our scheduled dinner.

The Abbey was completely deserted when we entered – no one was there to charge admission (it was much smaller, and an actual church) or to take money for the few pieces of literature it offered (and had prices on) – you simply dropped your money into boxes in the wall.

It was a strange mix of very old and very modern – the building and court were obviously historic, but some of the stained glass was new (make sure you click the link to my pictures, above) and not at all what you expect to see in a building like that. This window, however, more true to period – but look at this detail (and check out the colored light coming in)! You’ll have to click and view it larger:

Black Abbey – the more traditional stained glass

Black Abbey – the striking modern stained glass

After the Black Abbey, we stopped for coffee and shopping in the Market Cross Shopping Centre, then went on to the Design Craft Centre. Lots of local artists have shops and studios in this set of buildings just across from the castle. We went into several shops, and ended up picking up souvenirs and gifts at a pottery shop and an all-kinds-of-handmade-art shop. I was SO tempted to buy one of Anna Neilsen’s prints… (her website is a mess, but I didn’t take pictures)… her work is WONDERFUL.

We left the shop and went to dinner at the Hibernian Hotel with the rest of the folks on the tour. We ate an amazingly fantastic three-course dinner, then headed home.

Check out the rest of today’s pictures if you have the time. I only posted a few of the best ones – be grateful. I took 250. =)

Today, we went to church with Leah at her Presbyterian Church in Greystones.

Leah’s Church

It was their Harvest service, so we got to see a little of the local church talking about action in their community. Neat people, good sermon. The music was a little difficult – I don’t know how much of it is that church’s choices vs. how much is cultural, but it was hard to sing. Words were in books and projected, but no music – I didn’t know but maybe one or two of the tunes, and those not well. We were left to fend for ourselves, musically – with no idea how to pull the melodies out of thin air.

I spend a lot of time any time I’m away from my church in Indy being grateful for the way we do things – always, we have music to read from. We can actually participate in the music and worship instead of being confused, self-conscious, and frustrated. But overall, as I said, it was a good service. I was glad to have been there and to have experienced my sister’s Sunday morning.

After church, we all got onto buses to visit Powerscourt, an estate south of Dublin. So gorgeous. I have a lot of pictures posted from this visit, but I have many, many more that I didn’t post. There were a number of gardens, tons of statues and ponds and fountains. The estate is palatial – grand. Please, please, please go look at my pictures – this place was breathtaking.

Powerscourt Estate

We spent the day mostly hanging with another student’s family – really enjoyed getting to know them, and to have company that fit well with us. The teens were fun – a lot of fun.

After Powerscourt, we went back to Coolnagreina (the YWCA the TU kids live in) for dinner. We got there and had a free hour, so Leah and I walked a little in the town and on the coast while Mom and Dad froze a little while on a bench overlooking the beach. =)

The view Leah gets to see every day

We all headed back for pizza and to warm up. Played a couple of games, first amongst ourselves, then with a large group of folk, before leaving for the evening.

I’m back at the hotel and VERY interested in getting into bed. =) It’s late, and we’ve got an early start tomorrow morning. We’re going to Kilkenny. =)

If you keep up with my Flickr account, you’ll notice that I’ve started posting Ireland photos. Not too, too many, but enough to give you an idea what we’ve been doing and what it looks like over here. =)

I’m going to back post what we’ve been doing so you know what day we did what. I was writing in a journal-type book because I didn’t have constant computer access, but I think I can start posting. I’ll probably finish after I return to the US, though… Fair warning.