First thing this morning we headed for Blarney Castle and a kiss of the Blarney Stone to gain some eloquence in speaking (supposedly).

The Blarney Castle (completed in 1500s) is an amazing maze of spiralling staircases, small rooms and an underground system of caves and tunnels. The grounds include beautifully manicured lawns and gardens. A climb to the top of the castle (which I'm sure would be enough to break a snake's back) and there is the Blarney Stone. You then have to lay on your back, hang most of your body over the parapet, and if you still have your wits about you, remember to kiss the stone. Anyway we both did it to varying degrees. Bern said her knees were still knocking well after the ordeal was over. Then back to Cork for a trip around the old town before heading for Cobh.

Cobh is a lovely seaside village especially renowned as the last landfall of the ill-fated Titanic on its maiden voyage. It was also the last port of call for the Lusitania sunk by a German U-Boat in May 1915 off the coast of Waterford. Memorials to both tragedies are in the main town centre. A cruise ship had just docked when we arrived and there was quite a lot of activity in the town. The huge Catholic church overlooks the town and the harbour.

Leaving Cobh we had a short stop at a little known memorial to the victims of the potato famine near Duncarvan. In a small roadside grave-yard there are three statues in memory of those who died as a result of the famine (1850-55): - a crying woman;, a single gravestone marking a mass grave of those who died; and one marking the Holy Year 1950-51 and the centenary of the beginning of the famine.

We continued on to Waterford for a tour of the Waterford Crystal Factory and we watched the amazing skill and workmanship of the craftsmen. We were amazed to find that almost all the cut lead crystal is done by hand not by machine. They produce some very special pieces including the urn for the Ashes, trophies including the Davis Cup, the Irish Open Golf cup and the American Football League Finals cup. They also do specialist commissioned pieces such as large vases presented by Queen Elizabeth II to dignatories at the 2012 London Olympics. Another piece of note was a piece commissioned as a memorial to those who lost their lives in the 9-11 disaster.

A walking tour of the old city came next looking at the old Viking buildings, some dating back to 1000AD. This was special and we ended the tour with a drink in Doolans Pub - the oldest continuing hotel licence in Ireland. There are shoulder patches with the emblems of various organisations around the world on the beams around the bar. We were pleased to see the insignias of the NSW, Qld, Vic & SA police forces were there.

Dinner at the hotel capped off a fantastic day.

Today's insights:
Waterford was originally founded by the Vikings in 853AD which makes it older than Amsterdam, Reykjavík, Oslo or Stockholm.

The Catholic Cathedral in Waterford (Holy Trinity) was the only Catholic Cathedral built in the 18th century in the world.

John Roberts designed and built Waterford's Catholic and Anglican (Christ Church) cathedrals - the only place in the world where both were designed by the same person.