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COPYRIGHT 2002 Martin Publications, Inc.
Many tourists make the mistake of allowing places into their Irish itineraries simply because they are famous--in a song or as part of a relative's big-bus-tour memory--spots like the slobbery Blarney Stone and the clogged Ring of Kerry.
If you've got some time and some wheels, wander from the well-worn paths between Dublin (on the east coast) and the Dingle Peninsula (on the west coast) and discover some of the less-trafficked delights of South Ireland: Kilkenny, often called Ireland's finest medieval town; the Rock of Cashel, a thought-provoking early Christian site crowning the Tipperary Plain; Waterford (beyond the crystal), and the endearing, historic town of Kinsale.
A couple hours south of Dublin, Kilkenny, known as "Ireland's loveliest inland city," gives you a feel for salt-of-the-earth Ireland. Its castle and cathedral stand like historic bookends on either side of a higgledy-piggledy High Street of colorful shops and medieval facades.
While a small town today (under 20,000 residents), Kilkenny had a big history in the Middle Ages when it was the capital of Ireland. Now, days are made for meandering the picturesque lanes, and nights come with plenty of traditional folk music in the pubs.
Due west of Kilkenny, rising high above the fertile plain of Tipperary, is the Rock of Cashel, one of Ireland's most historic and evocative sites. Once the seat of the ancient kings of Munster from about A.D. 400 to 1100, Cashel was taken over by the church in 1100 and became an ecclesiastical center.
On the Rock, a...
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