Diane Hawes 6/6/2015

This morning, after a night of rest and packing, we ended our stay in Cork and began our next journey to Limerick.  Once aboard the small bus driven by Tony, we realized that it would be so much nicer if he would be able to take us all the way to Limerick rather than us having to take the train.  After a few phone calls it was determined that Tony was our man and he would be taking us right to our new digs in Limerick.

Once in Limerick the girls received some much appreciated assistance from the men in our group who helped us lug our heavy bags up 3 flights of stairs to our new accommodations. 

Then we began our journey through Limerick by traveling to the Hunt Museum where we were treated to a tour of the museum by Shamus (which we found out is Irish for “James”)  After an enjoyable pass through the museum we had a bite of lunch at the Hunt Café.  Mine was fabulous!

Shamus, our tour guide at the Hunt Museum

Lunch at the Hunt Cafe

After lunch we took a short walk to St Mary’s Cathedral where Nan presented a very interesting Staff Ride full of information. 

From the cathedral we walked to St John’s Castle.  At this location we found there to be a lot of things available to us to actively interact with various parts of history.  Upon entry everyone got into the mood by having some pictures taken of them at the soldier and Viking outfits awaiting us when we entered.  Matt, Nan and Jenn dressed in period cloths for a few fun photos as we walked throughout the castle.  Diane and Emily found their way to the cannons and proceeded to have some target practice.

At the castle staff ride information was presented by Shelly, Matt, and Mike.  The information they provided generated a great deal of interaction among all of the class mates and provided an opportunity for us to discuss a lot of various leadership traits and methods of leading…..both good and bad.

After passing through the main building we entered the main interior of the castle which overlooks the Shannon River.  Replicas of a smith shop, the mint, a chapel, and a mason shop were there for us to see.  Everyone climbed the stairs to the top of the castle walls where we could look out over the city and the river.  Of course, we all had to have photos taken and we had to take photos of one another!

One of the men portraying a soldier was more than happy to share with us his stories of the events that had occurred at the caste over the years. 

Once our journey through the castle had ended we made our way back past St Mary’s Cathedral and to a local pub called the Locke Gastro Pub where we ate dinner.

A great way to begin our stay in Limerick…can’t wait to see what tomorrow will bring!!