TK Tour!

Bright and early Saturday morning everyone staggered on to the bus for a tour given by Tom Keith. These tours are known as TK Tours! We have them planned for 3 Saturday’s while we are here. The first place he took us to was the sacred grounds Mt. Melleray Grotto. Here in August of 1985 the Virgin Mary was said to appear to a young women and two boys. She gave them the message that the world is becoming corrupt and filled with evil. The human race had to change their ways and become more peaceful. We had the opportunity to speak to the woman that had this encounter with the Virgin Mary. She said it was a life changing experience and she tries to live a peaceful life.

The Statue of the Virgin Mary is where she actually appeared on the hill

After this spiritual stop we continued on the bus for about another 45 minutes. We went through the dead land of the country were all the grass is brown and rocks cover the land. On the other side though was luscious green fields and a haunted lake. We stopped here at the Vee where you had the chance to do photo ops. While we were here a few girls decided that they  wanted to pet some sheep. So they ran into the hills and tried to sneak up on the animals, but the sheep were to smart and ran away. It was a funny sight to see.

Can you see why they call it the Vee??

Chasing the sheepies!! 

Then again we hopped in the bus and went to Mitchelstown Caves. These caves are couple hundred million years old and we got to explore them. The passage ways were narrow and water kept dripping on my head but this place was amazing! We saw fossils that were over 350 million years old in the walls. They sometimes use these caves for concerts. Wouldn't that be a thing to put on the bucket list.

This rock is called the Swan

Cahir Castle was the next item to visit on the TK Tour. This is one of the oldest castles in Ireland. This castle was only invaded once. You can still see a few cannon balls lodged in the walls from past attacks. They still have a working drop gate. It can be lowered in 5 seconds! On the wall of the dining hall is a skeleton of an Irish deer. They have been extinct for years but this head was found preserved in the bogs.

The last stop was Ormond Castle. It was built for the Butler Family, who also owned Killkenny Castle. When the Butler family moved into Killkenny castle they lift this home to fall to pieces. Only about half of the house still stands.