Our story today is a short one, United lose the league which capped off an odd day all round.
13th May 2012 – Day 6
“Today is going to be a good day. That’s what I thought to myself this morning. We got up early to makes sure we got to see Limerick Castle which is back the way we had come, before heading to Athlone.
Caherconnel Ring Fort, as near as we could get without trespassing - well, any more than we already had.
We headed first to Caherconnel to see a ring fort. Turning up we found it was . . . closed, and didn’t open for 1 and a quarter hours. Despondent, we decided to head to Limerick Castle which was due to open in 45 minutes. A simple trip, we arrived to find it had opened 30 mins earlier than advertised.
Limerick Castle was a substantial remain, both impressive & informative. Although, the history was aimed at post 1600’s Irish history; another example of the censorship of Norman history here. [There was one, very small and empty, room dedicated to King John. The person who had it built in the first place. It was predictable and stereotypical, evil king, bad morals, etc, etc]
King John's Castle - Limerick
After our fill of looking around the city, quite dead on a Sunday, we left for Athlone. The roads are motorways and uninspiring, getting to Athlone. Arriving in the town we fell upon the castle [unsurprisingly called, Athlone Castle] – it was unsigned from the roads or even the surrounding area. Finally getting there we found it . . . shut for refurbishment! This had been one of those days! To finish it off, City stole a win at QPR, so United have lost the league. Always interesting to watch people’s reactions to a team’s loss. How emotions are tied to a non-existent relationship – interesting.
Under King John's Castle
Tomorrow is a busy day so it’s an early night tonight, post 4 pints.
Themes are slowly starting to emerge, plus research areas that need exploring. It’s all promising.
[By this point Ali had become intrigued with the admin side of castle building along with the actual purpose of the castles, I was more intrigued with the nature of the warfare that these castles were designed to sit within – together making a fuller picture of the castles, hmm that’d make a good book . . .]