Day Three - Kinsale.
Enjoy a leisurely start to the day today before heading south to Kinsale, which is a small fishing village situated approximately 16 miles from Cork City. It is renowned for its pubs and restaurants and is known as the ‘Gourmet Capital’ of Ireland. Every visitor to Kinsale is captivated by its beautiful setting, with the long waterfront, narrow winding streets and Compass Hill rising sharply behind the town. The old fortifications of Charles Fort and James Fort guard the narrow entrance to Kinsale from the sea.
The town has poignant memories of the sinking of the liner ‘Lusitania’ in 1915, off the Old Head of Kinsale, and it was in the courthouse the inquest into the incident took place. Visit Charles Fort, constructed in the early 1680’s in honour of King Charles II by William Robinson, architect of the Royal Hospital in Kilmainham in Dublin, Charles Fort is a classic example of a star shaped fort. In use until 1921 the fort, which protected the trading town of Kinsale, gives a unique insight into Irish fortifications. Besieged in 1690 by the Duke of Marlborough and destroyed in 1922 during the Civil War, Charles Fort reflects the turbulence of Ireland’s past. It was declared a National Monument in 1973. Across the estuary is James Fort, an earlier structure, which was designed by Paul Ivy in 1602.
An early dinner will be served in Kinsale with entertainment at the Lord Kingsale Pub, returning to Cork for overnight again at the Blarney Woollen Mills Hotel.
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