Today was planned to be a genealogy day. Nancy and Grace were very keen to trace the steps of their Irish ancestors and walk where they walked. In the morning, they were waiting for an email response from the genalogist in Limerick. That response came at 11 a.m. She was able to find the baptismal record for Garrrett Cops in the year 1838.
While the ladies were waiting for that information, George and I went to explore the local area around Lough Gur. We came across the Grange stone circle that is the largest stone circle in Europe. It was used for ceremonial purposes as long as 3000 years ago. We also found a church that was built by one of the Earls of Desmond in the 1500's. It fell into disrepair but was restored in the year 1645.
After the ladies got their preliminary genalogical report, we piled into the car and headed off to the town of Shanagolden, which was the home of Grace and Nancy's Nancy's ancestors. We spent at least two hours in the town, visiting cemetaries and walking the main street of town.
On the way back, we drove through the town of Adare, a very well-known town with many historical sites. We decided that there were too many other people with the same idea of visiting the town so we continued on our way.
We took a short nap then went out to dinner again in the town of Bruff. Bruff is the home of a very famous racehorse, Istabarq. This horse won 21 major races and was largely responsible for making it's owner one of the richest men in Europe. We ate at Clancey's Restaurant which is also know as Istabarq Restaurant. I had a good talk with the owner of the restaurant about horse racing in Ireland. I learned that an owner of a successful racehorse can make 100 million dollars just from stud fees alone.
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