Recently Marguerite, Jude and Ben took themselves off for a weekend to beautiful Kinsale in County Cork. Here they are having fun in Sandy Cove.
Kinsale is on the extreme south west coast of Ireland. So it is just about as far away from Hamill Park as you could possibly get, unless of course if you were to take a boat like this one and head for France or someplace. 
Halfway down the road Ben needed fed, as did Marguerite and Jude ....... so a wee pitstop at this layby joint was just what the doctor ordered.
So the road to Cork is a long one ....... but when you get there the trip is all but forgotten about. Here are Marguerite and Ben entering the Carrigaline Hotel to get settled for the weekend.
After quickly dumping the bags, etc, they made their way into Kinsale harbor where .......
......... Ben was able to check out all the boats! 
Here Ben takes a stroll along the waterfront with his Mama.
Besides being one of the most beautiful towns in Ireland Kinsale is also famous for two historical events. 1. The battle of Kinsale in 1601 which saw English forces defeat an Irish /Spanish force. 2. In 1915 the world's largest passenger ship the RMS Lusitania (British) was sunk just off the coast of Kinsale by a German U-Boat. The rescue effort and recovery of bodies was managed from Kinsale. Why was the Lusitania sunk? The story goes that arms were being transported from the U.S. on passenger ships to help the British and Allies war effort. Unfortunately for the Lusitania and all those unsuspecting passengers on board ....... the Germans got wind of this. Here is Marguerite at the memorial to battle of Kinsale.
A quick historical scoot around the harbor will certainly build an appetite in you and so a visit to 'Dinos' was on the agenda.
Dinos is the business, it's proper fish and chips, I mean real chopped potatoes not frozen muck poured out of a bag, and fresh caught fish lightly battered. Here are Jude and Ben awaiting the food. As you can see from this pic that Ben is being gently introduced to all things sports ..... his clothes, a ball for holding, a ball for kicking ...... Ben loves it!
Now that's what I call fish n chips!
Marguerite even squeezed in a bottle of local cider. Nice!
Ben was intrigued by the colourful flower basket arrangements adorning the patio area. Today he was wearing his Rajon Rondo Boston Celtics kit today, and looking very cool he was too.
After dinner Marguerite called into this cool wee ice cream parlour to pick up some treats.
Kinsale really is a colourful town and this street shows that perfectly.
Stone mad!
Moments later and Ben's eyes nearly popped out of his head as he spotted the fun fair.
'Where is the carousel .......... where is the carousel? was what Ben and Jude were thinking as they dandered through the fair. The excitement was nearly too much at this stage.Then moments later .......
............ Ben was on the carousel. 
And after a few initial fears ......... 
........ he was flying around .........
......... having loads of fun. Ben just loves these carousel yokes and it's always great fun to watch him on them. 
'Ohhhhh that fun fair was great Dada', was what Ben may have been thinking at this point as they left the fair to their hotel at Carrigaline.
Then moments later .............. 'Ahhhhh ....... why do I always have to get my nappy changed? Ben is laid down in the boot of the car for a quick change.
Back in Carrigaline and Marguerite is out for another stroll ........
...... and a quick pint!
The next day Marguerite, Jude and Ben decided to drive along the south west coast of Cork and explore all the great wee spots that lay there. So they hit the country road ....... and before long ............
...... they were in Robert's Cove, this was a delightful wee spot altogether. The temptation was to stay here all day ....... it really was that nice.
Marguerite strikes a cool pose. Wha?
As does Jude.
Now we're whistling Dixie!Marguerite looks perfectly at home on this cool tractor.
Spot the wally!
It was too early in the day to be going into places like Robert's Cove Inn ....... so a quick pic would do for now.
After leaving Robert's Cove they hit the road again and this time they made their way just down the road to ......
......... Nohoval Cove.
This was another beautiful place nicely tucked away down a tight laneway. Here Ben and Jude go off to explore.
The views down at Nohoval Cove were stunning.
Jude reckoned this was the perfect spot for anyone who would be keen on some peace and tranquility. Here he is having a quiet moment to himself .......
....... and here he is acting the edjit! 
Marguerite was a little bit 'chicken' down here and had to be coaxed into moving this far out over in the rocks. Here she gets very brave and does a cool wave.
Again, just like Robert's Cove, they could have stayed here all day. 
'Hey Marguerite, you know how we want to move to the country and it's all about location, location, location ....... well I want to live here', shouted Jude from the ruins of a very old but very well positioned house.
'Wise up Jude', said Marguerite as she made her way back to the car. After leaving Nohoval Cove Marguerite, Jude and Ben found themselves at .......
.......... a country crossroads.
'Now where will we go? asked Jude. 'Let's go to that Walton Court Café in Oysterhaven, that sounds nice', replied Marguerite.
Welcome to Oysterhaven!
Lunchtime in Oysterhaven and this Walton Court Café was a pretty cool place indeed.
Marguerite looking cool .................. as usual.
Marguerite trying out the specialty house lemonade as she awaits her lunch.
Ben is always happy when it's tea time!
This cafe was set in the most beautiful and ancient grounds at Walton Court. Here Jude tries to pull a cool pose ...............
....... while Marguerite succeeds in pulling a cooler one!
This building at Walton Court is as old as the United States of America is a nation. How old is that then? Well the house was built in 1776, so just like the United States it is 237 years old. That's mad! Wha?
And the views from here of Oysterhaven were pretty spectacular.
Oysterhaven has lots of activities to partake in but today Marguerite, Jude and Ben were happy to just look around ....
...... before hitting the road again. Now folks that is one tight road, with a tight corner and pretty tight hedges. You could say it is a classic Irish road. Jude thought it was so good he pulled in and took this pic and while doing so ........
....... some doll came around the corner tooting her horn. Why would that be then? Well obviously it was so any oncoming cars would know she was coming. Wha?
Heading back into Kinsale Marguerite stopped to read this wee plaque.
Here is a nice pic of Marguerite and Jude having a great auld time of it in Kinsale.
The views from this spot were very nice too. 
From there they moved onto the Old Head of Kinsale. 
From here the views were just stunning. This was just about of the southernmost tip of southwest Ireland and it could not have been prettier ........ or scarier. Jude took this pic while hanging over the edge of a cliff! Check out the size of the large yacht in the middle of the water, that will give some perspective on the height he was up here. 
Moving on from Old Head of Kinsale the next stop was beautiful Sandy Cove. This wee family decided to get out here and suck in some fresh air ........
........ and get their feet wet!
Ben loves water. Well he loves getting bathed ....... and he didn't mind getting holy water poured over his head when he got baptized, so this was a doddle for him.
Jude loves this pic. It shows him larking around with Ben ..... but check out the background ....... there's some punter about to walk across the cove (he in shorts), some punter about to row across the cove (he in the Kayak) and some punter about to swim across (he in the wetsuit). That's a cool, random and altogether funny pic.
Having a good giggle in the sun at Sandy Cove, Kinsale, County Cork.
Baba Ben loving the water.
A first beachside family pic.
After Sandy Cove they hit the road again and drove back through the gorgeous countryside and back into Kinsale. 
As Marguerite, Jude and Ben drove around the bay they realised it had been a busy day and so they felt they needed a refreshment, maybe a beer and a coke or something, so they decided to visit one of the coolest pubs in Ireland .........
....... Bulman. What a spot this was. Jude walked in to get a drink and over the door was a pic of Phil Lynott sitting outside on that spot there Marguerite is sitting on. That was good enough for Jude. 
Marguerite moved from seat to seat and could have sat there all day. Here she is mingling with the locals.
If you're ever in Kinsale seek out this great little pub. This is the cool view out it's front of Kinsale Bay.
Marguerite relaxing at Bulman and .......
Jude relaxing at Bulman. 
Nice! After this visit to Bulman they hit the road again, and just up the hill a few hundred yards they went. Now this might sound weird and all but in this area Marguerite and Jude both felt like it reminded them of Monte Carlo, in an Irish sense. It was hilly, nice tight streets, beautiful scenery, it was greener than Monte Carlo ...... and just as sunny (maybe that clouded the vision somewhat). Ok, you don't believe me ....... visit yourself and see!
And just up that street was The Spaniard, named after Don Juan D'Aquila, the Spanish leader of the Spanish forces in the pre-mentioned battle of 1601. A very nice spot it was too.
Marguerite and Ben relaxing at The Spaniard just before ........
........ Ben fell into a fit of giggles.
After The Spaniard they headed back to their hotel and so Jude could park the car and have himself a beer. Here are Jude and Ben enjoying the craic. At this stage Ben was smiling, giggling with and chatting to (gaga-ing) three girls at the next table. Charmer! 
The next day Marguerite, Jude and Ben left Kinsale and headed to Cobh. They got a wee ferry across. It really was very similar to the Strangford Ferry. 
Ben and Marguerite enjoy the views in Cobh. 
Here is Marguerite with Annie Moore and her bothers Phillip and Anthony. Annie Moore was the first immigrant to the United States to pass through the Ellis Island facility in New York Harbor.
Annie Moore departed from Cobh, County Cork, accompanied by her brothers Phillip and Anthony, aboard the steamship Nevada on January 1, 1892, her fifteenth birthday. Here Jude points the way.
Next stop was Youghal. Youghal is another beautiful seaside town, but this stop amounted to just a quick pitstop for Ben to get a nappy change. 
Wha?
This nice view was in County Waterford .......
...... where Ben, Marguerite and Jude stopped for lunch. Ben is curled up having another giggle for some reason.
Around this point Marguerite and Jude were toying with the idea of staying over night again somewhere along the road but as they just kept driving they ended up moving further closer to home. This was New Ross in County Wexford. 
In New Ross the replica ship of the Dunbrody sits. This is the homeland of President John F Kennedy's grandfather who emigrated from here to America.
The last stop on this wonderful trip was back in Wonderful Wicklow, at Jack White's for dinner before heading up the M1 to home. This was a great family holiday around Ireland for Marguerite, Jude and Ben. Roll on the next one! 
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