I was at Blarney Castle in 1997. Kissed the stone and everything.
I skipped the B stone and shopped till I dropped.
As it turned out, those were the last items I purchased in Ireland because we did not know if we were going to be able to get home and we need to conserve our funds just in case. As you remember, all flights were cancelled. We did get out the following Saturday, but ours was the only plane that got out of Shannon to the US that day. We left 1000s of people on the ground whose earlier flights had been cancelled.
Everybody in Ireland was quite wonderful to us all week. They recognized us as Americans and offered condolences everywhere we went. On Friday that week, the Irish government decred it a “Day of Mourning” and closed everything except the churches. Even the pubs were closed. They only way we got fed was because we had hotel reservations. Anybody who was staying in a hotel was out of luck.
We attended Mass in Galway (because our scheduled tour had been cancelled) where the President of Ireland led the procession. The Offertory gift was a First Aid kit that was going to the NYFD. Only the Chemist shoppes were open for people to fill their prescriptions. Mass was filled to overflowing, and they served Communion in the parking lot for people who couldn’t get in.
The Cathedral was quite lovely — all stone mosaic done with different colors of granite from every district of Ireland. No stained glass. All of the pictures were mosaic. I have to comment that Mass in Gaelic was quite an experience. I couldn’t understand a single word! I don’t even know when they said the Our Father.
Our tour guide grumbled because Mass lasted more than an our because of the crowds and the tour buses. According to him, no self respecting Irishman will sit still for more than a half hour for Mass! LOL.