Silver seas cruise stops at Waterford Ireland. Photo / Neville Marriner
Maureen Marriner discovers some grand places to visit as her ship comes in along Ireland's coastline.
Sailing around the south of Ireland there are three coastal cities that cover the east, the deep south and the wild west. Wind farms do a roaring trade, the weather can be moist but wrap yourself in the warmth of the people and (say it with an accent) "sure, it'll be grand".
Ireland's oldest city was founded by Vikings in the 9th century. To get to it from the sea you have to pass Hook Head and later, on the opposite bank is the village of Crooke. The story, and there are a lot of these in Ireland, is that an invader - some say James II, some plump for Oliver Cromwell - decided he would take Waterford and that it would be "by Hook or by ... "
Viking Triangle: A compact ancient area of narrow streets and heritage buildings. At its "riverside" point is Reginald's Tower, the oldest civic building in Ireland, which has walls 3.5m thick. A former mint and prison, it now houses an exhibition of its history. The distinctive squat tower has become the symbol of the city. Denizens fly the county's blue and white colours as bunting or as flags from windows and there's no telling whether it's civic pride or allegiance to Waterford's Hurling and Gaelic Football teams.
Waterford Crystal: It is what gave the city its modern fame but the glassworks closed in 2008, shattered by the global financial crisis and decades of over-leveraged expansion.
Recently, however, some of the company's former craftsmen have opened their own studios. There is also a Waterford Crystal showroom but guides warn visitors to check the provenance of what's on display - some of the crystal comes from the Czech Republic.
The Comeragh Mountains: A morning's drive from Waterford, they are great for hikers, giving a view over Coumshingaun, Ireland's largest glacial lake. The 12 mountains afford an incredible view across the countryside to the sea on clear days.
If you fancy a stay in a castle, construction of Waterford Castle began in the 16th century.
It was home to the Fitzgerald family for centuries but since the 1990s it has been a hotel with golf course. Lismore Castle has been around since the 11th century but no amount of money will buy you one of its beds for the night. The castle has belonged to the Cavendish family for 350 years and remains the Irish home of the dukes of Devonshire.
It, too, has had a turbulent past and little of its medieval history has survived. The city centre is really an island with the River Lee on either side. Our bus driver gave us directions: "Sure, you go over the bridge from City Hall and you go straight to the end and then you turn left and you keep going straight and you turn left and keep turning left and then you'll be right."
The shops, cafes and bars are much as they are throughout Ireland but Cork's Gothic churches and colour-washed houses add character. Its No.1 tourist attraction is The English Market, which has been trading in the heart of the city since 1788, making it one of the world's oldest municipal markets. It is definitely not solely a tourist attraction, and locals flock to its fish, meat, cheese and vege traders.
There are memorials in Cork to the Titanic, as it was the ship's last port of call before sailing off on its first and last voyage, also to the Lusitania, torpedoed off the coast at the start of World War I. There was no mention of these in the Silversea Cruises' daily shipboard "what to do, what to see" lists on the Silver Muse ... perhaps because we were about to embark on her maiden Atlantic crossing.
Nearby is Blarney Castle, where visitors who hang upside down from the parapet walk - holding on to an iron railing - kiss the Blarney Stone that for 200 years is said to have given the gift of the gab to those who've bent over backwards.
Our last stop before the Atlantic. They say there is no wrong weather, in the west, just wrong clothes. We are moored in huge Galway Bay and the day is calm for our tender crossing into the city. Again, not much remains of medieval days; today it's a buzzing cosmopolitan centre, students a large chunk of the population and there is a thriving biotech industry. We are here on a Saturday and the pedestrianised heart is packed. There is a street market of locally produced crafts and food, including shucked-on-the-spot delicious oysters, street entertainers and above it all, bunting strung across all the street - maroon and white for the local Gaelic Athletics teams.
Outside the city we head into the wilds of Connemara. It's a bleak, windswept landscape. First, small fields edged with rock walls. They have been made over centuries by farmers trying to clear land of what must have been the cursed granite that is throughout the soil.
It makes the land impractical for anything but the native black-face sheep, whose lamb is said to come flavoured with the herbs they eat, and the Connemara ponies, a hardy cream breed that can fetch thousands at market.
There's a livestock market outside our pub stop. The farmers are focused and although not unkind, are not in the business of wooing tourists: "Are you here to buy?" Inside the pub, they are definitely in the business, there is an everything-Irish-you-could-want shop, a cafe, a restaurant and a bar.
It's here, over a delicious Irish coffee that I am finally able to use my much-practised "Slainte agus tainte" - "Health and wealth".
Details
Silversea Cruises is one of the last privately owned cruise lines. The fleet is split into "Classic" and "Expedition". There are five classic ships, which carry between 296 and 596 guests, and sail to traditional global destinations. The Expedition Fleet has four ships, adapted and equipped to travel to "remote and exotic" locations. As part of the Grand Bellezza 2018 world cruise, the Silver Whisper sails from Papeete to Auckland on January 22 and spends nine days in New Zealand waters before heading across the Tasman.
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This suburb is skipped in favour of flashier spots, but shouldn't be discounted.