Ireland The Emerald Isle
For Wednesday August 21, 2024
Michael MacKuen

We fly to Cork and then up the historic center of Ireland to end our afternoon at Dublin. Between the two modern cities, we shall experience plenty of castles, ancient sites, and deep green fields. Compared to our last two Irish itineraries, this is the classic Emerald Isle. And, as our friend Ron Attwood would put it, this region is full of history: modern history, ancient history, and prehistoric history. J


Blarney Castle and the Gift of Eloquence

We depart from Kerry [EIKY] and fly over the long-established tourist city Killarney with its many pubs and hospitable people. We fly low to see Ross Castle, now partially restored, which in the 17^th century was the center of Irish resistance and was thought to be invincible ... until the English brought cannons to the fight. A few minutes across the lake is Muckross House, a grand Victorian mansion and its associated gardens. When Queen Victoria came for a visit in 1861, the family spent a fortune to make the mansion “suitable for a queen” ... to the point that they eventually had to sell it.

We fly east over the hills toward Cork, the country’s second city. We first encounter the important medieval fortress Blarney Castle and the 19^th century grand residence Blarney House. The castle is most famous now as the location of the Stone of Eloquence or the “Blarney Stone,” which, once kissed, grants eloquence or the “gift of gab.” There are many legends explaining this particular magic power. Since the late 18^th century, millions have climbed to the top of the castle and leaned backwards over the parapet’s edge to kiss the stone – a risky act until safety measures were installed.

Afterwards, we fly over the photogrammetric city of Cork, passing over the old City Gaol, St. Fin Barre Cathedral (Catholic) and St. Nicholas (Church of Ireland) as well as the Gaelic Sports stadium. And over Upper Cork Harbour – the whole harbor is in the running for the world’s second largest natural harbor after Sydney. Before Irish Independence, Cork was a major strategic facility for the British Royal Navy and a supply conduit with the empire. It remains a major commercial port.

Next is Fota Island with the Fota Wildlife Park (from the air you can see the giraffes and kangaroos but probably not the ostriches, zebras and antelope), Fota House (a restored grand 19^th century mansion), and the Fota Resort with its three golf courses. Then Ireland’s tallest church St Coleman’s Cathedral which was completed in 1919. Overlooking Cork Harbour, this is frequently cited as Ireland’s most beautiful church.

Out to Spike Island and its 18^th century bastion Fort Mitchel. This was a Napoleonic era fortification of Cork Harbour and later a prison. It is now an award-winning and increasingly popular tourist destination. Then back over Lower Cork Harbour before landing at Cork Airport [EICK], the country’s second busiest airport after Dublin. Opened in 1961, the airport has grown in stages and now has two connected terminals. Contrary to design, the newer one has no jetways because the Irish regional carriers did not want jetways, would not use them, and would not pay for them.

We continue to the northeast to the 12^th century Lismore Castle. For much of its history since 1588, this was home to generations of Earls and Dukes. In the 19^th century it was specially redesigned as a magnificent scale fortress, banquet hall, and residence. Further along is the great Rock of Cashel. This historic site was the seat of the kings of Munster through the 12^th century. From 1100, the site hosted a royal chapel and then a full-scale cathedral. The complex was sacked by English troops in 1647 and the cathedral’s roof destroyed 100 years later. It is now a tourist attraction.

Next is Kilkenny, a town that flourished under the Normans after the 13^th century and still gifted with medieval architecture throughout the town. Best known are Kilkenny Castle (a 13^th century Norman stronghold now restored) and St Canice’s Cathedral (Church of Ireland) which hosts a 100 ft round tower built in the 10^th century. We land at Kilkenny Airport [EIKK], a well-established GA airfield with a tower and a 3,000 ft grass runway.

Then Birr Airfield [EIBR]. We take a look at 16^th century Birr Castle (500 years in the Parsons family) and especially the grounds. This is home to the Leviathan of Parsontown, a 72 inch reflecting telescope with a mirror weighing 3 tons. This was the largest telescope in the world (1845-1917) and was important for the early examination of nebulae (and thus galaxies). Nearby is the modern (2017) low-frequency array I-LOFAR radio telescope, one of 50 similar stations in Europe.

North to Abbeyshrule Aerodrome [EIAB] which hosts two flying clubs. We turn east to fly over Mullingar’s twin-towered Cathedral of Christ the King (1936). We land at Ballyboy Airfield [EIMH], a former farm airstrip now sports a new tarmac runway with Avgas, Jet-A, and a hangar. It hosts annual fly-ins and the Irish Historic Flight Foundation. Especially noteworthy, the airfield explicitly welcomes “groups of pilots touring the country from overseas.”

Our next point-of-interest is the prehistoric monument Newgrange. On a rise above the River Boyle, this large Neolithic passage tomb was built about 3200 BC (older than Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids of Giza). The mound has inner stone chambers with a “roofbox” whose light illuminates the interior at sunrise during the winter solstice. It is encircled by a façade of white quartz cobblestones adorned with megalithic art (now restored). This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We continue east to the port town Drogheda, descend to the river, and take a close look at the 98 ft high Boyne Viaduct. The 1855 railway bridge, built on new mathematical stress analysis, was considered one of the wonders of the age at the time. We turn south and land at the small grass strip Ballyboughal Aerodrome [EIBA].

We fly low along the coast under the landing pattern for Dublin International, passing over two famous links courses. We turn at Dublin’s man-made outer harbor and the iconic Poolbeg Stacks (part of a huge and partly decommissioned power station). Then circling Aviva Stadium (sports and concerts), we fly more-or-less along the River Liffey to see historic Dublin. We cross over the Docklands now re-developed with a new Convention Center and modern buildings in the new financial center (IFSC). Banking south of the river, we see Trinity College with its grand Old Library (which hosts the historic Book of Kells). Then Dublin Castle, the seat of English military and administrative power for centuries before independence. The castle remains a government ceremonial site and, of course, is a tourist attraction. And then over the Guinness Storehouse, a seven-story visitor center and once part of the original (1759) St. James’s Gate Guinness brewery just to the north. (Once the world’s largest brewery, this remains as the world’s only source for the famous Guinness Draught stout beer.)

[The Guinness company made another contribution to society. Emphasizing quality control efforts, the company hired young statistician William Sealy Gosset in 1899. He helped pioneer modern statistics, decision theory, and the understanding of uncertainty. Under the pseudonym “Student,” he achieved lasting fame for Student’s t-distribution and the more commonly known Student’s t-test. Wiki.]

The Guinness Storehouse and St James Gate Brewery, Dublin’s most popular tourist site. Did not know there were so many fans of modern statistical inference.

We continue to the northwest over green parklands and vaguely along the River Liffey for our approach into Dublin’s main General Aviation facility Weston Airport [EIWT], our final destination. After parking up, we can go to the newly refurbished terminal building for a refreshment. Perhaps a local stout?

Documentation
The flightplan can be found here.

Aircraft
This is a flight of 297nm with 8 landings. Any GA aircraft capable of something like 150kts should do the job nicely. I’ll probably fly the A2A Comanche in the historic PH-EDH livery by Jan Kees Blom.

Additional Scenery
All of the airports are in the default simulator. That said, several addons will enhance the scenery appreciably. Thanks to these talented addon creators.

Kerry [EIKY]. JayFlySim
Kilkenny [EIKK]. amb764
Abbeyshrule [EIAB]. amb7364
Ballyboy Airfield [ETMH]. amb7364
Dublin Weston Airport [EIWT]. Jerome Logue
Birr Castle and Leviathan Telescope. droide
Southwest Ireland Enhancement. WWSmith

(Note that you may already have Kerry from before and will want to check to avoid duplication.)

Temporarily, you can obtain the full freeware package here (131MB).

Time and Weather
For takeoff on Wednesday, set the simulator at 2:00pm local for August 21, 2024. We typically prefer real weather.

Multiplayer Particulars
Date and time: Wednesday, August 21, 2024. 1800 UTC
RTWR Multiplayer Discord Channel
Microsoft Flight Simulator Multiplayer: United States East server.

If you want to help others enjoy the multiplayer experience, don't forget to enter your aircraft details on the multiplayer spreadsheet (linked here). Please be kind enough to enter the title exactly as it stands in the title=”xxx” line of the aircraft.cfg file. Your courtesy will save others a lot of time and effort. Thanks!

 

NOTAM. If you downloaded the scenery package before 20:15 UTC August 19, 2024, then please download again. (I left out the “Southwest Ireland Enhancement” package.) It is now ok. If you downloaded the items individually, please check to see that you got the "Southwest Ireland Enhancement."