Ireland

[Imalawman]

So, Italy seemed to garner some great responses. Mrs. Imalawman and I are going to Ireland this year (sometime after Sep. 1). We are close to booking tickets and thought I'd see if any denizens of Quatloos had any suggestions on when, where, and how to travel Ireland.

[The Dog]

A fine choice of holiday destination:

My strong advice is to learn the (often complex) history, for you will then appreciate the country more.

The pace of life is generally much more relaxed than in England - you will certainly notice this if ordering a Guinness in a bar - if ordering a round of drinks, order the Guinness first - they like to pour it slowly.

In Dublin, don't forget to step into the GPO in O'Connell Street, it is a fine building quite apart from its historical significance. The other place I would heartily recommend is Kilmainham Gaol (to the west, near Heuston station), where Charles Stewart Parnell was imprisoned and where the revolutionaries of the Easter Rising were executed. The Guinness brewery has a tower from which one can gaze down over Dublin, naturally sampling the product. A "glass" of beer is local parlance for half a pint. The "Book of Kells" in Trinity College Library is also worth seeing.

Historically, there has been less choice in eating out than you might expect, but the situation is improving. Excursions from Dublin include Howth (pronounced Hoath), on a bay to the North of Dublin and Bray to the South. Bray is not in itself worth much, but the path from there to Greystones is glorious on a sunny day (you can get the train back).

Waterford Crystal has a factory shop near the town of that name to the south of Dublin. Glendalough id a beautiful valley nearby.

Cork is a nice place to visit for a day, you can ring the bells at Shandon Church and then climb to the top. Take care during the ascent that nobody else is ringing the bells as the route passes through the belfry! Kinsale is a nice excursion, while Blarney is a tourist trap for those wishing to kiss the Blarney Stone. The local beer here is "Murphy's" (akin to Guinness), but Beamish is also brewed. The local whiskey is "Paddy".

Further west, Killarney is a tourist trap, but is a useful base for visiting the surrounding countryside, notably the lakes. Muckross House is worth a visit and it is also possible to arrange a trip where you are taken to the beginning of the "Gap of Dunloe", through which you walk (noting in passing the remnants of cottages whose last occupants perished in the Famine) to reach the lake where a boat awaits to take you across the lake to rejoin your transport back to Killarney. The "Ring of Kerry" also starts near here, a circuit of roads around which it is possible to take a coach, but much more preferable to go by car. In my younger days, I hired a bike in Killarney for an enjoyable day, but remember that the local terrain has many hills.

As it has a low population density, Ireland (with the possible exception of Dublin and Limerick) is best toured by car. There are few railways (and they have an unusual guage) and with the exception of the Dublin Area Rapid Transit (DART) are fairly infrequent. If travelling by bus, you must know the Irish name for the place you are going to (e.g. an Bhlarna for Blarney).

I haven't been to Newgrange (Ireland's equivalent of Stonehenge) or to Northern Ireland, but want to visit both.

[Demosthenes]

I did the Waterford crystal factory tour a few years ago, but I think it went belly up in recent years.

[The Observer]

Waterford was closed when we were in Ireland 2 years ago.

In County Cork, Kinsale Harbor is a picturesque port town with nearby Charles Fort as an example of fortifications that Great Britain put up during the Napoleonic Wars.

Glendalough (County Wicklow) is a historical site showing one of the early 6th century monasteries that were established in Ireland.

Went to Newgrange - it is an interesting site, but the restoration took some liberties with history and accuracy. The Boyne Battlefield site is nearby as well.

We also saw Giant's Causeway in County Antrim, and visited the Bushmill's Distillery nearby. This was a better tour than the Jameson Distillery in Dublin, in my opinion.

As mentioned by others, driving is the best way around Ireland, and there are no border crossings to worry about when going between Ireland and N. Ireland. In fact, the petrol station that we stopped at near the border actually had a pump with two separate meters to account for those who were paying in Euros or with British Pound Sterling. We were lucky we noticed before pushing the wrong button, since the station had a sign saying they didn't do currency conversions.

[Demosthenes]

I've only been to Ireland twice, and one of those times was on a cruise which doesn't lead to in-depth exploration, but I loved the Trinity College Library, Dublin, and Cork, and didn't care much for Belfast, Northern Ireland.

I've not yet visited Skellig Michael and the Bend of the Boyne, but they're on my list of things to see one day.

Trinity College:

[The Observer]

I loved the Trinity College Library, Dublin, and Cork, and didn't care much for Belfast, Northern Ireland.

We spent only a few hours in Belfast, in fact left before noon since we couldn't find anything of real note to visit other than downtown area. They had built an observation tower in one corner of the shopping mall which gave you a nice view of the town. Other than that and seeing the Titanic memorial (which was covered in scaffolding due to them erecting a ferris wheel outside the city hall), there wasn't much reason to stay longer.

[Thule]

The Porterhouse, an excellent microbrewery in Dublin. And as they like to point out, the largest Irish brewery.

Kilkenny is nice. A bit touristy, but they have this brewery.

[The Observer]

Also, if you get up to the Galway area, you might want to consider visiting one of the Aran Islands, Inishmore being the most popular to visit. We were able to rent bikes to tour the island; a short hike from the road leads to an ancient fort, Dún Aonghasa, with a cliff line that rivals the more well-known Cliffs of Moher.

[Imalawman]

Thanks for the suggestions. It sounds like we can cut Belfast out of the tour. We only have 5 days so we want to hit the high spots.

[Pottapaug1938]

From CNN:

http://www.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/04/14/be ... l?hpt=Sbin

[Demosthenes]

From CNN:

http://www.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/04/14/be ... l?hpt=Sbin

Actually, it was the city's obsessive fixation with The Troubles that killed Belfast for me. I'll go back one day when the psychological wounds aren't so fresh. Right now, they're still poking their bruises and picking at their scabs.