Ireland 2025
All underlined words are linked to the associated web pages. This is a record of our journey and might be of some help to fellow travelers. I will try to keep the text more factual than flowery. If I say something is 'highly recommended' it is sincere. I took close to 2,000 pictures and wish I could post them all. Blogger tends to squash videos, so I uploaded a few to youtube because the resolution will be better there.
Dana planned this trip at the last minute. I was a little skeptical about the weather for an early May visit but it worked out very well for us.
May 3/4
A direct American Airlines flight on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. (eastern U.S. time) arriving in Dublin Sunday at 6:39 a.m. (local time). Flight duration was 6 hours and 40 minutes after a half-hour delay.
We took a taxi from the airport to the Morgan Hotel, a few short blocks from the famous Temple Bar. We payed in Euros which we had exchanged for U.S. dollars at AAA back home. We were too early to check in, so we had the hotel lock up our luggage and set out to explore the city.
We crossed the famous Ha'penny Bridge and made it to our first stop, Lemon Jelly for breakfast. I was in the mood for crepes and ordered the Lemon Zest crepes with lemongrass and ginger twist tea. After fueling up, we walked to Dublin Castle and the photoshoot began. This would be the first vacation I relied solely on a camera phone. Old stone buildings and beautiful gardens filled my lens. I was lucky enough to get a nice shot of a magpie, which I haven't seen since our trip to Colorado. The circular center garden has sea serpents cut into it. We then stumbled upon a row of craft stands before our next main stop, St. Patrick's Cathedral.
We stopped back in to the hotel to complete our check-in and freshen up. I never know what to expect as far as hotel amenities, especially abroad, but I was quite relieved with everything being more than adequate, especially the water pressure. We set back out on foot to shop on Grafton Street which is paved with red bricks and blocked off from traffic from 11am to 6pm. The St. Stephens Green Shopping Centre is located there. It is a beautiful inside mall with a glass ceiling and dome. For lunch we walked to Ireland's oldest pub The Brazen Head, which contains a separate bar with live music. We ordered two pints of Guinness. We took some pictures and raised our glasses and out came our meals! Service was super fast and the beef stew was the best I have ever had.
On our way back to the hotel, we walked around Christ Church Cathedral. There is a railing there which instructs you to cover your ears and to rest your elbows on the railing. You can hear the music inside the church when doing so!
We did a little more shopping before going back to the hotel for a while to rest. Fortunately you get about an extra hour of daylight here in May. After walking up and down Fleet Street to check out our options we decided on Oliver St. John Gogarty's restaurant/pub for live music and another pint of Guinness. It was only half a block from our hotel. Darren Brereton and Jenny Dillon were playing live and the crowd was revved up! After a roll call from Darren, we discovered there was a large number of people from the U.K. That is when we realized this was a holiday weekend and it was packed with visitors from around the world. When he called out America, I was the only one who cheered. Scotland was well represented and they know how to party! We sang No Scotland, No party for the rest of the trip.
May 5
We had breakfast at Jay Kay's Cafe which is right across the walkway from Lemon Jelly. Here we had our very first traditional Irish breakfast and topped it off with a slice of banoffee pie. And once again, our food was out very quickly (just noting here, we are in no hurry). I had an idea of what the black pudding was made of but just didn't think about it and gave it a try. Not bad! A tiny bit spicy which I appreciate at times during breakfast. Dana knew for sure what it was made of and only told me after we left.
Our next stop was at Ireland's oldest university, Trinity College to see the Book of Kells. Although most of the books in the Old Library are absent for restoration, I would still recommend going. It also houses the oldest surviving Irish harp, which is Ireland's national symbol.
After walking around Dublin some more, I was quite thirsty and wished for a lemonade. But Dana spotted Butlers Chocolate and we had to stop there first. Fully expecting a negative response, I asked them anyway. The cashier said, 'we have cold drinks, hold on I'll check', oh 'our special today is lemonade with watermelon'. My suprise was surpassed next with delight as I was told a free truffle was included with the special! I also picked up 2 tee-shirts at Carrolls Irish Gifts.
From this point on, I left my security blanket (rain jacket) at the hotel. We were blessed with sunshine during the week, and Dana laughed when I bought a small tube of sunblock.
We had timed tickets for the Jameson Distillery and headed there next. The bar inside is beautiful with sections of ceiling made of glass. We tested a shot of Black Barrel against Redbreast as the sun shone down into our glasses (how poetic eh?). It was Redbreast for the win!
The tour was well organized and informative. This is where we yelled out our first slainte!
Guinness was our next stop, we had purchased timed tickets at home. (at least we did it in the correct order, what is that saying? beer before liquor??). The building had a total of 7 floors and the tour is self-guided. We got a little lost but did manage to find the tasting room and belted out another slainte! After a quick stop at the restaurant and amenities floors we proceeded to the Gravity Bar for our reward - a pint of one of the world's most popular stouts! The bar holds 500 people and it's glass walls allow a full 360 degree view of Dublin.
We waved down a taxi for our next destination, Gallagher's Boxty, a restaurant near our hotel. Dana wanted to try a boxty, which is a thick pancake made of potatoes. I saw corned beef on the menu and hesitated a little because although I like corned beef, I always found it too salty. I thought to myself, if anyone can do corned beef right, it would be here in Ireland so I ordered it. I gambled and won. Thick cut corned beef, tender and flavorful without an excess of salt.
May 6
We took a short taxi ride to the Heuston train station, where we picked up an 11:30 ride to Galway. It is a 2.5 hour ride during which I finished all the stew left over from Brazen Head the day before. While looking out the window, Ireland's nickname 'emerald island' became fully realized in my mind. I can now picture the seemingly endless fields of gently rolling green hills when I hear the words. I made a number of video recordings just looking outside of train and bus windows.
The Eyre Square Hotel is a right around the corner from the train station. After checking in, we stopped in Wylde for a quick snack. The next few hours we just explored our surroundings all of which were within walking distance. The Galway docks were full of people enjoying the sun. We took plenty of selfies there with the river Corrib and colorful buildings in the background.
Quay Street is located right after the docks in the Latin Quarter and there you will find plenty of shops, restaurants, colorful buildings, and buskers. (Quay is pronounced like the word 'key' in English) Everyone we spoke to spoke English, and I noticed the most common foreign language that I heard in order was British English, followed by a few German, French and Spanish speakers. I experienced this everywhere we went in Ireland.
We walked down to the Spanish Arch and had dinner at Ard Bia. I would suggest making reservations ahead of time in Galway. After our meal it was 7 pm and we still had a couple of hours of daylight to continue exploring. We ended the day with a snack at Brasserie On The Corner. I had the special which was raspberry ice cream on top of a lemon tart with a glass of tea. Dana ordered sticky toffee pudding. I would highly recommend this place, the food and tea were excellent. Blake's Corner Bar is attached to the restaurant and although we didn't stop in for drinks, I took a few pictures of it inside because it looked beautiful in there. On the way back to the hotel we picked up one of Ireland's favorite snacks - cheese and onion Taytos.
May 7
Breakfast in our hotel was buffet style and contained all the ingredients for another traditional Irish breakfast. Today was the day I needed to shine. It would be my first experience driving on the left side of the road. The Budget car rental office was right around the corner at the same intersection as our hotel and train station. I tried to get a tiny car after reading all the online suggestions, but despite having a reservation, they told me they were out of what I ordered and offered me a 4-door Toyota Corolla. I didn't let that be a burden and it turned out well. At no point during my driving in Ireland did the larger Toyota Corolla have an impact.
We drove from Galway to the Cliffs of Moher. (Moher is pronounced like the word 'mower' in English) It was about an hour and 20 minutes, not including the stop at Hazel Mountain Chocolates. I got used to driving very quickly and it became more exciting than anything else. It was warm and clear out. Needless to say, I took plenty of pictures of one of Ireland's most famous landmarks.
The next destination was the Killimer Ferry Terminal. Dana purchased a pass as I drove and we were a bit concerned about timing, but I literally drove right onto the ferry. The timing could not have been better even if planned. It's scheduled time of departure was 3pm and I had gotten there 3 minutes late, but they were running a few minutes late! The ferry ride was over before we finished a bag of Taytos but it saved almost 2 hours of driving time around the city of Limerick. Once on land in Tarbert, it was another hour and a half to get to Dingle. The scenery is beautiful and we stopped a few times for pictures.
Dingle is a small port town with a landscape totally new to me. Rolling emerald hills dotted with sheep on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other. We stopped at the Benner Hotel to check in. I would recommend all the hotels we stayed at, and this one stood out a little. It is a beautiful boutique hotel in the center of the city. We walked around Dingle for a while before thinking about where we were going to eat. Once again, I would highly recommend making reservations for the restaurants. We settled on The Fish Box even though it had a 45 minute wait time. Fortunately, they called us early and we were seated within 15 minutes. After dinner, Dana shopped while I wondered around the pier taking photos. When we met up again, we tried Murphy's Ice Cream. I got a scoop of Dingle Stout on top of a scoop of Dingle Sea Salt. In the evening we started off at The Dingle Pub and had 1 shot of Dingle Whiskey and 1 shot of Green Spot, which is very popular in Ireland. We ended up at Dick Mack's Pub and Brewhouse. They had about 6 different types of Dingle whiskey and we tried 2 of them. Our favorite was the autumn special named Conocht an Fomhair. We stayed there until the pub closed at 11pm.
May 8
Breakfast and one last walk to the pier and around the shops. Then we loaded up Tina (the Toyota Corolla) and headed for Inch Beach. It is less than a half hour away. As Dana tested the waters, I got to fly my drone. I had been carrying this all through the vacation and finally got to use it. I don't care for beaches much and this was the perfect escape. I did not have satellite connection so I flew with caution. I still get nervous when flying over water or when I lose sight of it. I think I got real lucky during one preprogrammed flight because there was higher ground behind me.
Our next stop was about 40 minutes away - the Gap of Dunloe. We had lunch at The Coffee Pot Cafe and then took a horse and carriage ride to the gap itself. Walking the trail would taken about 2 to 3 hours, but the carriage ride cut it down to about 45 minutes round trip. It was another clear sunny day and the views were spectacular.
The drive from the Gap of Dunloe to the Killarney Avenue Hotel took about 15 minutes. Once checked in and settled we walked around the city, shopping and admiring the sights. For dinner, we decided on the Mad Monk. The sun was starting to set as we walked around town after dinner. I took a few pictures of St. Mary's Cathedral which was lit up with green lights.
May 9
Breakfast at our hotel was another buffet style that provided everything for a full Irish breakfast. We walked across the street and entered the Killarney National Park, featuring the Muckross House. After a little more shopping in town, we decided to see the Ross Castle less than 2 miles away while we still had the rental car. Not too far away was the Torc Waterfall, so we stopped there also.
I handed in Tina at a parking lot and unbeknownst to us, we had to walk about a mile with our luggage to the Budget office near our hotel. The office and drop off area are separate from each other. We could have gotten a taxi, but it really wasn't worth the wait. From there, we walked to the train station, which was close by. We boarded and were on our way back to Dublin!
We checked back in to the Morgan Hotel and then proceeded to get dinner at the Merchants Arch. Then we walked the cobblestone streets of Dublin snapping pictures and visiting the Molly Malone statue. We had to get up early and I wasn't sleeping much so we got to bed early that night.
May 10
Day trip to Northern Ireland. We were up early for the bus tour to Northern Ireland which is officially part of the U.K. Although passports are not needed, it was necessary to sign up at UK ETA for permission to enter the country and was completed before leaving for Ireland.
Our first stop was the Dark Hedges. Though they were unfortunately damaged by recent storms, they are still quite impressive. The oddly shaped beech trees are almost 250 years old and appeared in some tv show I can't recall. The second stop was at Dunluce Castle. This is like a mini Cliffs of Moher with the remnants of a castle to boot! The third stop was another spectacular site - The Giant's Causeway. The rock formations and shoreline are very picturesque, and is pictured on the cover of the Houses of the Holy album by Led Zeppelin. The last stop was in the city center of Belfast. We did not have much time to explore but it looked similar to Dublin with it's pedestrian streets lined with shops and pubs.
May 11
Our last day in Ireland. We were back in Dublin and set out for a toastie which we read so much about. It is basically a grilled cheese sandwich taken to the next level with a huge selection of add-ons. We enjoyed ours at a place called The Melt Down. We walked back to St. Stephens Green and watched a few buskers. I walked into a Superdry Store for the first time and was impressed. For men's clothing, I highly recommend checking it out. It was quite warm out so we grabbed 2 99s - soft serve vanilla ice cream with a Cadbury flake bar stuck into it. I believe that is the traditional 99, although you can highly customize it with different flavor ice creams and toppings.
The clock was ticking and we were a little tired but we decided to catch a train to Howth (rhymes with growth). The station is not far from the Morgan Hotel, so we walked there and purchased 2 adult single day passes for 10.40 Euro. We walked along the pier, spotting a few seals and a lighthouse. For dinner we ate at Beshoffs Sea Grill. After dinner we walked through a small crafts market nearby and then decided to go to the cliffs. The walk would have taken hours, but we hailed a taxi and rode it to the peak. The ride cost 13.40 Euro each way and the driver waited for us. We jumped out, marveled at the view, snapped a few dozen photos and then were driven back down to the train station area. We picked up 2 more 99s before we boarded the train back to Dublin.
Once back in Dublin, we freshened up at our hotel and spent the last evening in perfect fashion - at Gogarty's Pub with Darren and Jenny playing live again!
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