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Two weeks in Ireland – September 2015
Bebe, Howie, Dana and Claude flew out of Montreal on September 9th arriving in Dublin the next day. Exploring on foot Bebe spotted this bus. We finished day 1 with a meal at Il Baccaro. Our Dublin hotel for two nights was the Arlington on Bachelor’s Walk by the River Liffey.
On day 2 using the hop-on-hop-off buses we did a tour of the Guinness storehouse (including the rooftop bar) and the National Museum. And later in the day Trinity College.
On day 3 we picked up our rental car and with Dana at the wheel headed for Kilkenny and the Laurels B&B then explored the grounds of Kilkenny Castle.
After breakfast on day 4 we headed to Kilarney stopping in Tipperary to see the Rock of Cashel with its 12th-century tower and Gothic cathedral. We arrived that afternoon at the Glean Fla Country house in Kilarney where we would spend two nights.
Day 5 took us southwest along the Ring of Kerry to Kenmare where we lunched at the Jam Deli before taking a ferry past the harbor seals to Garnish Island.
Before heading north from Kilarney we visited the 19th century Muckross House and gardens.
Heading north toward the Dingle Peninsula we drove along the coast past the beautiful beach at Inch arriving in Dingle Town at Sraid Eoin House B&B for a two night stay.
The following morning we followed Slea Head Drive on the Dingle Peninsula, beach walking, lunch at the Stonehouse Restaurant, visiting the Dún Beag Fort and the beehive huts. In the evening we explored Dingle Town and watched Dana and Claude perform at Foxy John’s Hardware Pub.
On September 17, day 8 of our trip, we crossed the River Shannon by car ferry and arrived at the spectacular Cliffs of Moher. We explored a few of the 18 km. of walking trails that extend along the cliffs from Doolin to Liscannor before checking in for two nights at Dubhlin House in Doolin.
The following day we explored the Burren National Park and were particularly pleased with a stop at Birds of Prey Centre where we saw a falcon and an eagle sent high into the sky and return when the bait was dropped on the ground. That afternoon we returned to the Cliffs of Moher to view the cliffs from a boat in the sea below them.
On Saturday, September 19 we drove to Strokestown to visit The Irish National Famine Museum before heading to Donegal for the night at Wild Atlantic B&B.
On Sunday we crossed into Northern Ireland and made our way to Port Stewart for a two night stay at The Whinns.
From Port Stewart we visited the Giant’s Causeway where an ancient volcanic eruption created 40,000 interlocking basalt columns. That day also included a tour of Bushmills Distillery.
On Tuesday, September 22, we traveled to Belfast stopping to view the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge which connects the mainland with the island of Carrickarede.
In Belfast we spent hours at the Titanic museum which took us through the design, construction, fitting out, maiden voyage, sinking and recent discovery 12,000 ft. down.. We finished the day at the Trim Castle Hotel about 30 miles NW of Dublin.
On Wednesday we returned the car to the airport and taxied into Dublin where Dana and Claude picked up a train to a ferry that would take them to France for two more weeks of music. Bebe and I did our last bit of Dublin site seeing before returning to an airport hotel for our last night in Ireland.