Luck of the Irish
- jennylynncotton
- Jun 28, 2024
- 5 min read
Updated: Jun 28, 2024
Date of Trip: August 2023
Number of Days: 9
Who went: Jenn & Terry
Terry traveled to Dublin for the European U23 Swimming Championship (he is a coach), I tagged along!
Top takeaways if you are planning a similar trip:
Because of the meet, we had to stay in Dublin for the first 5 days of our trip. To be honest, we found Dublin to be underwhelming. I think you need 2 days max in Dublin. The beauty of this country is outside of the big city!
The 3 must-do things in Dublin = Guinness Storehouse, Kilmainham Goal (requires advance planning) and the Jameson Distillery.
Ireland likes castles... so much you can stay in them as hotels. Super cool experience!
Be prepared to drive on the "wrong" side of the road. Further, the steering wheel is on the "wrong" side of the car.
We spent five days in Dublin... here is what we did (in order of my favorites):
Guinness Storehouse - Definitely a touristy thing to do, but we really enjoyed it! There is an interesting self-guided tour that takes you through the history of Guinness and how it shaped Irish history.
We opted for the Guinness Academy experience, which included a class on how to pour the perfect pint.
Kilmainham Gaol Museum - This is an old prison turned into a National Monument that is definitely worth a visit!
Tickets are released 28 days in advance (plan ahead!) for a guided tour that we found fascinating.
Jameson Distillery Bow Street - The whiskey factory was founded in 1780 and now stands as a "monument to Irish Whiskey."
We opted for the Whiskey Cocktail Making Class (we learned how to make strawberry sours and old fashions, both delicious!) which was a lot of fun.
Dun Laoghaire People's Park Market - We were in Dublin on a Sunday and took the opportunity to drive to the coastal town of Dun Laoghaire (pronounced Done Leary) for their weekly farmer's market. We enjoyed walking along the pier and exploring the local foods and goods.
Escape Boats - We love a good escape room, and this one looked unique. We did the original experience (SOS), which was private (just us) and took place on the boat. We had fun and managed to escape!
St. Patrick's Cathedral - This is Ireland's largest church. It stands on the spot where St. Patrick himself reputedly baptized the local Celtic chieftains in the 5th Century. It's beautiful. We also enjoyed sitting in the park outside the church and watching the locals with their dogs (there were many of them).
Trinity College - We walked around the beautiful Trinity College campus. We did not pre-book the opportunity to see the Book of Kells (we should have), and it was sold out. The college is just a few blocks and an easy detour from Grafton Street, which is the main shopping strip in the city.
EPIC Irish Emigration Museum - This museum tells the story of the Irish people. It's got some interesting exhibits and truly highlights the strife of the nation.
Marsh's Library - This was Ireland's first public library. You can no longer borrow books... but you can see the original bookcases with more than 25,000 rare books. This is right next to St. Patrick's... so if you're already there, it's worth going next door.
We found a few great food/drink options in Dublin:
Bubble Waffle Factory - Terry declared this his favorite dessert of all times, and still talks about it today. I think we got at least 3 of them while we were there.
Variety Jones - We loved this six-course set menu in a small inconspicuous restaurant on Thomas Street. You'll need to plan ahead, but doing so will pay off. We found this to be inventive and delicious... and it didn't break the bank!
The Blind Pig - Super fun speakeasy that you access by pulling on a pig statue on a bookshelf in the Pacino's restaurant cellar. You need reservations to get the exact location.
Ryleigh's - We had a lovely lunch at this rooftop steakhouse which is right on River Liffey.
After the meet, we had 4 days to explore the Irish countryside. This is such a beautiful country, we truly enjoyed the time we spent outside Dublin! Day 1 - Kilkenny/Dromoland
We left Dublin and headed to the charming town of Kilkenny. This is a popular tour spot (lots of busses from Dublin), we were surprised at how busy it was. We had a lovely lunch at The Fig Tree before heading to the grounds of Kilkenny Castle.
We wandered around Kilkenny checking out the shops before making our way to St. Canice's Cathedral & Round Tower. We bought the ticket to climb the (very narrow) round tower (not recommended if you have claustrophobia!) We both thought it was a fun experience.
From Kilkenny, we made our way to Dromoland. Here we (SPLURGE!) spent 2 nights in a castle! We arrived and had dinner at the Golf Club before finding a roaring fireplace in the cocktail lounge to unwind. We could get used to staying in a castle.
Day 2 - Exploring Dromoland
We had a lovely day taking advantage of castle living. We started with a nice morning walk on the gorgeous golf course before having an amazing breakfast in the dining room.
First up was Falconry where we headed to the aviary to meet the hawks and learn more about these magnificent creatures.
Pickles the barn owl was our favorite!
After leaving our new feathered friends, we took on Clay Shooting on the castle grounds.
We both did better than we expected!
We had leisurely afternoon at the castle before a delicious dinner in the main dining room. We ended the evening with some live Irish folk music as the backdrop to our mean game of SkipBo. We loved Dromoland!
Day 3 - Cliffs of Moher/Doolin
If you do any research on visiting Ireland, you will stumble upon information for the Cliffs of Moher. This is Ireland's #1 tourist attraction, and it's easy to see why. Lots of people choose to visit the Cliffs from the visitor center by bus from Dublin.
We ventured off the beaten path and chose to walk up them instead. We arrived in the small coastal town of Doolin early. We had booked a lovely lodge where they allowed us to park even though it wasn't time for checkin.
We then started up the 4 mile one-way Doolin Cliff Walk, which was spectacular. If you are physically able, this is far better than driving to the visitor center!
We had pre-ordered a picnic, which we picked up at the visitor center and ate at a picnic table. Note that you don't really need to pre-order, you could just pick up the items at the cafe when you arrive.
We spent some time at the visitor center learning about the cliffs before taking a taxi back to Doolin. It was time to see the magnificent 700 foot cliffs from the water.
The Doolin Ferry was a fantastic experience and a great way to get a new perspective on this natural marvel.
It was obvious that most people chose to make the Cliffs a one-day experience, as Doolin was not at all touristy. We walked to this pub recommended by our host for the single best Irish pub meal we had all week.
Our accommodations in Doolin were lovely, we enjoyed a hot tub overlooking the sea, which was a great way to unwind from our busy day.
Day 4 - Doolin/Back to Dublin
After breakfast in Doolin, we headed to the Doolin Pitch and Putt. This was not on our original itinerary, but once we saw it we knew we had to play.
I don't golf... but even I had a blast on this par 3 course with an incredible view.
We even got to play with some Irish cows!
After golf we headed back to Dublin for our last night and grabbed an early dinner and stroll (and one last Bubble Waffle!). Our flight home was early the next morning.
Comments