7 Nights in Ireland
Ireland is much, much more than the fanciful home of leprechauns and inebriated redheads that pop culture can make it out to be. It is a place of pleasant beauty and serene landscapes, duplicitous weather and surprising harshness. A place of history, inhabited by spirited souls with great pride and a sense of themselves as a people.
There is a duplicity in Ireland in the fact that it is green and verdant, yet not a great place to sustain a large group of people through the raising of crops. Staple foods do not do well in much of Ireland due to weather, soil quality, and overall terrain. It is, almost entirely, an excellent and beautiful pastureland, however. Hence, there are many cows and sheep grazing the land, practically free in the country despite the innumerable hedges and fences. The land these animals graze is green and lush and full of life, and the lack of natural predators makes them an adorable and inseparable facet of the landscape.
We spent 7 nights on this Emerald Isle, all of them far too short for proper enjoyment of a place so jam packed with interesting tidbits. We began and ended in Dublin, for that is where the cheap flights usually originate, and saw nearly every one of the 26 counties of Ireland in the interim, as well as the 6 counties of Northern Ireland. While you CAN get around with public transportation it is much faster and more convenient to drive, so we did. We also wanted to experience the Wild Atlantic Way, which in our opinion may be the best road in the world.
The Guinness Experience
We began at the Guinness Storehouse, mere hours after we landed as we wanted to perpetuate some stereotypes, and did the Guinness Experience (follow the link for an article ). The self guided tour was well laid out and in-depth, offering many entertaining displays and informational explanations. There is a restaurant, gift shop, and a café, as well as a 360 degree observation deck with 2 bars on the 7th floor. The view is probably the best of Dublin that you’ll find outside the Wicklow Mountains to the south. The price of the tour includes at least one Guinness at the end. A neat and optional touch (for a price) is the option to have your face printed on the foam of your pint, which may sound conceited but it was actually pretty neat.
Our first day we spent in Dublin but our first night we spent in Athlone, two hours west of the capital, which has a river and old churches and forts and all that. It also has a pub named Sean’s Bar, which is why we were there. The name might sound mundane, but it is the oldest bar in the world, and boy is it underwhelming if you are looking for flashing lights, excitement, and dance floors. If you’re expecting a nice pub that has been around forever, it’ll be just what you’re looking for. Despite how normal it looks from the outside, it was a cozy place for a pint and had big rooms back behind the front room, so you could pack hundreds in there fairly comfortably should the need arise, as it does. There is another pub back in Dublin called the Brazen Head that also claims to be the oldest bar in the world, but for a different reason.
Sean’s Bar is the oldest, continuously serving bar in the world, dating back to 900 AD, though the building has been updated many times. The Brazen Head’s claim refers to the physical building it occupies, which dates back to the 18th century, much later than Sean’s Bar, but still impressive. To settle the matter to your own satisfaction, we suggest you patronize both yourself. We suggest a Guinness of course, or maybe a Murphey’s Red.
Blarney Castle
From Athlone we drove south to Cork, taking in the absolutely beautiful countryside as we did. The Vee Pass, Kilcooney Mountain and the Mahon Falls, and the Rock of Cashel were in our path, and we absorbed them into our day in turn.
Vee Pass is a drive through kind of thing, though you can get out and look around of course. Make sure it is blooming season if you put this on your list though, otherwise it is a bit underwhelming.
Kilclooney Mountain and Mahon Falls are not great attractions perhaps, but they are gorgeous and offer great views of both land and sea without great, long hikes. There is still a hike but it is not as arduous, nor does it take all day.
Cork is a nice city and there is a nice English Market, an indoor farmers market with lots of food and local wares. In nearby Blarney is the world famous Blarney Stone, around which is built the lesser known Blarney Castle, and grounds. This is an all day activity, for the grounds are extensive and beautiful. There is a garden there exclusively for poisonous plants, and another for carnivorous plants.
The Old Head of Kinsale lies south of the city of Cork, and marks the land and lighthouse closest to the sinking of the Lusitania, which occurred about 12 miles offshore. Unfortunately there is a private golf course on the actual headland, but there are some stunning cliffs to walk just before it, and they are beautiful. There is a nice café just west called the Bean and Berry which has good coffee, smoothies, and scones as well as a great profile view of the cliffs.
We had a lot of miles to cover that day and had planned on seeing the Liss Ard Sky Garden, ancient tombs, and standing stones. We had over planned though and had to skip those items to make our next stop for the night.
Much to the west and north stand the Kerry Cliffs. We drove in the afternoon and fading evening through the Highlands of Kerry, which is now one of our favorite places on God’s good Earth. Grass and rock cover miles and miles of tall, undulating hills that are riddled with rock between which waves unending seas of yellow-green grass. Driving through the green and yellow and black in the golden hour before dark on one good lane of Irish road was a feast for the eyes and the heart. We could spend many hours cruising along at walking speed there and not grow weary of it.
We stayed the night in Cahersiveen, a small town 20 minutes east of the Kerry Cliffs. Our accommodation was part boarding house, part former pub, and all interesting. The only tenant we met was the dog, but we heard a few others. It was nice enough and the town was quiet, with a few other travelers that we noted. In the morning we eschewed visiting the Cliffs for an earlier start at our main objective that day, summiting Carrauntoohil. The Cliffs, Carrauntoohil, and many other popular destinations are on private land, and therefore are subject to different time constraints or rules. Access to the Kerry Cliffs wasn’t available until 9 am that day, and that was too late for us to tarry and still meet our other goals. As we still had the Cliffs of Moher ahead of us, we pressed on.
View from Carrauntoohil
The highest peak in Ireland, though not really that high at 3,407 ft, Carrauntoohil takes as long to summit as some fourteeners in Colorado. The same highland landscape dominates the view and there are sheep and goats aplenty grazing the mountainsides, mocking the feeble efforts of would-be adventurers.
Lough Cummeenoughter
Our hike took 3.5 hours up and 2.5 hours down, including stops at some lakes and the summit.
On the way up we were able to dip a toe in the highest lake in Ireland, Lough Cummeenoughter; if you say that correctly while standing in it, a small Irish man appears to give you a pint glass of gold. No such luck for us though. Too many consonants, vowels, and phlegm.
Cliffs of Moher
We conquered our mountain and made for the town of Doolin, bypassing the Dingle Peninsula on the way due to time constraints. That night we stayed in a quaint hostel on the banks of the Aille River. Before bed we wanted to see the Cliffs of Moher, and because of the late hour, were alone for a while at the edge of the sea. Moher is grand, and beautiful, and terrible at night when the sun is setting and the sky is clouded over. In the morning we went back, and it was a splendid, clear day. There were many snails on the walk along the Cliffs, which follows them along for miles. We walked for many of those miles, and back, taking pictures and enjoying the majesty of the ocean’s handiwork. Across the water you can see the Aren Islands in the near distance; it is possible to take a ferry to them.
The Burren
From the wet cliffs of the sea we headed for the land of the Burren, the dry and rocky wasteland that holds a surprising amount of life, though not the life that sustains people. An English soldier in the 17th century once stated that the Burren was: “... a country where there is not water enough to drown a man, wood enough to hang one nor earth enough to bury one…”
And that would sum it in the 17th century. Today it is much nicer to visit for modern people with the ability to drive away whenever we want.
Nowadays we know that 70% of the flora found in Ireland grows in the Burren. It just isn’t a place to plant any kind of large amount of people on or sustain them through agriculture. In places it looks like an alien landscape, with many rocky, white and gray expanses and a few dominant hills barren of trees.
Galway was next on our list, but to be honest we were disappointed as we were expecting something more romantic and less commercialized. There is not a lot in the way of grand gesture or statement about Galway. It was a bit boring, but perhaps it needs a second chance. The Salthill Promenade and Spanish Arch are shorter and smaller than we imagined, but that goes to show how important expectations are. There were certainly plenty of people around Quay Street, where you’ll find the restaurants and shops for tourists.
That night we drove to Boyle and enjoyed a night in the cutest place we have stayed yet, with some kind sweet hosts. A farmhouse with terriers and a single herding dog who was not too fond of strangers. The proprietors of our stay were most welcoming, and had a gorgeous view of the countryside, and let us make tea and toast in the morning, after which we made our way to Sligo. This town was delightfully, surprisingly, fun. It was nice to walk by the Garvoge River in the sun and go to the Sligo Museum. We wended northward after stopped at the grave of W.B. Yeats, the famous Irish poet and politician. Donegal was next and then St. John’s Point Lighthouse and the beach nearby. You can reserve the lighthouse through the National Trust as a palace to spend a few nights, though it is a bit pricey and best to do as a group.
Further along the Wild Atlantic Way, for we had been on again off again acquaintances with this most eminent of roads, is Slieve League, an area of mountain and cliff and sea. Gorgeous slopes leak into the water and the hills hide quaint, little communities that work in wool and peat and tweed.
Errigal
Driving north through County Donegal we passed Errigal, though we did not have time to stop and climb. We will return for that one day, as the peak is singular, imposing, steep, and visible for many miles in every direction. North of Errigal is Horn Head, where we stopped for some time along yet more cliffs. We ended our day’s travels in Derry, of Derry Girls fame.
We went out that night to see what city life was like but apparently Derry is a party town after dark and that is not our scene. The pubs and bars were packed with stag and hen parties, so we got some Chinese takeout and called it a night. While the inhabitants were recovering in the morning we walked the town walls of Derry, which are the longest city walls still standing in Ireland, making a complete circuit though Derry outgrew its protective boundary long ago.
a FULL Irish
We also had, not our first nor our only, Full Irish Breakfast. Notice the capital letters, out of respect for the Hobbit in all of us, that delights in good food and a comfortable place in which to enjoy it. Though blood sausage (the black circle in this picture) isn’t going to be added to my standing order, the rest was impeccable. We had the best mocha of our stay in Derry as well. In France, and Italy, and Belgium, and all the other European countries we have been in, mochas are hard to come by. In Ireland and the UK though, they are served everywhere which is another mark in their favor. If there are two things I love they are food, coffee, and chocolate.
Mussenden Temple
Derry is located in Northern Ireland, a completely separate country these days from the Republic of Ireland, or Southern Ireland as they said in those places. We traveled through this new country to the Downhill Domain, where the Mussenden Temple stands. A curious estate that had fallen into disrepair, it is now a curiosity to be enjoyed by all. On this estate is the Mussenden Temple, which was actually a library on the cliffs by the sea. At one time it was possible to ride in a carriage around the Temple, but Nature has eroded the cliff so that even walking around it is no longer possible.
Giant’s Causeway
The Giant’s Causeway is a short trip from there, only about 15 minutes. We must admit that this was a bit of a letdown, similar to Galway and for similar reasons. We expected much and there wasn’t. It would take a long while to walk to from town and it costs a little bit to park at the actual coast. I suppose this is one of those places that have been raised up and talked about so much our expectations were too high. There is only a relatively small section of the unique basalt columns reaching into the ocean. On reflection our enjoyment of that morning has increased, so again, perhaps the Causeway warrants a second chance.
Afterwards, a very short trip away, we were at Old Bushmills Distillery. Old Bushmills makes a sumptuous whiskey. They are the oldest licensed whiskey distillery in the world, having been granted a license by King James I in April of 1608. The license was technically granted to the River Bush, but the numerous distilleries composing the heavenly dew there banded together to create Old Bushmills some time after the license was granted. The tour is quite good, though we suggest attending on a weekday when the distillery is running to see more of the processes in action. They take the weekends off, so the machinery was quiet and in that way our tour was more leisurely than most.
Our travels took us thence through a bit of Westeros, as we stopped at the Dark Hedges and sat on the Glass Throne in Belfast, capital of Northern Ireland. From the land of the Game of Thrones we stepped into Narnia and C.S. Lewis Square, and then ran out of time and made haste south, again toward Dublin.
In the Irish city we saw a tree eating a bench, the Famine Memorial, walked the streets of the Temple Bar and Trinity College, and waltzed through Phoenix Park, where fallow deer herd in the hundreds. We also visited the National Botanical Gardens, which are delightfully free and exceedingly good for the price. We could have spent 6 hours there and been perfectly happy.
That completed our trip, and there are many details left out. After, we had stops in Copenhagen and Oslo, and we had no preconceived notions of those and so were pleasantly surprised by the reality of both.
As for Ireland, though we saw much, there is so much more left undone that we will surely return, forewarned and forearmed against any possibility of disappointment after such a lovely time.
