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| a breezy day at Dún Aonghasa fort on Inishmore, photograph by Joshua Kramer |
Our recent trip to Ireland was truly blessed, with beautiful
weather, fun companions and some of the most breathtaking and inspiring sites
the island has to offer. It was a wonderful return trip for those of us who've been before and had already fallen in love with the Emerald Isle, and a perfect introduction for those traveling there for the first time. If you love
stunning pictures of some of the most striking scenery in the world, then this post
is for you!
We had great service on our Aer Lingus flights May 2, and arrived
in Ireland on May 3 to a light rain that gradually lifted. It was a nice day to spend easing into the
time difference and seeing a bit of Dublin (especially for those who hadn’t
been there before).
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| view of O'Connell Bridge in St Stephen's Green, photograph by Joshua Kramer |
Sightseeing in
Dublin included a stop at the lovely St. Stephen’s Green, where everything was
in bloom (a beautiful contrast to our part of the world where spring was still
just beginning to emerge as we left). We
were clad in our ponchos in case the rain picked up, but it never came to more
than a sprinkling all day.
Further exploration of Dublin led us along Grafton Street and on to
Trinity College, with a visit (of course) to the Book of Kells exhibit and The
Long Room – which is a must for any library lovers! Some of us continued on for a walk to the
northside, along O’Connell Street and beyond before returning to our perfectly
situated lodging for the night, Buswells Hotel.
(We also enjoyed a bit of shopping along the way!) Others in our group went to see a play that
evening at the Gaiety Theater, Sean O’Casey’s The Plough and the Stars.
We enjoyed a drink at the hotel bar before heading out again along
Grafton Street and beyond in search of live music. The sun was just setting and it was almost 9
PM, so we’d had a long day already but were still enthralled by bustling Dublin
enough to go in search of the craic our first night in Ireland. O’Sullivan’s, on Westmoreland Street, became our ultimate destination
for an enjoyable evening of live music. Others
in our group ventured out to several pubs in Dublin, including Arthur’s Pub and
Bruxelles.
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Dublin pubs, photographs by our tour director,
Frances Draxl
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On our second day in Ireland, part of the group enjoyed more sites
around Dublin including the Guinness Storehouse and Temple Bar area via the
hop-on-hop-off bus. They savored
afternoon tea and scones by Dublin Castle, and later enjoyed a night of
traditional Irish music and dancing at the Arlington Hotel with the Celtic
Nights show.
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| having a pint at the Guinness Storehouse, photograph by Marlene Lang |
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| at Dublin Castle, photograph by Marlene Lang |
The rest of our group went on a private tour with our amazing
guide for the day, Malachy Quinn of My Irish Cousin (http://myirishcousin.com/). Malachy
gave us a wonderfully informative driving tour of Dublin before taking us south
through the neighboring towns of Dun Laoghaire and Dalkey. We enjoyed beautiful weather to enhance the
stunning coastal views and continued through County Wicklow to Powerscourt
Estate.
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| Powerscourt Estate and waterfall, photographs by Joshua Kramer |
With a brief stop at the estate,
we enjoyed the impressive fountain and walked around the pond it’s centered in
before continuing on to Powerscourt Waterfall. On my last trip to Ireland I’d enjoyed touring the beautiful
gardens at Powerscourt but had been on too tight of a schedule (along with the
weather not fully cooperating) to venture out to the waterfall, so this was a
huge treat for me to finally make it to the towering falls. The Powerscourt Waterfall is the highest in
Ireland, cascading down nearly 400 feet.
And we enjoyed some of the trees in the area too, especially a monkey
puzzle tree (a favorite for one of our group members).
We had lunch at a truly amazing restaurant, The Wicklow Heather (https://wicklowheather.ie/). The weather was so lovely that we ate
outside, enjoying delicious meals and taking some time to visit the Irish
Writers Room. Authors represented in
their extensive collection of first edition and signed books include Oscar
Wilde, James Joyce, Bram Stoker, W.B. Yeats and Samuel Beckett.
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| Glendalough, photograph by Joshua Kramer |
After that delightful stop, we proceeded on to Glendalough. My first visit to Glendalough had been in a
fairly heavy rain, which honestly (along with the sound of the uilleann pipes) only added to an aura of spiritual charm this 6th
century monastic site offered.
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| Glendalough, photographs by Joshua Kramer |
This
trip; however, we had beautiful sunshine all day, which didn’t deter a bit from
enjoying the monastic city and allowed us to explore some of the many hiking
trails. We enjoyed our time at the two
lakes and a pleasantly shady walk down along the waterfall on one of the nine walking/hiking trails.
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| along hiking trail and the upper lake at Glendalough, photographs by Joshua Kramer |
We finished our evening with some wonderful fish ‘n’ chips at
O’Shea’s (http://www.osheashotel.com/) at the
corner of Talbot Street and Lower Gardiner Street on the northside of
Dublin. This was a chance for me to show
the rest of our smaller group one of my favorite dinner spots on my last trip
to Ireland (as I’d been staying just up the street and enjoyed a meal at
O’Shea’s more than once after a long day of seeing the sites in Dublin).
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| Buswells Hotel in Dublin, photograph by Marlene Lang |
The next morning, we enjoyed our second Irish breakfast complete
with eggs, bacon, kippers and a wide array of breads, cereals and fruit. Buswells definitely offered a nice meal to
get us ready for a long day of touring!
We then left busy Dublin for our drive to Killarney with stops at
The Rock of Cashel and Blarney Castle on the way. Again it was heavenly weather, better than
anyone dared expect, as our pictures can attest.
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| the Rock of Cashel, photographs by Joshua Kramer |
The Rock of Cashel was a new and much anticipated stop for me, and
it certainly did not disappoint. The
views were heartwarmingly beautiful, including a lovely view of the town below
and of the nearby abbey. And the
interior of the cathedral was impressive and inspiring. On a future trip I may plan a full day there
to allow time to walk down to the abbey and enjoy the lovely town of Cashel.
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| view Cistercian monastery from the Rock of Cashel, photograph by Joshua Kramer |
We took in some lovely Irish scenery in County Tipperary as we
made our way to Blarney Castle.
The
gardens were gorgeous on the sunny day we had there, and we took some time to
walk along the paths circling the castle.
Several members of the group went to the top of the castle, though few
chose to kiss the Blarney Stone, which is a bit of a feat as you have to lay on
your back and dangle over the edge (while being held onto, of course) to do
so. And after some shopping at the
Woolen Mills we proceeded on to Killarney and our favorite lodging of the tour,
Killarney Lodge (https://killarneylodge.ie/).
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| views of Blarney Castle, photographs by Marlene Lang |
Dinner that evening was a huge treat as we returned to a pub I’d
visited on my first trip to Killarney and ate at the restaurant there,
Hannigan’s. I remembered the pub portion
of the building for its terrific live Irish music and wonderful atmosphere, and
the restaurant was just as grand. Our
waiter was fabulous with all the charm of the Irish. The meals were phenomenal from the seafood
pancake to the lamb shank to the cod scampi, everything was perfect. Their desserts are homemade and superb … the
chocolate cake is sinfully rich while the apple pie has the lightest of crusts
sprinkled with powdered sugar. It was
such a treat, we returned the next night for another perfect meal with
impeccable service.
As the evening
wore on there was live music in the pub just behind our booth, including an
Irish harp as part of one ensemble. Another part of our group also enjoyed some live music in the Killarney pubs, including our bus driver Sean joining a group of local musicians.
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| live music in Killarney, photograph by Marlene Lang |
Just walking the streets of Killarney the one night and hearing
wonderful music from buskers and at pubs like the Danny Mann was a great
experience. Others in our group also
enjoyed some traditional music at the Killarney Grand.
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| at our favorite lodging of the tour, Killarney Lodge, photograph by Joshua Kramer |
Killarney Lodge offered a welcoming atmosphere, lovely rooms,
great service and a terrific breakfast each morning. Along with the wide array of breads and
fruits there was a nice menu of hot entrees, including the usual favorites,
like eggs and bacon, as well as, some unique offerings, like cinnamon toast
with bananas. The owner and staff were
extremely friendly, and helpful with laundry service arrangements and mailing
postcards for members of our group.
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| views along the Ring of Kerry, photographs by Frances Draxl |
The next day we modified our itinerary (one of the perks of being
a private group). Rather than a full day
driving around the Ring of Kerry, we opted to visit nearby Kenmare, see a few
scenic sites in the area and then spend some time in Killarney National
Park. Our driver was very helpful in
arranging all of this, and it allowed us to get in a little bit of
everything: from gorgeous scenery, to a
shopping and enjoying another great town in Ireland, to enjoying hiking trails
or a jaunting car ride in some beautiful areas.
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| Kenmare shops, photograph by Marlene Lang |
Kenmare was as charming as the travel forums I frequent promised. Our morning stop there gave us a chance to do
a bit of shopping and try out some local craft beer during our lunch at
Foley’s. We walked along the colorful
main streets, stopping into small and large gift shops, antique and craft shops
and a chocolatier.
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| view near Sneem, photograph by Joshua Kramer |
After lunch we continued on to see a nice coastal view near Sneem
before heading back to Killarney with stops at Molls Gap and Ladies View for
the beautiful scenery there. It was a
bit crowded on the roads due to a rally being held that day, but we still saw
some beautiful views.
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| views of lake near Ross Castle, photographs by Joshua Kramer |
Once back at Killarney, some of our group went to Ross Castle to
enjoy hiking trails in that area while others visited Muckross House in
Killarney National Park. Those visiting
Muckross House enjoyed a tour of the area by jaunting car, including a stop at Muckross Friary. It was a very full day, but some of us still
felt up for dressing up a bit and returning to Hannigan’s for another wonderful
dinner.
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| jaunting car ride through Killarney National Park, photograph by Frances Draxl |
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| Muckross Friary, photograph by Marlene Lang |
Leaving Killarney the next day, we made an extra stop on our way
to Bunratty Castle at the small town of Adare.
Adare was highly recommended for being a quaint town with many thatched
roof buildings, but some of us were even more taken with Adare Trinitarian
Abbey (http://monastic.ie/history/adare-trinitarian-abbey/), which
is still in use as a Catholic church. We
also visited the Adare Heritage Centre, a few local shops in lovely thatched
roof buildings and Adare Park. Before
leaving lovely Adare, some of our group enjoyed an Irish coffee at Auntie
Lena’s Bar.
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| Adare Trinitarian
Abbey, photograph by Joshua Kramer |
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| thatched roof in Adare, photograph by Frances Draxl |
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| thatched roofs and flowers in Adare, photographs by Marlene Lang |
We continued on to Bunratty Castle & Folk Park with a tour of
the castle followed by free time exploring the folk park.
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| Bunratty Castle, photograph by Marlene Lang |
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| inside Bunratty Castle, photographs by Joshua Kramer |
Some highlights of our time in the folk park
included a nice walk to the little church, a stop at the tea room where we
relaxed at the tables outside and meeting some Irish wolfhounds along the
village street. Some of our group also
visited Durty Nelly’s pub nearby.
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| Bunratty Castle folk park, pictures by Joshua Kramer |
We spent the night in Limerick with a stop to view King John’s
Castle and see the Treaty Stone before proceeding to our hotel.
We stayed at the Clayton Hotel with views of the River Shannon. While some of our group enjoyed the hotel
restaurant, others ventured out to The Glen Tavern for some fish & chips
and Irish stew.
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| Treaty Stone in Limerick, photograph by Marlene Lang |
Already we were off the next morning with a full day ahead. One of our participants had asked at the
beginning of our trip about stopping at St. Brigid’s Well near the Cliffs of
Moher, so we’d checked with our driver and it all seemed fated. Sean, our driver, had just been to the well for
the first time the week before meeting our group and was quite taken with
it.
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| statue at St Brigid's Well in Liscannor, photograph by Joshua Kramer |
St. Brigid’s Well in Liscannor is only a short distance from the
Cliffs of Moher. It was a lovely spot to
stop at both for a chance to collect some holy water from the well and just to
see the lovely flowers and statue of St. Brigid. There is a cemetery above, and the walls
leading to the well are lined with countless mementos, rosaries and
pictures. The well is one of at least 15
wells dedicated to St. Brigid in Ireland, but it is one of the oldest whose
waters have been rumored to possess healing properties. It was a very moving stop for many of us.
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| Cliffs of Moher, photographs by Joshua Kramer |
We continued on to the Cliffs of Moher and enjoyed some amazing
views of the cliffs on a beautifully sunny, yet slightly windy, day. Part of our group ventured to O’Brien’s Tower
while others enjoyed a long walk along the cliff edge. I also found one of my favorite souvenirs at
the gift shop, a silver ring with a large piece of Connemara marble in the
center.
With our Aran Island’s tour scheduled the next day (our final full
day in Ireland), we were lamenting missing out on seeing the Connemara
region. I had been in 2009, and fallen
in love with Connemara – from the beautiful scenery to the gorgeous green
marble, and especially with spots like Kylemore Abbey. We discussed another itinerary change with
our driver, and after concluding that Kylemore Abbey was too far away to fit
into our afternoon, we decided to travel to Cong and visit Ashford Castle.
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| Ashford Castle, photograph by Frances Draxl |
Ashford Castle was another new stop for me, as well as the rest of
the group. The grounds are absolutely
beautiful with gardens and wooded areas.
The castle is famous for its role in the movie The Quiet Man, and is a five-star hotel (named the best hotel in
the world in 2015 by luxury travel network Virtuoso). The castle also offers unique experiences
such as a hawk walk at the school of falconry and an impressive afternoon tea.
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| Ashford Castle gardens, photographs by Joshua Kramer |
We spent the night in Galway, right on Eyre Square, so it was easy
to stroll down the pedestrian streets to a favorite pub from our last trip to
Ireland, The King’s Head. It was a busy
night there, but the food was still excellent.
And our table was just above the live music area so that we could look
down over the banister right to the stage area below.
Our final full day in Ireland was devoted to my favorite
experience of the tour, a tour of Inishmore, the largest of the Aran
Islands. The weather threatened to be
wet and windy that morning, but I like to think that St. Brigid was with us as
it cleared up not long after we reached Inishmore and was absolutely perfect
for our tour of the island.
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| Inishmore, photograph by Joshua Kramer |
After a ferry ride out to the island we took a local bus tour,
with a wonderfully informative and friendly guide, which included a stop at the
Seven Churches. These ruins, made up of
the remnants of several buildings, two of which were actually churches, were an
early Irish pilgrimage site. This was a
very moving place for many of us. The
oldest buildings date back to the 7th or 8th
century. The largest of the buildings,
St Breacan’s Church, has some impressive stonework in several areas including
the altar.
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| Seven Churches and Dún Aonghasa fort on Inishmore, photographs by Joshua Kramer |
Another highlight of our time on Inishmore was taking the path up
to Dún Aonghasa, a stone fort
with wondrous views from the sea cliffs.
The walk takes about 20 minutes and is easy at first but then a bit
challenging near the end with many rocks to negotiate during the steepest
ascent. All of the effort is truly worth
it for the reward of such amazing views from the fort. The wind was high and there is no barrier at
the edge of the cliffs, so it could easily be a risky spot if you venture too
close to the edge, but our pictures looking out at the ocean and down toward
the rest of the island are stunning.
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| view from Dún Aonghasa fort on Inishmore, photograph by Joshua Kramer |
We finished our
time on Inishmore enjoying tea and a light lunch and shopping at several gift
shops, many with handmade Aran sweaters, a truly sought after souvenir. I enjoyed talking with the shop owners, and
found many beautiful sweaters for myself and my children, as well as, an
adorable Christmas ornament of a miniature Aran sweater.
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| woolens shop on Inishmore, photograph by Frances Draxl |
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| view from ferry of Aran Island lighthouse, photograph by Joshua Kramer |
It had been quite late when we finished dinner our first night in
Galway, so we missed out on shopping, but we returned to the pedestrian area
the next evening (our last in Ireland) and found a lovely gift shop with an
amazing selection of Connemara marble souvenirs, including worry stones (which
I had been searching for), an impressive Celtic cross and beautiful rosaries,
some even made by the shop’s owner. The
owner was very pleasant to talk with and even recommended a restaurant
nearby.
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| Irish landscape, photograph by Joshua Kramer |
On our final morning we enjoyed the scenery on our drive from
Galway to Shannon airport, struggling to accept having to say goodbye to such a
beautiful and moving country. I think I
can honestly say that every member of our group had already begun planning for
and dreaming of future trips to Ireland even before we reached the airport that
day. It’s just one of those captivating
places that keeps a piece of your heart and beacons you back.
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| Irish landscape, photograph by Joshua Kramer |
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