couple of Ireland trip notes

by Jay @, San Diego, Thursday, September 07, 2023, 10:12 (520 days ago)
edited by Jay, Friday, September 08, 2023, 07:46

I hit some spots on this trip I hadn't visited before, and had some recs to pass along.

1. Took the ferry out to Inishmore (Aran Islands) and rented bikes to tool around the island. Totally lucked out on the weather; it only sprinkled when we were riding back to the port village, and only lasted about the length of time it took to drink a Guinness at Joe Watty's pub. Highly recommend Inishmore. There's a Bronze Age fortification (Dun Aonghasa) which is fascinating in that even the docents at the modest museum there know little about it. It's craggy and eerie.

2. Not too far from Galway city we took a random detour to hike around Coole Park Nature Reserve, which also features an estate owned by Lady Gregory, a founder of the Abbey Theatre. Gregory used to host artists like Yeats and Shaw for writing and drama workshops. There's a nice cafe in the old courtyard and multiple hiking trails through the reserve.
https://www.coolepark.ie/

3. Also visited the Rock of Cashel in county Tipperary, on which stands an ancient tower and a medieval cathedral. Had always been on the list (along with visiting the town of Kilkenny) and it was really worth it. The Rock is quite dramatic, this ancient ruin perched on a lonely hill. There's another ruined cathedral in the valley about a 30 min hike away, and it was fun to do the whole loop.

4. Nearby Dublin visited the suburb village of Dalkey which was having their annual Lobster Fest. It's about 45 min south on the DART and has a number of nice pubs and restaurants, including the Club bar and restaurant which has a beautiful interior and which was a great place to watch Liverpool vs Newcastle.
https://pub.ie/visit/the-club/

Anyway, just wanted to pass along a few notes from the latest trip to add to the travel tips file for Ireland. In addition to meeting up with a lot of friends from the 91-92 classes, it was great to catch up with KGB and his entourage, as well as meet CW in person for the first time.

Here are a few photos I culled into a short album:
https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0d5M7GFPL1ZGz

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