Ireland

Ireland is one of those places where I just feel at home from the first moment I feel the Irish air on my face. Hearing the lovely Irish brogue and announcements over the intercom asking for people named Seamus, Siobhan, and Kathleen makes me smile. And the people are the kindest, happiest, funnest, and funniest people I’ve ever met. Oh, and the food is totally underrated. What’s better than fresh clam chowder and soda bread with a Guinness??!!

First trip (2013)

My first trip to the Emerald Isle was with my favorite people – my kids and my parents. We landed in Dublin airport and rented a huge van to explore the countryside. That was our first mistake but at least we knew enough to get the full insurance package on the van. More on that later. We were jetlagged but started out on the Hop On/Hop Off bus tour in Dublin which I highly recommend. It hits all the main tourist attractions but gives you time to explore or skip each at your leisure. The highlights for me were St. James Gate Brewery and Guinness Storehouse, Kilmainham Gaol (“Jail”), and Phoenix Park.

Phoenix Park is an enormous, gorgeous park in Dublin. It includes beautiful gardens and monuments to Ireland’s historical figures. Think Central Park in New York, but on steroids. We also ate at the famous Brazen Head, Ireland’s oldest pub which dates back to 1198. Incredible!

As with traveling to any place, I believe it is important to learn about the culture and pay homage to the people who contributed to what it is today. For a population who is overwhelmingly light-hearted, happy, welcoming, and fun, Irish history is filled with occupation, oppression, genocide, and forced starvation by England. A visit to Kilmainham Gaol is well worth it to get the “Cliffs Notes” version of a very small piece of Ireland’s ongoing fight for freedom and independence.

From Dublin, we hopped in our giant van and headed out to the countryside. Please remember that they drive on the left side of the road and the roundabouts in Dublin can be many, many lanes wide with traffic lights for each lane. I was the driver and responsible for my parents’ and kids’ wellbeing. It is an understatement to say that it was stressful and not my best moment. So, to skip the details and cut to the chase, I may or may not have sheared the side mirror off the van because I hit an immovable stone wall that was on the side of a much-too-narrow road. This resulted in “fuck!” from my dad, gasping from my mom, crying kids, and me walking back down the road to collect what was left so that we could return it to the rental car agency. Yay for insurance!

While we explored the countryside, we visited Ashford Castle’s falcons and tried our hands at falconry. We also visited Blarney Castle and waited in line for the chance to kiss the Blarney Stone for good luck.

Second trip (2015)

If there is one thing my friends do well, it’s throw a party! My friend, Kath, collected 20 of her friends and we travelled to Dublin for a 5 day pub crawl. This story is hers to tell but the highlights of the trip for me were the St. James Gate Brewery and Guinness Storehouse (again) (https://www.guinness-storehouse.com/en/home) where we were politely asked to leave, and pub hopping in the Temple Bar District (https://www.visitdublin.com/guides/things-to-do-temple-bar), which is like New Orleans but clean, with better music and nicer, happier people!

Third trip (2016)

The single goal for this trip was spending time with Pops at pubs, listening to music. First, we stayed in a little airbnb in Malahide so we would be close to Dublin and The Merry Ploughboy Pub (www.mpbpub.com) in Rathfarnham. The Merry Ploughboys are friends of the Irish Heritage Center of Cincinnati so we wanted to support them in their own neck of the woods. We also took a quick trip to Howth, my favorite place in Ireland for clam chowder and soda bread! You can’t go wrong at any of the restaurants along the pier.

After a couple days in Dublin, we spent the rest of our time pub hopping through Kilkenny. One of our favorite pubs was The Hole in the Wall (https://www.holeinthewall.ie), a tiny bar housed in the oldest surviving townhouse in Ireland, built in 1582. The main bar fits about 10 people comfortably! We also visited the Smithwick’s brewery (https://www.smithwicksexperience.com) and Kyteler’s Inn (https://www.kytelersinn.com). I’m betting Pops’ favorite place is Lanigan’s Bar (https://www.lanigansgroup.com). The band was rockin’ and Pops made friends with a bachelorette party. He is memorialized in someone’s wedding album somewhere. If you want to hear a Pops story, ask him if he’s ever heard the band, Divil the Bit.

Fourth trip (2018)

The fourth time in Dublin was for work and I was lucky enough to travel with my friend, Maria. We know how to make a work trip fun! We hit the Ferryman (https://www.theferrymantownhouse.ie) and The Brazen Head (https://brazenhead.com), Ireland’s oldest pub, built in 1198. We also squeezed in a quick trip to Howth for a Cliff Walk. While in Howth, we ate some fabulous seafood at The Brass Monkey (https://www.brassmonkey.ie), made some friends at O’Connell’s pub (https://www.oconnellshowth.ie), ended up pulling pints from behind the bar, and barely caught the last train back to Dublin. As Irish luck would have it, we also enjoyed a special dinner with the rest of the conference attendees at St. James Gate Brewery. I love that place!!

And an extra special treat was meeting my favorite Irish friend, Bernie, for lunch.

It’s been a few years since my last trip and I have lots more that I want to explore. I am hoping to spend more time in the northwestern counties of Mayo, Donegal, and Sligo as well as the Aran Islands. More to come!