Hiking Ireland 2 Weeks (15 days)

Arrive Dublin Airport.  Your driver will be awaiting you with a name board in the arrivals hall as you come out of the Customs Hall.   Overview of the city and surroundings, visiting The Phoenix Park, The National Botanic Gardens, The Jewish Museum, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and The Old Jameson Distillery or the Guinness Brewery.

Walking tour of Dublin with a Historian.

Start on  Nassau Street  at Trinity College.   Founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth, among many famous students to attend the college were playwrights Oliver Goldsmith and Samuel Beckett. Trinity's lawns and cobbled quads provide a pleasant haven in the hearth of the city. The major attractions are the Old Library and the Book of Kells, housed in the Treasury.   Exit form the front of the Trinity complex and walk from College Green to Dame St and continue west passing:  

Bank of Ireland, College Green.   The prestigious offices of Ireland's national bank began life as the first purpose-built parliament house in Europe . Completed in 1739 it served as Ireland's Parliament until the Act Of Union in 1801.

The Olympia Theatre - Dating back to the 1800s, this Victorian music hall-style theatre has a capacity of 1,300. It presents an eclectic schedule of variety shows, musicals, operettas, concerts, ballet, comedy, and drama. As a variation, for the late-night crowd, live bands are often featured after regular programs.  A brief diversion here will bring you into the trendy Temple Bar area.

 Across the Street is City Hall.  Erected between 1769 and 1779, and formerly the Royal Exchange. It is a square building in Corinthian style, with three fronts of Portland stone. Since 1852, however it has been the centre of the municipal government. The interior is designed as a circle within a square, with fluted columns supporting a dome shaped roof over the central hall.  Adjacent to City Hall is:  

Dublin Castle.  Built between 1208 and 1220, this complex represents some of the oldest surviving architecture in the city, and was the centre of English power in Ireland for over seven centuries until it was taken of by the Irish Free State in 1922.   Wander through the courtyards and visit what is for many the highlight of Dublin Castle  - the Chester Beatty Library, hiding behind the castle.  It is also an excellent place for lunch.  Cut back to through Stephen Street to

Powerscourt Town House Centre. The townhouse of a famous Georgian family, today the building houses one of the cities nicest shopping centres. In the 1960's major restoration turned it into a centre of specialist galleries, antique shops, jewellery stalls, cafés and the like. Carry on to Grafton Street down the narrow Johnson Court Alley.

Dawson Street.    If open St Anne’s Church is a fascinating stop – look for the remarkable charity of Lord Newtonbutler’s bread shelf  and Laetitia Pilkington’s Memorial.  Carry on to Leinster House where the prehistoric gold in the National Museum  is quite stunning, as is the Yeats Exhibition in the National Library.

Finish in Merrion Square beside Oscar Wilde’s old home at the National Gallery.  

This evening you can join a pub crawl. Colm Quilligan kicks off the Literary Pub Crawl with a song - Waxie's Dargle, with cheerful lines such as "When food is scarce and you see the hearse / You'll know you've died of hunger" - then takes us from the Duke Pub through the cobbled square of Trinity College and into several pubs in a nearby maze of narrow streets. He quotes at ease from Joyce, Behan, Beckett, Yeats and even James Larkin and Flann O'Brien, and although he must have said it all 1,000 times Quilligan is witty, enthusiastic and informative, happy to veer off the mark and into subjects that wouldn't be covered by the city's tourist brochures, such as Eamon de Valera's signing, in 1945, of a condolence book for Adolf Hitler...the Tour has everything - detail, personality and, once the group is tucked inside a quiet pub,  warmth.

Today tour to Powerscourt and Glendalough

A breath of fresh air – head out into the Wicklow Mountains.  Travel along Dublin Bay to Dun Laoghaire.  Pass the James Joyce Tower, & through Dalkey. Home to Bono of U2, Enya, Van Morrison, & Maeve Binchey, Dalkey is also a literary centre and  a heritage town complete with its very own historical castles.  Shaw lived in Torca Cottage on Dalkey Hill. Other literary inhabitants include Flann O’Brien, Hugh Leonard, & Maeve Binchey Discover a mysterious rugged land of doomed granite, purple glens with silvery streams rushing cool and clear from Mountain and bog land to swell the rivers or dash headlong towards the sea "The Garden of Ireland" Visit  Powerscourt, a magnificent period home dating from mid 18th century, overlooking wonderful terraced gardens and an ornamental lake. It is also home to Ireland's premier shopping emporium "Avoca Hand Weavers". Carry on to Glendalough, the magnificent remains of a medieval monastery in a romantic setting in the Wicklow Mountains  and then return to Dublin. There a superb hikes available in Glendalough, all waymarked.  

Miners' Road Walk (Purple Route)  Grade: Easy Distance: 5km Time: 1hr 10 mins

Climb: 20m

This walk skirts one side of the Upper Lake. The trail passes through Scots Pine woodland before reaching the ruined miners' village. Halfway along the trail, the cave known as St. Kevin's Bed can be seen across the lake. Feral goats are common on this walk. Peregrine Falcons may on occasion be seen high in the sky soaring and calling to each other(a high-pitched cry).

Poulanass and St. Kevin's Cell (Bronze Route) Grade: Moderate Distance: 2km

Time: 45 mins Climb: 120m

This trail rises steeply alongside the Poulanass Waterfall, leading you through the Glendalough oak woodlands. It then winds gently down to the site of St. Kevin's Cell. At this point there is a scenic viewpoint overlooking the Upper Lake, which is a good place to birdwatch. A visit to Reefert Church is worthwhile before ending your walk.

Green Road Walk (Green Route) Grade: Easy Distance: 3km Time: 50 mins

Climb: 20m

The Green Road is an easy stroll on mostly flat ground. This walk passes through the Glendalough oak woodlands before dropping down onto the Lower Lake wetland edge. Views up the valley from the boardwalk here are spectacular. Lizards and dragonflies are often seen sunning themselves on the wooden trackway. The wetlands are a valuable breeding place for frogs.

Derrybawn Woodland Trail (Orange Route) Grade: Ramble Distance: 8km

Time: 2hrs Climb: 160m

This trail climbs steeply up alongside the Poulanass Waterfall before leading you to the upper reaches of Derrybawn Mountain. Flanked by larch and pine trees, the route offers magnificent views of the whole Glendalough Valley. Red Squirrels and birds such as Treecreepers are often seen here. In early summer, wood sorrel, bluebells and wood anemones add colour to the woodland floor.

Poulanass (Pink Route) Grade: Moderate Distance: 1.7 km Time: 45 mins

Climb: 150m

This trail begins with a short but steep climb up by the Poulanass Waterfall and plunge pools. (The name Poulanass is taken from the Irish 'Poll an Eas' which means 'hole of the waterfall). The trail crosses above the waterfall to drop down through mixed woodlands to the valley floor. Listen out for woodland birds, in particular Jays, which can be quite noisy.

Woodland Road (Silver Route) Grade: Ramble Distance: 4km Time: 1hr 45 mins Climb: 90 m

This is a pleasant walk through one of the more secretive areas of Glendalough. It weaves through mixed woodlands into neighbouring Glendasan Valley. The trail follows the Glendasan River back towards Glendalough, where it then joins up with the boardwalk which runs through the Lower Lake wetlands.

Tour by way of Kilkenny and Waterford to Cork

Set off to Kilkenny, 2  1/2 hours away without any stops.  Explore the medieval city of Kilkenny and the many historic sites of the area.    Beside the 12th century castle in Kilkenny, the old stables are the headquarters of Ireland’s Crafts’ Council & contain many studios & workshops. Walk down High Street past the medieval Rothe House & Quirkes Castle to St Mary’s Abbey where Smithwicks Beer is brewed & then by way of Kytler’s Inn where the 15th Century witch Alice Kytler lived.

Waterford City, is about 45 minutes from Kilkenny.  Explore the city and visit The Waterford Crystal Factory.  The tour takes around 50-60 minutes, depending on questions, and ends in a huge showroom/retail shop with the largest collection of Waterford Crystal in the world

From there a very scenic road follows "The Gold Coast" through Tramore and Annestown to Dungarvan. Shortly after, Dungavan is the ancient church and cliff top holy well at Ardmore.

Carry along the coast to the walled town of Youghal, an ancient walled city where Moby Dick was filmed and where Sir Walter Raleigh lived. St Mary’s Collegiate Church has changed little since he worshipped here.  

The famous cookery school of Ballymaloe, with its shell house and associations with William Penn, is just to the South of Midleton, home of Irish Whiskey  (and pick up your very own bottle of whiskey to take home with you). The Cobh Heritage centre presents a fascinating story of emigration to America and as you rejoin the main road to Cork you pass the gardens of Fota Island and Barryscourt Castle.

Explore Cork City, The English Market, St Finbarre's Cathedral, The University with the Honan Chapel and The Glucksman Gallery, The Crawford Gallery and the Victorian prison are a few of the highlights of the city. Take a foody tour of the city’s artisan producers, and visit the Victorian food market. In the afternoon tour to Blarney Castle with its loquacious stone and extensive parkland gardens, and the surrounding village, 10 miles North of the city.

Cork to Kinsale

Spend some time exploring Kinsale. Its fame was established years ago as a quaint seaside town with delicious restaurants & carefully preserved 18th-century buildings.  In the 1960's Heidi McNeice, the wife of the poet, opened the first restaurant here & it rapidly became a magnet for the world's glitterati.  In the last decade it has become unquestionably the gourmet capital of Ireland; with music & cinema stars bidding up local real estate values, it is also one of the most expensive.  Kinsale is a National Tidy Towns Winner too—but for all that it’s still a very agreeable place. Once, it was an important naval port. In 1601 the Irish joined forces with Spain against the English, & the Spanish fleet anchored here before the disastrous battle of Kinsale, which led to the ‘Flight of the Earls’ & put an end to the rebellion against Elizabeth I & her reconquest of Ireland.  St Multose Church is the oldest building in town, parts of it dating from the 13th century. Inside are the old town stocks. The churchyard has several interesting 16th-century gravestones which in spring are covered in whitebells & bluebells, & in summer red valerian grows out of crevices in every wall. Desmond Castle, a tower house from the 1500s, was once use as a custom house, & later as a prison for captured American sailors in the War of Independence; it now houses The Irish Wine Museum (think Hennessy, Chauteau Barton...). There is also an interesting museum in the old courthouse & market building, with material associated with the life of the town & port through the centuries.

Visit the 17th Century Charlesfort, and maybe walk around Jamesfort  or take the Scilly walk from Kinsale to Charles Fort. You could also take a cruise around Kinsale Harbour.  

Tour by way of Bantry to Kenmare

From Cork  carry on towards the west by way of Bandon. Touring to the west you will find brightly painted villages, mad folk museums, amazing sub tropical gardens & host of craft workers, farmhouse cheese producers & enchanting cafes, bars & restaurants. As you carry on down the coast the golden beaches begin to disappear.

Clonakilty is a busy market town with fine 19th century mill buildings that now house the town library & County Council offices. Nearby, a small disused Presbyterian Church has been put to service as the post office. See also the fine status of a pikeman. For a town of its size, the Roman Catholic Church is impressive, with fine glass & mosaics. The town centre is the home of the noted street theatre group Craic na Caoillte. The impressive Model Railway Village is absolutely unique. Etain Hickey's shop is well worth a diversion - find it at 40 Ashe Street as is Michelle Mitton's Gallery at 28 Pearse Street.

Drombeg Stone Circle is on a minor road  & worth a visit. This lovely recumbent stone circle is locally known as the Druid's Altar, & is located on the edge of a rocky terrace with fine views to the sea about a mile away. The word Drombeg means 'the small ridge'. Of the original 17 pillars of smooth-sided local sandstone erected in a circle of 9.5m (31ft) in diameter, only 13 remain. To the left of the north-east entrance is a portal stone 2.2m (7ft 2in) high; its opposite is the 1.9m (6ft 10in) long recumbent which has two egg-shaped cup-marks (one with a ring around it). The circle stones have been shaped to slope upwards to the recumbent itself. The midpoint of this stone was set in line with the winter solstice sunset viewed in a conspicuous notch in the distant hills; the alignment is good but not precise.

Bantry House, with its "staircase to heaven" gardens is a wonderful example of a landlord's home & has a sadly depleted but still stunning collection put together by the 2nd Earl of Bantry who did well at Napoleon III's bargain basement sale at Versailles. In 1796 a French invasion fleet sailed into Bantry Bay to join forces with Wolfe Tone & the United Irishmen. But a storm changed the course of history, forcing the French to turn back to Brest. Richard White must have blessed that so-called "Protestant Wind" as he watched their retreat from Bantry House.

If the weather is wonderful pick up a picnic at Manning's Food Emporium in Ballylickey

Consider taking a ferry to the superb gardens on Garnish Island at Glengarrif, a garden with no house laid out in the early 20th century by the great designer Harold Peto to take advantage of the gulf stream. On the boat ride out there watch out for seals. There are several boats going to the island.  From here over the Beara Peninsula to Kenmare, another pretty harbour village, & then carry on over Molls Gap to Killarney.

The fearless driver should follow the Priest's Leap road, a single track laneway from Ballylickey across the mountains that comes down to Kenmare close to the Kilgarvan Motor Museum . Leave plenty of time for Kenmare which is a charming & sophisticated village with some excellent shopping opportunities.  

You will come into Kenmare over the river.

Kerry    

Tour locally, with the option of a Hike in Killarney National Park. Consider an eco sea safari along Kenmare Bay, or kayaking, or cycling or hiking in the hills and mountains.

There is a lovely walk 2 hour at Gleninchaquin, on the Beara Road, close to Kenmare.  

Beginning at the waterfall car park the trail crosses the twin streams at the base of the falls by bridges or fords. The wide track ascends up the mountainside through the new woodland enclosure, a Native Woodland Scheme of some 40 acres, this track terminates at Cummenadillure, a deep black lake in a coombe.

Halfway up, on the right is a new path descending to a steam crossed by a stone bridge, this is the Heritage Trail.

At the lake the trail steepens and takes a right turn over a stile in the high fence. The next section is up the rocky mountainside following the white and red way marks to the top. There are signs at the top marking the start of Trail No 4 marked with yellow and one pointing to a Viewing Point. It is worth taking the short detour to see the upper valley with Lake Cummenaloughaun in its centre.

The trail descends to the top of the waterfall which is crossed by a log bridge. The heavy logs were flown up to their location by helicopter when opened to the public. The ever changing vistas of the valley with its lakes descending to Kenmare Bay and the McGillycuddy's Reeks in the distance is a memorable experience. The upper valley is in stark contrast with its terraces of bare rock and green ledgers and the floor of the valley covered with tussocks of Melina grass surrounding the small lake half covered with water lilies in the summer. There is a bog area at this point and the method of harvesting the turf or peat can be seen. The White and red way marks lead to a flight of steps cut in the rock that lead down off the mountain on to a wide track. Halfway down, on the right is a picnic area and charcoal pit. Towards the bottom there is a wooded area and a small wooden gate opens into the delightful River Walk making a nice contrast to the rugged mountain trail. There is another picnic spot near a small waterfall. The farm and Gleninchaquin Gallery are at the end of this walk.

Alternatively consider a section of The Kerry Way.  This is a 9km, 3 hour strenuous hike.

Ring of Kerry

Take The Ring of Kerry which is a circular route around the Iveragh Peninsula. It is best to do it in an anti clockwise direction - Killorglin, Glenbeigh, etc.

Killorglin situated on a hill overlooking the wide & graceful River Laune, a river offering salmon & trout angling. Dominating the landscape to the south are the MacGillycuddys Reeks. The Bog Village is situated half way between Killorglin & Glenbeigh on the main Ring of Kerry route. It is a must for you to stop off & enjoy a step back in time to the early 18th century to recapture the way life would have been at that time. Peat, or turf as it is usually called in Ireland, is harvested from bogs & is still used as domestic fuel. The village is here to preserve the past for your enjoyment. This is a most worthwhile & historic visit to see the real Kerry life as it was, in the heart of Kerry's bogland. The Bog Village is adjacent to the Red Fox Inn Bar & Restaurant.

Glenbeigh is a popular holiday base nestled at the foot of a well-wooded mountain & close to the head of Dingle Bay.  It is dominated by the strange ruin of Wynn's Folly, or Hedley Towers, once home of the Winns, Barons Headley. The Title dated from 1797. Wynn's Folly was burnt down in 1922. The view from 'Wynn's Folly is superb, & provides a breathtaking view of the village & surrounds of Glenbeigh.  After Glenbeigh you will pass through Kells Bay where a local shepherd gives demonstrations of working sheep dogs

From Cahirciveen you can divert to the right & take the car ferry to Knightstown on Valentia Island.  Be sure to visit The Slate Quarry, Glanleam Gardens & The Tetrapod Trackway - In 1993 an undergraduate geology student (Iwan Stossel) made the discovery of a lifetime. While examining rocks on the island's coast he came across a rock platform containing a set of ancient animal footprints. The tracks have since been dated to almost 400 million years ago & are regarded as among the earliest footprints known to science, & certainly the oldest known footprints in Europe.

Valentia is an island of unique scenic beauty, tropical vegetation, breathtaking cliffs & magnificent seascapes. The island is an excellent centre for sea angling & diving in unpolluted waters. The bridge was built at Portmagee in 1970. The island, about 11km long by 3km wide is one of the most westerly points of Europe. The surface is bold & rocky, two prominent features being Geokaun Mountain 268 meters on the north & Bray head 180 metres on the south, both are splendid vantage points for the sightseer. The Skellig Experience is located here. This is where the story of the Skelligs is told. The themes include the monastic settlement, the lighthouse, the bird & underwater life.

Head on to Ballinskelligs via St Finans Bay.  In Ballinskelligs is the Cill Rialaig Centre - once a deserted & almost forgotten pre-famine village of thatched stone cottages situated on the Bolus road near Ballinskelligs, it is now an international artists' retreat. At the very end of the peninsula on the stunning St. Finian's Bay visit The Skellig Chocolate Company. Their passion has enabled them to win many Great Taste Awards over the years for amazing creations, including Brandy Plums & Apricot Amarettos. It takes about 5 days to produce each batch of truffles.

On through Charlie Chaplin's Waterville. From Waterville to Caherdaniel where, by golden beaches, stands Derrynane House, the ancestral home of Daniel O'Connell, lawyer, politician & statesman. Today some 120 hectares of the lands of Derrynane, together with Derrynane House, make up Derrynane National Historic Park. Plantations & garden walks were laid out in the 18th & 19th centuries, principally north & west of the house. Some features of the demesne are strongly associated with Daniel O'Connell, including the old Summer House. The main area of the gardens, set inland & to the north of the house, can be reached through a tunnel under the road. Through Sneem & back to Kenmare

Hike the Beara Peninsula 

The Beara Peninsula is a 48km long mountainous finger, shared by counties Kerry and Cork, stretching into the Atlantic Ocean. Quite remote, it has remained perhaps the most unspoilt part of the south west region, and like the peninsulas to the north, is a magical world of mountains and lakes surrounded by a picturesque seacoast. The main industries are farming and fishing, with the latter being based in the port of Castletownbere. The Beara Way was established by a local voluntary group in the early 1990s as a co-operative involving upwards of four hundred landowners to augment the revenues coming from a declining fishing industry through tourism. The total hike is a 196km circular route through magnificently rugged mountain and seacoast scenery which frequently passes by rich evidence of a heavily populated prehistoric past in the form of standing stones and burial monuments. There are also many fine villages, such as Allihies and Eyries, along the route. Terrain consists of mainly quiet tarmac roads, bog roads, cliff and woodland paths and open moorland, some sections of which can be quite rough and remote. A spur takes you out (by an exciting trip on Ireland’s only cable-car) to Dursey Island.

Tour by way of Limerick to Galway, stopping for tea in the vibrant town of Adare

Adare’s main street is lined by thatched cottages & ancient ruins. The Franciscan Friary is the finest of Adare's monastic ruins, & dates from 15th century. Nave, choir & south transept of church remains with graceful tower & well-preserved cloisters.   The Desmond Castle was built on the site of an ancient ring fort in the early 13th century. The romantic ruins consist of an inner ward, surrounded by a moat & enclosed by a spacious courtyard. The Church of St. Nicholas & its chapel date from the 11th century. The Trinitarian Abbey is a Fitzgerald foundation of c.1230. The remains include tower, nave & part of the original choir, incorporated into a 19th century church. The Augustinian Priory was founded in 1315. There are several delightful shops to explore - Superstar Catherine Zeta-Jones loves Adare's plush Isobel boutique where she buys her Missoni dresses.  Stacpoles (George is the president of the Irish Antique Dealers Association)  has many items of Irish & local interest amongst the pot pourri of antiques, 18th & 19th century furniture, stunning designer knitwear, paintings, antiquarian & new books & decorative items on sale here. Lucy Erridge has rich, colourful, original designer knits, crafted from nature's finest fibres.

Bunratty Castle, which was built in 1425 by the MacNamaras & then passed to the O'Briens who were Earls of Thomond is furnished with mainly 15th & 16th century furnishings. Bunratty Folk Park recreates rural & urban life in the 19th century Ireland. Visitors can for example view farmhouses of various economic backgrounds, a watermill, church & village street. The Walled Garden at 19th Bunratty House has been restored.  

At Gort consider diverting off to see Thor Ballylee, where the poet WB Yeats lived for many years. Thoor Ballylee was Yeats's monument and symbol; in both aspects it had multiple significance. It satisfied his desire for a rooted place in a known countryside, not far from Coole and his life-long friend Lady Gregory. To live in a Tower complemented, perhaps, his alignment with a tradition of cultivated aristocracy which he had envied and a leisured peace which he had enjoyed.  He wrote in 1919 ' We hope to be in Ballylee in a month and there I dream of making a house that may encourage people to avoid ugly manufactured things - an ideal poor man's house. Except a very few things imported as models we should get all made in Galway or Limerick. I am told that our neighbours are pleased that we are not getting 'grand things but old Irish furniture'.  

Near Kilcolgan is Rahasane Turlough - at over 700 acres is the largest Turlough in Ireland. In the summertime it gives a unique picture of the landscape of medieval Ireland, before the enclosures. A shallow lake (3 km long & 1 km wide) is formed each winter when the Dunkellin River floods.  It is paradise for bird watchers. Park near the poet’s graveyard in Killeeneen, where Rafferty rests.

Tyrone House & St George Mausoleum  is a Gothic style single-cell mausoleum with cast iron window tracery & doors, dated 1830. Containing grave slabs dated from mid-18th cent. Erected by St. George family. Reroofed 1993, adjoins c. 1500 ruined church with graveyard surrounding, inscribed plaque quotes poem by John Betjeman inspired by site. It is down a laneway opposite Morans of the Weir.

Morans is just the kind of Irish pub that people everywhere dream about. It’s as pretty as a picture, with a well-kept thatched roof & a lovely waterside location (with plenty of seats outside where you can while away the time & watch the swans floating by). People from throughout the country beat a path here at every available opportunity for their wonderful local seafood, including lobster, but especially the native oysters (from their own oyster beds) which are in season from September to April (farmed Gigas oysters are on the menu all year). Then there’s chowder & smoked salmon & seafood cocktail & mussels, delicious crab salads - & lobster, with boiled potatoes & garlic butter. Regulars over the years have included John Wayne, Noel Coward, the Nobel Laureate Seamus Heany, & Angelica Huston. Stop briefly here for a cup of tea (or something stronger) before heading back into the modern world and Galway City.

Today visit the beautiful Cliffs of Moher

Dunguaire was for some years a home of Oliver St John Gogarty and became the venue for meetings of the literary revivalists such as WB Yeats, his patron Lady Gregory, George Bernard Shaw, Edward Martin and JM Synge. The Castle was acquired in 1952 by Christobel Lady Ampthill who completed the restoration work started by Oliver St John Gogarty   It was once the home of King Guaire The Generous whose right arm was longer than his left arm from so much giving Kinvara Harbour is the home port of ancient sailing barges known as Galway Hookers.  

The Burren - Words simply cannot do justice to the Burren, an eerie, peculiar 193-square mile area of ancient seabed that suffered glacial activity during its long history. The Burren, is a bare lunar like landscape of a limestone plateau dotted with Stone Age forts & megalithic tombs. In the narrow crevices that criss-cross this pavement flourish orchids, gentians & other rare flora, a stunning wild garden.

Some of local sites:

• The Burren Perfumery

• Caherconnel Stone Fort, 3,000 years old

• Poulnabrone Dolmen  - 5,000 years old

• The Cliffs of Moher – 700 feet above the Atlantic

• There would be the opportunity of taking a hike along some of the grass roads of the Burren.  

Lisdoonvarna is a spa town known for its stinking spa waters.  The Roadside Tavern in Lisdoonvarna has the best smoked food in Ireland. September was, & still is, the peak month of the matchmaking season here & with the harvest safely in bachelor farmers still flock to Lisdoonvarna in search of wives. The Sulphur Spa Well also continues to attract the crowds.

Pass through the villages of Lahinch and Liscannor. Lahinch Golf Course is famous for its impenetrable rough &, notably, its goats. An unusual delicacy here are the boiled periwinkles sold on the sea front.    

At the start of the Cliffs of Moher is St Bridgets Well – a place of active pilgrimage and a fascinating  hang over from pagan times.  The Cliffs of Moher are a sheer precipice 8 km long & rising to a height of 203m, one of the most impressive stretches of the coast in the West of Ireland, remarkable especially at nesting seasons for the quantity & variety of seabirds there.  

Return to Galway via Kilmacudagh with its Round Tower and Gort, joining the highway there.

Galway - tour locally

Galway City is still known today as the City of the Tribes, the name referring to 14 important Anglo-Norman merchant families who lived there and dominated the life and trade of the city during the middle ages. The families were: Athy, Blake, Bodkin, Browne, D’Arcy, Deane, Ffont, Ffrench, Joyes, Kirwan, Lynch, Martin, Morris and Skerrett. From 1232 when Richard de Burgo drove out the ruling Gaelic O’Flaherty’s, until the end of the 1600’s Galway flourished as a centre of trade. During the 15th and 16th centuries ships from Spain, France, the Carribean and South America crowded its harbour and the town was a wealthy one. It all went wrong in 1692 when the city gave its support to James II in the English Civil War. He lost. When the victorious William of Orange sent Cromwell to restore order in Ireland Galway was firmly in his sights. The city was taken, its families relieved of their power and influence and the city sank into an economic depression from which it has only truly emerged in the last 30 years.  

Eyre Square is the centre of Galway and the pivot around which the city moves. The land here was given to the city 1710 by Edward Eyre, then mayor of Galway. In 1965, the square was officially renamed “Kennedy Memorial Park” and there is a bust of J.F. Kennedy in the park. The Eyre Square Shopping Centre, a modern mall, may be of interest for picking up some souvenirs. It is also unique in that the Medieval City wall runs right through the middle of it!

Lynch’s Castle was once home to an important family, one of the tribes, who supplied the city with more than 80 mayors between the 15th and 17th centuries. It now houses a branch of the AIB bank. The castle dates to the early 1300’s.  As you continue down Shop St, pass the statue of Oscar Wilde, sitting on a bench in conversation with Estonian writer Eduard Wilde.  

Towards the end of Shop St down a side street on the right is the 14th century Collegiate Church of St Nicholas of Myra, built from Connemara Marble and local limestone and named for the saint otherwise known as Santa Claus.  The church has served it congregation, at some times Catholic, at others (as now) Protestant, for more than 650 years. The only interruption to this came in 1652 when Cromwell’s forces seized the church and used it for a time as stabling for horses. The importance of Galway as a trading centre is evident from the tombs which have symbols of trades included in their decoration - with a stone mason, a wool merchant and a goldsmith among them.  Just outside St Nicholas Church, a rather ghoulish panel appears below a window in the only remaining wall of a building that was once another home of the Lynch family. The story goes that in 1493 Walter, son of the serving mayor James Lynch, was found guilty of murdering a Spaniard and sentenced to death.   However nobody willing to carry out the sentence could be found. Determined that the rule of law would prevail, James Lynch hung his own son at this spot.

This small unremarkable house at No. 8 Bowling Green was the home of Nora Barnacle, wife of the famous Irish writer James Joyce. It has been restored and not only has some interesting material relating the Nora and her husband but is an interesting glimpse into how an ordinary working family in Galway lived during the early part of the 20th century. Opening times are unpredictable.

Quay St has many small craft shops and restaurants and also two famous pubs, The Quay’s which is famed for its traditional music sessions and Tigh Neachtain, where the old interior with its little ’snugs’ or booths is a real beauty. Both pubs serve very good lunches and are noted for their seafood. Spanish Arch was once an old and run down area, but is now a modernised and trendy part of town, though some not very attractive new development takes away from the look of the area. You’ll pass the Galway City Museum as you walk to the Spanish Arch - it’s worth a quick visit. The history of the arch is something of a mystery, as is the reason for its name, though it was probably named for the Spanish traders who frequently used the harbour. The sculptress Clare Sheridan, cousin of Winston Churchill & friend of Stalin, had her studio here.  

Consider heading into Connemara, the area of Western Galway & South Mayo bounded by the Atlantic & Lough Corrib. It is an area beloved by artists & poets who find magical inspiration in its wide open bogs & its towering cloud capped mountains.  Cottages nestle into hillsides where wild looking sheep with thick fleeces & great curling horns freely graze. The rugged coastline is punctuated with little fishing villages.  

Or take a ferry out to the Aran Islands for the day. There are several Iron Age forts and attractions on the islands. The islands also have had an influence on world literature and arts disproportionate to their size. The unusual cultural and physical history of the islands has made them the object of visits by a variety of writers and travellers who recorded their experiences of the local people and their near-subsistence lives, farming and fishing.

Laois       

Travel via Loughrea with its superb Celtic revival Cathedral (the stained glass is magical) and on to Lord Clanricard’s haunted Portumna Castle on The River Shannon. Lunch in Birr and explore the estate of the Earl of Rosse at Birr Castle.

Carry on to Ballyfin to enjoy the estate either by foot or with the golf buggies provided.

Here you can enjoy tea, pre dinner drinks, and dinner (all included)

Depart Dublin – the airport is 90 minutes from Ballyfin