JOHN & ABRAM’S GUIDE TO IRELAND
DUBLIN
Dublin has great music, theater, and museums. All the national museums are free admission. They are not open on Mondays. The theater scene is small, but very professional, and very accessible (cheap and tickets are usually not hard to get).
There’s music everywhere. Many of the pubs have traditional Irish music where musicians just go and sit in together.
TOURS
MUSIC VENUES
The Cobblestone is in a section of town called Smithfield. This is near the Jameson Distillery. The Cobblestone is a real trad pub. Not many tourists go there. It is mostly musicians that sit in and get paid in pints. http://www.
O’Donoghue’s is a trad pub just off St Steven’s Green near Merrion Square. Good trad music. Usually very crowded. http://www.
THEATER
The Abby Theater is on Abby Street and is the National Theater of Ireland. There are usually very good classic or brand new original plays by Irish playwrights there. http://www.
The Andrews Lane Theater is a cool small theater and sometimes has a DJ Dance scene.
CINEMA
Irish Film Institute is in Temple Bar. It’s a great movie theater with a pub/restaurant. They play “art” films, and sometimes you’ll see UK and European films before they come to the states.
Here’s a good website for what’s going on in Dublin..
http://entertainment.ie/
FOOD
What it’s really all about in life….
Temple Bar Market is Saturdays in Meeting House Square in the heart of Temple Bar. There’s lots of good food there, but the best is the oysters. There’s a guy from County Clare that brings up the oysters he harvested the night before. They’re really wonderful. Six with a little slice of Irish brown Bread and a glass of white wine is about 10 Euro. It is also fun to sit with the regulars who come there every Saturday to have oysters. Quite a few characters.
Queen of Tarts is off of Dame Street and is a good place for brunch or for lunch. Yes, they have lots of tarts.
The Oar House is my favorite fish restaurant. Besides being on the pier in Howth (a fishing village on the north outskirts of Dublin), it has the best fish fresh from the markets next door. Howth is a treat in itself. It used to be a fishing village and is now a very trendy neighborhood of Dublin. It is sort of like Sausalito. You can take the DART (urban train) to the last stop on the Howth line. There’s a great little pub called the Bloody Stream right under the DART station. You should call the Oar House for reservations.
The Winding Stair is pricy, but very, very good. 40 Lower Ormond Quay. This is on the north side of the Liffey river near the Haypenny bridge. http://winding-stair.
Fade Street Social is a hip place, but a bit expensive. My former colleague who won Master Chef of Ireland works there. It is on Fade Street off of George’s Street.
The Market Bar is right across the street from the Fade Street Social. It is a good Irish yuppie bar with decent Spanish Tapas.
Diwalli is a really good reasonably priced Indian restaurant. My favorite Indian in Dublin. It is right on George Street.
PUBS
Finding the craic in Dublin….
Grogan’s Castle Lounge is my favorite and my “local”. It is a dingy old pub on South William Street that is filled with great old characters and amateur artwork for sale on the walls. On Friday and Saturday nights, it is crowded, but that’s the fun. You’ll always have a good conversation there. They pour a damn good pint of Guinness
John Kavanagh (The Grave Digger’s) is in the Glasnevin neighborhood. It’s worth a trip there to see a real local. It’s called the Grave Digger’s because it fronts a graveyard, and there is small window where the gravediggers would come for their pints of Guinness in between interments.
The Stag’s Head on Dame Court just off of George Street is a great old Dublin pub. Good Guinness there too, and good mix of people.
The International is a quirky pub with a good comedy club upstairs. It is on Exchequer Street.
Brogan’s Pub is on Dame Street near the Olympia Theater. It is an “old man’s” pub and is owned by the brother of the CEO of the company I work for. Good local Dub Pub.
The Brazen Head is the oldest pub in Ireland. I think it dates back to 1198. It is along the quays of the Liffey River near the Guinness factory.
There is a pub every few feet in Dublin. They’re all fun. All of the above except the Grave Digger’s and the Brazen Head are within 4 blocks of each other, so you can have a bit of a pub crawl. You could even do what I call the holy trinity.. Brogan’s, Hogan’s and Grogan’s. These pubs are right around Dame Street and George Street near Templebar. Templebar is like the French quarter. Full of pubs and lots of tourists. It’s fun to go on a Friday or Saturday night and see the hen parties. Young women come from all over Europe to celebrate upcoming weddings and a last fling.
SIGHTSEEING
It’s worth it to take the hop on hop off bus to get a view of all the historic sites. Tickets are good for 24hours so you can do some one day and some the next. You can get off anywhere you want and jump back on again. You might be able to get an airport transfer and hop on off in one ticket. Check the Dublin Bus Website http://www.dublinbus.
Kilmainham Gaol Museum is an old English prison where they executed the Irish revolutionaries in the 1916 Easter Rising. It is a chilling tour. If you’ve ever seen the film “In the Name of The Father”, this is where it was filmed.
Dublin Writer’s Museum. Val really likes this one. http://www.
Chester Beatty Library is a graphic museum right behind Dublin Castle. Very interesting exhibits on graphic arts. http://www.cbl.ie/
Guinness Storehouse is a great tour of the original Guinness factory. You end up in a high tower overlooking all of Dublin, with a really good pint of Guinness.
Jameson Distillery has a tour of the distillery.
Go to Howth. This is the village at the north end of the Dart line. It makes a really nice day to walk out on the pier and go to the pubs. There is a market on Sundays.
Go to Sandycove Kiliney where Bono lives. There’s a cool swimming area called the forty foot on the beach there. There is a Martello tower at the beach where James Joyce used to live. It is a custom for all the rich folks who live around there to go swimming in the freezing cold Irish Sea on Christmas day, naked. You can get there on the DART. It’s a nice ride down there too.
Gaelic Games, Rugby, and Football — Don’t know if any of these will be going on while you’re there, but Rugby is fun to watch at Landsdown Road (Aviva ) Stadium and Gaelic football and hurling at Croke Park.
http://www.irishrugby.ie/home.
Horse Racing is much more up-scale than in the US. The women all wear fancy hats, and there are tons of touts making bets in the centerfield shouting out odds and stuffing money in big satchels. Check this website for races and tracks. Bus Eireann usually has service to many of the tracks or little towns with tracks around Ireland. http://www.goracing.
http://www.buseireann.ie/site/
LEAVING DUBLIN
Train Service is pretty good and can be expensive. It is always cheaper if you buy online a week before you go anywhere. The website is http://www.irishrail.ie/ . There are also busses to everywhere at http://www.buseireann.ie/
I would suggest a few possible journeys:
GALWAY AND THE CONNAMARA PENINSULA
Galway is like the San Francisco of Ireland. It is on the Atlantic ocean, it is young, and people are very friendly and laid back. When Solimar and I went there years ago, it only took her ½ hour to find fire dancers. You couldn’t do that in “The Big Smoke” (Dublin).
There are 4 or 5 trains a day to and from Galway town. They end up right downtown. There are good hostels and B&B’s there. There is lots of nightlife and good music. Hang around the bottom of Shop Street near the Spanish Arch. Go to Sheridan’s at the Docks, a pub owned by the famous Sheridan Cheese family. The place has good wine and cheese.
Stay in Galway for a couple of nights and you can venture out to the Connamara Peninsula. You can take busses out there. This is the Galtect, meaning folks speak Irish (Gaelic) and signs are in Gaelic. Pretty trippy. You can take the bus to Spiddal and get off there and walk around the village and down by the sea. It is really beautiful.
In Galway, you can see about a day trip out to the Aran Islands. There are tour offices downtown that sell trips out there. There are busses that take you to the ferry and then back from the ferry to Galway. Inishmore is the main island with a population of about 200. The island has no motor vehicles except those owned by the locals. You can rent bikes or horse carts to take you to Dún Aonghasa. This is an ancient Celtic fort high on a stone cliff that drops straight down about 400 feet into the Atlantic. You can lie on the edge and see the Cliffs of Moher back on the coast.
There’s a great little town on the farthest tip of the Connamara Peninsula called Clifden. It is famous for pony traders and trad music. You can take the bus there from Galway.
CLARE AND THE CLIFFS OF MOHER FROM GALWAY
You can take a bus (Bus Eireann) from Galway to the Cliffs of Moher, or better yet, go to Doolin which is a small town on the way and stay at a B&B. Doolin is the trad music capitol of Ireland. Every pub has music.
The Cliffs of Moher are pretty cool. Really high cliffs over the Atlantic. The ride there on the bus is very scenic. If you drive, I suggest going around the coast road around the Burren in Co Clare. It is one of the most beautiful drives you will ever do. Tiny little roads, though. This is the R477 from Ballyvaughn to Fanore. In winter there can be ice, so be careful.
Continue on through Lisdoonvarna to Kilkee. Kilkee has fabulous oysters, and is a cool little town. Good little hotels and B&Bs there. You might be able to get a bus from Galway to Kilkee, but make sure they go through Co Clare over the Burren. This is not the coast road, but it is also very beautiful.
You can also do day trip tours from Dublin to the Cliffs of Moher, but it is grind. There’s a tour company called Paddywagon. They also have a hostel in Dublin near the main bus terminal. http://www.
DAYTRIP TO NEWGRANGE
Newgrange has the largest collection of Neolithic stone carvings in Europe. It is also the place with the famous Neolithic burial chambers that let light in only on the winter solstice. They have a big visitor center right next to the Boyne River about 40 minutes out of Drogheda Ireland. You can take the bus from Dublin to Drogheda, it’s about a one hour ride. Then take a bus to the Newgrange visitor’s center. Tours take a few hours. This is an easy day trip from Dublin and is on the top 10 things to see in Ireland.
OVERNIGHT TO BELFAST
Belfast is the big city in Northern Ireland (another country, don’t get me started on the English oppression). There are trains from Connolly station about once an hour. It’s about a two hour ride up there.
Once there, arrange for a Black Cab tour of Belfast. This is where they take you to the Falls Road and the Shankhill road the center of the “Troubles” . The Troubles was the recent strife between Protestant and Catholic people fighting centuries old battles of British Loyalty vs. Irish Revolution. But, really, it is just about poverty and hate.
You’ll go to the Catholic side and then to the Protestant side. You’ll see all the incredible political murals, including a few that are not so kind to the USA. It’s really an interesting tour.
Belfast is a big city with lots to do. You can go to the Titanic Museum. The Titanic was built in Belfast.
I’d suggest staying overnight, but you can train it back to Dublin pretty easily in one day and still have time for a Black Cab tour.
OTHER STUFF
Depending how free you are to move around, the places that I recommend are:
- Killarney National Park and the town of Killarney
- The Dingle Peninsula and Dingle town
- The Ring of Kerry and Kenmare
- Kinsale, County Cork, the gourmet capitol of Ireland
All of the above are in the west of Ireland and you’d need to stay overnight or more. Once in the West, it’s best to see these places and go back to Dublin after to head home.
more…
DUBLIN
Dublin has changed so much even in the 14 years I’ve been going there. When I first started to go there, you couldn’t get a decent cup of coffee. Now good coffee is everywhere as well as good food. Dublin has always had great pubs and that’s where I spend most of my free time.
Museums are great too, as is live theater.
STAYING IN DUBLIN
The Shelbourne on Stephen’s Green is a grand dame 5 star hotel. It’s pricey, probably around 350 – 450 EUR per night in June. It’s really an experience to stay there (I’m told). It is very centrally located and about a 5 minute walk down Grafton street to Trinity. http://www.marriott.
The Fitzwilliam is also on Stephen’s Green and is very nice. A little less pricy than the Shelbourne. It’s around the back side of Stephen’s Green, so a nice walk through the green to Grafton street. www.
The Merrion another 5 Star. Pricey, but much smaller than the Shelbourne.
The Morrison is a chic little hotel on the north side of the quays (Liffey river). It would be about a 15 minute walk to College Green (Trinity). I’ve never stayed there, but it looks very hip and modern. Some good cafes nearby.
The Westin is right next door to Trinity. It’s a Westin. I call it the American Embassy. It’s where I had to go to watch the NFL Playoffs once.
The Westbury is a nice Doyle hotel. It is right off Grafton Street, so there’s lots of cafes, shops, and restaurants there. https://www.
O’Callaghan Hotels There are a whole bunch of nice good value hotels in the O’Callaghan chain . Mostly right around Merrion Square which is about < 10 minute walk to College Green. It’s worth having a look at these. Here’s one.. http://www.
Further afield…
Stay out in Howth. It’s a 25 minute DART rude into town, but Howth is lovely old fishing village turned upscale suburb. Sort of like Sausalito for Dublin. There’s a great B&B there that has a 5 star fish restaurant .. The King Sitric .. http://kingsitric.ie/
Stay in Clontarf. It is a 20 minute bus ride into the city center. Clontarf is a lovely north side neighborhood. There is a castle hotel there The Clontarf Castle. Very nice, and good value. http://www.clontarfcastle.ie/
Go to Sandycove Kiliney where Bono lives. There’s a cool swimming area called the forty foot on the beach there. There is a Martello tower at the beach where James Joyce used to live. It is a custom for all the folks who live around there to go swimming in the freezing cold Irish Sea on Christmas day, naked. You can get there on the DART. It’s a nice ride down there too.
TRADITIONAL MUSIC VENUES
The Cobblestone is in a section of town called Smithfield. This is near the Jameson Distillery. The Cobblestone is a real trad pub. Not many tourists go there. It is mostly musicians that sit in and get paid in pints. http://www.
O’Donoghue’s is a trad pub just off St Steven’s Green near Merrion Square. Good trad music. Usually very crowded. http://www.
THEATER
The Abby Theater is on Abby Street and is the National Theater of Ireland. There are usually very good classic or brand new original plays by Irish playwrights there. http://www.
The Andrews Lane Theater is a cool small theater and sometimes has a DJ Dance scene.
CINEMA
Irish Film Institute is in Temple Bar. It’s a great movie theater with a pub/restaurant. They play “art” films, and sometimes you’ll see UK and European films before they come to the states.
Here’s a good website for what’s going on in Dublin..
http://entertainment.ie/
FOOD
What it’s really all about in life….
Queen of Tarts is off of Dame Street and is a good place for brunch or for lunch. Yes, they have lots of tarts.
The Oar House is my favorite fish restaurant. Besides being on the pier in Howth (a fishing village on the north outskirts of Dublin), it has the best fish fresh from the markets next door. Howth is a treat in itself. It used to be a fishing village and is now a very trendy neighborhood of Dublin. It is sort of like Sausalito. You can take the DART (urban train) to the last stop on the Howth line. There’s a great little pub called the Bloody Stream right under the DART station. You should call the Oar House for reservations.
Café Cagliostro and Ennotecca Delanghe are a café and wine bar in a little square called Bloom Alley. Bloom Alley (named for the character Bloom in Ulysses) is right off of the north end of the Millennium Bridge across the Liffey river from Temple Bar. It is a pedestrian bridge made out of aluminum. The coffee is really good at Cagliostro, and there’s good antipasto and pasta at the wine bar.
Fade Street Social is a hip place, but a bit expensive. My former colleague who won Master Chef of Ireland works there. It is on Fade Street off of George’s Street.
The Market Bar is right across the street from the Fade Street Social. It is a good Irish yuppie bar with decent Spanish Tapas.
Diwalli is a really good reasonably priced Indian restaurant. My favorite Indian in Dublin. It is right on George Street.
The Winding Stair is pricey, but really good. http://winding-stair.
Coppinger Row is a great little place right near my favorite pub Grogan’s http://www.
PUBS
Finding the craic in Dublin….
Templebar is very touristy. Sort of like the Bourbon Street in New Orleans. It’s maybe worth a quick walkthrough.
Palace Bar To me the only pub worth visiting in Templebar 21 Fleet Street at the beginning of Templebar.
Grogan’s Castle Lounge is my favorite and my “local”. It is a dingy old pub on South William Street that is filled with great old characters and amateur artwork for sale on the walls. On Friday and Saturday nights, it is crowded, but that’s the fun. You’ll always have a good conversation there. They pour a damn good pint of Guinness. I know, I know, you don’t like Guinness, but you’ve never had it in Ireland. It is really much more special there and I think you should at least try a glass (half pint).
The Porterhouse Templebar is a great place for young people. It’s a micro-brewery and is right across the street from Zaytoons. A good plan is to drink heavily at the Porterhouse, listen to some music, and then snag a kebab at Zaytoon. Quill will know this one, probably.
John Kavanagh (The Grave Digger’s) is in the Glasnevin neighborhood. It’s worth a trip there to see a real local. It’s called the Grave Digger’s because it fronts a graveyard, and there is small window where the gravediggers would come for their pints of Guinness in between interments.
The Stag’s Head on Dame Court just off of George Street is a great old Dublin pub. Good Guinness there too, and good mix of people.
Hogan’s Bar is just off of George Street near the Fade Street Social. Good for late nights and to get totally blind at. Lots of young people.
The International is a quirky pub with a good comedy club upstairs. It is on Exchequer Street.
The Brazen Head is the oldest pub in Ireland. I think it dates back to 1198. It is along the quays of the Liffey River near the Guinness factory.
There is a pub every few feet in Dublin.
MUSEUMS
Dublin has wonderful public museums and they are all free. They are closed on Mondays. Some non public museums that are well worth it are:
The Little Museum of Dublin on Stephens Green is fantastic (I’m told by Val). Great local stuff like U2 and early Dublin colorful past. http://www.
Kilmainham Gaol Museum is an old English prison where they executed the Irish revolutionaries in the 1916 Easter Rising. It is a chilling tour. If you’ve ever seen the film “In the Name of The Father”, this is where it was filmed.
Dublin Writer’s Museum. Val really likes this one. http://www.
Chester Beatty Library is a graphic museum right behind Dublin Castle. Very interesting exhibits on graphic arts. http://www.cbl.ie/
LEAVING DUBLIN
I love Connemara too. With the new motorways, it’s only a 3 hour drive from Dublin to Galway (town) and then another hour to Clifden, the tip of Connemara. If you want to venture to other beautiful places, below are a few. Depending on the time you have, you might have to focus on Galway / Clare or Kerry, but not both. Also going north to Sligo and up to Donnegal is wonderful, but it is kind of one the above unless you want to spend a good 8 to 10 days out.
CONNEMARA, GALWAY, CLARE
County Galway
Drive out to Clifden – Stay at the Quay House B & B. It has the best breakfast you’ll find and is run by a couple who were born and raised in the hospitality business in Clifden. It’s a beautiful old house that used to be the harbor master’s house. http://thequayhouse.
Drive up the hill to the coast scenic road, it’s breathtaking. At night there are a few fun pubs with music.
Inishmor – Aran Islands Drive around the Connemara peninsula through Roundstone to Rossaveel. In Rossaveel you can do a boat trip out to Inishmor one of the Aran Islands. This is where Dún Aonghusa the old Celtic fort that looks over a massive cliff above the Atlantic is. You can stay on the Island or just do a day trip. You can rent bicycles or pony carts to take you to the fort or just hike.
Continue around the peninsula toward Spiddal and into Galway town. Galway town is like the San Francisco of Ireland. Lots of hippies. Lots of young people, good music, good food. It’s worth a night in Galway especially if it is a Friday or Saturday night.
Clarinbridge and Kilcolgen
Continue along the coast scenic route to County Clare towards Ballyvaughn
County Clare
Drive along the Clare coastline. It’s really beautiful. I suggest going around the coast road around the Burren in Co Clare. It is one of the most beautiful drives you will ever do. Tiny little roads, though. This is the R477 from Ballyvaughn to Fanore. Stop along the road and wander on the cliffs above the Atlantic.
Continue the drive from Fanore to Doolin and then the Cliffs of Moher. The Cliffs have become a bit touristy, but it’s worth seeing anyway.
Continue on to Kilkee. This is a little beach town that has great Oysters and is a good place to stop. The next day you can continue to Killimer and take the ferry to Tarbert. You’ll often see dolphins following the ferry across the mouth of the Shannon river. From Tarbert, you can head back to Dublin, or do the Kerry / Cork part of the trip backwards..
KERRY AND CORK
Caherdaniel – Ring of Kerry
Skellig Michael – Boat ride from the edge of the Ring of Kerry (Portmagee)
Kenmare – End of the Ring of Kerry
Killarney
Dingle
West Cork
Day 1
Leave Dublin around Noon or 1P and head for Kinsale, Co Kerry. Motorway almost all the way M7 / M8. Kinsale is a little seaside town and is the gourmet capital of Ireland. We ate at a great place called Fishy Fishy. Take a drive out to the Old Head by the sea. Good bars for whiskey tasting.
OR
Don’t go south but continue west to Gougane Barra. Marta Shannon and Larry King rave about staying at Gougane Barra Mannow http://www.
Day 2
Leave Kinsale around 10 or 11 and head along the west Kerry coastline. Head out of Kinsale on the N71 west. You’ll go through Balinspittle, Clonakilty, Bantry, Ballylikey and up over the hills into the “Kingdom of Kerry”. Irish people call it the “Kingdom of Kerry” because of their dominance in Gaelic Football.
You pass through Kenmare which is a beautiful little town at the top of the Ring of Kerry. I suggest you check out a place called Parknasilla Spa and Resort that is out of Kenmare on the Ring of Kerry. It’s a little pricey, but it is a really gorgeous setting right on the Atlantic with a wonderful spa and indoor pool overlooking the sea. There are acres and acres of trails and a beach for those who like cold water.
http://www.parknasillaresort.
You could drive on to Sneem and stay there or on to Caherdaniel.
Day 3
Hike on Skellig Michael. Check on boat places for schedules, etc. here’s one. http://skelligislands.
After the boat trip, drive to Killarney through the middle of the Ring of Kerry. This is on the N71 out of Cahersveen through Mols Gap and the Killarney National Park. Beautiful 2 hour drive.
Stay in Killarney Sunday night. There are many places to stay.
Day 4
Drive from Killarney to Dingle on the R561 along the coast. It’s about an hour drive if you don’t stop, but you will.
Visit Dingle and then head back on the R560 and N86 to Tralee.
You can stay in Tralee, and have a leisurely drive the next day back to Dublin. Or take your time and visit County Limerick and Tipperary.
DAY TRIPS FROM DUBLIN
County Wicklow has mountains that are the highest in Ireland. It’s a nice day trip from Dublin. Go in the morning and come back in the evening. Go to the village of Roundwood, then follow the signs out to the Sally Gap. There’s a breathtaking overlook of a black lake there.
On the way back from Sally Gap, stop at Victoria’s Sculpture Garden. This is owned by the eccentric Victor. The park is filled with massive marble and bronze sculptures that are quite unique and trippy. Victor is a bit of a trip himself. I’ll give you a hint, you enter the garden through a 20 foot marble and concrete vaginal tunnel. https://en.wikipedia.
Go to the Powerscourt Falls and Powerscourt Castle.
Go to Avoca town and to the Avoca hand weavers mill. Good food there. Finoula Crowley’s Mom and Dad used to live in Avoca.
Have a pint at the Magic Carpet (Crowley’s Pub) in Cornelscourt, Co Dublin on the N11 on the way back.
Newgrange has the largest collection of Neolithic stone carvings in Europe. It is also the place with the famous Neolithic burial chambers that let light in only on the winter solstice. They have a big visitor center right next to the Boyne River about 40 minutes out of Drogheda Ireland. You can take the bus from Dublin to Drogheda, it’s about a one hour ride. Then take a bus to the Newgrange visitor’s center. Tours take a few hours. This is an easy day trip from Dublin and is on the top 10 things to see in Ireland.
Films set in or about Ireland
In the name of the father
Belfast
The Banshees of Inisherin – This is a film about the separation of Ireland and England
The Van
The Commitments (old but good)
71
Five minutes of heaven
Bloody Sunday
The Boxer
Philomena
Magdalene sisters
Angela’s Ashes