Ireland Trip

Our itinerary included:

Dublin, Howth, Kilkenny, Rock of Cashel, Cahir, Killarney, Kerry, Dingle, Adare, Cliffs of Moher, Galway, Connemara, and Athlone

Enroute to Killarney

We picked up our rental car from SIXT in Dublin City Center and pointed the GPS to Kilkenny Castle (about 90 min drive) – here we stopped for coffee and pastries @Louie’s and a quick view of the castle, but it is raining and we have a long way to go and several more places to see on our itinerary. Next stop was the iconic, historic landmark - the Rock of Cashel. Impressive structure and beautiful pastural setting – wish it was not so windy, cold, and wet! Next stop is a short drive to see Cahir Castle – we had a great guided tour (Stephanie was very knowledgeable and hysterical!) learned a lot – love that their name and coat of arms was Butler for butlering wine 😉 – they had an incredibly well done model in one of the upper rooms that showcased all the historic events – well worth time spent. We made Cahir our lunch stop and had to choose O’Donoghue’s Shamrock Lounge as that is my maternal grandmother’s name origin. We know you’re not supposed to claim any long ago relations, but we do anyway and the owner was happy to hear we may have been related to her husband’s family. Had my first of many “toasties” (basic ham, cheese, onion club – usually w/”chips”) - delish - now on to Killarney!!

Killarney

First night in Killarney – we stayed at @MurphysofKillarney and it couldn’t have been more authentic! We are greeted by the manager, David, who is quick with the quips and service for getting us checked in and settled – we have a room for Goldilocks – 3 beds! We also planned to have dinner onsite and so happy we did. The bar is like the family room for the whole place (also the nightly traditional music nook turns into the breakfast nook in the morning) – seated in the back with Hannah our server giving us “class” tips, we have a couple of cocktails with warm olives and almonds to relax after a really long day of driving/touring – their lamb stew was awesome and we share our first and best Sticky Toffee Pudding (no idea what this is, but super good!) As we were leaving we met the owner, Seàn Murphy, who told us all about the Dart winners, his mom, and a funny dog story – everyone has a joke or story to tell here!

Killarney Day 1 - First tour day in County Kerry is the famous Ring of Kerry – after a ‘full Irish breakfast’ we are ready to go! Dave with the N59Chauffeurs is right on time to pick us up and we start with our first WOW of the lake and a rainbow – this is going to be an awesome experience! Next we stopped at the Red Fox Inn & Kerry Bog Village for the best Irish Coffee ever and a chance to meet the owner, John, see what life was like in the 19th century, and meet a couple of Irish Wolfhounds. We then passed through Killorglin and got a quick pic of the “King Puck” wild goat statue, then passed the first of many incredible views of the water as we made our way to our next stop – the Cahergal Stone Fort – had to take the opportunity to hold/kiss the baby lamb – climb around the fort – get caught in a downpour – then back to the car and head to Waterville for lunch by the seaside. We called ahead for a table at Mick O’Dwyers but they were so busy we HAD to wait in the bar with a pint and watch girls rugby with some locals – this was alright by us and ended up eating in the front window seat – even better! The seafood chowder and traditional toastie (we now know – it is a ham, cheese, and onion sammy) hit the spot for several of us! We continue now on the scenic drive through Moll’s Gap where we stop along the way for some spectacular views and a special treat Dave has brought with him – a sip of Poitín made by his family (pronounced as "pot-cheen" means "small pot" in Irish) – the wind and the Poitín has taken our breath away!! Our roadtrip continues with a quick photo stop at O’Carrolls Cove then potty & shopping break at Quills in Kenmare. A few more stops of the Killarney National Park, the Ladies View, and sheep in the street as we head back to Killarney for our Muckross House & Gardens tour (beautifully preserved Victorian mansion – only took a pic of the wine cellar ). The camera doesn’t do justice to blues of the water or the greens of the hillsides - what a fantastic day!!

We had pre-arranged dinner reservations at @croninsrestaurant which we had to wait a bit for in the bar next door – once our table cleared we were made super welcome and started with some pretty martinis and a shared golden fried brie and delicious brown bread – ah – now we relax! We got a bottle of a clean, crisp Marieta Albarino – this plus a few “by the glass” wines went with Trio of Seafood (Salmon, Seabass, and Hake with mussels), Irish Salmon in white wine and lemon verbena sauce, Cronin’s Chicken Curry, and the roast of the day. We shared desserts of Raspberry Meringue and a different style of Sticky Toffee Pudding.

Killarney Day 2 – we have another day trip with Dave from @N59Chauffeurs.ie to tour the Dingle Peninsula – on our way to the coast we passed through Castlemaine and got a pic of the infamous “Wild Colonial Boy” Jack Duggan while listening to classic Irish folk music – then a photo-op stop at the expansive, impressive Inch Beach with crashing Atlantic waves. Had a quick coffee/potty break at the edge of Dingle Town (don’t want to spoil the tour, we’ll be back here for longer visit and lunch) then off to the Slea Head Drive – we were WOWed by all the coastline views and the hidden spots our driver knew where to take us. We saw the monk’s ancient “beehive” huts, did the walk down the crazy steep Dunquin Pier (can’t believe a ferry actually pulls up here!), witnessed some impressive sharing of the narrow road (so glad we’re not driving!), crossed over beautiful hillsides back into Dingle for lunch at Paul Geaneys, local Kerry cow ice cream, shopping, and exploring the town. A quiet ride back to Killarney listening to Dave’s stories and music – we’ll see him again when we get to Galway!

We had time to wander around the town of Killarney’s cute closed off streets before our dinner reservations at Kitty O’Ses – we started with a bottle of bubbly Italian Bottega Prosecco they presented beautifully with a strawberry. We have learned now that they don’t let you order starters and drinks before mains, so quickly determined what we all wanted and ordered the grilled oysters topped with pesto breadcrumbs to share – delish!! For mains the table ordered Coquille St Jacques, Seafood Tagliatelle, pan-fried seabass with mango, pomegranate salsa, the special of the day pan-seared monk fish on pea risotto topped with prawn -- paired with a shared bottle of Mar de Frades Albarino. Kevin was awesome and told us about their sister restaurant in Kinsale, gave us a story about how he got VIP tickets to Guinness and brought us an after dinner shot of Stillgarden's Glas 55 – slainte!