Ireland - Qualified Agent - Families, Groups, Ind.

Céad míle fáilte or "A hundred thousand welcomes"

This certainly applies when you talk about Ireland. To say that the people are friendly and welcoming is a real understatement. Right from the north coast at the Giants Causeway to Cork on the south coast to Dublin in the east and to Galway in the west the inhabitants of the Emerald Isle will greet you with a kind word, make you laugh with their wonderful sense of humour, regale you with tales of their history over a Guinness or two and enchant you with their poems and songs.

It is, without doubt, a wonderful place to spend a vacation. I could write for hours about the place but I'm going to limit myself to talk about a few of the delightful experiences and sights I've enjoyed tremendously and shared with my family over the years.

Let's start in the east with Dublin as this is probably the city where most visitors get their first taste of Celtic hospitality. The largest city and the capital of the Republic of Ireland. Remember Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland which remains part of the UK. So much to see and do in this city. Great bars and restaurants and a vibrant nightlife await you. Must see museums and other historical places to visit are plentiful. The Guinness Storehouse, even if if you don't drink the stuff (and it does taste better in Dublin), it's a fascinating story of the history of Guinness. EPIC, the Irish Emigration Museum, is fantastic. It takes on a jouney 1,500 years in the making to tell the story of emigration from Ireland to all parts of the globe and the influence that Irish people have had in the numerous countries the relocated to. St. Patricks Cathedral and Trinity College to see The Book of Kells should also be on any visitors list.

Galway, the largest city on the west coast. Great seafood (oysters!!), street musicians and artists, a stunning cathedral, The Spanish Arch and Nimmo's Pier (I had to get my name in somehow lol but he's not a relative). The pedestrian area around Shoppe Street and Eyre is worth a few hours of your time exploring. Galway is also a great centre to use as your base to spend a few days doing day tours. The world famous Cliffs of Moher, featured in Harry Potter, is quite simply breathtaking. Going north from Galway you can venture into Connemara and see the national park and also visit the fishing village of Roundstone.

Cork, the secon largest city in the Republic, is known as Irelands Food Capital. They advise wearing loose clothing when visiting Cork lol. The English Market is a great attraction and has been hailed as the best covered market in Ireland and the UK. Cork City Gaol is a very historic building and you can tour the cells and corridors. The Crawford Art Gallery and the Elizabeth Fort which is 400 years old a well worth a few hours of your time. A wonderful day trip from Cork would be The Ring of Kerry. On this tour you can visit Kilorglin, Dingle Bay and Killarney National Park. Look out for the standing stones and ancient forts, some of which are 10,000 years old.

Sligo. On our last trip to Ireland we stayed in Sligo and we wondered why we'd never spent time in this area on earlier visits. We really missed out there! Next time it'll be our first port of call. Great downtown, the city is located at the mouth of the River Garavogue. Travelling a few miles north of Sligo is the village of Drumcliffe. Here you can visit the grave of WB Yeats, famous Irish poet and writer. To the west of the city we stopped in Easkey and Curraghnagap, where we ate probably the best bread we've ever had when we stopped for lunch. It is a beautiful drive along the coast but you have to leave yourself lots of time as there are so many places to stop and take a picture.

Well, that concludes my little whistle stop tour of the Emerald Isle. I hoped you've found it informative and maybe also the idea that this should be your next vacation trip? Get in touch and we'll make it happen!!

Beannachtaí agus taisteal sona!! Cheers and happy travels!!