
We had been preparing this trip for a year and a half and we were very thrilled to finally start the journey. We combined it with a college football game and a visit to Scotland. Eight members of our family were on board.
We met at Atlanta airport where we had a direct flight with Delta. We arrived in Dublin at 8:00am. A mini bus took us to our hotel, which was located in the Temple Bar neighborhood. We stayed at the Temple Bar Inn, one of the only hotels available when we booked eleven months earlier. The location and the service were great. The rooms…not so much. They were very very small. The photos they show on their website and on travel websites do not reflect the sad reality. Never again. As I mentioned above, we came for a football game and 28,000 Americans were staying in the city, which explains why all the hotels were sold out or unavailable when we booked.
We dropped our luggage, walked around Temple Bar, and had lunch at the Quays, a traditional Irish pub with a great atmosphere and good food. We walked afterwards to Dublin Castle, located at the highest point of central Dublin. The castle itself is not breathtaking, but its history makes it interesting.
The next day we walked from the hotel and started by visiting Trinity College, one of the seven ancient universities of Great Britain and Ireland. It is famous for its library, the Book of Kells, which was unfortunately partly closed during our visit. They were renovating and most of the books had been removed. We went back to Temple Street through Grafton Street, the center of shopping in Ireland since Victorian times. This pedestrian-only shopping street is filled with beautiful townhouses and street-level stores.
We had dinner at the Thunder Road Café, a fun place to eat good American food in the center of Dublin. On our way back to our hotel we stopped at the Palace Bar, a famous pub located just across from our hotel. It has a great atmosphere and it is not touristy. Afterwards we all went to listen to live Irish music at the Oliver St. John Gogarty pub, which was a lot of fun with a mix of natives and international visitors.
For our last day in Dublin we hopped on the Big Bus tour. It took us around the city. We visited the Christ Church Cathedral and Dublinia, a Viking and medieval museum. It is located where Dublin Viking settlements once stood. Afterwards we walked to St Patrick's Cathedral. The bus stopped at most of the famous sites, including the Guinness Storehouse and the Jameson Distillery. We made a dinner reservation at Red Torch Ginger, a Thai restaurant near Trinity College with a vibrant atmosphere and modern Asian dishes.

We woke up early the next morning to take our pre-booked train to Cork. The trip took a couple of hours. In Cork we stayed at the Address Hotel, an older property that has recently been refurbished. It is advertised as a luxury, four-star hotel. Our room was in the older part of the building and did not look like it had been renovated. The restaurant was very nice. Altogether the service at this hotel is very slow, from the front desk to the restaurant, but we only stayed there for one night and it was fine. After checking in we took taxis to the Blarney Castle, a medieval construction known for the Blarney Stone, which has the power of conferring eloquence on all who kiss it. The stone is located on top of the castle and it took us almost one hour to queue and to finally kiss it. The experience was unique, but I would not do it again. It rained all day, so we took a taxi to have dinner in the city, which was about ten minutes from our hotel. It was Monday night and most of the restaurants and pubs were closed. We ate at The Oliver Plunkett pub. They served hearty food in a traditional Irish pub environment.
Our trip took us next to Galway. We would have to change trains twice coming from Cork, so we decided to take a coach instead. We chose the Irish Citylink company, which has modern buses and Wi-Fi. After a three-hour trip we arrived at our hotel in Galway, located right across the coach station. We stayed at the Hyde Hotel. The property has a good location, a nice bar area and a helpful staff. That’s about it.

We stayed in Galway for three nights. The first night we had drinks at O’Connell, a pub that was opened in 1862 by the O’Connell family. The beer garden used to be a stable yard where horses were fed and watered. We had dinner a few minutes away at the An Pucan pub. We tried the Thai Red Spiced Chicken and the Cajun Chicken Penne Pasta. It was so good that we returned the following night. The music and ambiance were also wonderful.
We had booked tours on Viator for the next two day. It took us first to Connemara National Park, a natural area renowned for its landscape and cultural heritage. The park spans nearly 7,400 acres. Our main stop was at the Kylemore Abbey, a Benedictine monastery renowned for its stunning architecture, lush gardens, and rich history. It was a long day in a bus, but our driver/guide was very informative and made the tour very enjoyable.
We had a shorter tour for the next day. They just drove us to the Cliffs of Moher, one of the most outstanding coastal features of Ireland. We spent a couple of hours there and returned to Galway.
Both of our tours in Galway were subcontracted to Lally Tours, a local coach company. They were very professional and we felt safe in their buses, especially considering the types of roads they were driving on.
For our last night in Ireland we had dinner at McSwiggan’s Steak and Seafood restaurant. The atmosphere was very good and the steaks were perfect. We really enjoyed this restaurant.
The next morning, we took the Citylink coach to the Dublin airport. It took 2 and a half hours. The bus is a faster option as there are no direct trains from Galway to the Dublin airport.
We really enjoyed our week in Ireland. Everybody in our group had a great time. Great scenery, wonderful people and authentic music in pubs.
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