mmculp

My sister and I are leaving for Ireland in 20 days. Where is a good place to buy gifts that are decently priced and not too "touristy". We also want to buy celtic knot rings - anyone know of a place with a good selection and decent prices? We'll be hitting Galway, Connemara, Westport, Antrim, Dublin, Kilkenny, Ardmore, Cobh, Kinsale, Dingle (pretty much doing a "ring" around Ireland)

Thanks for you help!

Jenbirds

My husband and I were in Ireland in May and were looking for Celtic knot rings. We found a nice pair (wedding bands) in Killarney, but they cost much more than we wanted to spend (495 Euro each). We ended up buying trinity knot rings from an artist's gallery in Doolin for 165 Euro each. You'll find rings in most places for a cheap price (16-25 Euro), but if you want something a little nicer, focus on the jewlery shops, exclusively.

Itallian_Chauffer

Brian de Staic in Dingle makes interesting and unique jewelry. His speciality is jewelry incorporating the ancient celtic, Ogham script.
In Galway, on Quay Street (within the old Spanish Quarter is Thomas Dillon's (?) Claddah Museum (and store). Just up the street is another jewelry store (the name escapes me) where three of the ladies in our 1999 'Pub Tour' each purchased celtic design rings, at reasonable prices.

itsmlf

In Galway go to 2nd floor of Roches Dept store......they have gifts and souvenirs at a much better price than most of the gift shops. Its just off Eyre square.

Mags8

Thank you! I am the sister of mmculp and we appreciate all your suggestions! It sounds like Galway has the best prices.

Steeleyes

While you will see some "must haves" in some of the smaller towns, by far your largest selection will be in Galway and Dublin. The pedestrian mall in Galway has shop after shop with some great bargains even for the "touristy" items. Standuns in Spiddal just West of Galway also has a pretty good selection of quality items.