Delighted I could have been of help, Aussie_10. I wish I could join you, especially for when you head down to Galway. It's been at least 8 years since I was on the West Coast, and I miss it dearly. I cycled so much of it, and it's probably the only place where a headwind was worth it. Happy Trails,
AZ

Thanks AZ, Cant wait for our trip.

Just saying, congrats to Rory MciIroy on the FedEX. We felt so bad about Rory's game's meltdown on The Open at Royal Portrush. God Bless Him, in defeat, Rory gave his all in his best wishes to Shane. Rory is from Prod North Ireland; Shane is the Republic. In their heart of hearts, there is NO difference. They are Irish. And my husband and I, having been in Ireland from bottom to top, totally get it.

My husband and I were joyful about Shane's victory, plus we totally enjoyed Shane's week (weeks?) of celebration, because it did inform us of how joyful one can be in an Irish life as opposed the joy one can get in an American life.

And this is what we ponder: Has Rory, as "The Irish Tiger Woods" gotten to experience the sheer joy Shane enjoyed? Does he get to savor it all? He and Brooks Koepka (we share Brooks DNA by the way) work so damn hard that we worry.

Part of what we enjoy in Ireland, Republic or NI, is a sort of "Today we live," mentality. That's why we travel there.

Enjoying your trip report as we plan. BTW, DH went to law school at William and Mary. We may have some questions in the future. Just sorting out an itinerary. Please see my threadhttps://www.fodors.com/community/europe/ireland-help-last-minute-trip-nov-16-2024-for-about-9-10-days-1726089/ I am trying to get it tagged for UK too.

Update about one of our favorite bars in a favorite city
 

When I wrote this trip report in 2019, I enjoyed reporting on Belfast and on one of the most unique bars we had ever entered, The Sunflower. Because there was a recent response to my old report and a lot of recent hits on it, I thought I'd look at the report again. I can see why actors don't want to watch themselves in movies. There's a lot of cringe-worthy commentary. Still, some of the nitty-gritty information has held up, thank goodness. But there's a very sad note.

A search for "The Sunflower" under the heading "news" brought up this January 2024 news article: https://www.irishnews.com/news/north...PI5JYIWZKMPEI/

That link may not work for many of you, but in essence, the owner Pedro Donald is giving up and moving to Amsterdam. According to the news article, Pedro Donald feels that the lack of government (it was a problem in 2019!) and the city's senseless lack of direction have driven him to the brink. Like Dublin (not in the news articles), the drug culture has impacted the city greatly. I would be sad if his viewpoint holds even 75% truth.

We did see the downward change in Dublin because of drugs between 2013 and 2022, and we had hoped Belfast had escaped it all.

Of course, I just told my husband it's our civic responsibility to return ASAP to verify. :)

AZ

I really appreciate this last post. We are tweaking our trip starting 11/17! and we were going to extend our time in Belfast, but decided against. I will be posting our itinerary soon. Any comments will be welcomed.

virginiafish--I do want to put this in perspective: remember, I have not seen this with my own eyes. The Sunflower was in a really sketchy part of town even when we went, so I don't know how much of Pedro Donald's viewpoint applies to the other parts of Belfast that are more upscale. As you can see by my trip report, some of the regulars there (who were not sketchy at all) were shocked that American tourists had even found the place.
Similarly, I already mentioned that Dublin had changed between our two visits almost a decade apart, but again, the areas that seemed seedier the second time were already leaning toward seedy on the earlier visit.

BTW, I just checked to see if one of our favorite bands that we saw Belfast, The Cool Hand String Band, is still regularly playing sets at The Points. According to their Facebook page, it is. I think the band's violinist that we especially liked, Bronagh Broderick, is also performing as part of a duo there regularly, too.

Thanks for this great advice. I am concerned about where to stay in Belfast. We booked Tara Lodge for the beginning and end of our time there, but I am having second thoughts. Any suggestions appreciated.

Tara Lodge is a tad away from our "tramping grounds" in Belfast (think of a radius from Belfast City Hall), so I can't give you any kind of read on it.

I just asked my husband to take a look at the location because it's just south of The Points and off the main road. He took one look and said, "Dark streets down that way." Yep, that was my recollection.

Don't rely on us. Remember, it's not as though we were in Belfast for weeks and are experts. To put things in better perspective, we stayed in the Obel Tower just north of The Big Fish on the River Lagan. The last block or two on our walk back from our haunts always seemed sketchy at night yet not so in the day.

I wish Google Streetview could show us everything at night.

Thank you! That was our thought. I am posting our "finally" itinerary on my original question.