First trip to Ireland
 

We are travelling to Ireland for 7 days, March 23 - March 30, 6 days there. Flying in to Dublin and staying at Westin Dublin Hotel. Suggestion on places to not miss in the city? Also, looking to take a train to Cork and spend one night. Train advisable? Can we rent a car for a day after we get there to do a little country tour on the west coast
(Dingle, Blarney)? Want to catch Powerscourt Castle and Glendalough near Dublin.

We are also planning our first trip to Ireland on the 18th of April. A friend wrote the following to me regarding visiting Dublin as she has spent three different weeks just in Dublin. Hope this helps as it did for us. "Find O'Connell Street at one end of the city and get on the hop on hop off bus and take the whole tour of the city! The Guinness Factory, the Nat'l Museum at Collins Barracks and the Kilmainham Jail are at the same end of Dublin and DON'T MISS THINGS! The Old Jameson Distillery is also in that neck of the woods. The Brazen Head Pub and O' Shea's Merchant Inn and Pub are across the street from each other and just a few blocks from the Jameson Distillery and The Cobblestone is a block away from the Jameson Distillery - ALL ARE AWESOME PLACES FOR MUSIC!!!!! Also very local! Back off of O'Connell street is Talbot Street and you want the Celt (another GREAT local pub - the French fusion place right next to it was excellent and reasonably priced!"

Look around Dublin for a couple of days. You can buy a tourist bus pass from either the red or green bus and they will drop you off and pick you up from all of the sights.
Don't miss Dublin castle or the Guinness factory. When you get your car stop off in Bray and then head to Powerscourt, they are both off the M11 and easy to get to. After you visit powerscourt head West!

Thank you both! We're excited! What about a train to Cork? Good idea, or do it by car?

One more question: time and best way to go up to Northern Ireland for a day? The Ulster-American Folk Park is something we'd like to visit if possible.

If you are going to Cork I would definitely say train not car especially if you are only talking about an overnight. Blarney is just outside Cork city so you will have no problem getting out there. Dingle however is not really doable from Cork city if you are only going for one night. It's about 100 miles from Cork on not great roads. I'm assuming you are coming from the US? The roads here in Ireland from Cork over to Dingle area will be nothing like you are used to. See www.aaireland.ie for routefinder and distances.

Glendalough and Powerscourt are very near Dublin and definitely worth seeing. You can get a bus to Glendalough (I don't know anything about the companies that do this so don't want to advertise here, but just google bus dublin to glendalough and you will find it no problem). There is only one rail carrier so I can give you that website www.irishrail.ie Hope you have a great trip.

KK_Cat - there are roads like the ones in Ireland, I've discovered them here in West Virginia. :(