Our first & probably only trip to Ireland, 12 days. One night not booked. Interested to learn about Irish culture & history. We will drive from Blarney to Dublin, stopping one night at a B&B in between. Have read of Glendalough & Kilkenny. Which would you recommend? Perhaps another place? Jim, Australia.

I haven't been to Glendalough, but Kilkenny is a great little town. There is a castle in the town (I didn't get to tour it on my visit). The town itself has lots of great pubs and shops. We met lots of locals in this town- it was my favorite stop in Ireland!

Thank you, Kjenn for sharing your experience. We'll at least have a sort visit to Kilkenny. We haven't been bombarded with responses so far. Jim.

Jim, Glendalough is a historical sight that is a place where St. Kevin used to pray and set up a monestary. There is a short documentary and a tour that takes about an hour if I remember correctly. Its a very peaceful place. Its the kind of place to hear about early Christianity, see very old grave sites and beautiful scenery, watch the documentary and walk around a bit.

Kilkenny is a town with shops, the castle, pubs and day/night life.

So, it would depend on what you are looking for.

Hope this helps.
Shadow

Living in Ireland I would agree with the reply from Shadow. A suggestion is to visit Johnny Fox's pub in Wicklow. It's the hightest pub in Ireland and you can see all over Dublin. It has Irish Music Nights where you can have dinner 7 nights a week and is only about 30 mins. outside of dublin city centre. I havent seen the show myself but have heard great reviews about it but I have visited the pub. It's a great tourist place. Their web site is www.jfp.ie so you should check it out.

I totally recommned Glendalough. I am sitting here now revisiting in my head the lovely afternoon my daughter and I spent there. Walking the labyrinth was one of the most peaceful moments I have ever felt. The photos I took are amazing....all you have to do in Ireland to get great pictures is to hold up your camera and click!

Glendalough is wonderful. Our only regret was not spending enough time there. You also may want to consider Powerscourt Gardens which is not far from there or Dublin. Enjoy!

Hi Jim,
Glendalough is really worth a visit. It is so peaceful there and also very beautiful. It's not worth rushing through.
http://www.faculty.de.gcsu.edu/~dves...ndalough.shtml

I enjoyed the day I spent in Kilkenny. The first thing I did was go to the tourist office and joined a walking tour. The tour was about an hour long and after it ended I went back to some of the churches and other sites that I wanted to see in more detail.
I did the tour of the castle and thought it was lovely and worth the time. Opposite the castle is the Design center, try not to miss it if you want to do a little shopping.
Don't forget to drink a little Kilkenny beer while you're there and maybe even go and see the brewery which is right in the town.

Hope you have a great trip

Agree with everyone else that Glendalough and Kilkenny are both great. I think Glendalough can be seen as a mid-day stop for a couple of hours - that it doesn't need an overnight. Kilkenny is a great town, more to do - castle, pubs, shops, churches. Both are definitely worthwhile. I don't have a map handy, but the Rock of Cashel is also worth your time (can't remember how far out of the way it would be between Blarney and Dublin).

Thank you all for your useful and generous information. A possible, but flexible, plan could be: 8am depart Blarney; 9-10am Cahir Castle; 10.30-12 Rock of Cashel; 2-3pm Kilkenny; 5-6pm Glendalough Visitors Info Centre then explore site until 7pm. This assumes Glendalough Info Centre is open until 6pm. Thank you again, Jim.

Final result: I ended up not staying at Blarney but will visit and stay at Cashel, and the next day visit Kilkenny and Glendalough before driving on to Dublin. I would like to thank all the above Fodorites for their excellent advice. Jim.