Our Ireland trip report....sightseeing and golf.
Jul 20th, 2004, 01:55 PM
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Our Ireland trip report....sightseeing and golf.
Leave LAX June 27
Sunday 5:10 pm on Aer Lingus the Irish airline.
Flight takes 9 ? hours with the tail wind in our favor.
Plane landed in Dublin the next day at 11:15 a.m. Ireland time.
June 28 (Mon). Drive north and visit Malahide Castle (I?t?s supposed to be very haunted~9 miles no. of Dublin) Newgrange (prehistoric tomb built in 4th millennium BC) Older than the pyramids?very interesting) Stayed at the Oakleigh house B&B in Newcastle, County Down owned by Jan and her daughter Pam. By the time we went to bed that evening we had been up for 31 hours. Jan and Pam are delightful and what a delicious breakfast of fresh omelets with mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, fresh wheaten bread with jams, French press coffee, orange juice, yogurt and cereals. Their breakfast room overlooks a huge cow pasture with cows grazing?very peaceful. 20 pounds pp per night.
July 29-30 (Tues-Wed) Played Royal County Down Golf Course 10:30 tee time. 110 pounds plus caddie 35 euros per bag plus tip. Beautiful Links course. Back to Dublin and spent two nights. We took the on and off bus that lets you off at all the most popular sites, stay as long as you like and then get back on again. Went to several pubs for traditional Irish music. Our favorite was in Temple Bar area. A five piece band: guitar, violin, bagpipes, small accordion, drum.
Drove north/west through Cashel and Cahir to Killarney. Along the way we stopped at the Rock of Cashel, Huge amount of history with this one, going back to around the year 500. This I think was one of the most amazing sights in Ireland. It?s in ruins, not restored & really breathtaking.
July 1st-4th (Thurs-Sun) Stayed at the Foley House in Killarny. (paid 107 per room per night with breakfast?as steal as far as we were concerned. We LOVED Killarney and the Foley house was the best. Stayed Thurs-Sunday. July 2nd 4:10 Ballybunion tee time 125 euros per person plus caddie 35 euros per bag. 40-50 miles an hour winds and rain! Our caddie said he?d never seen it worse. Lasted 15 holes. We?d payed our money and they don?t issue refunds in Ireland for rain!
Visited Killarney National Park and saw much of it in a jaunting cart that we rented from a gentleman that looked like he had been hired right out of central casting. He?s been at his job for 41 years. He was delightful and our cart horses name was Freddie. We visited Muckross house, (fabulous estate right outside Killarney~ some of the most beautiful gardens in Ireland, waterfalls. went around the lower lakes and heard a lot of the history of the area.
Drove the Dingle peninsula and saw the Beehive huts, Tralee area Drove the Slea Head Loop (spectacular, gorgeous white sand beaches and turquoise water) Dunbeg Fort, Ross Castle. Played Killeen Golf Course. 50 euro We loved Killarney and were glad we chose it over Kenmare which was much smaller and not as picturesque as far as I was concerned.
Sunday 5:10 pm on Aer Lingus the Irish airline.
Flight takes 9 ? hours with the tail wind in our favor.
Plane landed in Dublin the next day at 11:15 a.m. Ireland time.
June 28 (Mon). Drive north and visit Malahide Castle (I?t?s supposed to be very haunted~9 miles no. of Dublin) Newgrange (prehistoric tomb built in 4th millennium BC) Older than the pyramids?very interesting) Stayed at the Oakleigh house B&B in Newcastle, County Down owned by Jan and her daughter Pam. By the time we went to bed that evening we had been up for 31 hours. Jan and Pam are delightful and what a delicious breakfast of fresh omelets with mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, fresh wheaten bread with jams, French press coffee, orange juice, yogurt and cereals. Their breakfast room overlooks a huge cow pasture with cows grazing?very peaceful. 20 pounds pp per night.
July 29-30 (Tues-Wed) Played Royal County Down Golf Course 10:30 tee time. 110 pounds plus caddie 35 euros per bag plus tip. Beautiful Links course. Back to Dublin and spent two nights. We took the on and off bus that lets you off at all the most popular sites, stay as long as you like and then get back on again. Went to several pubs for traditional Irish music. Our favorite was in Temple Bar area. A five piece band: guitar, violin, bagpipes, small accordion, drum.
Drove north/west through Cashel and Cahir to Killarney. Along the way we stopped at the Rock of Cashel, Huge amount of history with this one, going back to around the year 500. This I think was one of the most amazing sights in Ireland. It?s in ruins, not restored & really breathtaking.
July 1st-4th (Thurs-Sun) Stayed at the Foley House in Killarny. (paid 107 per room per night with breakfast?as steal as far as we were concerned. We LOVED Killarney and the Foley house was the best. Stayed Thurs-Sunday. July 2nd 4:10 Ballybunion tee time 125 euros per person plus caddie 35 euros per bag. 40-50 miles an hour winds and rain! Our caddie said he?d never seen it worse. Lasted 15 holes. We?d payed our money and they don?t issue refunds in Ireland for rain!
Visited Killarney National Park and saw much of it in a jaunting cart that we rented from a gentleman that looked like he had been hired right out of central casting. He?s been at his job for 41 years. He was delightful and our cart horses name was Freddie. We visited Muckross house, (fabulous estate right outside Killarney~ some of the most beautiful gardens in Ireland, waterfalls. went around the lower lakes and heard a lot of the history of the area.
Drove the Dingle peninsula and saw the Beehive huts, Tralee area Drove the Slea Head Loop (spectacular, gorgeous white sand beaches and turquoise water) Dunbeg Fort, Ross Castle. Played Killeen Golf Course. 50 euro We loved Killarney and were glad we chose it over Kenmare which was much smaller and not as picturesque as far as I was concerned.
Jul 20th, 2004, 01:56 PM
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July 5th (Mon) Crossed the River Shannon on the Tarbert Ferry (huge ferry that carries 18-wheel trucks! 20 minute ride) across to Lahinch
Played Lahinch GC at 11:50 a.m. July 5th Monday Beautiful day and a very difficult course. 125 euro plus junior caddie 25 euros per bag and tip.
To see: Cliffs of Moher, 710 ft. cliffs. (A Japanese lady was blown off the week before we arrived.) These cliffs are breathtaking?the birds fly at eye level and the views are forever. We also visited the Burren?extreme limestone rock formations along the western coast of Galway county
Stayed the night in the village of Doolin at an inn called Aran View which had views of the Aran Islands. (duh!)
They had the cutest dogs there?Max and Wally. Max was a king george spaniel and Wally was a black collie?actually he was some kind of a mix but he looked just like Lassie, only black. When ever you tried to leave the property in your car, he?d try to herd you back in the driveway. We heard some wonderful Irish music at one of the pubs too.
July 6-7 (Tuesday-Wed) on to Clifden/Connemara Stayed in Clifden at the Foyles hotel. Oldest hotel in the area with large rooms and a good breakfast. (40 euro per night per person) The sun doesn?t go down until 10:00 at night and it?s not dark until after 11:00 so we sometimes found ourselves eating dinner at 9:00-10:00 p.m. at night.
There was a lot of sea food, beef and lamb. Not a lot chicken choices. Irish stew, toasties (toasted sandwiches with different fillings) If you asked for a salad if came inside your sandwich and the salad with your dinner, many times came dry. Their ketchup tastes weird too?kind of sweet. It definitely wasn?t Heinz.
To see: Kylemore Abbey ~Connemara National Park
Played Connemara golf Course. Links course. 50 euro
July 8 Stayed in Cong?visited Ashford Castle and stayed in a B&B owned by Jerry and Mary the Nympsfield B&B. Had a nice conversation with a younger gentleman at breakfast that morning who had moved from Ireland in 1987. We were commenting on how prosperous the country looked and how much new construction was going on. He said when he moved (to France), Dublin seemed ?just grey?, & the whole country was very depressed economically. The government then decided to make some very radical changes by allowing businesses huge tax incentives to move there to do business. They have a very educated work force that speaks English. Since that time the country has changed so, that he said he doesn?t? recognize it. He now lives in Spain and told us about some wonderful Spanish wines that we should try too!
Visited Dromoland Castle and thought about staying a night but decided to check out Adare Manor before we made our choice. Dromoland is another of the castle/hotels that you can stay in in Ireland and it?s where President Bush stayed when he visited there the end of June.
July 9 We stayed at the Adare B&B owned by Richard and his wife Olive. They had the most darling little daughter Roisin (pronounced Ro-sheen) who could have been in an ad promoting Ireland. The village of Adare is quaint with lots of thatched hut cottages and a great pub called Lena?s. There is a church on the main street and there was a wedding party with all the women wearing the big hats?it?s was so colorful!
Played Lahinch GC at 11:50 a.m. July 5th Monday Beautiful day and a very difficult course. 125 euro plus junior caddie 25 euros per bag and tip.
To see: Cliffs of Moher, 710 ft. cliffs. (A Japanese lady was blown off the week before we arrived.) These cliffs are breathtaking?the birds fly at eye level and the views are forever. We also visited the Burren?extreme limestone rock formations along the western coast of Galway county
Stayed the night in the village of Doolin at an inn called Aran View which had views of the Aran Islands. (duh!)
They had the cutest dogs there?Max and Wally. Max was a king george spaniel and Wally was a black collie?actually he was some kind of a mix but he looked just like Lassie, only black. When ever you tried to leave the property in your car, he?d try to herd you back in the driveway. We heard some wonderful Irish music at one of the pubs too.
July 6-7 (Tuesday-Wed) on to Clifden/Connemara Stayed in Clifden at the Foyles hotel. Oldest hotel in the area with large rooms and a good breakfast. (40 euro per night per person) The sun doesn?t go down until 10:00 at night and it?s not dark until after 11:00 so we sometimes found ourselves eating dinner at 9:00-10:00 p.m. at night.
There was a lot of sea food, beef and lamb. Not a lot chicken choices. Irish stew, toasties (toasted sandwiches with different fillings) If you asked for a salad if came inside your sandwich and the salad with your dinner, many times came dry. Their ketchup tastes weird too?kind of sweet. It definitely wasn?t Heinz.
To see: Kylemore Abbey ~Connemara National Park
Played Connemara golf Course. Links course. 50 euro
July 8 Stayed in Cong?visited Ashford Castle and stayed in a B&B owned by Jerry and Mary the Nympsfield B&B. Had a nice conversation with a younger gentleman at breakfast that morning who had moved from Ireland in 1987. We were commenting on how prosperous the country looked and how much new construction was going on. He said when he moved (to France), Dublin seemed ?just grey?, & the whole country was very depressed economically. The government then decided to make some very radical changes by allowing businesses huge tax incentives to move there to do business. They have a very educated work force that speaks English. Since that time the country has changed so, that he said he doesn?t? recognize it. He now lives in Spain and told us about some wonderful Spanish wines that we should try too!
Visited Dromoland Castle and thought about staying a night but decided to check out Adare Manor before we made our choice. Dromoland is another of the castle/hotels that you can stay in in Ireland and it?s where President Bush stayed when he visited there the end of June.
July 9 We stayed at the Adare B&B owned by Richard and his wife Olive. They had the most darling little daughter Roisin (pronounced Ro-sheen) who could have been in an ad promoting Ireland. The village of Adare is quaint with lots of thatched hut cottages and a great pub called Lena?s. There is a church on the main street and there was a wedding party with all the women wearing the big hats?it?s was so colorful!
Jul 20th, 2004, 01:57 PM
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July 10 Stayed at Adare Castle, which we liked better than Dromoland. Our big splurge. Actually Toni?s big splurge as a treat for Larry?s 50th birthday. He had a massage too! It?s a beautiful castle, now a 5 star hotel built in the 1830?s. Larry coerced one of the employees to take him up to the luxury suites and he did some filming. Our room wasn?t quite as big but still very nice and they treat you like royalty. (king/queen for a day!)
When we left, I signed their guest book ?BUSH SHOULD HAVE STAYED HERE!?
Played Adare golf course. 60 euro
July 11, Stayed in the village of Bunratty for our last night which is close to Shannon airport.
There is a pub there called Durty Nellie's so of course we had to go and raise our elbows in praise of our great visit to Ireland.
We had several pints of ?goodness? (Guinness) there, listened to music and Larry joined in at the piano when the regular player took a break. It was a wonderful night with impromptu singing by the locals and lots of laughs.
12 Mon Leave for home Our plane left at 8:30 a.m. from Shannon with a short lay over in Dublin. I had my nose glued to the window for that last glimpse of Ireland before we flew out over the Atlantic. We really LOVED Ireland and hated to leave. It took 10 ? hours to get to LAX because we didn?t have the tail wind.
Some random notes:
The words to the song: It's a long way to Tipperary, it's a long way to go; It's a long way to Tipperary, to the sweetest girl I know;
Good-bye Piccadilly, farewell Leicester Square, It's a long, long way to Tipperary, but my heart's right there.
When driving in Ireland you will frequently pass old tower houses that are in ruin. The English, in all of their wisdom, established a roof tax in the 1800s just when lots of Irish were in need of a roof over their head. To avoid the tax, it is said that many an Englishman went out and removed the roofs from their buildings.
The Irish are wonderful people, very warm, extremely friendly and so funny in the way they phrase things. They?re accent is so lovely!
Since 1841, over ? the population of Ireland has immigrated. The population was close to 8 million then and is less than 4 million now. The potato famine killed over 1 million people in just 4 years. (1845-1859)
The euro at the time we visited was worth about 1.27 to the dollar, so everything cost a lot more.
I was amazed at the beautiful white sand beaches and turquoise water.
Many of the homes and buildings are painted various colors of bright pastels. Yellow, royal blue, salmon, pink, cornflower blue, etc. I think because so much of their year is rainy and grey they brighten up the landscape with the color.
When we left, I signed their guest book ?BUSH SHOULD HAVE STAYED HERE!?
Played Adare golf course. 60 euro
July 11, Stayed in the village of Bunratty for our last night which is close to Shannon airport.
There is a pub there called Durty Nellie's so of course we had to go and raise our elbows in praise of our great visit to Ireland.
We had several pints of ?goodness? (Guinness) there, listened to music and Larry joined in at the piano when the regular player took a break. It was a wonderful night with impromptu singing by the locals and lots of laughs.
12 Mon Leave for home Our plane left at 8:30 a.m. from Shannon with a short lay over in Dublin. I had my nose glued to the window for that last glimpse of Ireland before we flew out over the Atlantic. We really LOVED Ireland and hated to leave. It took 10 ? hours to get to LAX because we didn?t have the tail wind.
Some random notes:
The words to the song: It's a long way to Tipperary, it's a long way to go; It's a long way to Tipperary, to the sweetest girl I know;
Good-bye Piccadilly, farewell Leicester Square, It's a long, long way to Tipperary, but my heart's right there.
When driving in Ireland you will frequently pass old tower houses that are in ruin. The English, in all of their wisdom, established a roof tax in the 1800s just when lots of Irish were in need of a roof over their head. To avoid the tax, it is said that many an Englishman went out and removed the roofs from their buildings.
The Irish are wonderful people, very warm, extremely friendly and so funny in the way they phrase things. They?re accent is so lovely!
Since 1841, over ? the population of Ireland has immigrated. The population was close to 8 million then and is less than 4 million now. The potato famine killed over 1 million people in just 4 years. (1845-1859)
The euro at the time we visited was worth about 1.27 to the dollar, so everything cost a lot more.
I was amazed at the beautiful white sand beaches and turquoise water.
Many of the homes and buildings are painted various colors of bright pastels. Yellow, royal blue, salmon, pink, cornflower blue, etc. I think because so much of their year is rainy and grey they brighten up the landscape with the color.
Jul 20th, 2004, 01:59 PM
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I also would like to say thanks so much to all the people on this site that made this the trip that it was. Without you help and wouldn't have know where to start.
An extra big thank you to Jinx who helped me so much with tee time advice and phone numbers. The golf was awesome!!!!!!
An extra big thank you to Jinx who helped me so much with tee time advice and phone numbers. The golf was awesome!!!!!!
Jul 21st, 2004, 12:10 PM
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Ballybunion was challenging but I must say that I liked Royal County Down & Lahinch better. First of all we had better weather at the others (caddie said he'd never seen it worse at Ballybunion!) I proved my myself as a real golfer just to be out there according to the gentleman I played with ...my husband didn't play) but beyond that, Ballybunion's first 6 holes or so run along homes and a mobile home park which wasn't very scenic.
I think my favorite course was Lahinch. They made it really tough with super narrow fairways...hit it straight or loose your ball but I loved it as I played well that day and the ocean views are beautiful.
Killen and Adare were beautiful but more of what I'm used to playing in the states...parkland course.
I think my favorite course was Lahinch. They made it really tough with super narrow fairways...hit it straight or loose your ball but I loved it as I played well that day and the ocean views are beautiful.
Killen and Adare were beautiful but more of what I'm used to playing in the states...parkland course.
