Sligo to Dublin - what to see between?
 

We (8) are buying our tickets to Ireland this week. We only have one week at the end of July, so can't see much in Ireland. We will stay 3 nights just south of Sligo Town and just north of family.

We will live Sligo and head for Dublin. We will stay in Dublin for 2 nights before flying out of Dublin.(I'll leave the first 2 nights in West Ireland after flying into Shannon for another post.)

We have one night in between Sligo and Dublin that we can stay somewhere else - hopefully on a direct route to Dublin.

Any ideas of what to see between Sligo and Dublin and where to spend an overnight?

Thank you all.

T.
A special thanks to MaureenCol. I read one of her posts which got me thinking about genealogy. Turns out with a short bit of internet seaching I found out that the MacDermot Clan is having a reunion and looks like we belong to the Clan. You see, you never know how one post can influence many!

tmt

Athlone is a very good town for a stop over. Leave Sligo early, maybe a short stop at Boyle with a walk around. Athlone has a very nice castle, with a fine view. Stroll along the Shannon, and around the castle for some very interesting stops. This is the old section of town. Athlone has many very good restaurants. The Left Bank Bistro is just behind the castle, and is an award winner.

Shelmalier House is where I stay. -- www.shelmalierhouse.com -- I would book it before you get there. It is popular with the Dublin crowd through high season, which is when you are going.

Athlone is not on the route and, in my opinion, is not worth diverting for. If you decide to try it, the castle does house a pleasant folk museum, which might appeal to some people, and the very good monastic site of Clonmacnoise is nearby.

On the more direct route you have: Boyle, a pleasant enough town with a good abbey to see; Longford, best bypassed; Mullingar, from where you can visitBelvedere House, a small architectural gem in a great setting.

We will be visiting Boyle during our 3 nights in the Sligo area. It turns out that the MacDermotRoe Clan is from Boyle and my grandfather's family is from that area and Culfadda, near Ballymote.

So, its that one extra day that we were hoping to fit something else in when we live Ballymote and head over to Dublin.

At this point, I'm not sure what the best route from Ballymote to Dublin is. We are looking into renting car(s) and also looking into the pricing for one van for all of us with a driver.

Thanks for any further suggestions for the one night between Ballymote/Sligo and Dublin.

T.

You can easily just drive to Dublin in one day instead of stopping for the night enroute. That would give you another day for somewhere else like Sligo.

The most direct route is to get on the N4 in Boyle and take it all the way to Dublin. Padriag mentioned Belvedere House & Gardens near Mullingar. That would break up the trip nicely. They also have a falconry center there.

If you prefer something a bit different and do not mind diverting slightly you could take in Strokestown Park House, Gardens and Famine Museum.

It all depends on the interests of your group.

I'd agree with IrishEyes: Ballymote to Dublin is an easy enough drive. You can do it handily in half a day. With a bit of tourism en route, it can be a one-day transfer.

Unless you like to pack and move, it might be easier to take an extra night in either Ballymote or Dublin.

Thank you so much. We will spend either another night in Dublin or in Ballymote. I just wanted to make sure that there was not something along the route that we should be spending time at.

Now to figure out if we can drive a manual car with our left hand? Or find a driver for the 5 days between Shannon and the drop off in Dublin. Any ideas for a driver?

T.

If you think that the driving is too daunting, and the plan is just to GET TO Dublin, consider this as an alternative:
http://www.irishrail.ie/home/

There is a station in Ballymote and it will drop you IN Dublin. No driving to the airport to drop of the car, etc.
Bob

tmt,
I saw that MacDermot reunion website. I am a McDonagh on both sides and I believe we trace our roots back through the MacDermots to the O'Connors. Madam MacDermot still lives in the estate in Coolavin on the Monastraden road. You can go through the wee gate to Clogher Stone Fort and walk up the driveway a ways and see the old house. The Fort is excellent also. It has two souterrains you can go through. There are a number of interesting sites in the area if you have time.

Maureencol:

It is thanks to you that I found any of that information. We will definately be doing alot of MacDermot searching while we are in Sligo for 3 nights.

Thank you for this kind of information that would be probably impossible to figure out on our own.

T.