I thought all of Ireland was just lovely, and it was one of the best vacations I've taken. The two experiences that stick out in my mind are:
Wandering into a bar in Kilkenny (not some touristy place either) and finding it stuffed with people singing. We didn't think it actually happened!

At the end of the Guinness factory tour, you take an elevator to the top floor for a pint. The elevator doors opened, U2 was playing over their sound system, and floor to ceiling windows of the circular bar showed us all of Dublin. Such a cool moment. The pints were excellent, too!

3 things:

1) Cross County ride/lesson with a top instructor (I am an equestrian, and this wasn't a "trail ride" type of ride, but an honest to goodness lesson)

2) We rented a Gypsy Caravan/horse and did the "ring of Kerry" in it (took a few days).

3) Kissing the Blarney Stone - still one of the scarier moments for me. It is cheesy, but memorable!

Dingle Peninsula, Connor's Pass and Slea Head Drive. Beautiful!

All the stone fences! Castles and ruins and peat fires in the pubs.

Stopping for all the sheep to get off the road.

Now that it's been two years since we've been back, we wished we had travelled a little slower but we wanted to see it all!

Wonderful thread here. My husband and I are thinking of spending our 20th anniversary this year in Ireland. Lots to think and dream about!

Walking across the bridge at Mizen Head to the Lighthouse.

http://www.westcorkweb.ie/mizenvision/ ((b))

Lots of good times in Ireland. While popping around a bend or over a pass and having the big "wow" scenic moments happen a lot, I think the most memorable involve interactions with people.

The one that pops into my head involved a bit of both. We took the boat ride across the Lakes of Killarney enroute to the Gap of Dunloe. This is a tourist thing to be sure, but our boat driver was a character. It's an open wooden boat, outboard motor in the back where he steered. Doing double duty, he decides he wants to do some fishing as we go, all the while muttering in Irish and switching to English to crack dicey jokes. Whenever he'd need to actually steer, he'd hand the fishing pole to my wife, not particularly known for her background in fishing.

So we're motoring across the lake, he's muttering away in Irish curses at the engine, joking, tour guiding, more or less driving when he had the chance and giving my wife lessons on the correct speed and angle in which to reel in the line. This while wind and mist whips in our faces and the most gorgeous scenery surrounds us on all sides. How can you forget a moment like that?

Our best moments in Ireland also involve the people. We learned to sit at the bar in the pubs and not at a table where you isolate yourself. Everytime we sat at the bar, we would get into a conversation with the neighboring man (always a man, never had a woman next to us). They were always delightful conversations that lasted hours and ended with the feeling that we knew this person inside and out. So many of the people have either lived in the US or have relatives that spent time here. They seem as fascinated by us as we are of them.

Drivng the rental car on those narrow roads was also memorable. Especialy the time that my DH ran the left wheel into a ditch and blew the tire. Being a man, he didn't want to ask for help and tried to change the tire himself only to find that the jack was impossible to figure out. I finally persuaded him to knock on the door of the nearest house (it was getting dark by that time and we were in the middle of nowhere), and the loveliest young couple sprang to our aid immediately. The man could not figure out the jack, either, but had several in his garage that did work. He insisted on changing the tire for us and we were just blown away. This was in Donegal, our favorite place of all, but the people are absolutely wonderful everywhere you go.

My advice is to always sit at the bar and wait around for the music - nothing happens until 10:00 PM or so, but it's so worth experiencing a real session if you can find one.

Heya, i'm an Irish newbie to this site, so just wondering if you want any insider info about Ireland, i'm here for ya! Although you seem to have done an awful alot of research....
Cheers!

Catcurtin,

We are going to be traveling along the coast from Cliften to the Beara Penninsula. We have done a lot of research already but wondered if you know of any little spot or town that is off the beaten track that most people over look. Any favorites resturant also.

Thanks Craig

I've been to Ireland a few times so I have many great memorable experiences. I would have to say my funniest experience is when we went down to a beach area along the Ring of Kerry and my 10 year daughter fell into the water. She was soaking wet and sandy. My husband had to literally give the shirt off his back (he had another shirt to wear) to her. Thank God she's tiny and it fit her like a little dress - although not a very flattering style. We walked through so many tiny villages trying to find her a decent outfit to wear. We finally found this tiny shop stuffed with discount clothing at not so discount prices. We paid 45 Euro for an outfit that barely fit here but our choices at that point were pretty limited (We were still quite a bit away from our B&B and it was getting chilly outside). It was worth the 45 Euros because we still laugh about it -my daughter included.

heya, i have a friend living in the beara pennsula and he's getting on the case for ya, so will send you on his email tomorrow

We have so enjoyed reading all the posts as I'm sure others have as well.
Thank you, to all that have shared!!

This reminds me of when we would go on vacations with our children and at the end of the day, at dinner while we were waiting for our meal and we would go around the table and tell what our favorite site or experience of the day had been.

Lojack, I had arleady listened to Nory Ryan's Song, (a couple of years ago.)but listened to it again, also very much enjoyed listening to Maggie's Door which is a continuation to Nory Ryan's Song. Thanks for the suggestion.

Catcurtin, thanks for your help.

Robbyn

Heya, this is the email i recieved from my friend....hope its some help!

"There are two restaurants with a good reputation, one in town called
Lotus
Thai
(which is- who would have guessed- Thai food) and Lawrence Cove seafood
restaurant on Bere Island. And then, on a
slightly less
posh
scale, there's The Copper Kettle. There's a beach at Allihies, a nice
castle
and wood at Dunboy which I always recommend people to visit, the Dzogchen
Beara buddhist centre, decent walks at Hungry Hill and loads of pubs"

Memorable experiences? Views such as Dingle, Cashel, Glendalough, Burren.
And also history such as Knowth, Kilmainham Gaol, Trim castle. And some entertainment such as theatre at the Abbey, pub music in Dublin, Killarney.

One memorable experience you won't want to repeart: hearing about 9/11 tragedy while shopping in Dublin!
Ozarks Bill

So many memories! I'll try to be selective. In Dublin, seeing the Book of Kells, wonderfully exhibited at Trinity College. Our visit to amazing prehistoric Newgrange. The breathtaking view of Kinsale from the road to Charles Fort. The delightful ride across the Gap of Dunloe by horse-drawn carriage. The mind-blowingly beautiful Ring of Kerry. My daughter's swim with Fungi the dolphin in Dingle. The haunting beauty of Connemara, especially the astonishing view from the Sky Road near Clifden. And then the adventure on our second Connemara drive, this time in the pouring rain, when we went into a ditch as we moved to the side to let a van pass on a single-track road. Only two houses in view. Picking the one with smoke coming out of the chimney, we arrived soaked to the skin but were instantly helped by a friendly couple who managed to haul out our car and send us on our way.

There are many memorable experiences;

-On a sunny day, driving around Slea Head on the Dingle Peninsula. The flowers, the seaside views, etc., are spectacular.
-Boatride around Kinsale Bay.
-Visit to Cobh and the emigrants' museum
-Brunch at the Shelbourne (in Dublin)
-Visit to Kilmainham Jail (in Dublin).

The friendliness of the Irish people is unsurpassed. They are literate and condsiderate. Ireland is a wonderful place.

Anthony

Many, many, many memorable experiences, but some of my favorites: a day on horseback, that started by driving thru the GAp of Dunloe backwards (from the stable), galloping flat out on the beach, enjoying pints at several pubs, and ended with a kiss from the very cute guide!; hanging out in Dingle with my best friend, sharing a game of pool with a local teacher & his son; the next night at another pub the best trad session, followed by a lovely chat with the local 'celebrity' musician; lovely, lonely hike on Dun Mor to the tip admring the Blaskets; eating dinner at a pub in Doolin, being joined by a spelunking club from Belfast~ great craic!

My Mom and I traveled to Ireland 10 days after September 11, 2001. We were touched by the compassion shown by every person we met. There were many, many American flags shown in both shop windows, and private homes. Americans visiting Ireland were also asking for updated information. Called home to see if I should return, do to US going to start dropping bombs abroad, and was told to stay in Ireland, couldn't be more safe than in the Irish countryside. We did feel safe. We also felt another country reaching out to help us heal. We will alway rememberthat fondly.
On a lighter side, seeing the sing in the back of a car "American driver, please be patient"! was too funny

Strolling the grounds at Ballymaloe House after an excellent meal. A night spent at Glenlo Abbey, and the meal in the restaurant there. Merrion Square Manor in Dublin - rooms, service, tea in the parlor. Trinity University. Dublin Theatre Festival - tickets were so inexpensive compared to NYC and London! Newgrange burial mound. I could probably go on, but those are what spring to mind.

The whole honeymoon!