hey guys i’m planning on going to Ireland during late august early september and i’m wondering where i should go. I don’t just want to see the tourist attractions but would like to experience as much culture as possible. Also if there are any events that would include a whistle that anyone knows of i would definately like to see it. let me know what you guys think. Thanks a bunch.
After much discussion in our household, I am starting to make plans to go to Ireland in the early fall.
I’m after music but I want the “real” thing - people who play for the peasure of playing.
Anybody got advice on where to go and where not to go?
thanks
Chuck
The Feakle festival is on around August 20 and over the weekend and the Mrs Crotty weekend is usually on the week before
Early sept is nice, things winding down and maybe a bit of nice weather.
that sounds interesting i’ll have to check it out, thanks.
I’ve been to Ireland a fair amount, and in my experiences, there really isn’t a wrong place to go. I would recomend you stop in Dublin if you’ve never been there before. Though the trafic is interesting, the city is worth seeing. Just DO NOT go on the bus lanes in your car, they go in the oposite direction as the rest of the trafic.
If you go down south, the west coast of Cork is definitely worthwhile. THe berra (sp?) peninsula is probably one of my favorite places in ireland. It is not very touristy, as the roads are too small and curvy to accomidate the caravans (tour buses) that plague the Ring of Kerry and Dingle. On the way, you may want to stop in Kinsale, as it has some of the best restaraunts in Ireland.
Co. Wicklow is a good place to see. It’s a bit overdeveloped, because of its proximity to Dublin, but vast parts of it remain farm country or entirely empty. The Wicklow Gap displays all of the rugged beauty of Ireland and the the coastline is quite nice as well. I would recomend you stop in Greystones, it is probably my favorite Irish town.
If you are interested in music, go to the Northwest–Mayo, Galway, and northern Clare–as the region is known for it’s trad music. It is also quite scenic. Doolin, Co. Clare, and Rounstone, Co. Galway, are particularly known for their music.
Stay in bed and breakfasts rather than hotels,you’ll get a much more authentic experience, even if the breakfast bit of it tends to leave indelible traces on the waistline. Let peopleknow that you’re interested in the whistle, and are looking for trad music rather than ballads.
And don’t try to see everything, stay long enough in one or two places to soak up the atmosphere.
If you go to dublin, check out Hughes’s and the Cobblestone pubs for sessions.
As preparatory immersion therapy, read McCarthy’s Bar by Pete McCarthy and The Truth about the Irish by Terry Eagleton. Also Ciaran Carson’s book(s) about sessions and related carry-on.
You could also do a search on C&F for threads that include words like “visiting Ireland”, even if the result is rather overwhelming.
Yeah i’m definately going to Dublin and staying there for a couple of days, so i’ll check those out. And hopefully i’ll catch a couple of sessions (one of the main reasons i want to go 
) at a pub or somewhere else. Staying in a bed and breakfast sounds like a good idea, but not quite sure how much more than a hotel they’ll cost so i’ll just have to figure it out if i want to spend a lot in pubs or stay in a nice place 
If you are interested in taking some classes, there is the Scoil Éigse, a 5 day Summer college offering tuition in all aspects of Irish traditional music, song, and dance and it’s during the last week of August. You can check for information at CCE (Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann) website www.comhaltas.com
A B&B would generally cost less than a hotel, at least in my experience.
If you end up in Limerick for some unlikely reason, the Monday nights at Nancy Blakes have been brilliant. The highlights would probably be Tony O’Connell’s concertina playing and a bunch of nice songs by the other lads. In fairness’ sake it has to be said that the three main fellas are being paid for keeping the music going but it doesn’t make it any less real in my opinion. And there are people joining in for the pleasure of it (and the odd house round).
As for the preparatory readings, COlin Irwin’s In Search of the Craic is IMHO quite useful. Well, at least it’s funny…
Dingle town on lovely Dingle peninsula (one of my favourites) is also a good place to stay and for music. Just go around, you’ll certainly find a pub with some music playing people.
Also you may have a stop at Cillian O’ Briains workshop to try a whistle or so.
If you go northwest, I highly recommend Donegal, don’t miss the highest european cliffs: the Sleave league; have a stop at Screag on Iolair near Crolly, it’s an isolated place between lovely mountains and some pubs around near Crolly, this is the region where the Clannad sisters (Enya included) come from and, I think, Altan has it’s roots here also.
Now, for me this would be reason enough to go, and more importantly, to stay longer than I had planned.
We’ll be in Ireland July 19 - Aug 6 and have a lovely trip set up, a self drive with several days at each spot - in to Dublin and out from Shannon. Kilkenny (Thomastown, actually), Kinsale, Kenmare, Dingle, Ennis, Sligo, Connemara. It’s a mix of hidden ireland manors, B&B, hotel and one night in a castle just for the heck of it (and for my daughter).
We’ll be 2 nights in Dingle and I’m happy to hear that Cillian O’Briain’s shop is there? Is that so? What a treat that would be.
Philo
well now i’m wishing that i could spend a month instead of only a week there. I guess i’m just going to have to only pick three places to go to (unless they are very close together) and try to see as much as i can. The idea of going to a whistle shop and trying out whistles sounds like something i can’t refuse. So I’m definately going there . As for the bed and breakfasts i am glad to hear that they are cheaper than the hotels because at least where i live (Napa, Ca) they are normally double the cost of a hotel. I’m excited to go, but i’m affraid that i’ll like it so much that i just wont want to leave
You also might consider booking your accomodations in advance since they might not be available when you turn up. You can select based on your own criteria - walk to town, etc.
http://www.travelireland.org/kerry/dingle/bed-and-breakfasts-dingle.html
Don’t try to tour around all of Ireland, choose a particular area (or two) you want to visit. It’s a small country, but there really is a lot to see, and you’ll lose it if you try to see it all in one trip (unless you have six months or something like that).
Also, I would wholeheartedly agree that bed and breakfasts are better than hotels.
Get the Fromers guid to Ireland, it’s quite good.
It seems that a year is far from enough to see the whole country. Just a month left here for us me and the Mrs and still loads to return to…
Funny, funny book.
Similar request came up before:
http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?t=36302&highlight=bord+failte+galway
hey thanks, that answered everything that i wanted to know. I tried searching for this topic before posting but didn’t come up with anything useful (maybe mispelled Ireland???). Thanks you guys for helping me out i think i’ve got a good idea of where to go on my trip.
County Kerry
make sure to drive along the rugged coast road from Dingle to Ballyfarriter at sunset