what would you see and do? We’re looking for suggestions on can’t-miss things to see/do in Ireland. We get 4 days after we’re done with England and Scotland. BTW, any suggestions for those places? The dates will be around the middle to end of March.
What kind of things are you interested in?
Are you into castles, Bronze Age history, more urban pursuits, or more wildland areas? There’s so much in Ireland, if all you have is a few days, you really need to focus on one area. I spent four great days in County Meath alone looking at castles, cairns (Newgrange and Loughcrew), Kells, the Hill of Tara, and the countryside in general 
. And of course, catching some music 
. And drinking some pints. 
And it’s close to Dublin if that’s the airport you’re going into.
The Antrim Coast Road is an absolute wonder that few tourists hear of, or go see. March is the off-season, so don’t be afraid to wander off and stay at B&Bs without advance reservations. Rent (hire) a car in advance from the US. There will be plenty of rooms available.
Well, we’re starting out in Dublin and ending up at the Shannon Airport. So anything along that line would be good. Does anybody know long would it take to drive straight from Dublin to Shannon? We may drive kinda slow – not used to the left side of the road.
Well, good luck, it will easily take you four or five hours, if you don’t get stuck in traffic in Dublin to start with. Best to get it over with, alternatively you could fly dublin-shannon or Galway for something like 25 -30 euro [with Aer Arann www.aerarann.com] pick up a rental car there and spend more leasure time in the west.
I would say that if you like scenery and can get over to the west, don’t miss the DINGLE PENISULA. IMO, it’s much prettier than the tourist-filled Ring of Kerry, smaller and so doesn’t take as long (can be done in one afternoon) and just SPECTACULAR. Some people just go to the town of Dingle and never see the whole penisula; you must go all the way around, out to Slea Head. Lots of ancient ruins, including the Gallarus Oratory (a 9th century church) and Dunbeag Fort. Get a good guidebook so you don’t miss anything on the way.
http://www.dingle-peninsula.ie/
If you end up going to the Ring of Kerry & Killarney, splurge and get one of the horse-drawn rides thru the Kilarney National Park. Yes, it’s touristy but totally unforgettable–green like you’ve never seen and amazing views. I think you can even take a carriage ride to nearby Ross Castle, which is a well-preserved typical Irish castle and pretty nice to tour.
If you find yourself in Dublin (as you will), you will inevitably end up in the Temple Bar area for music & grub. I recommend the
http://www.musicalpubcrawl.com/
The musicians were really funny and excellent and the pub crawl was a good way to do it.
And I didn’t do this, but you can stay in the Walton’s building–home of the Walton’s whistle and also, apparently, a hotel:
http://www.bookings.org/waltons.ie.en.html
If you enjoy museums, the Chester Beatty Library is one of the BEST museums I have ever been to–beautiful books & manuscripts, lots of sacred texts, all arranged really well. If it’s your kind of thing, don’t miss it. http://www.cbl.ie/
I spent just a week & a half in Ireland and saw most of the west and Dublin, and my favorite thing was by far the Dingle Penisula. But you will have a good time no matter what you do! Ireland is lovely.
Oh, Bunratty Castle & Folk Park is RIGHT NEXT to Shannon Airport. Definitely worth seeing!
By the way, my avatar is me on the Dingle Penisula, so you get some idea of what it looks like.
I’d go out West somewhere, breathe the sea air, eat like a pig, drink like a fish, and find the tunes wherever they lurk, both as a listener and a participant. There’s any number of places for that sort of thing.
You may want to consider staying here, the music will be pretty good - the owners are musicians and Pat is a fierce piper:
http://creggcastle.com/index.htm
I spent some time with Pat and Anne Marie when they came to Chicago last year for a concert. They’re very nice people and are quite proud of the place. Just be on your best behavior there, OK? 
ie leave your didgeridoos, shaky eggs, recorders, hammered dulcimers etc at home…
Tell them I send my best if you see them.
From what little I know, here’s what I would do:
Drive to the west coast as directly as possible, non-coastal Ireland is stunningly, beautifully green, but not one of the major attractions. If you’re into archaeologic sightseeing, this may be different.
Visit the Cliffs of Moher, and plan some hours to walk around there. Do not get blown off the cliffs, and do not expect fences to protect you - in Ireland, people still think a warning sign is enough for adult visitors 
From there, either down to the Ring of Kerry, or up to Galway, and take the time to stop wherever you like, get out of the car, and look around. Plan less time in the car, and more outside, walking.
Pray for good weather, and bring clothes to protect you from wind and rain.
Sonja
If you like that Irish Disneyland sort of thing…Really there are more meaningful experiences to be had almost anywhere in the western counties of Ireland IMO.
Best wishes.
If you have time in Dublin, I’d check out St. Michan’s church. I went there in 1990, and I think it was the most interesting church I visited in Ireland. They have that amazing carving of all the musical instruments that used to be on one of the old punt bills. They also have an organ that Handel played the Messiah on, and a vault full of mummies under the church. When I was there (a long time ago, now) they let us touch one of the mummies for good luck! It was pretty cool.
Justine
We are hoping to visit Ireland this year. It’s only a short ferry ride away from England so my aversion to flying (or more specifically, to crashing) needn’t be a problem. Lindsey wants to go to the extreme southwest, which looks lovely.
No idea what to see though. Apart from a few pubs, obviously. Shame I don’t like Guinness… Really, a BIG shame.
The poor maligned eastern coast of Ireland… 
If you are driving across from Dublin to Shannon, I wouldn’t just make a beeline for the west coast. I agree with the Dingle Penisula recommendation, particularly Slea Head. And the cliffs of Moher are beautiful (although an aquaintance of mine asked why he should go see something that looks the same as Big Sur - silly question :roll: ).
But the interior has interesting sites. It’s a little south of your course but the Rock of Cashel is very cool. And a little south of that, Cahir Castle has some great history and is fun to roam around in!
I agree with Kar that you should get a good guidebook to find out what is available that you might be interested in.
Perhaps the Arans? Never been, but hear they are about as close to the romantic view of ‘ancient Ireland’ as one generally gets. Stunning in their beauty and equally so in their solitude…
Glencoe, Skye, Edinburgh, York, Lake District, Shrewsbury/Ludlow, Stonehenge, Cotswolds.
And Wales of course…
Trisha
Spend a whole day in Dublin (Book of Kells, Kilmainham Gaol, National museum on Kildare St, Temple Bar area, Brazen Head pub), then go up to see Newgrange the next day (it’s worth a side trip of the 30 miles), then back down to the freeway around Dublin and west to Kildare. They have a round tower there that you can climb all the way up for a coin or two. Then down to Waterford (the medieval walls are still standing), then up to Kilkenny for a night. The next day see the Rock of Cashel and Castle Cahir, then head toward Limerick and spend the night somewhere in that area. On the fourth day see King John’s castle and Bunratty and have a pint in Durty Nelly’s. That still leaves you plenty of time to rub elbows with Irish folk in the pubs and you’ll be near the airport for your departure.
Your skipping Wales?
Thanks, you guys and gals are awesome!!!
I knew if anybody could answer a question or offer suggestions, it would be Chiff & Fipplers.
Tonight I will sit down with a map and my laptop and find the places that were mentioned.
Now it all boils down to the eternal question: which whistle do I bring?
Wales will have to wait until next time (hope, hope). If only we had longer to stay!!!
I feel sorry for you. We had 2 weeks and it wasn’t nearly enough. I love the Dingle penninsula but I also like west Galway and Clare. One place not mentioned that is beautiful is Glendalough. In Dublin I enjoyed St. Patrick Cathedral and Temple Bar. Quite frankly I didn’t see a place I didn’t like. Enjoy yourself.
Ron