The Shamrock on Two weeks in Ireland with my brother
Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustained him through temporary periods of joy.
Prologue:
I was very fortunate to spend two weeks in Ireland with my brother Brad. Many thanks to him for the airline ticket and for sitting in the middle seat on an airplane next to me for 24 hours or so (going and coming). He also did a lot of waiting on me to catch up on our daily excursions.
It was the trip of a lifetime, hopefully not the only trip of a lifetime. That might sound greedy, but I would like to think I have more left to see before the sand runs out of top of my hourglass. However, if it was, it was spectacular. Below is the daily recap I posted on an unnamed social media site. Forgive the bad grammar, and typos as I am sure I didn’t catch them all. I have linked to the picture album for each day, if you click on the image for the album it should open up so that you can view all of the pictures in the album.
August 31, 2023:
Ireland: Day 1-Shannon to Glenbeigh
We touched down in Shannon about 7:15 AM, and drove from there to Glenbeigh, our base for the week. We have a two-bedroom apartment (very reasonably priced) that has a view of the bay from the front door. The owner was nice enough to let us check early. After a trip to the grocery store for sandwiches and snacks, we both took naps as we didn’t get much sleep on the flight over. After the naps, we had pizza from a little place in Glenbeigh, and sat outside to eat. Now we’re back at the apartment. Plan on sleeping well tonight! Plan to visit Blarney Castle and Cork tomorrow.
September 1, 2023
Ireland: Day 2
You’ll never guess what we did today? Well, you already know if you are following along, but I will probably reference these posts when I get back to write up another infamous trip review to post on my much-neglected website. If you are Irelanded out, then why are you reading this? Hit the unfollow button and have a happier life, free of Randall and his Ireland posts.
Ok, for those about to rock, we… I mean for those still reading. Brad is doing the driving. I’m just sitting on the left side of the car thinking I should be doing something. I haven’t tried my hand at left side driving yet, the car rental is the most expensive part of the trip. We didn’t want to add anymore charges by adding another driver.
This morning we went to Blarney Castle and spent a few hours there, after that we went to Cobh. In Cobh, we did the Titanic experience at the White Star Lines office. You are assigned a passenger that left from Queenstown (now Cobh) and you find out at the end if you made it. I believe they said 123 people left Queenstown on the Titanic, only 44 were rescued. A ticket of 8 pounds for the cheapest passage was the equivalent of 1/3 of what most Irish people earned annually at the time. There were 10 first class passengers in the group, their passage was the equivalent of about $70k. The tour takes about an hour, is very educational. Brad was a 2nd class passenger, I was 3rd class, neither of our people made it.
After that we had lunch across the street, then sat outside and listened to Derek Burke. He played a lot of covers, and some of his own. He is in a band with his brothers. There was a pretty good size crowd on hand, most from the Norwegian Dawn cruise ship. We stuck around for a bit after he was done just taking in Cobh. On the drive out we saw the cruise ship leaving. It took about 2 hours to get back to Glenbeigh. We are heading to Dingle tomorrow.
September 2, 2023
Ireland: Day 3
‘As a dreamer of dreams and a travelin’ man
I have chalked up many a mile.
Read dozens of books about heroes and crooks
And I learned much from both of their styles’ -Jimmy Buffett
Our plan was to explore the city of Dingle and drive the Slea Head Drive (part of the Ring of Kerry). Upon arriving in Dingle, we soon realized a marathon was about to take place and they were shutting down a lot of roads. We did get to see parts of Slea Head Drive and did a lot of improvising trying to stay away from the marathon route. In the words of my Grandad, ‘we saw a lot of country we hadn’t seen before’. Which is pretty much true everywhere I go in Ireland. While Brad has seen a lot here, he saw some places he had not seen before either. Driving over to Dingle this morning was foggy, so on the way back from Dingle the sun had burned a lot of the fog, so we saw a lot of amazing scenery. Of course, you can say that about almost anywhere you look here.
The afternoon we spent driving down to Waterville, a favorite vacation spot for Charlie Chaplin. Along the way we took a short ferry ride to the Island of Valentia.
While waiting for the ferry I saw the news of Jimmy Buffett passing, so we listened to his music for the rest of the day. It kind of fits the mood since we’re driving along the ocean. We saw the site where the Transatlantic cable initiated on this side of the Atlantic that allowed telegraph communication with New York. Here it is referred to as the 8th wonder of the world. Guess that makes the Astrodome the 9th wonder?
We were on the road for most of the day, so after dinner we just returned to our place. Tomorrow, we have a wildlife cruise booked in Dingle. They have been seeing lots of whales and dolphins, hopefully we will too.
September 3, 2023
Ireland, Day 4:
We arrived in Dingle close to noon and were the first customers at Murphy’s Pub. We both had the fish and chips , which was excellent. Maybe the best meal since we have been here.
After lunch we looked around in a few of the shops in Dingle, before our 2pm Great Blasket Island and wildlife tour. The tour was a little more than 3 hours. A three-hour tour…. Except the weather was exceptional. While we didn’t see any dolphins or whales, we saw lots of sheep, and seals on Great Blasket Island. After the tour we went back and did the Slea Head Drive, which is like driving the 1 in California along the PCH. Some scenes from the latest Star Wars films were done out there. Brad got a workout going down a cliff. I have pictures to prove it. I mounted my action camera to the roof for about 45 minutes of the drive. I’ll share that when we get back. We made it back to Glenbeigh about 8:30pm and grabbed pizza at a place down the street from where we are staying. Tomorrow the plan is to go to Killarney national park, about an hour away from us.
September 4, 2023
Ireland, Day 5:
Originally, we were going to Killarney today, but switched it up.
We went back to Valentia Island, and just drove around for a bit. There was a road that said ‘Lighthouse’ with an arrow, so we followed the arrow. Every direction you look going down to the lighthouse is spectacular. Along the way we stopped for a bit to take pictures, then went all the way to the lighthouse. I did climb the steps to the top, but the doorway was a little tight, and I have what’s known as a weight problem, I used to eat bear claws two at a time and they would get lodged in my chest. Anywhoo, Brad did go out there, I snapped a few pictures from the opening. The road was sparsely traveled so I did try my hand at left side of the road driving and managed to keep the car out of the ocean.
We drove up the road from the lighthouse to a quarry, from which the rocks for the Parliament house in London were built. I took a couple of small rocks, don’t tell anyone. It took a lot of stones… Badumpum.
After that we went to the top of Geokaun Mountain and enjoyed some more amazing views.
From there we left Valentia Island and drove the Skellig Ring. Between the 6th and 8th century, Gaelic monks built a monastery there. More recently, some scenes from Star Wars, the Force Awakens and the Last Jedi was filmed there. I haven’t seen either, but there is a lot of tourism generated from it.
We completed the Skellig Ring and then got back on the Ring of Kerry. We had lunch/dinner in Sneem at a little cafe on the river.
From Sneem we asked Google maps to take us back to Glenbeigh, and the drive did not disappoint. Ballagbeama Gap compares with some of the drives I’ve been on in Wyoming, Montana, and California.
One thing Ireland has taught me in a few days, is that the whole country of Ireland is the attraction, while there are tours and attractions you can take, all you really have to do is drive around and keep your eyes open.
September 5, 2023
Ireland, Day 6:
This morning we headed to Killarney, which is about 45 minutes away to the east.
After a fancy lunch at McDonald’s, we went to Killarney National Park. It was the first national park in Ireland. We did a walk along Muckross Lake to Dinis Cottage. It says at the start of the trail it is a 15-minute walk, let’s just say it took me longer than 15 minutes, but I did make it. I told Brad to go ahead as I knew it would take me longer. They have a little cafe at Dinis Cottage where you can get tea, coffee, sandwiches, or a dessert. After waking all that way (1.6 km), I had a piece of Nutella cake. Brad had carrot cake. I decided to take the boat across Muckross Lake. There was another 1km walk from the boathouse to Muckross House. Brad walked back to the car and met me at Muckross House. Queen Victoria stayed there for a couple of nights in 1861.
There is a waterfall Brad wants to hike to tomorrow, it was pretty crowded so we are going to go back earlier tomorrow.
Since we are returning tomorrow, we came back to our place for a little break. Brad has figured out how to operate the washer/dryer combo. It required both of us to read the manual. It’s not so straightforward, there are dials with letters and numbers. For dinner we went to Towers Pub, which is right down the street from us, the reviews of the place are not great, but it was fine. It’s what you would think an Irish pub would look like, there seemed to be a mix of locals and visitors. The staff were friendly, and the food was decent.
After dinner we went to Rossbeigh Beach and watched the sunset.
September 6, 2023
Ireland, Day 7:
We went back to Killarney National Park this morning. Brad did the hike from the Muckross House parking lot to Torc waterfall. I think he said he did about 5 miles. I did the hike from the parking lot to the gift shop, to the front of Muckross House (actually a little bit of a walk, just not near what Brad did). You may have seen my post from this morning of my meeting with the little sparrow.
I hung out for a bit at the front of the house taking in the view and people watching. Brad met me there, and after he took a little break we went back to the car and went into Killarney for lunch. We ate at Supermac’s, an Irish fast-food place that has been around since the 70’s. This was our second time eating at one (first time in Cobh). If you are looking for a foodie tour of Ireland, we are not the droids you are looking for. Supermac’s has burgers, chicken, and chicken sandwiches. They also seem to have a link to Papa John’s, as each one we have seen has one with it. By the way the chicken tastes like KFC. Maybe Col Sanders left the secret recipe laying around on a visit to Ireland?
After lunch we looked around briefly in an outlet mall. I spent 3 euros at a military surplus store on carabiners. You can’t have too many of those.
We then went to Ross Castle; they do offer tours but there was not one for another few hours. On the way back to the car, we met Jess, a Jaunting Car driver/tour guide. For 50 euros he gave Brad and I a 45-minute tour around Lough Leane. He was a funny guy, but also very knowledgeable about the history of the area and Ireland. I posted a clip from the tour earlier.
After the tour we came back to Glenbeigh to rest for a bit at our place.
For dinner we went back to Towers Pub. It had nothing to do with the pretty Irish women working there, it was for the food.
We did learn that they don’t come to the table to get your payment. We were sitting there for a bit, and when Brad asked if we could pay our bill, she had us come over to the server stand to pay.
We have one more night in Glenbeigh, then start heading north up the west side of Ireland. We will be in Lahinch for two nights, which is near the Cliffs of Moher. Glenbeigh is a nice little town and was perfect for our excursions the last week. I could see coming back here in a return trip to Ireland.
September 7, 2023
Ireland, Day 8:
We left Glenbeigh this morning and took the Tarbet Ferry across a channel, and on up to our next stop for a couple of nights.
We arrived in Doolin in time to do the 12pm Cliffs of Moher cruise. The boat we were on with the Doolin Ferry company seats like 200 people. The arrangements of the seats were not the best, and with the sun behind right above, the lighting for pictures wasn’t the best. However, we were on a boat off the west coast of Ireland. It was still awesome.
After the cruise, we ate lunch in Lahinch, not far from the place we are staying the next two nights.
We checked into our place and hung out for a couple of hours. The couple whose Airbnb studio we are staying at, are very nice.
We headed back towards the Cliffs of Moher but had not been in the official entrance yet. Brad found a private road just south, where he paid 10 euros and we basically drove right up beside the trail that goes along the Cliffs.
From there we did a bit of off-roading and went down some paths we weren’t sure if we were supposed to be on or not, it was cool!
Then we went to the Doolin Hotel Restaurant to check out the live music they had. We had to sit in another part to eat but listened in for a bit.
Now we’re back at Airbnb, and about to call it a night. We do have a great view, from the top of a hill looking towards the bay.
September 8, 2023
Ireland, Day 9:
This morning we went to the Cliffs of Moher Experience, it’s the official visitor Centre (spelled how they spell it).
We arrived shortly after they opened at 8AM. After viewing the exhibits inside, we went out to view the Cliffs. Pictures do not illustrate the magnitude. I wish everyone could see it in person.
After spending a couple hours there, we went to Doolin Cave. Brad did the tour, but I did not, as my legs were still burning a little from the stairs and inclines at the Cliffs. While he was doing the cave tour, I got a crash course on the left side of the road driving. I went and found a store to get some stamps for postcards.
I made it back to the cave with me and the car intact.
From there we had lunch at McGann’s Pub in Doolin.
Then it was back to Airbnb for a break.
Brad decided he wanted to do a 2-hour portion of the Cliffs coastal walk, so he picked up a deli sandwich and I dropped him off south of the visitor Centre. While he was doing that, I had dinner at The Bloody Cranesbill Gastrobar at the Cliffs of Moher Hotel (which is about 5km from the Cliffs). I drove around a bit and went back to the visitor Centre to meet Brad. I only waited a few minutes before he came walking out. I think he said he did 3.5 miles.
Now we are back at Airbnb, and I am typing this out on my phone with a view of the countryside.
Tomorrow, we head north and will leave the Republic of Ireland and stay the night in Northern Ireland near Giants Causeway.
September 9, 2023
Ireland, Day 10:
Well, we are over half way through our trip and I am trying not to think about that too much. Last night I had a brief chat with our host, Áine at the Airbnb (Her name is pronounced like Sonia without the S). She asked about where we were headed to next and how we liked Ireland. I told her I have really enjoyed everything, the people, and seeing beauty everywhere you look. She said she has been here her whole life and still is in awe of how green everything is.
We had such a great time down in the southwest side of Ireland, it was a little sad to leave this morning, but we have more great places to visit.
We left Lahinch about 7:30am and headed towards Galway. On the way we came across the ruins of the Kilmacdaugh Monastery. It was built in the 7th century.
Galway is the biggest city we have been to, it was raining a little and there was a lot of traffic. Originally we had planned to spend a little time there, but decided to keep moving north.
We stopped in Charleston and mailed some postcards. If you don’t receive one, I either didn’t have your address, or it was lost in the mail (they couldn’t read my handwriting).
We stopped for lunch along the way to our favorite Irish fast food restaurant, Supermac’s. I really am going to miss it!
After lunch we saw Castle Classiebawn from a distance and drove as close as we could, stopped and took a few pictures.
We crossed into Northern Ireland, but there is no border or even sign that we noticed. Brad noticed the license plates on most of the cars were different and I looked up where we were on Google maps and saw it was listed as the United Kingdom.
The original plan was to go to Giants Causeway this afternoon, but it was close to 4 when we checked into our place, and the visitor Centre closed at 5, and we had a 30 minute drive still to get there.
We decided to just take it easy in Portrush, where we were staying in a bed and breakfast that is three stories tall. When you walk out of the building, there is a view of the Atlantic Ocean.
Now from our room, we see a wall and a window of the house/building next to us.
We had supper at a place called Kracken, just a short walk from us. They have these pods you sit in to shield the wind.
After eating we went out to the waterline and observed Oceanview for a bit.
Now we’re in our room listening to our neighbor come in and out very frequently (4 times in the last hour).
September 10, 2023
Ireland, Day 11:
This morning, the owner of the Prospect House Bed and Breakfast cooked us an Irish Breakfast (2 sausage links, ham, a poached egg, and stewed tomato). We left there about 8:45 and made it to the Giants Causeway visitor Centre just a few minutes after they opened.
We spent a few hours there and then went to the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge. It was a couple of miles to hike out and back, Brad did the hike, I stayed back and took pictures. From there Scotland is 13 miles across the bay. It was cloudy, but you could just make out Scotland.
Then we started heading back south, along the way saw the sign for The Dark Hedges. Basically, in the late 1700’s some rich folk decided the road to their house wasn’t impressive enough, so they wanted a bunch of Beech trees on both sides of the road. A few years ago, it was just another beautiful road in Ireland, but was used in a scene of Game of Thrones. Now tourists flock to it and pay 5 pounds to park, and walk in the opposite direction of the Dark Hedges, and coincidentally by a deli and gift shop that just happens to have Dark Hedges merchandise. We did pay the money to park ( or Brad did), but we didn’t buy anything from the gift shop! As a matter of fact, we didn’t even go in. Anyway, you take a considerable walk to th Dark Hedges with hundreds of other people and take pictures. Hey, we can say we did it!
We drove through Belfast, and south out of Northern Ireland back into Ireland. We’re no longer under the rule of King Charles!
We are staying tonight and tomorrow night in Portmarnock, just North of Dublin. Tomorrow we are taking the train into Dublin to explore.
September 11, 2023
Ireland, Day 12:
Dublin
We took the train from Portmarnock to Connolly Station in Dublin. From Connolly Station we walked to stop 1 for the Big Bus Tour, a hop on hop off tour.
We were sitting up top, and it started drizzling rain, but we stuck it out until the Guinness Storehouse stop. Guinness is very highly regarded in Dublin as they have had a history of donating a lot of money to keep local churches in good repair, they also have and are good to their employees.
The tour of the storehouse is mainly interactive with lots of videos and tablets explaining the brewing process, but no actual viewing of anything going on in the brewery.
Level 7 provides great views of Dublin in any direction.
After spending a bit of time up there taking in the views, we went down to level 5 and had lunch at one of the restaurants.
From there we caught a Big Bus to complete most of the tour and got off at the Jameson Distillery stop. I sat this tour out and hung out in the waiting/bar area while Brad did the tour.
After he finished the tour, we looked around in a souvenir shop for a few minutes.
It had been raining for most of the day, and originally, we had planned to do the night tour of Dublin on the Big Bus but decided we had experienced enough for one day. We took a taxi back to Connolly Street train station and took the train back to Portmarnock.
We had dinner at McDonald’s, we are high class.
We were very fortunate with the weather for this trip with sunshine and temps in the high 70’s every day. Today all day cloudy and rainy is what we expected it to be every day. Perhaps if it had been better weather, we would have stayed in Dublin a little longer, but we were there about 7 hours. It’s a busy city, with people hustling and bustling everywhere. There is a lot of history, and things to see and do, but it is a different place than what our experience has been this trip where we just did things on the fly for the most part. I wouldn’t tell someone to not visit Dublin l, but I would say make sure Dublin is not all you see here.
We have one more day before we fly back on Wednesday morning. The plan is to leisurely work our way down towards the hotel for tomorrow night which is close to the airport.
September 12, 2023
Ireland, Day 13:
We pulled out of Portmarnock and we were feeling ’bout half past dead.
We were pretty well rested, and got on the road a little before 8.
We (Brad) drive through rush hour and a wreck going into and out of Dublin. Once we got through that, it was smooth. Unlike most of the small roads we were on most of the trip, the M18 highway is what you might expect to find in the U.S. driving through fly over county (if you were on the opposite side of the road and spotted an occasional castle).
We ate lunch at Supermac’s, I think that brings our total for the trip at 4 times.
After lunch we went to Bunratty Castle and spent a few hours there. Along with the castle they have a village with buildings that have been moved in (a poor farmers house, a blacksmith shop, and much more).
Durty Nelly’s a pub founded in 1620 is across the street from the castle. We went there and had cappuccinos. It seemed like the European thing to do.
From there we came to our hotel, easily the nicest place we’ve stayed on the trip.
I took all of my stuff in to get it all packed up for tomorrow. I must have looked like John Candy in Summer Rental, with my two pieces of luggage and a bunch of little shopping bags. I didn’t buy anything big, but all the little stuff adds up!
I only dropped stuff a few times between checking in and the room.
We just returned from dinner at the onsite restaurant/pub, Shannigan’s. We both had fish and chips. I think I have had more fish in the last two weeks than the last two years combined. There are blackberry bushes all over Ireland, so it made sense to have the Apple and Berry Crumble for dessert.
We’re back in the room settled down for the evening, with a long day tomorrow to get back to Texas. I managed to get all my stuff back in my luggage including the stuff I bought.
One more sleep in Ireland.
September 13, 2023
Ireland, Day 14:
Well, not everything goes to plan. If it all did, we would be driving away from Houston towards Smithville right now.
After the flight from Shannon was diverted to Montreal due to a medical emergency, we missed our connection in Chicago. Now we are waiting for a flight back to Houston that leaves at 7:53 and arrives in Houston at 10:43pm. The flight crew on the flight from Shannon was under a lot of stress with the medical emergency and keeping everyone pacified. We had a great vacation and am not going to spoil it complaining about the apathy on the ground by United in Chicago, but it could have been a lot better. The positives, as much as we like Ireland, we’re back in the US. We saw Greenland. The medical emergency wasn’t one of us.
It will probably take me the weekend to get all of the pics and the total trip journal written up.
Many thanks to the Sharps for getting us to the airport at the beginning of the trip and letting us park at their place, picking us up late tonight, and letting us crash at their place when we get there!
We made it back to Houston a little before 11pm, and did indeed crash at the Sharps house.