Ireland! Guinness! Sheep!

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I'll be taking you on an armchair trip to Ireland.  Ireland is a beautiful country located just west of Great Britain.  As far as one could tell, the dental care in Ireland has not been affected by this proximity.

Tito, the Nissan Note

We will begin our trip in Shannon, where much of the air traffic from the west arrives.  The Shannon airport is small in comparison to other airports, but it serves its purpose.  For this tour we will be driving a Nissan Note, code named "Tito," which is a manual transmission four-seater compact (and the driver sits on the right).  As we land, there is a light, but constant drizzle which is typical of Ireland. 

The Rock, site of a Nick Cage/Sean Connery flick.

Our trek will lead us south towards Cashel, a small town which is the location of a famous, and ancient castle, the Rock of Cashel.  The Rock was also a cathedral which was the seat of power for the church in the area.  At one point, one of the bishops of Cashel was the bishop of both the Catholic and Anglican Churches.  The Irish were certainly pioneers in one stop shopping.

Cashel also likes to claim one of Ireland's most famous natural resources, Guinness.  While the official lore of Guinness states that it was invented in 1759 by Arthur Guinness.  The local Cashelians attribute the murky brew to Arthur's father, who resided in Cashel when he burned one batch of barley when making a batch of stout. 

Kinsale

We continue from Cashel down towards the lovely seaside town of Kinsale.  This quaint village is picturesque and classically Irish.  A good plan for Kinsale is taking a walking tour throughout the town and enjoying the history which happened here.  For example, Kinsale was the site of a Spanish invasion of Ireland as well as the site of the official investigation into the sinking of the Lusitania. 

The Dingle Peninsula

From Kinsale, we head northwest to the Dingle Peninsula.  The Dingle Peninsula is home to rolling green hills full of sheep as well as small villages which consist of only one church and four pubs.  Travel guru Rick Steves has said that the Dingle Peninsula is his favorite place out of every trip he has ever taken. 

The town of Dingle is a tourist mecca where the town feels open and cozy at the same time.  Fishing is still a major source of income in Dingle and the harbor is always home to boats of all kinds.  Fresh seafood is a staple here and in the evenings you can always find a warm pub and good company.

Fungie the Dolphin

The harbor in Dingle is also home to Fungie (Fun-jee) a bottle nose dolphin.  He first arrived in 1984 and liked Dingle so much he decided to stay.  He rarely leaves the bay and is often seen swimming and playing near the tourist boats dedicated to seeing him.

Kilkenny

Next, we move east to the center of southern Ireland to the town of Kilkenny.  Kilkenny is home to a large castle and many churches.  If shopping is for you, Kilkenny has a large shopping district as well as good restaurants.  Like most of the towns in Ireland, walking is easy and driving is not. In Ireland, the road signs are not like in the States where there is some warning when there is a turn ahead, but in Ireland unless you turn where the sign is, you are horribly lost immediately. Also, the street signs are rarely visible from the road making navigating difficult.

Finally we make our way to Dublin, the capital of Ireland.  Dublin is a large city, by Irish standards, and also has its historic sections where tourists like to go.  The main downtown area is near Trinity College, one of the oldest higher education establishments in the world.  There is a fascinating tour of Trinity College put on by students of the college to help pay for their expenses. 

Also inside of Trinity College is the Book of Kells (or actually the Page of Kells since only one page at a time is on display) which is a magnificent book written over 1000 years ago and beautifully illustrated.  There were no photos allowed inside so here is a great shot of the outside of the building it resides in. 

Dublin is also home to the Guinness brewery where Arthur Guinness had the buisiness savvy to sign a 9000 year lease and lock in those low prices.  The Guinness brewery is a massive complex that takes up multiple city blocks and makes thousands of tons of the beer each year. 

Also, pouring a pint of Guinness is a four step process: 1.  Inspect the glass.  It must be clean. 2.  Hold the glass at a 45 degree angle and pull the tap toward you and fill the glass until it is nearly at the top.  3.  Set the pint down to let it rest.  Once the pint has rested and let the head develop it's time for the fourth step.  4.  Holding the glass level, push the tap away from you to fill the pint to the top.  Finally the unofficial fifth step: enjoy!

Dublin Castle is also worth a look see and if you have time, the inside is surely interesting as well.  As far as night life in Dublin, the Temple Bar district is an area where you can find many different pubs with traditional Irish music as well as pubs with a more modern appeal.  However, it is a touristy area so be prepared to run in to lots of Americans. 

After a lot of touring (and let's be honest, drinking) if you need a place to just relax, you can make your way to St. Stephen's Green, a beautiful public park near the Grafton Street area of Dublin.  Also there is a lot of shopping near there for those that are interested. 

Finally, for some much needed time to appreciate the history of Ireland, we arrive at Kilmainham Gaol.  This prison serves as a reminder of the struggle for independence of Ireland and many of the people who fought for Ireland ended up here.  It has also appeared in movies such as Michael Collins. 

I hope you have enjoyed this armchair tour of Ireland and if you enjoyed that, take a look at the tour of Lisbon!