Top 5 things to do in: Ireland

Top 5 things to do in Ireland:

1. Visit Dublin for shopping
2. Hike the Cliffs of Moher
3. Drive the Ring of Kerry
4. Drink a cup of Irish coffee (or two)
5. Visit a castle

We had the opportunity to visit this beautiful country just before COVID-19 hit. We visited during Thanksgiving of 2019 and had the most amazing time. I’ve tried my best to convince my husband to move here but have been unsuccessful (so far). We were visiting friends in Germany and found a flight with RyanAir for under $100 USD to fly from Munich to Dublin. Since we had a few extra days we decided to book the flight and see how much of the country we could see in 4 days. Once we landed in Dublin we decided to spend the afternoon in the city. It was the end of November (actually Thanksgiving Day) so all of the Christmas decorations were out. We drove through the city and met up with another couple that was visiting from the US during the same time that we were there (totally random). We had an American Thanksgiving dinner at O’Neills Pub & Kitchen. After dinner, we visited a chocolate bar to grab some sweets and hot chocolate while we strolled down Grafton Street (a popular shopping area). Once we said our goodbyes to our friends we hit the road to drive 2 hours into Shannonbridge which is where we would be staying for the next 3 nights. I’ve linked the Curraghmore Farmhouse AirB&B that we stayed in below. It was a quaint farmhouse in the country surrounded by a working farm. We had a few “bucket list” places to visit including the Cliffs of Moher and a few castles because we don’t really have those in the US.. Once we settled into our home we headed into town. Shannonbridge is a very small village (population = 175). We absolutely loved it. There is a local shop called Morans Gala Shop & Shannonbridge Post Office. It’s quite literally a general store combined with a post office. There were no restaurants open for breakfast so we stopped in to buy a few food items. They had a small deli section with meats, cheeses and biscuits. To this day, we’ve never had a more fresh breakfast biscuit than we did in Ireland. In the US most of our food is processed and there is a big delay between the time an animal is slaughtered and the meat makes it to the store to sell so it was an experience for us to have such fresh meat. After breakfast we drove around town to take in the sights. Most of the stores and attractions were closed for winter but we were still able to access the outdoor spaces. We stopped by the Shannonbridge Fort and Cafe and walked down under the bridge by the fort. The fort was built by the British Military in 1810. It protected the bridge against a French invasion during that time. That afternoon we visited the Clonony Castle which was built in the 1490’s and seized by Henry VIII during the war of dominion by England. The castle is privately owned now and although they do provide tours, we didn’t disturb the owner. The following day we visited the town of Athlone. There are lots of shops here along Lough Ree lake. Once we had lunch we toured the Athlone castle which has the oldest functioning barracks in Europe. There is a coffee shop right across from the castle that we stopped by to have a mid-day pick me up before heading back to our farmhouse. The next day we took our big trip to the Cliffs of Moher. The cliffs were about 2 hours from Shannonbridge. We stopped by a Christmas tree farm on our way in and had the best cup of coffee and a few pastries. Once you reach the cliffs you pay an entrance fee and have the chance to walk out to get your first sight of the Cliffs of Moher. It is unbelievable and I don’t have the words to describe it. It’s really one of those “have to see it in person” places. Most tourists ride a tour bus in and have about an hour to walk around the area. This means that the entrance and first mile or so of the trail can become crowded. Since we had our own car we decided to walk the full trail. This may have been the best series of mistakes we’ve ever made! It takes about 4.5 hours to do the full 10 mile trail and we decided to walk the entire trail because why not! Mistake #1. We ran out of sunlight at the end of the trail. Starting the hike in mid afternoon was mistake #2. Mistake #3 was taking a few thousand photos causing us to run out of daylight (none of these are actually mistakes, more-so memories that we laugh about now). There are sections of the trail that are very steep and don’t have any guardrails or protection from falling off the cliff. Instead of walking back in the dark, we decided to follow a road that ran parallel with the trail… queue mistake #4. The road is very long and has multiple connecting roads that you could choose so we were making our best guess on which path we should take on our way back. We had no service on our phones and about half of our phones were dead from taking so many photos. Mistake #5. We pushed through and continued to take photos along the way at the many farms that the locals own and operate. A few hours later we made it back to our car. This was probably our favorite day in Ireland not only because of the natural beauty of the cliffs but also the adventure of getting lost and finding your way home again. Our last day was spent at the Birr Castle and gardens. The castle has many trails, gardens, terraces, walking paths, waterfalls and historical landmarks. We spent the entire day walking around the grounds visiting places like the Great Telescope which was built in the early 1800s as the largest telescope. Giants Grove is another section of the castle grounds that has California redwood trees (the largest grove outside of California). This was unique to see because we’ve never been to California but can say that we’ve seen the famous redwood trees (but in Ireland)! The formal gardens at Birr have the worlds tallest box hedges along with tons of plants and flowers planted by a Countess to celebrate her marriage to the Earl in 1930s. I enjoy gardening so this section of the grounds was my favorite. After a long day at the castle we drove back to Shannonbridge for our final night in Ireland. We had dinner at Lukers Bar that overlooks Shannon river and the food and ambiance was perfect. The following morning we took an early flight out of Dublin and headed back to Germany. Words can’t express how beautiful Ireland was. I’d go back in a heartbeat to visit the beautiful small towns and friendly locals. Once international travel is open again, we’d like to spend a few weeks visiting during the summer. We wished we had time to drive the Ring of Kerry and visit a few more castle grounds but are also grateful that we have a reason to visit again!