St. Stephen's Green
St. Patrick's Cathedral and Christ Church Cathedral
Irish Pubs
February 2017
After a rainy arrival to Dublin, we woke up to a bright February day. We walked around the center of Dublin and stopped at the Temple Bar for live music and a Guinness.
Next morning, we walked to Trinity College to see the Book of Kells and the Old Library. After tearing ourselves away from the historical shelves, we visited the National Museum of Archaeology. The day ended with a tour of the Teeling Whiskey Distillery, the first new distillery in Dublin in over 125 years.
On the final day in Dublin, we walked out to St. Michan's church to visit the mummies in the crypts beneath the cathedral. Afterward, we toured Kilmainham Gaol, which imprisoned many Irish revolutionaries during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Last we headed to the Guinness Storehouse at St. James's Gate. I learned to craft "the perfect pint of Guinness". Then we headed back to the hotel, but not before getting lost and adding several miles to the walk.
We headed back to the airport to pick up a Citroën Cactus and hit the road. North of Dublin, we visited Brú na Bóinne to see the Newgrange monument, a passage tomb dating back to 3200 BC, and we were allowed to go inside. We drove west to the town of Ennis, and the following day took a day trip to Galway.
To reach the cliffs, we drove north to Ballyvaughan and took a scenic route south along the coast. The cliffs were breathtaking and we had great weather. From the visitor center, we walked down to the signal tower at Hag's Head and back.
To close out the trip, we toured Ireland's medieval history by visiting the Rock of Cashel and the nearby Hore Abbey. Back in Kilkenny, we saw Kilkenny Castle and St. Mary's Cathedral, and I had one last Smithwick's at the Smithwick's Brewery Experience before we headed back to the airport.
Beer trivia: Guinness is actually ruby red in color, and a proper pour takes 119 seconds.
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© 2017 Will Krieger