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Ireland

Ireland is made up of the Republic of Ireland containing 26 counties and Northern Ireland containing 6 counties. It is located west of the United Kingdom and is a land steeped in history. Ireland is known for its misty green countryside, its culture and tradition (including legends and folklores), history, and its warm-hearted and friendly people. The invasions by the Vikings in the 9th century and by the Anglo-Normans in the 12th century were two significant events in Irish history. Its major cities include Ireland's capital city, Dublin where you can hoist huge pints in canteens around Georgian Square and the Temple Bar district before sampling Dublin's fine restaurants, cafes, and nightclubs. Other sights include Churches, Historic Buildings, Libraries, Museums and Galleries, Parks and Gardens. Dublin is over 1,000 years old, and is rich in Irish History. Oliver St. John Gogarty's pub in Dublin is one of many offering a night of Irish fun! The Irish Pubs are the social focus around which Irish culture finds recognizable form and generally the most consistently visited of all Ireland's attractions. Professional musicians perform tunes and songs while telling the story of Irish music and its influences on contemporary world music. Irish bartenders provide first-class company and storytelling. Ideally situated in the heart of Dublin, the Temple Bar area is a hive of activity where artists, designers and young entrepreneurs have set up small art galleries, cafes, theatres and colorful shops. The pedestrianized streets allow you to walk freely through the narrow cobbled alleys running close to the banks of the river Liffey. Most local pubs serve lamb-filled Irish stew with traditional Irish soda bread or fish with crispy chips. Eaten with a pint of Guinness stout, they make a fine, inexpensive meal. There are many Hotels and Bed and Breakfast Inns nearby. Kilkenny is both medieval and modern, known as the Marble City. Situated on the banks of the River Nore, its narrow, winding streets and ancient buildings combine with the progressiveness of a busy, industrious town located in Ireland's Southeast. Kilkenny was originally the capital of the kingdom of Ossory in pre-Norman times. The Bunratty Castle ceilings were richly decorated with stucco work between 1558 and 1640. Drive up through West Cork to Kinsale otherwise known as the Gourmet Capital of Ireland. It's location ensures a plentiful supply of seafood for the town's restaurants and eateries. An extensive selection of pubs, restaurants and hotels are available. The yachting and sailing fratemity frequent the town through the summer and the Point to Point Festival at the end of May is just one of the town's many annual events. Waterford City is Ireland's oldest and most beautiful city and has a viking history dating back over 1200 years to 914 AD. Reginald's Tower (shown) is the oldest civic building in Ireland and dates back to the 9th Century. Waterford still has much of it's original walls, both Viking and Norman and they can be viewed if you stroll around the city by foot. Today Waterford (shown below) is the cultural, economic, educational, technological and industrial capital of the South East region and its port the traditional source of wealth continues to expand in line with the growth of the Irish economy. It has an amazing coastline with over 30 beaches and three mountain ranges. Head towards Killarney for your next night and enjoy the popular Ring of Kerry tour where the winding road leads you between the Atlantic Coastline and the highest mountains in Ireland. Visit Muckross House, Killarney National Park, Ross Castle (shown) or even go for a round of golf at the Killarney Golf and fishing Club Championship Course. There are also many traditional pubs and excellent restaurants to enjoy and maybe an Irish Music Session. The Cahernane House is brimming with historic character, tucked away in secluded grounds bordering the Killarney National Park, close to the town of Killarney. The approach to the Cahernane along the long private avenue is lined with tall trees, giving an impression of the tranquil country elegance of the hotel itself. Cahernane House was built around 1877. The manor hosts guest rooms both modern and those fitted with elegant antique furnishings and original features. The Cahernane's restaurant offers award-winning cuisine blending Irish tradition with continental imagination. This is complemented by a wide selection from the impressive wine cellar. Cahernane House is located just a short walk from the centre of Killarney, but far enough away to escape to the tranquillity of the national park. While for golfers, the Cahernane is well placed for golfing at Killarney and Ballybunion. Additional highlights might include a detour to the Cliffs of Moher. An excursion through the Burren region, a place with underground springs, caverns, chasms, and cracks. The most notable of such caves are known as the Aliwee Caves. The coastline is famous for its rock gardens and breathtaking natural landscape. You will find plenty of quaint seaside villages and historic towns from Galway back to Dublin. Dingle is the gateway to Ireland's westernmost peninsula. It lies 50 miles west of Killarney, County Kerry. Ancient sites are at every turn, a verdant landscape fed by 100 inches of rain per year, and some of Ireland's finest music-making. The drive around Dingle Peninsula can easily take a full day. From June through September, fuchsia drips from roadside hedges, turning the pavement from grey to crimson. There is the 1,300-year-old Gallarus Oratory (a stone church). Shaggy, wild-looking horses graze alongside 2,000-year-old beehive-shaped stone huts on the meadows overlooking Ventry Bay. Farther on are the Great Blasket Islands, off Dunmore Head. They're so isolated that the inhabitants' Gaelic traditions and language survived unchanged into the 20th century. You will find at nearby Kilmalkadar, another ruined church that hasn't been torn down. A graveyard surrounds this abandoned Norman church with Christian crosses, and an ancient sundial. The Dingle Peninsula has been called a paradise for walkers. The area has ample lanes and pathways away from traffic where you can walk for hours along cliffs, up and down mountains and on sandy beaches. Fuchsia and gorse-lined green roads lead through pastoral countryside and offer panoramic vistas of sea, mountains and islands. You will also see a variety of archaeological monuments dating fom the Mesolithic Perioed (6000 BC) through the Stone Age (4000 BC), Bronze Age (2500 BC) and Iron Age (500 BC). The Passage Grave of Newgrange (shown right) is regarded by some as one of the greatest wonders of the ancient world. Newgrange boasts the fact that it is older than Stonehenge and the Pyramids of Egypt, having survived over five thousand years. The main burial mound of Newgrange is surrounded by the remains of three smaller passage graves. It is situated on a low hill and commands breathtaking views of the Boyne Valley. One of the main reasons for the importance and fame of Newgrange is its richness in megalithic art which can be seen all over the chamber especially on the east recess. The most remarkable feature of Newgrange, however, is the roof-box over the entrance which, at first glance, seems insignificant. However, its precise alignment and location reveals the incredible depths of knowledge which this ancient civilization possessed. It measures 90cm by 1m and is perfectly aligned to catch the first rays of the rising sun on the morning of the winter solstice on the 21st of December. On that morning the rays of the sun pass through the roof-box, make their way down the passage-way and light up the central chamber for about fifteen minutes after which the passage and chamber are once again engulfed in darkness. Cork is another of Ireland's major cities. It hosts many popular attractions, the Long Strand beach for rustic camping, and Ireland's quintessential attraction - a visit to Blarney Castle. Kissing the Blarney Stone is high on most people's list of things to do in Ireland. The Irish are greparious people, and everywhere animated craic (talk) can be heard. Pubs are often the heart of a community's social life. Visitors will find the people very friendly and welcoming. Casual dress is widely acceptable as in keeping with a largely agricultural community. Smoking is banned in all public enclosed spaces. Ireland has a verdant landscape fed by 100 inches of rain per year. In late summer, locals repeat a refrain: "The rain will stop when the kids go back to school," and they're right. Go in early September for smaller crowds and fine weather.

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