Ireland Best of
These are the bestest things in Ireland. Chekkkitout.
Plan your visit to Ireland
The only post you’ll ever need: this is your one-stop Irish travel guide!
So, after a year and almost a thousand posts on Ireland, I thought I’d put the site to the test and demonstrate how to use Irelandlogue.com to plan your visit to Ireland. What follows is a step-by-step process using the logue to plan your trip:
Date: September 28th, 2007 |
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Athlone Viking Boat Tours
Ever ride on an animal-headed viking ship?
It’s one of those things most tourists miss. I don’t mean the vikings - their blonde hair and nordic features blended into the indiginous Irish population centuries ago - I mean spending some time on the river Shannon.
If you’re spending any time at all in Athlone during the warmer months and do not otherwise have access to a boat (or maybe even if you do), you really should spend part of your afternoon on the viking boat.
On a nice day, there’s hardly a better thing than floating on the Shannon watching the green banks of the Irish midlands float by. Pack a lunch or a few drinks and enjoy seeing Ireland in a way that most folks miss.
Date: June 10th, 2007 |
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Louis Mulcahy Pottery, Dingle
There are a lot of reasons to go to Dingle; the scenery, the dolphin, the annual Other Voices concert . . . but be sure if you make a visit to stop in at Louis Mulcahy pottery around the peninsula.
Easily reached by car or bike from Dingle town, the Louis Mulcahy pottery workshop is an extremely successful home-grown venture producing some of the nicest pottery in Ireland. Browse through the showrooms and marvel over the variety of pottery items, from tea sets to vases larger than you are. The pottery here is very earthy with deep, vibrant colours. It’s powerful looking stuff and it isn’t cheap, but every piece is hand-made and a lot are originals.
Okay, here’s the cool thing: you can try your hand at throwing a pot. No, not at the wall, but on a potter’s wheel. During most of the day, there’s a potter on hand to give you tips. There are two potter’s wheels, you just put on a protective apron, dip you hand in a bowl of water and, operating the spinning surface in front of you with your feet, toss a lump of clay in the middle and try to make it into something vaguely symmetrical.
Date: January 6th, 2007 |
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The Winding Stair Bookshop, Dublin
At the northern footprint of Ha’penny Bridge is one of the lesser-known treasures of Dublin town: The Winding Stair Bookshop.
Several floors of used and new books inhabit this thoroughly bohemian little bookshop. It was opened in 1982 by Kevin Connolly, who lived, breathed and loved books in this wonderful little corner of the universe. Beloved by many, the shop was sold in 2005 and a larger chain bookshop purchased both the name and the shop. The good news is that the new owners seem dedicated to preserving its famous character (insofar as a large company can).
Date: January 1st, 2007 |
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The best fish and chips in the world
Back in the day, way back in the early 90s, before Galway vomited up miles of suburban tract homes into her hinterland, the charming little fishing town of Galway had a most noble fish and chip shop called McDonagh’s fish and chips.
A much younger version of myself stood at the counter and saw the staff changing their sales chalkboard to reflect what fish had been caught that day. After ordering fresh cod and chips I turned to a framed letter on the wall to my left that had cyrillic writing at its top. Intrigued, I leaned closer to read the official letter from the Admiral of the Russian navy. The letter stated that in all of the Russian Navy’s illustrious travellings, they had never chanced across a better plate of fish and chips in the world. So highly did they esteem McDonagh’s in fact, that they had drafted this official naval letter to that effect.
Date: November 16th, 2006 |
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Sean's Bar, Athlone - Oldest Pub in Ireland
There has been a pub awaiting weary travellers at the crossing of the river Shannon for over a thousand years.
But Sean’s Bar in Athlone isn’t just the oldest pub in Ireland. According to the lads at the Guinness Book of World Records, it’s the oldest pub in Europe. Excavations beneath the current pub have revealed wattle and daub walls, bits of crockery (mugs and the like) and self-minted coins the bar would use for trade with clients dating back to 900 A.D. Most of the artifacts are on display in the National Museum of Ireland, but a section of the walls is on display in the pub inside a glass case. Research is ongoing for the title of oldest pub in the world. So far, nothing older has been found.
There really is something magical about Sean’s.
Date: August 4th, 2007 |
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Locke's Whiskey Distillery, Kilbeggan
I can’t say enough about this place.
A lot of visitors to Ireland stop into the Jameson Distillery (where whiskey is no longer made) in Dublin. Some go down to Cork or up to Belfast to see the Middleton Distilleries (where whiskey is still made). Many people also drive from Dublin out to Galway and blow right past the best distillery tour in Ireland: Locke’s Distillery in Kilbeggan.
When prohibition came into fashion in the states, the Irish whiskey market felt its death knell. It had been battered for years, but ultimately what happened was, without demand and the economy in ruins, all of Ireland’s distillers went out of business and shut down their distilleries (except Middletons, which manufactured all Irish whiskey at one of its two plants until Cooley opened for business in 1987).
Kilbeggan is one of these places that died and was forgotten.
Date: February 17th, 2007 |
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The Galway Hostel
The Galway Hostel combines cheap rates with location, convenience and amenities - a combination that is hard to beat.
* The Galway Hostel, Galway
* Galway City Hostel, Frenchville Lane, Eyre Square, Galway
* Number of Stars: N/A
* Breakfast? Yes
* Dedicated non-smoking rooms? Yes
* Staff Friendliness (out of 10): 10
* Staff Competence (out of 10): 9
* Room Options: 4, 8, 12 and 14-bed dorms, single, twin, double or triple rooms ensuite and not
* Room comfort level (out of 10): 8
* Noisy? There can be a bit of noise from the square, but it’s so little it’s not worth mentioning . . . oops.
Date: January 3rd, 2007 |
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Kin Khao Restaurant in Athlone
When wifey and I first moved to Athlone we lamented the fact that, while there are loads of wonderfully fresh meats, breads and vegetables to be had in the area, we anticipated a certain lack of selection when dining out.
A year or so after we moved to Athlone a local man opened up, of all things, a Thai restaurant. Having recently returned from Thailand we were extremely skeptical.
The restaurant is located on the old part of town and repainted an older restaurant a friendly sunshine and red colour. It turns out the owners are a Thai woman and her Irish husband and they go to great lengths to ensure the freshness of their ingredients and integrity of their recipes.
Quite frankly, at our first dining experience, we were plain astonished. Kin Khao may be the best Thai food we have had outside of Thailand - and we’re well used to the quality Thai restaurants in our native San Francisco area.
Date: December 9th, 2006 |
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McNeill's Pub, Athlone
This is another one of the those old, authentic bars that seem to be on the verge of dying out here in Ireland. This pub has been owned and run by the same family for at least the last 100 years. McNeill’s used to be the first pub that farmers and traders would come across on the way into town. Nowadays, it’s one of the quietest pubs in town. The larger bars across the street beckon the modern clientelle, despite McNeill’s excellent location at the corner of Connaught Street.
I can personally vouch for the quality of their pints. Just look at the beauty there to the left.
Date: October 15th, 2006 |
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