Have you ever

September 03, 2020

Have you ever - been to Republic of Ireland

A little bit background about Ireland. Ireland is commonly known to be part of the United Kingdom a.k.a UK. However, Ireland is actually made up of two individual countries itself separated strategically to Northern Ireland and the South, which is the Republic of Ireland. Northern Ireland together with Wales, England and Scotland form the United Kingdom. Hence, the Republic of Ireland is not part of the UK but it is a member of the European Union (EU).

So we did a 4D3N road trip around the Republic of Ireland starting from Dublin, the capital of Ireland - Rock of Cashel - Cork City - Killarney National Park - Ring of Kerry - Bunratty Castle & Folk Park in Shannon - Cliff of Moher - Dublin Airport.

Dublin

We started off taking a stroll around the Dublin City and had some heavy English breakfast that typically serves bacon, sausages, baked beans, eggs, mushrooms and black pudding. Black pudding is made from pork blood, fats mixed with cereals which is kinda like a sausage made of pig's blood. It is good to try but having too much of it probably not so good which is the same for all processed meats out there.

Having a pint of beer at local pubs is commonly associated with Irish culture and Dublin is famous for its night out drinking in the city especially during St.Patrick day with people flocking from all around the world for Irish food and beers. St. Patrick day is a global celebration originated from Ireland to commenmorates the arrival of Christianity in Ireland brought by St. Patrick. People come out wearing green attires with shamrocks symbol, which St. Patrick used it as a metaphor for Christian Holy Trinity, which some also called it the national flower of Ireland.

There are plenty of traditional Irish pubs and you can find one at almost every corner of the city, with every one of them has its unique feature and ambience. Just pop in to any of one them for the popular home-brewed stouts.

The Spire of Dublin

In the heart of Dublin City you will come across this stainless steel tall monument with 120m height along the O' Connell Street.

Trinity College Library

Trinity College is Ireland's oldest university and it is also home to the famous Book of Kells.

The Rolling Donut

We have tried the famous donut chains in Ireland - The Rolling Donut with most of its stores located within Dublin. There are lots of different fillings with really colourful toppings. The donuts are made of sourdough which makes it a healthier choice.

National Gallery of Ireland

If you are into drawings and sculptures, the National Gallery housed quite some collection of Irish and European arts and paintings. It is walking distance away from the Trinity College. A small part of it it's called the national portrait collection and the collection has been expanded by the Hennessy Portrait Prize competition launched since 2014, featuring and showcasing many contemporary portraits. Every year there will be an exhibition in the gallery with all the shortlisted portraits by the finalists.

The portraits feel so real and they look like snapshots of people.

Guinness Storehouse

This is the main highlight for my Dublin City tour as I am a big fan of Guinness stout. There are two types of ticket where one includes the 1 hour experience with beer specialist featuring tasting session costing 10 euro more from the normal ticket at 25 euro per ticket.

It started with interactive introduction to the ingredients used (roasted barley, water, malt extracts, hops and yeasts), history and culture of Guinness. And then it went on to some tasting session guided by their in-house specialists and the ticket also includes Guinness Academy where you can learn how to pour the perfect pint of Guinness stout from the tap and claim your certificate upon completion. Best thing is you get a complimentary pint from the one you made from the academy and lastly you can enjoy it at the Gravity bar inside the storehouse with panoramic view of Dublin. I have made a video below so you can better visualise the experience.

There is also a Guinness retail store if you would also like to grab some souvenirs such as the Guinness glasses and some limited edition collections.

Tipperary

Rock of Cashel

We rented a car from Dublin and started our road trip from there. We were heading down south to our first destination in Tipperary. The car journey took about 2 hours from Dublin.

Rock of Cashel is one of the Ireland's most visited attraction and it is located at the top of the rock in the heart of Tipperary. It is an ancient royal site and the monuments here include the round tower, high cross, Romanesque chapel and gothic cathedral. It was originally built as a fortress. Entry ticket is required and it includes audio-visual shows and some exhibitions. The view from the hilltop overlooking the town is also astounding so it is definitely worth a visit.

Cork

After visiting the Rock of Cashel, we drove further down and spent a night in Cork city near the port of Cork before continuing journey the next day. Cork is Ireland's second largest city and known to be the Ireland's foodie capital. You will find the English market which is the covered food market in the city centre at Princess Street. The city centre is alongside the riverbank of River Lee which flows through the city. There is so much more to this vibrant and bustling city and we regretted not spending more time here.

Killarney

Killarney National Park

Another one and half hours drive before we arrive at the National Park. The drive was scenic which we passed by a lot of farmhouses and lots of greens. It sorta reminded me on our drive along the Ring road in Iceland, pretty similar but without ice and snow. It is very secluded and we had a few pit stops along the journey to take pictures.

Killarney National Park is the largest park in Killarney and also Ireland's oldest park. Other than the abundance of lakes, mountains, woods and waterfalls that you would normally see in any other national park, there are also some historic sites and buildings within this park. The most notable ones are the Muckross House and Garden, a 19th century Victorian Mansion featuring artefacts of that period and Ross Castle, built in 15th century overlooking The Lough Leane.

There are 3 lakes within the park namely The Lough Leane (lower lake), Muckross Lake (middle lake), and the upper lake. They made up almost a quarter of the park. A short walk from the Muckross Lake brings you the famous waterfall, Torc Waterfall and it involves a little bit of hiking. Overall, the scenery here is stunning and picturesque.

A short drive will bring you to the famous viewing point - Ladies view and the viewpoint was named after Queen Victoria's ladies in waiting visited this place during royal visit in 1861.

Ring of Kerry

We passed by the Ring of Kerry to go to our next destination in Shannon. The Ring of Kerry is a 180 km scenic drive along the County Kerry starting and ending with Killarney, at the southern west of Ireland. It is a tourist circular route where you will see the best of Ireland's scenery which include some of the colourful Irish towns. Sadly we didn't quite finish the entire drive around the ring as we were running short of time for our schedule.

The Strawberry Field

Between Killarney and Kenmare, we stumbled upon this gem out of nowhere, a pancake cottage cafe serving some of the best pancakes that I have ever tried. The cottage is cozy and homy. It has a variety of pancakes, both sweet and savoury and it comes with gluten-free and vegan options.

There is also a small shop within the cottage selling all the handcrafted items and paintings by local artists.

Shannon

Bollywood Temple Indian Restaurant and Treacys Oakwood Hotel

Another two and a half hours from Killarney, we arrived at Shannon at night which is the up north direction. We stopped by this Bollywood Temple Indian Restaurant for some nice dinner before heading to check in to our hotel in Shannon, which is only a couple of minutes away. The food was fantastic and come with fair price. We had food coma after that but it was just what was needed after a two hours drive from another city.

Bunratty Castle & Folk Park

We had a quick stop by here before visiting the Cliff of Moher the next day. The grand castle is said to be the most complete and authentic castle in Ireland, restored in 15th century featuring the furnishings at that time. Next to it is the folk park where it features living villages in rural setting consists of at least 30 buildings, recreated in 19th century to portray the environment over a century ago in Ireland. It was misty and cold when we visited plus it was after a rainy morning. If you have kids, this would be the best family attraction.

Cliff of Moher

I was excited to visit the sea cliffs as I am very much drawn to the natural wonders after coming back from Iceland. This is probably one of the most tourists visited place in Ireland. The Cliff of Moher is situated in County Clare along the wild Atlantic way and it ranges for about 8km along the Atlantic Ocean. There are several platforms and viewing points where you can fully appreciate the beauty of it.

It is named as one of the UNESCO Global Geoparks, just like Langkawi in Malaysia. UNESCO Global Geoparks are single, unified geographical areas where sites and landscapes of geological significance are managed with holistic concept of protection, education and sustainable development. It highlights the importance to manage geological sites and landscapes in holistic manner.

There is a visitor centre and cliff exhibition nestled at the hillside where you can visit after drowning yourself to the masterpiece of god. It is full of interesting facts of geology and the history of the area. You will also find a cafe and a gift shop inside the centre.