Ireland

“I feel more and more the time wasted that is not spent in Ireland”- Lady Gregory.

Five million people live in Ireland, but 32 million Americans identify as Irish. It’s ‘the old country’ filled with traditions and superstitions that permeate and resonate deep within us.

Whether you’re coming to Ireland to discover your roots or to create new memories, the warmth of the people and beauty of the land will always remain in your heart.

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Language(s)

English and Irish

Currency

Euro (Republic of Ireland)

Pound (Northern Ireland)

	Summer	Winter
Dublin	67	38
Belfast	72	29
Cork	73	32

Outlets

Fun Facts

Ireland is the most successful country in the Eurovision Song Contest
Over 10% of the Irish population has red hair (the most in the world!)
Ireland is the only country in the world to have a musical instrument as its national symbol
Ireland was never part of the Roman Empire
The Irish shamrock is symbolic of the holy trinity
The M18 highway was built around a fairy tree
Ireland has twice as many fairy forts (60,000) as castles and ruins (30,000)
The Book of Kells translates Mathew 10’s sword-bearing verse as “I came not [only] to bring peace, but [also] joy.”

Bucket-List Activities

Spend an evening at an Irish Pub
Drive the Wild Atlantic Way (One of the longest coastal routes in the world)
Coasteering at Ballyhornan
Surfing Rossenaugh Beach (aka Cold Water Hawaii)
Sea Stack Climbing on Cruit Island (home to the world’s only professional sea stack climber)
Cycle the gap of Dunloe from Lord Brandon’s Cottage to Kate Kearney’s Cottage
Kiss the Blarney Stone
See The Book of Kells at Trinity College
Take afternoon tea in the Lord Mayor’s Lounge (Shelbourne Hotel, Dublin)
Go shopping in the Cork English Market
Take a Game of Thrones bike tour of Winterfell

Natural Wonders

Cliffs of Moher (10 miles of sheer cliffs dropping into the Atlantic Ocean)
Giant’s Causeway (40,000 interlocking basalt columns on the Irish coast)
The Ring of Gullion (the first ring dyke in the world to be geologically mapped)
Slieve League (sea cliffs 3x the height of the Cliffs of Moher)
The Burren (the largest expanse of limestone pavement in Europe)
Carrauntoohil (the highest mountain in Ireland)
Dun Briste (The sea stack where St Patrick drove out the snakes)
Wicklow Mountains (Ireland’s largest National Park)
The Aran Islands (the islands of saints and scholars)

Major Attractions

Blarney Castle (County Cork)
Kylemore Abbey (County Galway)
Grafton Street (Dublin)
Killarney National Park (County Kerry)
The Ring of Kerry(County Kerry)
Rock of Cashel (County Cashel)
National Museum of Ireland (Dublin)
Immigration Museums (EPIC – Dublin) (Ulster American Folk Park – Castletown UK)
St. Stephen’s Green (Dublin)
Bunratty Castle & Folk Park (County Clare)
Kilkenny Castle (Kilkenny)
Guinness Storehouse (Dublin)

Native Foods

Irish Stew (meat, potatoes, and veg cooked in a pot -simple and delicious)
Soda Bread (a quick bread with innumerable variations)
Colcannon and Champ (mashed potatoes loaded with butter, cream, spring onions, and who knows what)
Boxty (‘poor-house bread’ made with potato that can be baked, boiled, fried in butter, or cooked on the griddle)
Black and white pudding (sausage made from pork meat and fat mixed with barley and suet. (Black has blood, white does not))
Barmbrack (Irish sweet bread with sultanas and raisins (and a surprise inside for Halloween!))

General Travel Tips

Common Phrases

Sláinte! – An appropriate toast with a pint of the black stuff
What’s the craic? – A gentler way of saying S—- in a bucket
On me tod – A Cockney rhyming homage to lone wolf American jockey Tod Sloan. Sloan rhymes with on my own, but true to traditions, the actual rhyme gets omitted
May the road rise up to meet you – And may the wind be always at your back. An Irish
expression of God’s love through nature cross-stitched on pillows everywhere.
Acting the maggot – Not just foolish but wiggly and a little gross
We’re sucking diesel now – Things are going great, you’re as happy as Larry
Tis only a stepmother would blame you – “Don’t worry about it.” Used in a sentence – Christ on a bike, she’s a fine thing; Tis only a stepmother would blame you
There is no disagreement that can’t be solved with a good cup of tea, in the face – A belief held by The Nualas and, allegedly, Brad Pitt
Irish Goodbye -when you abruptly leave a party without telling anyone, kind of like….

Dublin/ Helsinki-Vantaa Airport (DUB ✈✈✈✈) – The capital city and start to most Ireland trips
Belfast/ Belfast International Airport (BFS ✈✈✈✈) – The capital city of Northern Ireland with direct flights to the US
Clare/ Shannon Airport (SNN ✈✈) – The longest runway in Ireland with falling traffic after the end of the “Shannon Stopover”
Cork / Cork Airport (ORK ✈✈) – Passenger flights to arrive from all over Europe

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