Visited the Emerald Isle in 2019 and here are my takeaways.
1.Irish people are very friendly.
Definitely one of the most respectful and genuinely nice people. Lugang took us to a lunch at Johnny foxes(more on that later)coming out of his paternity break! Keven and his mates just wouldn't let me spend money during the pub crawl.The Irish love to certainly talk and are proud to give recos of the Emerald isle(for a reason..) Did the wild rovers tour -( 2 of them ) they are competitors to widely known paddy wagon and Irish day tours one adv. they have is that the driver and guide are two diff ppl. Irish tour guides are hilarious , love their self deprecating humor and ability to generate wise cracks from every possible situation. Generally ppl are liberal - open to immigrants and flexible for IT crowd, gay marriage , abortion laws (good turn for the better for a historically staunch Catholic country) . Believe personally everyone is an immigrant (ancestry from Africa) and while locals should strive for inclusion as a long term benefit - immigrants should equally try and integrate with local culture and follow local rules.
The blip - though the general populace is friendly nice and funny, the very young in the suburbs have issues (drug, non chalance , flouting rules) . Met this group of youngsters 14-17 yrs about 15 strong on my train journey from howth to Dublin and swear they said they would butcher me if not for my lucky day . Shocked to see how they insulted black brown folks with N word and had disgusting attitude to women . I kept silent as it was a big nd crazy mob - seems this is more of an issue with certain neighbourhoods falling into drug and relying on social welfare. Reminded me of a clockwork Orange Alex and his doods.
2.The Cliffs.
While I enjoyed the cliffs of moher enormously , I only lapped 2 hrs of it as guided tours have time limits. However I loved the Atlantic ocean vastness nd cliff hike so much ( on a clear day with blue sky nothing like it!!) that I looked up this nearby fishing town howth from https://www.tripsavvy.com/howth-cliff-path-loop-1541626. Though the walk itself (purple line - bogs of fogs) is Max 2 to 3 hrs , I fell in love with the place too much , also got incredibly lucky with the weather that I decided to stay and soak up for long and took like a million pics. I also strayed from the designated paths into the lovely Sutton town had great conversation with two Kerala men running this Thai place (turns out lotta Kerala immigrants in this town a la 'how old are you' moment) . Nice conversations with all the German crowd in the path some where kind to capture pics. I sense most don't take as many pics and want to live the moment which is fascinating! Also did the summit and lighthouse walk all in all ending with 10hrs well spent and 22 miles close to 42k steps and nearly a dead leg mind blowing views the howth hike is a hidden gem as not many tourists go see it or are aware. Surprised to see amongst the ppl doing the walk two thirds were German ! If you are doing the cliffs check the weather for the full day and do carry plenty of water and food too. Don't attempt rock climbing as the terrain is too dangerous , I tried to do some climbing and was scared to shit somehow survived . Nice to see Irish govt promoting the train travel.
3. History
Among the tours loved Kilkenny castle , book of kells walking tour , castles of cashel and the spectacular cahir castle tour ( which was filming ground for braveheart and my favorite Kubrick's Barry Lyndon) . Blarney as a castle is fantastic but waiting for 2 hrs to kiss a stone is too touristy. The Irish love their history and it is great to see the attachment they have on their 'great hunger ' from 1840s era - I explicitly took this opportunity to drill home (plant the seed) to tour guides on the Bengal famine that killed 3million ppl primarily due to Winston Churchill deliberate measures - hate the fact that much of Western Europe hail Churchill as a savior Messiah for defeating Hitler . He's no different from Hitler for indians and wanted to ensure more awareness of his misdeeds spread out esp. to younger population, given he's projected a war hero in mainstream books and movies (Dunkirk etc). Story of Brian boru was interesting and kyttlers inn in Kilkenny was a beauty(the stories of hauntedness was epic). Interesting that 24 US presidents have Irish descent also Henry Ford who established the first Ford plant in cork years ago outside US . The historic walking tour is alright though choose between kells and this one don't want repetitive history thrown in given most tour bus guides tell Irish history in one shape or form. It's a bummer the Dublin city council sits over one of the largest Viking excavation sites , hope they dig it out at some point. All the stories on the Easter uprising criminating with Michael Collins almost every guide will give you more or less the version of events. Despite all the historic things in Dublin I prefer the country side and the drive outside . Cahir castle and all the amounts of items , vantage points , trebuchet, canons, murder hole etc shows how difficult it was to take down castles in medieval times also shows how tremendously cruel ppl were given no.of torture devices , murder holes etc Even Brian boru's killer was executed in a tree by tying via his own intestines. Got to know etymology of phrases - don't throw baby with bath water, Dublin, crack, blarney(funny story involving queen Elizabeth).
Arthur guiness is greatly admired for his general good deeds by the public . Guiness storehouse is one of those places you should check out for it's historic significance , loved the harp kept in pristine condition at kells. Harp is symbol of Guinness and Ireland.
4.Food , stay, tourism
Stayed at Westbury plum in Grafton street and could access good veg options - cornucopia was a delight, Taste another good option loved their egg Benedict , Govindas is good nd cheap though not understably authentic given the cosmopolitan crowd , Sanos pizza highly recommended by the Italians mattia, eleonara turned out great - Sandeep drove us all the way explaining some history along the way. The veg pizza and the Nutella pizza sheer awesomeness. Jewel in the crown has good Pak dishes , loved the MASa tacos which Ezgi hosted me in . Even the Asian fare (ramen bar and sushi place) had good veg options. Discovered amazing falafel In a couple of Turkish places around city center- Always easy on stomach and budget. The quiche in kyttlers inn and the Irish veg stew in Johnny foxes are my winners from the trip top top class. Closely followed by pasta in trattoria at Galway and the Thai green curry at Sutton (not surprised mallus love Thai fare nd hence did a great job).
Breakfasts at insomnia most days are good fresh croissants, pastries and tarts usually can't go wrong . Ice creams at Murphy's are must try and Gino gelatoo anywhere , particularly loved the 99 special one with bubble gum syrup at howth. Irish love their whiskey and Guinness both not my drinks . Smiddicks pale and red ale turned out great discovery at both Kilkenny nd bleeding horse (fantastic atmosphere for sports nd chitchat loved their veg lentil rice) .
Irish coffee do try for the heck of it but since I don't appreciate the tulamere dew which goes into Irish coffee I gleefully skipped it's more chocolaty cousin Bailey's . Moved to belvedere road for my bnB leg and no regrets great walk to city center be it tram station or the Connolly.
Pleasantly surprised I got good authentic south food thanks to Hari and Lalita ( vatha kuzhambu, pachadi, idly, sambhar, peanut chutney, rasam , potatoes, vadam) being highlight - only day I got caught in rain though always keep an umbrella and a thick jacket for the winds.
Johnny foxes (fantastic mountain backdrop) great exhibits, bleeding horse in the city are must dos - Irish music is ubiquitous in the city so wouldn't mind sitting anywhere in the evening for this.
Kytler's inn is amazing must go.
The methodical way the whole tourism industry operates with your guides being history professors nd taking students as understudy and providing neat recos for food drinks (there is a cut here and win win) . Souvenir shops are interlinked and benefit a great deal for eg at glendelough I ended up getting good discounts on quality woolen fare through the Nexus of my tour guide. Same thing at blarney for the Mills shop and hotel. Air bnb and booking.com places continue to amaze me the self check in check out model is something that will save plenty of money nd improve privacy. Also the way they make lights conserve energy is something we should strive.
Hollywood has so much connection here that one can easily do a Hollywood tourism
5.If I had to do it another way..
No regrets whatsoever everything is an experience and with hindisight you will always have better clarity in that regard, I would ve skipped one historic walking tour (taken kells alone) and gone outside Dublin to the country perhaps ring of Kerry or graystones. Also might be worth skipping cliffs of mohor as a tour (the guide was hilarious) but time limits in cliffs is something I don't ascribe to and would rather drive in or take separate bus there and spend full day there and just eat at Galway late evening on way back (Galway was a damp squib).
Kilkenny Wicklow , glendelough (lakes mind blowing) as well as cashel tours were worth it except for the queue to kiss the stone. Don't regret anything it was terrific experience all round Ireland is called emerald isle for a reason - hope they keep no. Of tourists in check and also regulate traffic nd cars . The place deserves to be left unspoiled and regulations is the way forward , greed should not usurp long term thinking. For me coming from Seattle the weather was not surprising except some winds here and there but for ppl not acclimated to cold pls plan few days to acclimate. Driving out is an excellent experience but do it only if u are going to stay in a spot for the night . Worth getting British/ UK Visa to do the Belfast gOT your which I unfortunately missed out on.
Sloanche - Sloane!!!
