How did We Get There?
Our eight-day driving tour of Ireland was the first stage of a 35 day trip to Europe and was a amazing place to start. We flew into Ireland from Sydney with British Airways, via Singapore and London making it a long tiring trip, The arrival time was 7:30 am so to make the most of our time, we jumped in our hire car and drove into Dublin. Fortunately our room at the Trinity City Hotel was ready, so we left our luggage, gave the car to the valet and started walking around the city.
Driving Tour of Ireland Itinerary
- Days 1 and 2 in Dublin
- Days 3 Dublin to Kilkenny
- Day 4 Kilkenny
- Day 5 to Kilarney
- Day 6 to Galway
- Day 7 Galway
- Day 8 to Dublin
Days 1 and 2 Dublin
Trinity College and Book Of Kells
Our first stop was Trinity College, to view the Book of Kells and The Long Room.. Walking around the old university grounds to get to the library is worth the visit in itself. Old architecture, grand buildings and statues fill the grounds. Our pre booked tickets took us straight inside and we were pleased that few others had arrived early on a cold winter’s morning.
The display for the Book Of Kells is well thought out, explaining not only its history, but that of the other illustrated books that have been found. Many of the book’s pages are reproduced and exhibited, with explanations about their significance. This is particularly good as the original book is only open in a case with one page viewable.
The Book Of Kells itself is magnificent and is a major tourist draw card apart from its historical significance.
On the second floor of the building is the Long Room. This ancient and still operating library is wonderful to walk around because you feel surrounded by the ceiling high bookcases and their smells. There are guards posted all around, as well as designated areas to walk within.
Christ Church Cathedral
Christ Church Cathedral in central Dublin, is an impressive building with wonderful interior decorations, stain glass windows and a crypt. Unlike many old churches, there was little in the crypts apart from a small collection of religious artefacts.
Next to the church is an elevated connection to the museum on Winetavern Street. Unfortunately we could not find out how to access it, but took some photos from the road.
Molly Malone Statue
A quick stop on our walk was at the Molly Malone Statue in Suffolk street. Presented to the city in 1988 as part of the Dublin millenium celebrations, the statue was donated by Jury’s Hotels. The song Molly Malone is the unofficial anthem of Dublin, and tells the story of a fishmonger who sells seafood on the streets of Dublin.
St Patrick’s Cathedral
Founded in 1191, St Patrick’s Cathedral is the National Cathedral of the Church of Ireland. Its 43-metre spire is impressive and stands out, above the local buildings. There is a nice park next door, which was nice to walk around and relax in on our walk around the city. You do have to pay an entry fee here.
St Stephen’s Green
The largest of central Dublin’s parks, St Stephen’s Green has been a public park since 1877. Before this time, access was restricted to local residence only. At nearly nine hectares in size, it contains ponds, walking tracks and a large number of statues and memorials.
Merrion Square
Consisting of a central park and surrounded by red bricked townhouses, Merrion Square has been accessible by the public since 1960, prior to which local residence required a key for entry. Walking around the square, you will find some great sculptures as well as the National Memorial to members of the Defence Forces.
National Museum of Ireland – Archaeology
The National Museum of Ireland – Archaeology holds some of the great treasures of ancient Ireland. The museum covers Irish history from the Stone Age to the Late Middle Ages. There are displays of items from Ancient Egypt, Cyprus and the Roman world, although these are not as large as the Irish exhibitions.
On the ground floor is a huge collection of Celtic gold artefacts which is well laid out with wonderful explanations about their importance. These items, dating from 2200 BC to 500 BC form one of the finest bronze age collections of gold artefacts in Europe, making it worth the visit to the museum in itself.
There is a great collection of weapons and armour from ancient to Viking times, including bronze axes, daggers, swords and shields.
Dublin Castle
Until 1922, Dublin Castle was the seat of British administration in Ireland and has since become an Irish Government complex and tourist attraction. A castle has stood on the site since at least the early twelfth century, with the current castle constructed in the 18th century.
We chose to take a guided tour because it allows access to the ruins under the castle and the chapel. The ruins date to viking times and have been well preserve with access via well made stairs and pathways. There is also an opportunity to see the River Poddle, which is otherwise covered by the castle.
The tour took us through the main rooms in Dublin Castle, where the President of Ireland is inaugurated and State Receptions are held. St Patrick’s Hall, with it’s display of banners and hatchment plates of the knights who were living at the time of Irish independence remain in place.
Guinness Storehouse
Originally a fermentation plant, the Guinness Storehouse has been redesigned around a glass atrium representing a pint of Guinness. This tourist attraction, takes visitors on a trip exploring the history of beer and Guinness in particular. It culminates at a bar where you are able to pour your own pint (included in the price of entry). Your beer can either be drunk here, or on the top floor, with views over Dublin.
Famine Statue
On the bank of River Liffey is a series of statues commemorating the Irish Famine. The starved and desperate nature of the statues brings home how bad these times were. There is even a small starving dog.
Temple Bar
If you are looking for typical colourful Irish bars this is the area to find them. Most of them also provide live Irish music so they can be a great place to go after a busy day around Dublin.
Day 3 Dublin to Kilkenny
Our third day was a drive from Dublin to Kilkenny, stopping at Waterford and having a look at the Waterford Crystal factory as well as other towns along the way. This entailed nearly three hours of driving, but we stopped at many places along the way, so the driving was not bad.
St Mary’s Gowran
One of the highlights of day three was finding this old ruined church as we drove through Gowran on the way to Jerpoint Abbey. We saw it while looking for a quick coffee stop and decided to investigate. It was an interesting ruin and gave us a nice break from driving.
Jerpoint Abbey
Constructed in 1180, Jerpoint Abbey is now a ruin, as it was destroyed during the dissolution of the monasteries in the late 1530s. The ruins of Jerpoint Abbey have been made tourist friendly with the addition of paths and walkways. Most of the ruins are accessible apart from a function room that can be booked for weddings and events.
Thomastown
This nice little village with river and bridge made a nice rest stop on our trip before continuing to Waterford.
Waterford Crystal
A tour through the Waterford Crystal workshop is a great way to see whole production process from beginning to end. Our guide started with an overview of Waterford’s history, before we saw how the crystal was made.
We saw every stage of the crystal making process and were able to observe the craftsmen as they worked on pieces. The skill and level of detail was amazing. The tour ended in the gift shop, where the amount of quality items on display was staggering. As international tourists, we were entitled to a refund on the VAT on purchases, and the staff helped us with the paperwork that was required.
Kilkenny
St Canice’s Cathedral and Round Tower
Dating from the 13th century, St Canice’s Cathedral is built of limestone, with marble columns and beautiful arches inside. The cathedral’s interior with its wooden ceilings and carvings is beautiful
We arrived at St Canice’s just before closing but the staff were great and let us climb the tower and have a good look around the cathedral.
It was great fun climbing to the top of the tower especially as it was quite tight in places which added to the fun. The views from the top of the tower over town are spectacular and worth the climb. This is one of only three towers that can still be climbed in Ireland, so take the opportunity to climb it while you are here.
Medieval Mile
Running from St Canice’s Cathedral to Kilkenny Castle the Medieval Mile, contains several historical buildings, as well as some great places to eat and enjoy a night out. Wandering along this tourist trail, you get to see ancient and modern Kilkenny at the same time, while enjoying a great walk through this lovely city.
Driving Tour of Ireland Day 4
Blarney Castle
Blarney Castle is now a partial ruin with some accessible rooms and battlements. At the top of the castle lies the Stone of Eloquence, better known as the Blarney Stone. We both kissed the stone by hanging upside-down over a sheer drop but whether it gave us the gift of eloquence is debatable.
Surrounding the castle are extensive gardens, which we loved and would have spent many more hours exploring them if time had permitted. There are paths touring the grounds with signs pointing out the various attractions such as a poison garden with a number of poisonous plants, including wolfsbane, mandrake, ricin and opium, as well as cannabis. Unfortunately, Blarney House, was closed when we visited, but this Scottish baronial-style mansion that was built in 1874 still looked impressive from outside.
Rock of Cashel
The ruins at the Rock of Cashel are an impressive collection of celtic and medieval buildings, not only for their historical importance, but also because of their impressive setting overlooking the surrounding countryside.A large car park nearby caters for the large number of visiting tourists and is only a short walk from the entrance.
The first building we walked through was the ruined cathedral, which even with its missing roof and ruined interior is impressive. The arches and remains of the interior gave off a great atmosphere and made for some great photos.
Next to the cathedral is a 28m tall Irish round tower, which unfortunately is not open to the public. It makes a great sight and has been restored in places with mortar for safety reasons.
The most intact building on the site is the chapel, which also forms the entrance to the Rock of Cashel complex.
Cahir Castle
Located in the town centre of Cahir, the intact Cahir Castle is one of the largest castles in Ireland. This very well presented building often contains exhibitions, and when we visited, it was on the castles of Ireland.
We loved Cahir Castle, as it is intact and let us see what it was like when used as a residence and place of power.
Parking was easy as a car park was located close by.
Fethard
Fethard is a Medieval town that we passed through on our forth day of driving. We found it best viewed from outside the town’s walls where you get a good view of the buildings.
Driving Tour of Ireland Day 5
This was planned to be a big day of driving with breaks along the way to see some great Irish countryside and towns to break up the day. We left Kilkenny very early, allowing us to make the most of the day and miss the heavy traffic.
Ring of Kerry
The Ring of Kerry was a fantastic drive through picturesque Irish countryside, towns and villages. We stopped regularly to see things and took the whole day to get around, which broke up the long drive.. Some of the roads are narrow, we were lucky there were no busses, that usually cause problems in the summer months.
Kenmare
Kenmare was our first stop at the Ring of Kerry, where we admired the town’s main street of colourful buildings, while having a much needed coffee and morning tea.
Sneem
Another beautiful town we stopped at was Sneem , with rows of colourful shops and houses.
Ring Of Kerry Lookout
This carpark has amazing views over the surrounding countryside as well as a lovely statue of Our Lady.
Waterville
Passing through the small village of Waterville, we saw these two statues. The first iof Charlie Chaplin, commemorates his association with the area and the other Mick O’Dwyer, a famous local football identity. A great place to stop, take a break and admire the scenery.
Ring Forts
Two stone forts found next to each other are only a short walk from the car park. A pathway from the car park leads through the local farms for a short 10 minute walk. The is well maintained making the walk easy, however, once we ventured into the fields to get to the forts, the ground was very muddy and slippery, so take care. Even a slight incline was tricky to get up because it was very wet.
The Cahergall Stone Fort dates from the 7th century as a defended farmstead and is wonderfully maintained. the nearby Leacanabuaile Stone Fort dates from the 9th century.
Gap of Dunloe
The Gap of Dunloe very narrow one lane road through a mountain pass. Having spectacular scenery, it is very popular with tourists and even in winter when we visited you have to pull over for oncoming traffic.
Driving Tour of Ireland Day 6
Cliffs of Moher
Reaching a maximum height of 214m, the Cliffs of Moher form a beautiful windswept landscape that has become one of Ireland’s major tourist attractions. We chose to visit near the visitor centre, because there is a good car park and formed walking tracks.
Arriving early, we paid for parking, which also gives access to the visitor centre and went to admire the views. The official track is set back from the cliffs for safety, but another one exists closer to the edge, giving superior views, but with an increased safety risk. Both tracks were very muddy and extremely slippery when we were there, so wear good walking shoes.
Walking to the north first, we passed O’Brien’s Tower and saw the cliffs at their highest. This area is fully sealed with a concrete walkway, but as we walked further north it became very muddy and slippery. The views however are fantastic and worth the mud and narrow path. The official track ends at one point, where a sign indicates that you are leaving the area that the visitor centre is liable for. From this point the track is unformed, but still passable with care, leading to more great views.
We also walked to the south of the visitor centre, where the track was also slippery, but again with amazing views..
Poulnabrone Dolmen
Finding the Poulnabrone Dolmen was easy using Google Maps, and there is a good car park available when you arrive, but no other facilities or food for sale. The roads are mostly small country roads, so safe careful driving is needed.
The area around the Dolmen is well laid out with paths and explanation boards, detailing the archaeological history and significance of the site. We really enjoyed this quick detour on our drive to Galway and were please we stopped.
Galway
Driving Tour of Ireland Day 7
This day was a big drive from Galway but we got to see some great archaeological sites and see more of the beautiful Irish countryside.
Queen Maeve’s Tomb
Located on the summit of 327m high Knocknarea, Queen Maeve’s Tomb is believed to be an unexcavated neolithic passage tomb. Walking to the top of the hill starts at the carpark and winds past some local farms, until it reaches the foot of the hill. At this point, the track becomes step and slippery in places as it climbs the 327m to the top.
On reaching the summit, we were rewarded with fantastic views over the surrounding countryside as well as the site of the cairn. The cairn is 55m wide and 10m tall, making it a large and impressive sight. Visitors are asked not to climb the cairn or remove rocks from it, in order to preserve the monument.
In winter, the top was the hill was exposed to the winds and very cold, even after our climb to the top. We wore warm jackets and walking boots, but still felt the cold until we decided to walk back down to the car park.
Carrowkeel Passage Tombs
The Carrowkeel Passage Tombs were the most difficult of our locations to find. Located off the main roads and down country tracks, you have to pass through farm gates and avoid flocks of sheep. There is a rough place to park cars and a sign showing the way to walk the last kilometre. This is the point where a lack of directions can lead to going the wrong way. A sign states that this is the location of the cairns. A quick look around shows that there are no cairns present. However, a previous visitor has scratched an arrow pointing up the hill. This is where they will be found.
During our visit it was raining heavily which made the trek to the top of the hill slippery. Fortunately we were wearing good hiking boots which made the climb better but people without them might have had trouble.
The cairns are a great find and because of their location few tourists visit. It was even more interesting with the rain and gloomy weather.
Driving Tour of Ireland Day 8 Galway to Dublin
This was our final full day in Ireland. We drove from Galway to Dublin, stopping along the way to see St Bridgit’s in Kildare, the Brú na Bóinne Megalithic Tombs and the Kilmainham Gaol Museum in Dublin.
Kildare
We were very fortunate to meet the reverend of St Bridgit’s while in the Tourist Information Centre. He showed us around the cathedral and explained some of its history to us, which was very interesting.
St Brigid’s Cathedral in Kildare was built by the Norman Bishop Ralph of Bristol in 1223. The entire site is steeped in important religious history, as it’s believed to be the location at which Saint Brigid, one of Ireland’s patron saints, founded a nunnery in the 5th century.
The present cathedral, which was restored in the 19th century, contains many links to the past, including a 16th-century vault, early Christian and Norman carvings and a High Cross. The Gothic-style architecture reflects the structure’s dual purpose as both a place of defence and of religious worship.
Also on the grounds is a 12th century round tower that is 33m tall, making it the second highest in Ireland. Constructed from Wicklow granite and local limestone, this historic tower is open to visitors during the summer months., so unfortunately not while we visited.
Brú na Bóinne – Megalithic Tombs
The Brú na Bóinne complex consists of three main tombs and numerous smaller ones. We visited Newgrange on a guided tour, as that is the only way to access the area.
All access to Newgrange is by guided tour only, with tours beginning at the Visitor Centre, The tourist visitor centre is located on the south side of the river Boyne, and the historical site is located on the north side of the river and is accessed via a shuttle with a tour guide.
The guide on the tour gave a thorough history of the area, explaining its origin and recent excavation. We were allowed inside the passage tomb, where we saw spiral carvings and dishes where cremated remains were left. You were not allowed to take photos in the tomb.,
Outside, we were able to walk around and admire the carvings on the kerbstones.
Kilmainham Gaol Museum
We took a guided tour of Kilmainham Gaol Museum, as this is the only way to see the old jail. It was very informative and we saw where leaders of 1916 and war of independence leaders were held and where 1916 leaders were executed.
This brought our driving tour of Ireland to an end, as we flew out the following morning to Munich.
Driving Tour of Ireland – What Did We Think?
We loved Ireland and wish there was more time to explore further. From the countryside, the towns and the history, both ancient and modern, we loved it all. There were times when we could have stayed in different towns, to ease driving, but as it was all organised beforehand, this was not possible.
Driving was easy, as the main road network is excellent, although once you venture into the countryside, roads can become very narrow. The Irish lifestyle is laid back, so take your time and enjoy your time there.
If you are interested in some of our other trips to Europe, please have a look at the list below
- Belgium
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Greenland
- Holland
- Ireland
- Italy
- Lichtenstein
- Luxembourg
- Norway
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Vatican City
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