A Travel Guide to Ireland

My trip to Ireland was going to be a special one for two of reasons: I decided to finally propose to my girlfriend of almost 10 years. After 5 years of dating I heard a lot of, “Wait, how long have you two been dating?” followed by “What are you waiting for?”. It all got very tiring and I had to put an end to it. 

The other reason was that I became an Irish citizen. Ireland’s laws grant citizenship to anyone whose parents or grandparents were born on the island. My grandparents were from Co. Longford and started a family off of McLean Ave in Yonkers, NY like many other Irish immigrants of the time. Despite my heritage, I had never been to Ireland. Once the passport came in the mail, the situation felt ludicrous. How could I be a citizen of a country that I never visited? 

Planning a trip and a proposal at the same time made for a stressful couple of months but it all worked out in the end. I came back to New York and thought no more questions would be asked but I quickly realized it was only the beginning.

“I’m so happy for you guys! So, what are the plans for the wedding?”. Well, it might be another 10 years before I have an answer to that.

Where to visit?

Photo from Kerry on our last day in Ireland.

Ireland is a small island so you can see a lot without needing to travel very far. Despite being a transit-riding city slicker, I have to admit that Ireland is best experienced by car. To start, I see an itinerary best planned by landing in Dublin and departing from Shannon and I’d only recommend renting a car when leaving Dublin. 

When leaving Dublin, decide on heading north or south.

If you go northwest, drive across the country to Donegal, Sligo or Mayo and experience Ireland’s rugged west coast dubbed the ‘Wild Atlantic Way’. There is natural beauty in all of these counties from The Slieve League in Donegal, to the beautiful beaches and rock formations in Sligo, to Connemara National Park in Mayo.

By going southwest, you can see Cork, the Republic’s second biggest city, or opt for a slower speed in seaside towns like Kinsale and Clonakilty. Afterwards, you can head toward the Ring of Kerry and the Dingle Peninsula which boast sweeping views in a setting that feels untouched by time. 

Both routes lead to a final couple days in Galway before departing from Shannon Airport in neighboring County Clare. 

How long to stay in each location?

Taking in the views of Benbulben in County Sligo.

I had an ambitious itinerary due to the proposal which meant needing to divide 9.5 days in 5 different places. Barring the nerve-wracking stress of proposing, I had an amazing time but it wasn’t the most relaxing vacation ever. There was a lot of driving done on the trip. Due to the close proximity of places in Ireland, you may be tempted to stay in as many counties as possible, but that can get tiring quick and driving in Ireland isn’t easy! An hour of normal travel may nearly double and will require a lot of concentration on some very tight roads. 

It all does depend on the amount of time you have in Ireland and maybe your appetite for being behind the wheel. 3 stops, maybe 4, is definitely enough! 

Dublin

I’m a big Guinness drinker so I had a couple of pubs that I knew I wanted to visit. I was hesitant to waste time on our short trip to Dublin by going to the Guinness Storehouse because it might surprise you to find out, but there are a lot pubs in Dublin that have better Guinness than the Storehouse. Megan pushed me to go and honestly she was right. You are visually stimulated throughout the self-guided tour by the creative exhibits and the sheer scale of the storehouse’s 7 floors. By purchasing the Guinness Academy ticket you get to pour your own Guinness before heading up to the top floor which has beautiful views of the whole Dublin area. I’ll begrudgingly say, don’t skip the Guinness Storehouse. 

The consensus best pint in perhaps all of Ireland, not just Dublin, is John Kavanagh ‘The Gravediggers’. To prove that you can get better pints at most pubs in Dublin, Megan went into the trip and out of the the Guinness storehouse not liking Guinness, but after one glass at Gravediggers, it all changed. I didn’t need any more confirmation that she was the one but that definitely did seal the deal for me. It’s a 10-15 minute ride from Dublin’s city center in Glasnevin and the pub’s pints and charm does not disappoint. 

Sligo

The big moment.

Sligo is where I decided to propose to Megan. It was actually my hand that was forced into it all because she insisted that if we go to Ireland then we must stay in a castle at least one night. Pretty bourgeois if you ask me, but I reluctantly gave in and looked for castles that worked within our itinerary. I came across The Markree Castle in Sligo and remembered hearing about the county being criminally underrated. I saw a picture of a road in Mullaghmore while looking up things to do and it just spoke to me. This was going to be the spot. 

We had just one day in Sligo but I managed to plan three different walks, a visit to Sligo Town, a proposal and dinner reservations. Easy.

We started at the Keshcorran Caves as we drove from the midlands to the west of Sligo. It’s a 20 minute hike up to a set of caves with incredible views of the countryside below. You walk up a winding path flanked by roaming sheep and it’s all very picturesque and equally smelly. Meg thought she saw a ring box in my pocket and became nervous that I’d propose knee-deep in feces. I didn’t have the ring box in my pocket despite what she thought she saw, but from that point forward she had an inkling of what was going to happen. 

After settling in at the Markree Castle, we went into town for a bite at Hargadon Brothers and then went off to the Benbulben Forest Walk. Benbulben is a massive rock formation that hangs in the background of everything you see on the coast of Sligo. The walk puts you right up against Benbulben and it’s super casual, very easy going for all non-hikers like Meg and I. 

My itinerary for the day gave it all away. There was an obvious travel redundancy that on a normal day I’d never plan. The plan called for a stroll at sunset before heading to dinner. She was really quiet in the car, she knew and I could tell. 

She said yes but only after we stopped traffic! 

We finished our trip with two days in Galway and three in Kerry and I often find myself wanting to go back. I want to spend more time in Dublin drinking in old boozers. I want to have a couple of late nights in Galway. I want to head back to Sligo and just relax without the anxiety of asking someone to spend the rest of their life with me. I’d love to drive down to Kerry again but this time in the passenger’s seat. All in all, I wouldn’t change anything about the trip because it was one that I’ll never forget but it’s almost equally special knowing it won’t be my last.