8 June 2026.
Ireland was a much anticipated trip and a long time in coming to the Barton travel calendar. After all, we had to postpone at the last minute in 2023 and again last year. Still, it was not quite the trip we planned, but we took the trip we were able to.
That no doubt sounds strange. Our intended travel partners had to cancel just a couple of weeks before we were due to fly. Instead of a two-weeks by car with my capable brother driving on the left-hand side of the road, Ric and I needed to figure out how to “do” Ireland by train. (We knew the Irish people would be safer if we weren’t driving on the left.)
I had two weeks to alter the basic itinerary, find places to stay and figure out transportation just as the high season was kicking off.
Ireland by train is not as easy as it is in some other European countries. Ireland is, like much of North America, very car dependent. You can get to the cities, but only to a few of the smaller towns where we prefer to spend our time in the countryside. We do not take buses with luggage if at all possible. It is just not fun and not relaxing; it’s not a vacation. Buses are fine for day trips and the occasional segment when work disrupts the train line, as happened to us in Yorkshire (see The Week That Was…in Whitby).
From Northumberland (see A Week of Castles) we traveled to Killarney in the far southwest of Ireland. It took ALL DAY. Truly a day of planes (NCL to DUB), automobiles (taxis in Newcastle and Dublin), and trains (it took two to get from Dublin to Killarney.)
Luckily, we had a glorious hotel just a few steps from the train station there.
The goal for our time in Ireland was to focus on the Wild Atlantic Way, with its rugged coast, areas of outstanding natural beauty, and UNESCO heritage sites. It also offered some compelling walking opportunities. We selected Killarney and Galway, both reachable by train, if not exactly easily done.
We do not seek the standard museums/churches/guided tours in our travels, preferring to get outside, taking hikes and walks, seeing historical sites, and getting to know the places we visit through longer stays. Both Killarney and Galway offered opportunities. Sadly, we could not get to as many places as we would have liked without a car.
Still, we made the most of of our time in Ireland using available tours and the occasional taxi.
KILLARNEY
In Killarney we faced a dilemma. Spoiled for choice, should we take a day to tour the Ring of Kerry or the Dingle Peninsula and Slea Head? We chose the latter as a less popular choice and knowing we would be in a small van with no more than a dozen people. As luck would have it, there were only six of us. As we watched groups of 40 or more pile onto large tour buses, we knew we had made a choice that would work best for us. Our guide, Mick, was a delight and although the day was blustery and it rained off-and-on, it was a joy to see the Irish countryside with a native. Fat sheep, bouncing lambs, grazing cows, dry stone walls, quaint villages, windswept headlands, blooming wildflowers, and the requisite castle made for a memorable day.
Did you know that Ireland has a staggering number of castles given its size; far more than the UK in actual numbers and more castles per square mile than any other country. They do include “tower houses” in the count which are, after all, fortified residences.
Killarney National Park is quite different from our US national parks. There are no fees to enter, no campgrounds. You can take a ride on a jaunting car (horse drawn wagon or buggy), walk on many paved paths (unpaved as well), see red deer, cows, and sheep grazing within park boundaries, as well as stay in a fine hotel and find a bite to eat at a proper restaurant. It is indeed an area of outstanding beauty, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. This was the first national park in Ireland, an estate gifted by the family that owned the mansion known as Muckross House. Queen Victoria visited and the renovations required for the royal visit ultimately bankrupted the family.
Our hotel was grand, as they say so often in Ireland. I dithered on where to stay given the scarcity when making reservations and we ended up changing our minds twice. We wanted to be near the center of the village, not in the park, and that convenience came at a price but oh, what a marvelous place is the Great Southern Killarney! Service focused without being obsequious, elegant architecture, gorgeous public areas, big rooms (at least ours was), and an enviable breakfast spread. The place is 172 years old (Queen Victoria once stayed here but they did not go bankrupt) and sits on five manicured acres of property. We had good vibes at once during check-in when the charming Caitlin Barton greeted us. According to her ‘da,’ we are most certainly cousins from way back. Those vibes continued all week.
GALWAY
Moving on to Galway, with some reluctance to leave our lux digs in Killarney, we had a long day as trains vector back to Dublin. Instead of a swift journey up the west coast, we had to go all the way across country to the northeast and change trains to journey straight west from there to Galway. No wonder everyone has a car. It’s like going to Seattle from Portland to get to the Oregon Coast.
The train to Galway resembled a pub on Friday night when all the lads are partying. In fact, it was a Friday afternoon, before a holiday weekend no less, and despite the prohibition of liquor on any Irish trains, the lads (looked like off-duty military) in our car were secreting beers in their sacks and were clearly on their way to hangovers. If you have ever been in a British pub in the evening, you know it can be deafening. Noise cancelling headphones would not have dimmed the loud voices and laughter of this crowd.
Galway is a party town, very lively, with a huge Irish music tradition and a very tourist centric. The number of people in town for the bank holiday was huge. No wonder hotel rooms were scarce and at a premium price. Our hotel room in Galway was shoebox-sized and on a square meter basis, about triple the price of the grand place in Killarney. They didn’t even give us breakfast much less daily cookies. But there was a Nespresso to save the mornings.
Galway sits between County Clare to the south with the magnificent landscape of the Burren and the Cliffs of Moher, and the Connemara region to the north, with another vast national park and the fjords on the coast. Two magnificent areas to explore and we had one day to devote to a tour. The coin toss took us to the Burren and Cliffs of Moher.
A big bus — although quite lux and comfy for a day tour — took about 36 passengers on a tremendously scenic drive. First stop was the tower house seen above, then driving through the Burren with a few stops to explore the landscape. This would be a tough place to take a hike. Very rough, uneven surfaces, but extremely beautiful in a stark way, with microclimates resulting in a stunning array of protected flowers and plants. More info here .
Of course there was lunch in a pub, a modest but delightful place in a small village. The 45 minute stop was plenty of time for two pints of Guinness, according to our guide Patrick, as one must drink a pint in 20 minutes or risk it turning sour. I made it through a half-pint.
Patrick saved the Cliffs of Moher for last. Grazie a Dio it was a sunny day if a tad windy. I cannot imagine spending 2 ½ hours on the cliffs if it was blowing and raining as it did for us on the Slea Head. I would have had to spend it day-drinking in the café.
This is truly a magnificent site and for those with fear of heights, it is well-protected. Unless you climb a wall to take a selfie, you will be safe and still have splendid views in the half-mile section near the Visitors Center. Some sections are closed where the trail runs unprotected near the edge because, per our guide, three people taking selfies fell to their deaths there. In fact, it is no longer possible to hike the entire 14 km trail due to safety concerns.
It was a long day in a bus, but the guide was endlessly entertaining and made all the difference.
DUBLIN
We wrapped up our two weeks in Ireland with a couple of nights in Dublin. We had a brief tour of the city in 2023 and this time we wanted to use our day there to visit Brú na Bóinne and the Neolithic passage tomb of Newgrange. In preparation for the first attempt to visit in Ireland in 2023, we read Frank Delaney’s excellent book Ireland and were amazed to learn a bit about this 5000-year-old site. It is older than Stonehenge and the Pyramids of Giza.
Again, a big bus tour, but only 36 people and run efficiently with an archeologist guide along to give running commentary and the stories the Irish people are so fond of telling. Again, we had a stunning day so tromping about the landscape was a pleasure.
The three guided tours we took were the true standouts of our time in Ireland. They enhanced our understanding of the history and natural environment and got us out of cities and towns into the rural landscapes we enjoy. I would not want to get on a bus every single day, but selectively choosing these three over two weeks time was exactly right for us.
By the end of two weeks in hotels from fabulous to wouldn’t-stay-there-again (I’m looking at you, Newcastle), plus eating in restaurants every meal, restaurant-fatigue set in and we longed to sit in comfortable chairs and lounge on the sofa. Not to mention cuddle our lovely cats. I don’t want to see chips, crisps, or scones again for awhile, but darn those Irish make a mean lamb shank!
Of course we had to eat at The Laurel’s! My fine lamb shank at The Laurel’s and one of several bowls of mussels eaten over the course of the trip.
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Girovaga 