Ireland pros?

[notherhalo]

I have to go to Dublin for work April 2014, and can get maybe a week off tops.  I would like to check out the area, and Guinness is my favorite beer by far.

 

Is there a weeks worth of stuff to do in Dublin?  Should I go to another city?  (Cork?)   I cant get a open jaw flight so Im likely leaving from Dublin and dont want to go too far, just to have to come back.    - thanks for any tips

[Blarg]

Ask Happybat, he probably has some airline vouchers leftover from the last time he didn't go.

[katie]

Dublin is cool for maybe two days

[katie]

I do not like Guinness but it tastes so much better in Ireland. I actually enjoyed it over there

[nate]

Ask Victor or LBHalos

[katie]

Or AIR

[TobiasFunke]

I went to Dublin for a couple of days last summer and had a blast.

[Bruce Nye]

I think Katie is accurate.  Dublin is fun for 2 to 3 days.  There are no ruins, castles, monuments, museums of great importance to see.  You will need to go to Temple bar, just because it is so popular and you can check the box.  It is one of the nicest and largest pub in Ireland.  Port Marnock is a nice golf course by the airport, if you want to play golf.

 

It rains all the time in Ireland; you will never see a greener place.  Even in the hottest period of summer, you can be sure you will get 1 or 2 days of rain.  In April, don't be surprised to find a week's worth, but the Irish never complain about the weather.  They play golf in it and just wear different clothing.

 

Personally, I believe the southern part of the island (Cork) is prettier and more touristy, but don't expect you will see typical European things to see.

 

One thing you should know.  Northern Ireland is not Ireland.  The Irish use the Euro and in NI they use the pound sterling.  There is relative peace among the two now, but that doesn't mean there are no skirmishes.  I recommend avoiding the subject.

 

I love Ireland, but because I love golf and their golf courses are simply exquisite.

 

Food-wise, it is so Americanized that most pubs will serve you a chicken Caesar salad and a Budweiser.  You should try a typical Irish breakfast.  The Irish are big breakfast eaters.  Beer-wise, you'll be surprised at how much Bud and Coors is served (mostly to the young folks).  Without question, Guinness is the beer of choice.  My favorite is Smithwicks (they pronounce it "Smit -icks").  I believe the superior taste in both Guinness and Smithwicks there vs. here is the higher alcohol content.

Edited August 29, 2013 by Bruce Nye

[LBHalos17]

Bruce pretty-much nailed-it...  

 

We took a day-off from our trip to "Norn Iron" (Northern Ireland; Belfast) for a train trip down to Dublin.  I LOVE me some Guiness, so we went to the Brewery tour.  They have a bar at the top of the Brewery that has a 360' view, and your tour-ticket is worth 1 1/2 beers (a small one during the tour, and a real one in the 360' bar.   I really like "half-and-halfs"- Guiness/Harp here at home.  Don't ask for this combo over there, tho.  I was surprised at how much Coors light they drink over there.  For me, the combo was always Guiness/Bushmills.  The Jamison distillery is down here somewhere, and they will customize a label for your bottle if you enjoy your whiskey as I do (We went to Bushmills instead).

 

We went to Trinity College, hoping to get a glance of the "Book of Kells" (a seriously old book of the gospel; around 400-600 AD, depending on who you ask), but the line was WAY too long (and I was WAY too thirsty).  Taking a short walk through the College to see the architecture is worth it, though.  From there, we wandered through the Temple Bar district, stopping for lunch at "The Auld Dubliner".  We stopped-in at the Temple Bar, but it was packed.  It's definitely worth a walk-through though, and they always have live music (as did most pubs; either a single acoustic-guitarist or larger acoustic band).  They love their Cod over there, and the portions are large.  Surprisingly, the lasagna (at least up North) was the best I've ever had.

 

The Temple Bar is on the River Liffey, and there is no shortage of tourist-traps for souvenirs.  You will need to exchange currency to Euros.  We didn't have any opportunities to discuss "The Troubles" with anyone in Dublin, and I think they are probably more unhappy about the split than folks up North.  I spoke to a few IRA-affiliated lads up North, and they still hope for a unified Ireland eventually.  

 

I would just suggest googling "Dublin" or trying dcba.ie to start (the Dublin City Business Association) to start.  They probably run bus tours that would take you out of town, and into the amazingly-green countryside.

 

For me, it was my favorite vacation!  But, I trace my roots to Norn Iron (Kelly) and walking around with my medal around my neck always led to conversations.  We found the folks up North to be very helpful and curious about us and our experience in Ireland.

 

Have a great trip!

[Brandon]

Yeah, our crap domestics are big in all parts of the UK.

Not the most popular, but it's like how we have many good beers here and people know it but still order Bud Light at bars.

[Catwhoshatinthehat]

I always wondered if Smithwicks really was popular or well known in Ireland after I had it recommended to me while in NY by an Irish bartender as they had it on tap.  He even made it a point to explain how it was pronounced like Bruce did.  I've never been to Ireland but a buddy of mine who spent a week there probably 10 years ago said 2-3 days would have been enough like everyone else said.

[happybat4]

I went for a week a couple months ago. I'm not a Guinness fan, but it taste amazing over there. Dublin is very expensive. My wife and I rented a car and saw many of the sites. Definitley visit Cliffs of Moher. Blarney castle was nice as well. Temple bar is the place to go in Dublin. My wife and I saw this ancient passage tomb named New Grange and another named Knowth that we though were cool. They are from 3,000 BC, older than the pyramids. There is also a company named daytours.ie that offers day trips from Dublin.

[katie]

Every pub we went to had Smithwick's, Guinness, Coors light, Carlsberg, and bud ice on tap.

Trinity college is really cool. I went during school year, so it must be really weird for the students to see all the tourists walking around their campus.

We did 2 days in Dublin, rented a car and drove to Sligo for three days, and then back to Dublin for two more days. I like Sligo a lot better than Dublin

[Bruce Nye]

If you get to Northern Ireland, take the Bushmills tour.  I was there with 23 other guys before a golf game at Royal Port Rush, so we took the tour.  Naturally all we wanted to do was get to the tasting room.  It was pretty funny, because we were the only people there that morning.  No one wanted to ask a question or see more - it was "Where's the tasting room?"

 

Our favorite was Black Bush (hold the jokes, please). 

 

If you see some sheep still wearing lipstick, tip your cap,  they belong to my friends.

[happybat4]

If you get to Northern Ireland, take the Bushmills tour.  I was there with 23 other guys before a golf game at Royal Port Rush, so we took the tour.  Naturally all we wanted to do was get to the tasting room.  It was pretty funny, because we were the only people there that morning.  No one wanted to ask a question or see more - it was "Where's the tasting room?"

 

Our favorite was Black Bush (hold the jokes, please). 

 

If you see some sheep still wearing lipstick, tip your cap,  they belong to my friends.

I thought Black Bush was their name for Obama.

[notherhalo]

OK heres what I got, thanks for all the tips

• Most bars will have guinness there, I do actually like Bud Ice, hate coors light, and am happy I wont have to look through 23 gay IPAs/Hefs, or so it seems
• Go to Belfast, Sligo   (I like non-tourist areas if anyone can comment)  - not sure the recommendation on Cork?

Will only spend 2 or 3 days in Dublin, spend the rest of the time somewhere else

 

I care not at all about things like history, castles, etc.  goal is to drink a lot somewher else, nature is cool along the way

[TobiasFunke]

 

Our favorite was Black Bush (hold the jokes, please). 

 

 

Black Bush is my second favorite whiskey. First favorite being Green Spot.

 

What's funny is you can get Smithwicks and Guiness and almost every bar in America. Not the same quality of course though. And there's nothing that pisses me off more than when I'm at a pub/bar here and ask for a "Smiticks" and the waitress looks at me with a blank face.