If you click on this thread you must post on it...

My sister, helping us get "in the zone" for our trip to Ireland, has recommended "House of Guinness" - a new Netflix series from the creators of Peaky Blinders. Here's the trailer:

 
Louanne Learning said:
the Guinness factory is on our list of "must-sees"
Click to expand...
It is by far, one of the best parts of Dublin, and the views at the top are absolutely incredible!

I recommend downloading the TFI app (Transport For Ireland) and going to the Tourist information office on O' Connell street (Dublin) for a LEAP ticket. This week ticket allows you to use any TFI bus, trams and trains (ask Tourist Information for more info). We saved so much money, enjoyed the various modes of transports, and it meant we could do more sight-seeing.

Sloncha (Cheers) 🍻
 
Louanne Learning said:
We will be renting a car. What's the parking situation like around Dublin?
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Horrible. And expensive, though they do say the M50 is the biggest parking lot in Europe. Except it's meant to be a motorway.

I tend to get the train if travelling to Dublin to avoid the traffic and parking issue. The train station is a twenty minute walk from our head office, and then there's the Luas (tram service) Your best bet is to aim for a multi-storey rather than trying for parking on the street, particularly in the city centre.

There's the option of Park & Ride, if you don't need the car close by. Park at the Red Cow Luas station (or others on the route) and tram in to the city. There are stupid people who think paying for the tram covers the parking but the clamping operation is pretty efficient. My brother and I had just seen Ireland beat the All Blacks in Aviva Stadium, clamp had no effect on the mood.
 
We do have parking at the hotel we are staying at in Dublin, which is right across the street from Trinity College.

Then, our first day in Dublin is a “walking day” - The Books of Kells Experience, The National Museum of Ireland, Grafton Street, the Temple Bar

Our second and third days in Dublin are “driving days” and include stops at Kilmainham Gaol, Dalkey Castle and Heritage Centre, Dublin Castle, The National Leprechaun Museum, Guinness Storehouse
 
I went to college in Trinity. Just for one course, we had one of the old lecture halls instead of the new Arts Building. I wished we'd had more of the old. It was transformative.

I'm more familiar with your first day than the others and each of them is well worth the look. The library in which the Book of Kells is housed stunned me far more than the book itself. National Museum and I think the National Art Museum are close by each other. Jack B. Yeats, brother of William, has artwork there. He won an Olympic medal for Art back when that was a thing. I'll google it after posting this, but I can't remember if that medal counted as one for Britain or was it the first medal awarded to Ireland in the games.

I loved Grafton Street when I lived in Dublin. The buskers and the vibe, sipping coffee in Bewley's (could only afford one as a student, the rest had to go on stout) and watching the curious world pass by.

I'd repeat caution in Temple Bar, particularly at night. It attracts a lot of tourists, so is also popular with the local mugging brotherhood.

Kilmainham is so well put together and a powerful tour. Dalkey is beautiful but I never ventured to the Castle. The others I don't know except I had a client once who drove one of the massive machines in Guinness that picked up a couple of dozen barrels at a time. I met him on my way to the train one evening and took up the offer to drive around in it, him driving because that machine cost more than I expect to make this lifetime.
 
Rigor Mortis said:
sipping coffee in Bewley's
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thanks for the tip! We will definitely make a stop there

bewleysgraftonstreet.com

Bewley's Grafton Street - Bewley’s Grafton Street: Dublin’s Iconic Café Experience

Experience the charm of Dublin’s rich café culture at Bewley’s Grafton Street. Serving the city and its visitors for almost a century with world-famous tea, coffee, and extraordinary patisserie in a unique Grand European Café style interior
bewleysgraftonstreet.com bewleysgraftonstreet.com

Rigor Mortis said:
the Castle.
Click to expand...

This whole trip started since my sister-in-law is turning 65 and she said "I always wanted to go to Ireland!" so we said, "Let's go." - and she had only one request for the trip - to visit Christmas markets. So, we'll be going to the Galway Christmas Market -

Christmas Market Galway - Christmas Market Galway

www.christmasmarketgalway.com www.christmasmarketgalway.com

- and also the Christmas Market at Dublin Castle -

www.theirishroadtrip.com

Dublin Castle Christmas Market 2025 Guide (With Dates)

The Dublin Castle Christmas Market have been confirmed! Here's everything you need to know, from the dates to what's on!
www.theirishroadtrip.com www.theirishroadtrip.com
 
I'm so disappointed! I just went to buy our tickets to Kilmainham Gaol and they are completely sold out!

@Rigor Mortis - any recommendations to spend a couple of hours in Dublin that I didn't mention?
 
This sounds like quite a trip, Louanne. May it be everything you want it to be and more.

Rigor Mortis said:
The library in which the Book of Kells is housed stunned me far more than the book itsel
Click to expand...

I avoid big cities as far as possible on trips, but if anything tempted me into Dublin, it would be this library, Book of Kells or no.

That being said, I bought a reproduction of TBofK at a library sale years ago, complete with metallic gold accents. I could not believe it had been passed over. I found THIS a few minutes ago while looking for photos of The Library of Trinity College.

A friend of ours was US Ambassador to Ireland under Bill Clinton. He and his wife loved living there, as you might expect people named Sullivan to do. Some kids from the state university (we only have one) were cruising around Dublin and decided, what the heck, let's call the Sullivans. Jane answered the phone and was happy to hear Wyoming voices, however unknown they were to her. When she found out where the kids were staying, she got alarmed and insisted on sending a car to bring them to the Sullivans' house for the night. Mike was governor of Wyoming before he became ambassador. He once remarked that Wyoming is a small town with really long streets. It's still true, though with all the new folks moving in, it might become less so as time goes on.
 
Thanks @CatrionaGrace

it seems like every time I go back to Google maps of the city, I see more interesting things. There's an awful lot of history in Dublin.
 
And now I have discovered an old cemetery I want to visit

Experience Glasnevin

Our Irish History Tour and new indoor visitor experience Extra-ordinary Lives tells the remarkable stories of historical figures buried at Glasnevin Cemetery
www.dctrust.ie www.dctrust.ie
 
Travelled in to London yesterday as my employer hosted a 'Supplier Innovation Day'. Aside from listening to their speeches about what their organisations do, they also set up tables where they gave away freebies. I left the venue with a bag full of pens, couple of note books, two small flasks, tape measure, a travel mug, 'stress ball, charging leads for various electronic devices, key rings, etc ...lol.
 
This has been a weird cold virus. Feel like heck one day, feel good for a day or two, then wake up to cold symptoms again. I am beginning to feel taunted as well as persecuted.
 
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