The Mini Rough Guide to Ireland (Travel Guide eBook)

By Rough Guides

This pocket-sized guide is a convenient, quick-reference companion to discovering what to do, what to see and how to get around Ireland. It covers top attractions like The Rock of Cashel, The Dingle Peninsula and The Giant's Causeway, as well as hidden gems, including The Book of Kells, Newgrange and Temple Bar.This will save you time, and enhance your exploration of this fascinating country. This title has been fully updated post-COVID-19.

This Mini Rough Guide to Ireland covers: Dublin; Dublin daytrips; Wexford; Waterford and Kilkenny; Cork; County Kerry and the Ring of Kerry; Limerick and Clare; The Burren; Galway; Connemara; The Aran Islands; County Mayo; County Donegal; Northern Ireland

In this travel guide you will find:

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EVERY TYPE OF TRAVELLER
Experiences selected for every kind of trip to Ireland, from cultural explorations to family activities in child-friendly placesor a once in a lifetime trip along the Wild Atlantic Way and exploring the delights of The Cliffs of Moher and surfing Atlantic breakers in Lahinch

TOP TEN ATTRACTIONS
Covers the destination's top ten attractions not to miss, including Galway,Dingle peninsula Glendalough, and a Perfect Day/Tour itinerary suggestions.

COMPACT FORMAT
Compact, concise, and packed with essential information, with a sharp design and colour-coded sections, this is the perfect on-the-move companion when you're exploring Ireland.

HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL INSIGHTS
Includes an insightful overview of landscape, history and culture.

WHAT TO DO
Detailed description of entertainment, shopping, nightlife, festivals and events, and children's activities.

PRACTICAL MAPS
Handy colour maps on the inside cover flaps will help you find your way around.

PRACTICAL TRAVEL INFORMATION
Practical information on eating out, including a handy glossary and detailed restaurant listings, as well as a comprehensive A-Z of travel tips on everything from getting around to health and tourist information.

STRIKING PICTURES
Inspirational colour photography throughout.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Insight Guides
• Release date: Apr 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781785732904

Rough Guides

Rough Guides are written by expert authors who are passionate about both writing and travel. They have detailed knowledge of the areas they write about--having either traveled extensively or lived there--and their expertise shines through on every page. It's priceless information, delivered with wit and insight, providing the down-to-earth, honest read that is the hallmark of Rough Guides.

Book preview

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How To Use This E-Book

Getting Around the e-Book

This Rough Guide Mini e-book is designed to inspire you and help you plan for your visit to Ireland, and is also the perfect on-the-ground companion for your trip. The guide begins with our selection of Highlights, plus a Perfect Itinerary feature to help you plan an unforgettable trip. The Introduction and History and Culture chapters give the lowdown on Ireland, past and present, while the Out and About chapter is a comprehensive guide to all the best sights. You will find ideas for getting active in Things to Do, while the Food and Drink chapter introduces you to the local cuisine and gives listings of our favourite restaurants by area. Travel Essentials offers just that; practical information to help you plan your trip. Finally, Where to Stay provides a special selection of hotels for every budget. In the Table of Contents and throughout this e-book you will see hyperlinked references. Just tap a hyperlink once to skip to the section you would like to read. Practical information and listings are also hyperlinked, so as long as you have an external connection to the internet, you can tap a link to go directly to the website for more information.

Maps

All key attractions and sights in Ireland are numbered and cross-referenced to high-quality maps. Wherever you see the reference [map], tap once to go straight to the related map. You can also double-tap any map for a zoom view.

Images

You’ll find lots of beautiful high-resolution images that capture the essence of Ireland. Simply double-tap an image to see it in full-screen.

About Rough Guides

Published in 1982, the first Rough Guide – to Greece – was created by Mark Ellingham and a small group of friends who couldn’t find a guidebook to meet their needs. Combining a contemporary, journalistic style with a thoroughly practical approach to travellers’ needs, the immediate success of the book spawned a series that rapidly covered dozens of destinations. These days, Rough Guides include recommendations from budget to luxury and cover more than 120 destinations worldwide, all regularly updated by our team of ever curious, roaming writers. These Rough Guide Minis may be small, but they are packed with information and inspiration and offer amazing value for money.

© 2022 Apa Digital AG and Apa Publications (UK) Ltd

Table of Contents

10 Things Not To Miss

A Perfect Tour of Ireland

Overview

The Irish

A Native Tongue

The Northern Counties

History and Culture

St Patrick’s Day

The Vikings

Rivalry And Revenge

The English Ascendancy

Revolutionary Ideas

Starvation and Emigration

Frustration and Revolt

Out and About

Dublin

O’Connell Street to St Stephen’s Green

Medieval Dublin

The North Bank

Beyond the Centre

Dublin Daytrips

North of Dublin

West of Dublin

South of Dublin

The Southeast

Wexford

Waterford

Cashel

Kilkenny

The Southwest

Cork

County Cork

County Kerry

Ring of Kerry

The West

Limerick and Clare

The Burren

Galway

Connemara

Aran Islands

County Mayo

The Northwest

County Donegal

Northern Ireland

Belfast

The Antrim Coast Road

Derry City and Fermanagh

Mountains of Mourne

Things To Do

Sports

Watersports

Shopping

What To Buy

Entertainment

Traditional Music

Clubs and Bars

Medieval Mayhem

Theatre

Children

Food and Drink

When To Eat

What To Eat

Breakfast

Other Meals

What To Drink

Where To Eat

Dublin

Cork

Galway

Kerry

Kilkenny

Limerick and Shannon

Waterford

Wexford

Wicklow

Northern Ireland

A–Z Travel Tips

A

Accommodation

Airports

B

Bicycle hire

Budgeting for your trip

C

Camping

Car hire

Climate and clothing

Crime

D

Driving

E

Electricity

Embassies and consulates

Emergencies

G

Getting there

Guides and tours

H

Health and medical care

L

Language

LGBTQ travellers

M

Media

Money

O

Opening hours

P

Photography

Police

Post offices

Public holidays

R

Religion

T

Telephones

Time zones

Tipping

Toilets

Tourist information offices

Transport

Travellers with disabilities

V

Visas and entry requirements

W

Websites

Y

Youth hostels

Where To Stay

Dublin

Meath

Cork

Galway

Kerry

Kilkenny

Limerick and Shannon

Mayo

Waterford

Wexford

Northwest

Northern Ireland

10 THINGS NOT TO MISS

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1. GALWAY

Great for its traditional pubs, seafood and salty air. For more information, click here.

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2. DINGLE PENINSULA

This idyllic area lives up to visitors’ romantic notions of Ireland. For more information, click here.

Fáilte Ireland

3. GLENDALOUGH

An ancient monastery in a spectacular setting. For more information, click here.

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4. BOOK OF KELLS

Trinity College, Dublin, houses this wonderful product of Ireland’s heritage. For more information, click here.

Fáilte Ireland

5. NEWGRANGE

These burial chambers represent a major feat of prehistoric engineering. For more information, click here.

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6. CORK CITY

The Republic’s second city has an oldfashioned charm. For more information, click here.

Library

7. CROWN LIQUOR SALOON

Great tiles and cosy snugs in Belfast’s foremost pub. For more information, click here.

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8. DONEGAL

The countryside and coastline here have a wild beauty. For more information, click here.

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9. GRAFTON STREET

Dublin’s main shopping street bustles with life. For more information, click here.

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10. TEMPLE BAR

The buzzing heart of Dublin’s nightlife. For more information, click here.

A Perfect Tour OF IRELAND

Day 1

Dublin. Walk the streets of Georgian Dublin, from Trinity College’s cobbled quadrangle to the wide expanse of Merrion Square, then enjoy a light lunch at the National Gallery. Cross the Ha’penny Bridge and follow O’Connell Street to Parnell Square and the Dublin Writers Museum.

Day 2

Kilkenny and Tipperary. Leave Dublin by car for Kilkenny – founded by St Canice in the sixth century – and Kilkenny Castle, a magnificent edifice in rich parkland beside the River Nore. Have lunch at the Kilkenny Design Centre, an emporium of Irish crafts. Drive on to Tipperary and climb the Rock of Cashel, to savour its magnificent ruins.

Day 3

Cork City. Explore Cork’s city centre on foot, lunching in the vast covered food market. Then take a twenty-minute train ride to the port of Cobh, the last sight of home for generations of emigrants, whose tale is told at The Queenstown Story in Cobh Heritage Centre.

Day 4

Coast path to Killarney. The west Cork coastal road (N71) meanders through tiny villages, where the pubs showcase local artisan foods, to the treasure-packed Bantry House, and sub-tropical Glengarriff. Drive through Kenmare to Moll’s Gap for a jaw-dropping scenic approach to Killarney.

Day 5 & 6

Kerry. Explore the lakes and heather-clad mountains of Killarney. The Gap of Dunloe excursion includes a lake cruise, join it at Ross Castle.

Day 7

Cliffs of Moher. At Lahinch, you can surf the same Atlantic breakers that pound the nearby Cliffs of Moher. Warm up with Irish stew in Doolin while foot-tapping to live Irish music, and consider a day trip to the Aran Islands, or a visit to the Burren’s numerous megalithic remains.

Day 8

The wild west. Drive west from Galway to Connemara, a sparsely populated wilderness of bog, scattered blue lakes, and distant purple mountains. Enjoy the seafood in Clifden, then head for Connemara National Park. Hike up Diamond Hill for a panoramic view.

Day 9

The Antrim Coast. Marvel at the Giant’s Causeway’s bizarre basalt columns, as have generations of visitors. Enjoy the cosy inn at Bushmills (for more information, click here), next door to Ireland’s oldest distillery. Nearby are the evocative clifftop ruins of Dunluce Castle.

Day 10

The Belfast. An impressive Victorian city with chic bars and restaurants, and quirky museums and libraries, Belfast is a popular weekend break destination, with friendly locals, known for their down-to-earth sense of humour. Visit Titanic Belfast, birthplace of the ill-fated liner, to explore the history of the Titanic, and understand the local pride in the city’s industrial past.

Overview

The grass really does grow greener in Ireland – it’s not called the ‘Emerald Isle’ for nothing. Ireland is a small country, and one to savour slowly. The quick-changing sky adds to the drama of the encounter between land and sea. You’re never further than 115km (70 miles) from Ireland’s dramatic 4,800-km (3,000-mile) coastline. Far to the west lies America, a beacon for countless emigrants during the nineteenth century. To the east lies Britain, whose relationship with its next door neighbour has for 800 years been one of the most sensitive and dramatic in European geopolitics; the negotiations surrounding Brexit and the so-called ‘Irish backstop’ providing the latest chapter in this ongoing saga.

Emigration

Almost 7 million people live on the island – fewer than before the Great Famine of the 1840s. Emigration was high until the ‘Celtic Tiger’ boom, when jobs in new industries kept locals at home. The economy nosedived in 2008, but had recovered its feet by 2016, only for Brexit to unleash another wave of uncertainty. Applications for Irish passports by second-generation Irish living in Britain soared as the UK prepared to leave the EU.

The proximity of the Gulf Stream keeps winters in Ireland mild. Snow is rare, rain is not. Significant rainfall is recorded on three