pegoode
Registered User
Posts: 1
(12/29/03 6:23 pm)

1st trip help

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We're finally going to do it! 2 couples for the first two weeks of September 2004. My questions will be many but I am trying to read back in the forum so I'll be more informed before asking. Here are my initial questions.

We're planning to fly in and out of Shannon. We don't like to rush and enjoy chatting with people and having a few pints along the way. We're looking at visiting the Galway area and down the coast to Kerry. We'd like to go to the Clarenbridge Oyster Festival but I haven't been able to find out the dates as yet. Any help there would be appreciated. If the Oyster Festival is going on, could we base ourselves in Salthill to visit that, the Aran Islands and have good access to Galway?

We would prefer to not jump around to a different B&B each night but instead to stay 2-3 nights in a couple of different, central areas. I wonder that we might like to do the B&B route the first week and move on to a self catering cottage for the second week. Maybe Galway area the first week, working our way down to Kerry staying at B&Bs along the way, then finding a cottage in Kerry?

Thanks for your help. I love this forum and appreciate all the advice.
Pam

Michele Erdvig
ezOP
Posts: 2005
(12/30/03 1:18 am)
 
Re: 1st trip help

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Hi Pam,

Congratulations on committing to your first trip to Ireland in September. If you are like many of the people on my forum you may just have to return to the Emerald Isle again and again!

Reading through the forum (and the archives) is an excellent idea. You will pick up many tips from past travelers. Also, call Tourism Ireland after the first of the year to get your free info kit 1-800-223-6470 and be sure to ask for a Self-catering book. Take a look at my "Planning" page and the various pages in my web site for lots more advice.

Salthill would be a great location for all you have outlined in the area. You can do Connemara from there also. For the Clarenbridge Oyster Festival see the following web site: www.clarenbridge.com/ They don't have the 2004 dates up yet but you can email them for the info. Since this is a popular festival you should make your lodging reservations well in advance.

Since most self-catering rentals go from Saturday to Saturday you will have to plan carefully for that. But your idea of doing B&Bs and self-catering is a good one. I suggest renting a 4-star rated house or condo. After all you want to stay in a nice place for a whole week! Killarney would be a good area for that, as would Kenmare.

I will look forward to your other questions as your trip becomes a reality.

Michele

pegoode
Registered User
Posts: 2
(12/30/03 6:33 am)
 
Re: 1st trip help

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Excellent tips. Thanks Michele!

Michele Erdvig
ezOP
Posts: 2006
(1/1/04 12:46 am)

You're Welcome

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Hi Pam,

Delighted to be of help!

Michele

stannseniors
Registered User
Posts: 70
(1/5/04 11:14 am)
 
Bunratty

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don't know where you will be going but we went for our first trip in October last year. We flew in and out of Shannon as well and stayed in Bunratty the first and last night. I would recomend going to the Ceili at the Castle there. It was a nice place to sit with freinds, have dinner and see a great sampling of Irish dance, music and humor. The people on this site are great at answering all those questions you may think silly- i know i asked my share.

pegoode
Registered User
Posts: 3
(1/5/04 5:51 pm)
 
Re: Bunratty

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Thanks stannseniors - but what is Ceili?

Michele Erdvig
ezOP
Posts: 2017
(1/6/04 12:27 am)

Ceili

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Hi Pam,

Go to my "Dining" page for a description of the Ceili. It is a night out with dinner and entertainment in the corn barn at Bunratty Folk Park. Lots of music, dancing, humor and fun.

Michele

pegoode
Registered User
Posts: 4
(1/6/04 7:01 am)

Ceili

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I see. Ceili is different than the Bunratty banquet. OK, so we're probably going to spend our last night in Bunratty, can you help me choose? We haven't detailed our itinerary yet but, the more I read about spending the last night near Shannon, the more I see the wisdom in saving Bunratty for the last night.
Pam

stannseniors
Registered User
Posts: 71
(1/6/04 10:14 am)

bunratty

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we went to both - one the first night and one the last. They are so different. I enjoy the entertainment and it was great to see the traditional dancing (Americans have come to know Riverdance and things and associate it so much with Ireland & you don't see it anywhere else unless you go to some festivals) and the music was good. It's actually the only place we ate Irish stew (really good) but they also offer two other main dishes.
The banquet was centered around the food, of course, letting you feel like you were part of a meal way back when. The girls that served also sang (beautifully) but i am an actress and felt like their acting was not the best. I also didn't enjoy the food as much - but that is all relative.
Personally i enjoyed the Ceili better and it gave us a overall feel of Ireland wheras the banquet didn't leave me with that feeling.
I'll be interested to hear what the others say.

***Make sure to go to Mac's pub in Bunratty- more of the locals hang out there and the music, even though late starting, very good. (there's only Dirty Nellie's, The Creamery and Mac's)
You find Mac's right down the street from the Castle - it's like a side entrance to the folk park.

Michele Erdvig
ezOP
Posts: 2020
(1/6/04 11:40 pm)
 
Ceili vs Banquet

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Hi Pam,

Good advice from stannseniors. I guess the biggest reason that the banquet is so popular is that it takes place inside a real castle. You sit at benches and at long wooden tables (they tend to cram people in). Everyone gets a bib and there are finger bowls to wash you hands in. It used to be that they only gave you knives (a la medieval eating style) and you used your hands and sipped soup from a bowl. Now they give you forks (much to my husband's dismay). A lord and lady are chosen to preside over the dinner and take part in the evening's skit, which includes throwing someone into the dungeon. The music and singing are excellent. All the waiters and performers are costumed medieval style.

The Ceili is more down home and country. Perhaps what the farmers enjoyed while their big-wig neighbors in the castle were having their banquet. You sit at long oil-cloth covered tables and there is a raised stage so that everyone can see. There is singing, dancing and music that takes you on a journey from "dancing at the crossroads" to modern times. The audience is encouraged to sing along and participate in the dancing. I preferred the food at the Ceili. The salmon was excellent.

There is another nearby banquet at Knappogue Castle with the theme "The Women of Ireland". It is medieval in style and tells the story of Ireland's women.

Whichever you choose you are bound to enjoy the evening.

Michele

Dude
Unregistered User
(1/7/04 12:16 am)

Castle banquets

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We also went to a banquet in Dunguaire in '97. It was smaller than Bunratty, more intimate and we enjoyed it a lot. The theme was the Galway area and history.
I don't remember the food, but then I can barely remember what I had for dinner tonight, at my age!

Dude
Unregistered User
(1/7/04 12:19 am)

Oops!

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That's Dunguaire Castle, in Kinvarra, Co. Galway.
We stayed at Corranroo, a very nice B&B.

Kathyofsjc
Registered User
Posts: 1
(1/10/04 9:44 pm)

Re: Oops!

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Since you're talking about Bunratty, I have to put in a plug for Ashgrove House, our favorite B&B in Ireland. It's just a short drive past the castle, and we always start our stay with the best Irish coffee around. They have their own web site.