Escape from BUNRATTY or spend the night?

Melissa5 · Guru

RE: Escape from BUNRATTY or spend the night?

wojazz3 · Guru

Hi folks:

It ain't just some garden. It's the whole backyard with trees, shrubs, two patios, a fire pit and a water feature. What was I thinking? Then there's the basement which is actually Felicity's teaching studio. That's being worked on now by a family friend who is a contractor. I get to help him do that too. The pub you say .... well that will be upstairs. I'm just turning the living room/dining room into a pub. What more could you ask for? Yes there have been a lot of gigs, but it's the house stuff that's killing me.

We are going to spend a week in Switzerland before we go to Ireland. Felicity has always wanted to go and I had some people I had to see this year on the little green island so we compromised and made it all one trip so we wouldn't have to pay airfare twice to go to europe.

Geocities has some webpage templates that are supposed to be pretty easy to use, but I don't really like what I see in them. I build my own which gives me more control. I think if you can use MS Word, you can build a webpage. It has options to save as html. I've never used that, but rather MS FrontPage which is made specifically for web pages. It makes putting thumbnails of pictures in very easy.

Bill

oopsy · Senior Member

Bill,

Your 2006 trip sounds incredible. This will be just my 2nd trip. We're not yet in a position to do a sensational vacation every year, and my partner wants us to spread the adventure around a bit. Still, I dream of at least a couple more trips to Ireland. One for at least a week relaxing and hiking in Donegal. One to see Northern Ireland.

Anxiously awaiting your trip report!

oopsy

BTW: Michele asked if you have had any gigs lately. What instrument/genre do you play? My partner is a musician (he missed jazz tremendously while we were in Ireland. We only found one evening of it.)

-- Edited by oopsy at 21:12, 2005-11-10

Mark · Veteran Member

Melissa5 wrote:

Mark, I feel like I hit the jackpot, you gave me more than your 2 cents worth, you are a gold mine of info! Please, please, keep talking about Ireland, I love it!

Thanks Melissa, I'm glad you found my comments useful. My wife and I decided that we are going back again in June 06 for the 4th consecutive year so now of course I'm all excited about it and will be talking about Ireland for the next 8 months.

I am considering staying in Ennis at either the Old Ground Hotel or the Temple Gate. There are some advantages to staying IN town...you get a better feel for the place, and my young adult daughters wouldn't get bored, that's for sure.

Not to mention you can drink in the pubs while taking in a good session and not have to worry about driving. There is so much within walking distance of the Old Ground that I doubt you'll be bored.

I am fascinated by the fact that Ennis is known for good trad but is a real Irish working town. WHICH QUIET ROOM DID YOU HAVE AT THE OLD GROUND? What I mean is, where did your quiet room face? The garden? The street? A courtyard?

As I recall we were facing the parking lot.

That info always helps me...I have trouble falling asleep on the noisy side of a hotel. I too am drawn to TRADITIONAL IRISH MUSIC. Haven't been to Ireland yet, but I like what I've heard. I also tend to like folk music, and (don't shudder anyone) love bluegrass too. I rented a DVD to hear the Chieftains. Yikes, I hope that's the right name,

Yup the Chieftans is indeed the correct name and they are an excellent place to start. My favorite Chieftan's CD is one of their more recent ones called "Water from the Well" in it they record each tune/song in a different region of Ireland and most of them with a musician from that area. So for instance they recorded a set of reels and jigs in Donegal with some members from the band Altan since they are from Donegal. And so on. Other bands that I highly recommend you get a CD from are Altan (as mentioned above they are natives of Donegal), Danu (from Waterford area), and Dervish (from County Sligo and Roscommon). With both Altan and Dervish I tend to prefer their older CD's. You can find any of these CDs at the online store Tayberry Music: http://tayberry.com/

I've already returned it so can't check. In fact, I changed my whole itinerary to fit in more places known for trad, like county Clare, and Westport area, and Dingle town,

County Clare and Galway City are the real hotbeds of trad music in Ireland. Westport and Dingle are good too. Westport is my favorite town in Ireland. I'll let you in on another little secret: If you happen to be in Westport on a Saturday night then go to Hoban's bar at the Octagon. Get there around 8:30-9:00pm and find a seat in the backroom. You see the signs on the tables reserved for the musicians. Just wait there and be patient. By about 9:30-10:00 it will start to unfold. You will find yourself amongst locals and some tourists enjoying a night of music, singing, humorous poetry, and even a little set dancing. They do this on another night besides Saturday but I'm not sure exactly what night you could ask the bartender there. Contrast this with Matt Molloy's pub. Matt Molloy's does draw some fine musicians but on weekends the place get's very crowded and noisy with flocks of tourists passing through the place all night. Yet if I'm in Westport on a weeknight I would make it a point to visit Matt Molloy's. Beware if you are going in July that Westport gets very crowded from what the locals told me (I've been in May and September only). A lot of Irish Tourists from the East Coast vacation there.

I guess I could still visit Ennis even if I stay near Bunratty? but I'm still torn about actually staying in Ennis or Bunratty after arriving in Shannon.

Personally I'd stay in Ennis and visit Bunratty during the day. This way you can enjoy the Bunratty Folk Park, Shopping, and even catch the early Banquet at the castle but then return to Ennis where there is more going on at night.

In COUNTY CLARE we need to be near the Burren for hubby the biologist, so I thought we'd stay in Ballyvaughan though Kinvara is extremely tempting.

It's a tossup both villages are as perfect as they come. Kinvara is not far from Ballyvaughn (1/2 hour drive roughly)

Did you have a quiet room at HYLAND'S? Did you meet any locals in the pub?

Yeah it is quiet at Hyland's. There is a pub that's part of the Hotel but that didn't create any noise problems for us. It's quieter here than in Ennis that's for sure.

: Love the way you aren't afraid to say what you have experienced... "Touristy as hell but still a good time".

To tell you the truth on my trips to Ireland I like to mix it up between visiting some Touristy places and some out of the way places. A place like Feakle is really special for the reason I've mentioned but then it's nice to have the amenities and things to do that exist in places like Bunratty. Believe me my wife was so happy to see the room and shower of the Old Ground Hotel and the shopping in Ennis after spending 2 days and nights in Feakle.

but don't want to have all our luggage stolen out of our car on our first day in Ireland, that's a dilemma.

Wouldn't the Old Ground Hotel hold your luggage just as well? Like I said it's a short ride from Ennis to Bunratty so going to Ennis first to get situated then returning to Bunratty to enjoy some of your day is not a problem. The road between the two places is modern as well so it is highway part of the way.

I'll have to see how far a drive Feakle is from Bunratty, Ennis,

It's only about a 1 hour drive from Ennis or Bunratty. Too far from Dingle.

Is this part of rural Ireland mostly farmland, or is there some native flora that maybe would interest biologist hubby I wonder?

Definately its mostly farmland. Have you and your hubby looked into a trip to the Slieve Bloom mountains and the boglands nearby in central Ireland? I would think that that would be a dream place for your hubby to visit.

http://www.elyocarroll.com/slieveBloom.asp

http://www.slievebloom.ie/index.aspx

wojazz3 · Guru

Hi oopsy:

I play jazz more than anything. I play this odd thing called a mellophone which is like a big trumpet. I also play classical music, (french horn) and I'm starting to get Irish trad (whistle & bodhran) to a place where I don't embarrass myself any more.

Jazz is pretty hard to find in Ireland. Galway has some around Sunday brunch, you'll find some in Cork City I believe and Dublin has a couple of spots. Your partner may like the idea of going back to Ireland if you tell him about the Guinness Jazz Festival in Cork City on the last Weekend (bank hoilday) of October. I had a chance to have dinner with the organizer where I learned I didn't have a chance to play there. He turned down Maynard Ferguson. Granted, Maynard is WAY past his prime and there are lots of acts that blow him away, but he's a huge name. Of course, he plays so loud it's possible that they feared the venue's in Cork couldn't take it.

Melissa: Just a thought on "chatting with the locals". It's a phrase that I hear roll of the tongue of virtually everyone that goes to Ireland and it's almost as if people think there are happy Irish folk, sitting in pubs waiting for tourists to show up so they have someone to talk to. If you want to have some of these interesting conversations, there are a few things to keep in mind. If you and your family walk into a pub and sit down at a table, it's unlikely (unless you are at Billy O'Sullivan's place in Crookhaven) that anyone will come up and talk to you. In fact, the staff probably won't take your order either. You need to order from the bar (more often than not anyway ... that's changing though).

On the other hand, if you and perhaps your husband have a seat at the bar, their is a greater chance that the person sitting next to you will chat with you. Of course, if you sit there alone, there is a high probability that a nice Irish gentleman will chat you up.

Bill

Michele Erdvig · Host

Bill,

Your "garden" sounds fantastic. Will you do my backyard next? I often watch those shows on HGTV about Weekend Warriors fixing up their houses and landscaping and find it exhausting just watching. They always think they can get it done in 2 days and it ends up taking much longer. It sounds like you have a masterpiece in progress. You will have to do a report about it with photos! We would love a virtual tour of your new house -- especially the pub and fire pit.

Michele

Melissa5 · Guru

Ennis, Bunratty, and trad

oopsy · Senior Member

RE: Escape from BUNRATTY or spend the night?

wojazz3 · Guru

oopsy - looking forward to the CD. I too have been lazy about producing such a thing. It's a huge amount of effort and not cheap either.

Michele - Well, I don't know that it's too amazing. I have a pretty small backyard and I'm making the most of it. The goal is for it to be as maintenance free as possible. I prefer to sit out back and drink Guinness, not mow or pull weeds.

Bill

Michele Erdvig · Host

Bill,

I like the maintence free idea. Neither my husband or I are gardners and it is survival of the fittest in our yard. Basically pine trees, grass and (beyond the fence) three buffaloes that belong to a neighbor. It doesn't look half bad though.

Michele

wojazz3 · Guru

Buffalo? In Georgia? That's a long walk from Colorado.

BTW, the opus magnus should be done this weekend.

Bill

Michele Erdvig · Host

Bill,

The buffalo are refugees from Colorado! They are quiet fit after their long cross-country trek. A bit unusual for Georgia. There was a recent article in the paper about them. We always have neighbors from the other side of the development walking through our yard to take a look at them. We only have to look out our kitchen, living room or office windows to see them.

Looking forward with anticipation to the opus!

Michele

Melissa5 · Guru

Go, Bill! I like a nice long adventure story to read at night for a couple hours before I go to sleep! Looking forward to printing out your trip report. How many boxes of paper should I order for my printer?

wojazz3 · Guru

Well, it was 42 pages in word without the pictures.

Bill

gardener · Member

I've just booked for two nights at Courtyard Guest House in Bunratty. My friend thinks 2 nights there may be overkill. By then we'll be done with seeing and doing.

Do you think it would be good to cancel one of the nights? This would mean making other adjustments as well.

Barbara

tony2phones · Guru

Might be best asking a new question rather than dredging up an ages old one. Give a bit of what and where either side for guidance but for me One night in Bunratty would be a week too long. fine for a night if you are doing the Banquet and then going straight to bed or being in bed early ready for a very early flight out of Shannon.

Ennis has a lot more to offer, even Newmarket on Furgus has more choice of bars and eats.

Michele Erdvig · Host

I suppose it would depend on how complicated it is to change things around. You could certainly use one day for Bunratty Castle & Folk Park, Quin Abbey, Craggaunowen Project and another for a day trip to west Clare or Lough Derg or Adare, Kilmallock and Lough Gur.

There is nothing dreadful about Bunratty, it is just very small.