My suggestion is to cancel your 1st night in Dublin and go straight to Longford. That will give you an extra night to see some countryside. Jet lag won't be a problem. I agree with Michele that you won't be able to see a lot and any attempt to cover a great deal of ground will eliminate all chance to get to know the locals.

A couple of random thoughts that may or may not have any bearing on you and your friend based on you experience:

Seeking one's family roots in Ireland requires a diligent effort and a great deal of research. If your friend has done that or has a substantial amount of information on his family history, grave site location, etc, this can be a very moving experience. If not, it can be a wasted side trip. If he is just interested in seeing the general area that they were from, great!

"Getting to know" the locals is a popular requirement on a trip to Ireland and will happen when you least expect it. You probably won't "get to know" any of them, but you may have some interesting conversations. My suggestion is to always sit at the bar when you go into a pub. If you sit at a table, you will likely be left to yourself. As a side note, I often wonder if Europeans ever travel to the States with a desire to get to know the locals.

Castles: On the way to Longford you could take a side trip the Trim. Other possibilities would be Athlone south of Longfors and if you make it to the Galway area, you could stop and see, (but maybe not get into) Dunguaire. Not sure when they open for the season. Athenry Castle is just outside Galway (in Athenry of course). They are not open all year either.

Staying in B&Bs will help get you a little closer to the Irish people than staying in hotels. Consider rejecting the comfort of brand name hotels for something a bit more local and perhaps substantially smaller than the Westin. Outside of Dublin, use B&Bs only.

Good luck and have a blast.

Bill

Hi Bill,

Actually you aren't the firs to suggest skip Dublin on the first day and I would actually prefer to do that.  However, my wife will be staying over one night in Dublin because her flight home isn't until early the next morning.  I don't think she would be too pleased if we left her by herself in Dublin!  I think, though, we will be leaving Dublin immediately after dropping her off for her flight in the morning.

As for family connections, my friend has already spoken to his relatives in the area and they will be expecting us.  Apparently the Donlon's have been living there for quite some time.

Thanks for the suggestion about sitting at the bar.  I'm sure two guys traveling in ireland will have many opportunities to "Belly up to the Bar"!!

Dave

Galway was my favourite place in Ireland, you will love it. There is a lot to see in and around there. On the way to Galway from Dublin I would also suggest a stop at Clonmacnoise, which is just outside Athlone. If you want to spend a night in Athlone then you might visit the Athlone castle, it has an interesting historical display because the castle itself is sited in a very strategic location on the river, and has played an important part in some of Ireland's history. There is a pub in Athlone that claims to be the oldest in Ireland, and is worth a visit (can't recall the name right now, but Shane's comes to mind, Michelle?). I could easily have spent half a day at Clonmacnoise, a very old and important monastic site.

Anita.

Anita & Michele,

Thanks so much for the suggestions!  I think we will probably do as you suggest during the trip and skip the Southern end but go to Galway etc.  Thanks again and Merry Christmas!

Hi Michele,

I'll be sure to post an update when we get back.  Apparently my sister-in-law has an uncle that lives in Galway so I am going to try to hook up with him.  I'll be sure to let you know how it goes.