My husband and I are going for a week Oct 7-14th - starting in Dublin, then going east to Westmeath and Athlone. My family came from Multyfarnham, and I am interested in seeing where they lived or if any one is left there. I am starting at the Epic genealogy center in Dublin when we arrive, and am looking at spending the remainder of the week in that area between Dublin and Athlone, thought boing to HIll of Tara, New Grange, then over to trim then off to Trim, Loughcrew Carins, Multyfarnham area - any good tips on seeing things out that a way? I just bought the book, so I am sure it will tell us more, we like seeing the historical as well as the tracing of the family there - and are up for almost anything like that.
I am wondering about the rental of a wifi device also, the last time we went the Wifi was not too good... any tips?
Welcome to the forum. If you are staying in hotels or B&Bs I generally find the WiFi excellent. It might be a different story at a self-catering rental cottage. You can rent or buy MiFis if you feel the need. Also, try to do as much of your genealogy in advance as possible.
There is lots to do and see in the areas you are interested in. A few places I like that you did not mention are:
Belvedere House & Gardens
Clonmacnoise
Fore
Mellifont Abbey
Hill of Slane
Monasterboice
Kells
Battle of the Boyne Center
Kilbeggan Distillery
Derryglad Folk Museum
Athlone Castle
Sean's Bar
Tullynally Gardens
Susan -- I would give some serious thought before renting a Mifi device. As Michele said, many accommodations have gotten pretty good about providing Wifi -- and the McDonald's and SuperMac's also usually have free Wifi, as well as some cities and towns. I think Killarney was the most recent.
I bought a unit from Carphone Warehouse using '3' Mobile for 50 Euro and 'Topped' it with a 25 Euro data plan that gave me 7.5 Gb over 30 days. There are cheaper plans, as well. I don't see them on the Carphone Warehoue website, but the '3' Store lists them for 69 Euro. Tesco was offering them also.
If you plan to return to Ireland, it's a better deal than renting. If not, you could consider re-selling it on Ebay or Craigslist after.
A lot depends on how much you expect to use it. Do you have an 'unlocked' cell phone? Is it Internet Capable? If so, you could just get a SIM card from Tesco and buy a 10 Euro Data Plan and just use it.
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Bob
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