Greetings folks! We’re back from the Emerald Isle and I thought I’d post some info that may be of some help to you all. Keep in mind this was our first trip to another country let alone Ireland, so we were true novices. First and foremost I need to thank Michele and all of the others who offered great tips that were extremely useful. This website is a blessing for first-timers! So below are some of our experiences.

Memorable Experiences:
• World Bodhran Championship Festival – My husband, Shane, is a bodhran player and even teaches a class at our local university so we were thrilled to learn that the World Bodhran Championships were going on in Milltown, just about 10-15km from Killarney. We learned about it a little late and so only attended on the last two days of the four day festival. While we didn’t hear all of the competitors we were there for the six finalists’ performances. Each of them were top notch and we were excited that our personal pick for number one, did, indeed take the championship. Visit www.worldbodhranchampionships.com for more info. In addition to the fine bodhran playing, we enjoyed a huge Ceili (set dancing extravaganza as they called it), the best and most authentic session that we sat in on for our whole stay at the Plough Pub (with fiddler, uillean pipe player, flute, button accordion, and two of the finalists in the bodhran contest). We met a fellow American, Eva M., there and had a delightful time together. This event was probably the highlight of the whole trip for us!
• Muckross Gardens – While we enjoyed the tour of Muckross House and the Traditional Farms, the gardens truly won us over. With Rhododendron bushes larger than our house—and in full bloom—we were in heaven. Since we stayed close by, we spent several mornings walking the gardens, hiking up to Torc waterfall, strolling by the lake, etc.
• Dingle Peninsula – We started off our tour of the peninsula by pulling in to the Celtic and Prehistoric Museum…which held a special surprise for us. The museum is run by an American professional hammered dulcimer player (the instrument that I play) and we used to carry his recordings in the store we previously owned back home so we were very familiar with his music. We had an enjoyable chat with him, he played a few tunes for us (“chunes” as they are called in Ireland) and then gave us some good tips for exploring the peninsula. I do agree with several folks who told us that the Dingle Peninsula has some of the most breathtaking scenery on the whole Island. The first fort (I can’t recall the name) was my husband’s favorite stop and I was particularly moved by the story told at the Blasket Island Center. I wondered if the movie, “The Secret of Roan Inish” was loosely based on the Blasket Islands. At any rate I thought the movie that they showed at the center was very poignant. We were the only one’s at Gallarus Oratory and we took a moment to sing a hymn there—providing a unique spiritual moment for us.
• The Gap of Dunloe – truly awesome scenery. A word of warning, though. We bought the tour and took the bus out to Kate Kearney’s cottage. We took a quick stop in the bathrooms and when we returned everyone had either begun walking or had arranged for a pony/carriage ride already. We were the last two standing there and had no one to share a ride with so we were told that it was 80 euros for a ride. They said we could wait for more people to show up to share a ride with (but no one else showed up). We sat and waited for a while and finally one driver came up and gave us a ride for 20 euros a piece. If he hadn’t finally given us a deal we could have been stuck paying the 80 euros for the ride. So I guess my advice to folks is be prepared to walk the 7 1/2 miles if there’s no one to share a ride with you and you don’t like the price they’re suggesting.
• Traditional Irish Night in the Corn Barn was fun and entertaining and I’d recommend it. The Bunratty Folk Park was bigger than I thought it would be and we were a bit tired after the walk through it. Wear good walking shoes!
• Watching World Cup Soccer in Irish Pubs. What fun! If Ireland had made it to the World Cup I’m sure it would have been even more exciting. Those folks really love their football! My daughter was wearing her University of New Mexico sweatshirt and a few lads congratulated her that her team had done well that morning. We tried to explain that “New Mexico” is a state in the United States, and that we weren’t from “Mexico,” but I’m not sure they ever really got it.
• Enjoyed the “Molly McGuires” at Danny Mann’s but the sound was cranked up too high for comfort. We had to leave to protect our ears even though we enjoyed the guys—especially their acapella singing.
A few things we really liked:
• The roundabouts! At first we were confused by these intersections but eventually we came to really like them for they kept traffic moving instead of waiting at stoplights.
• Passing rules. Again, at first it was very disconcerting to have cars coming down the middle of the road at you. But since the drivers from both directions were so considerate about moving as far to the left as possible, it ultimately made passing much easier than here in the U.S.
• The music. We enjoyed some excellent sessions and it made my fingers itch to get back and work some of the “chunes” we heard.
• Hot served meals. I kid you not…every meal we ate was served literally steaming and we had to let it cool down before we could touch it. Maybe the electricity difference allows them to cook at higher temps. I don’t know, but we sure noticed it.
• The beautiful sunny weather. Now I know our experience was different from everyone else’s here but we only experienced two short, light rain showers and every other day was clear and sunny. The Irish were all talking about it being a “scorcher” so I’m sure they weren’t used to it, but we found it very comfortable. Short sleeves, no jackets pretty much every day. At the end we were able to enjoy a little bit of the Irish mist (since we come from an area in the desert that has severe drought we were actually looking forward to the Irish rain, but we didn’t complain about the unseasonably beautiful weather).
• Intenet Café’s in abundance—easy and cheap to use. Looked up one afternoon and four computers down from me sat a good friend from home, Neither of us knew the other was in Ireland. What a small world! Since this turned out to be our only avenue of access to anyone we were grateful to have these Cafe's available.
• Irish TV—had the chance to see some shows highlighting their local musicians, De Danaan and Gaelic Folk Singer John Beag. Also a show on Irish Sign Language (I’m a former sign language interpreter so really enjoyed that).
Things that we missed about home:
• Big tall glasses of ice water with meals. Whenever we ordered water we usually got a very small glass of lukewarm tap water and had to keep asking for more. The places that were used to serving Americans gave us a pitcher of ice water. Since it was so warm out we really appreciated it when we got it.
• Darkness. Going to bed with the sun still shining brightly took some getting used to. Daylight until about 11pm while we were there and sunrise by about 5am.
• Easy communication access. I wish now that we had rented a cell phone. We had no phone, no texting, no internet access where we were staying (we rented a 3 bedroom home), so communicating with people at home, with my daughter in Ireland (whom we were trying to arrange a meeting with) and even making local reservations, etc. was difficult.
• Roadside Assistance. Had a flat tire and after a call to Europcar were told to fix it ourselves. We tried, but the car slipped off of the jack twice and we were so frustrated! Three Irish Angels (employees at the Killarney Tourist Office) came out to “relieve our distress.” The Tourist Office had closed and they stayed after hours to help us and changed the tire for us. They couldn’t use the lousy jack that came with the rental either, so used theirs instead. We were so grateful to them! We went to a bakery and bought them a bunch of goodies the next day to say thank you. This incident was only one of several reasons why I would never use Europcar Rentals again.
A few more tips for first-timers:
• The tip that we heard about not driving more than a couple of hours after you arrive was a good one. Our drive to Killarney from Shannon was just about two hours and we were pretty frazzled by the end. Molehills seemed like mountains and everything was so frustrating until we had a shower, a bite to eat and a nap. Then everything seemed manageable again.
• Tell yourself “Look right, stay left” every time you get into the car. It’s a good reminder.
• “Sheehan’s Pub” in the Grand Hotel in Killarney has a great session on Friday and Sunday nights, and Set Dancing on Wednesday nights.
• If you hike up to Torc Waterfall, be prepared to be eaten alive my mosquito-like gnats. All of us had dozens of welts on our arms after our walk up there. Most of the hike was fine. It was only by the waterfall where the bugs were in abundance.
• Be sure and take an adaptor and a converter for electric plugs. I melted my curling iron. My ipod and computer did fine since they have internal converters, but not all of them do. Best to use a converter to be on the safe side and not fry your electronic innards.
• Use the ATM’s! They’re everywhere and quick and easy. My daughter’s friend was relying on making exchanges at banks and found himself cash-less several times when he needed money after bank hours or during the bank holiday.

Well, that’s all I can think of at the moment. Best wishes to all who are still planning your trip. You’re in for a great adventure!