I took a 3 day tour of “southern” Ireland through a company called Paddy Wagon tours. I hopped on the giant green bus at 9am and was ready to go. Over the course of the 3 days I met a lot of really cool people. The age range was 18 to upward of 50 and many of the girls I met on the tour were also traveling solo. All of the people my age were from Australia* (seriously, they are everywhere), but all very laidback people and we had an awesome time.
The tour began with our guide giving us a quick introduction. His name was Barry (though all the Aussies dubbed him “Baz”) and he’s from Cork. Throughout the tour he brought ample entertainment as well as knowledge to us. He sang, told jokes and gave us all the information we needed about the places we were going and where we stopped. He made the experience that much better and I felt safe on that bus, which is a difficult feat considering the tight and winding roads in Ireland (seriously, it all looked VERY scary).
The first day we drove from Dublin to Galway. We stopped in a small town called Cong to eat lunch and take a look at the abbey and the forest. It was quaint and cozy and that’s how most of the tour turned out, which I loved. We moved on toward Galway and stopped at the Tides at Killary. The “tides” are basically a boggy/marshy gully that streams in from the ocean. It was also where the movie “The Field” was filmed (haven’t seen it, but Barry recommended it).
On our way there Barry told us the story of a tour group he had who were really into drinking, while they were driving into town they asked if they could have a beer at the pub. Barry told them yes and as he was standing outside having a smoke the owner came out to thank him for bringing in such a large crowd. He chatted with the old man a while and the man even said that he could have a free coffee while winking…needless to say, Barry passed on that coffee, but told us he thought that the old guy was quite genuinely nice person. Driving into the little town we saw a huge crowd drinking on the street, we assumed it was a wedding because it seemed they were celebrating. As it turned out it was the old mans funeral and they were drinking at his bar and celebrating his life.
We stopped at the Connemara Giant because Barry said “were stopping, because we will pass this statue and no one will believe me when I tell them why it’s there…”. Hoping off the bus we saw two statues, beneath the Connemara statue it read “built in 1999 by Joyces Craft Shop for absolutely no reason”. I had to laugh, and much like the massive spire in the middle of Dublin, it serves no purpose.
Connemara Giant
We ended up in Galway that night, had dinner and then head down to “Quays” bar. There was a live bar, cider and great company. Definitely an awesome time.
The next day we went from Galway over to Annascaul, which is about 40 minutes from Killarney. Our first stop was an abbey along the way and though I don’t remember the name of the abbey, but to me looking at the headstones is what I enjoy. It may seem morbit, but I find myself thinking about the person and their story and it’s something I like doing (I have this in common with my mother). It’s not as though I’m happy these people are gone, but I always wondering about how old they were, what their family chose to put on the headstone and if there has been anyone visiting. I think about who they were, and it’s comforting to me in a way, but this proved not to be the case at our next destination.
We then went to the Cliffs of Moher. It was an absolutely stunning view. There was a large wall built to stop people from walking along the cliffs, but over the years people have found a way around it and we took it as well. It was spectacular no doubt, but I found myself wondering about the memorial I’d seen on that wall. I couldn’t help but feel uneasy that they had a sign for those who had lost their lives. We asked Barry how many people had fallen or jumped and he said about 13/14 a year. It made me think about how such a beautiful sight could be somehow destroyed by the sadness of humanity. The Cliffs of Moher were conflicting for me, but I’m so glad I got to see them.
The Cliffs of Moher
The next morning we were off to Killarney, and I can tell you hands down it was my favourite place I visited in Ireland. There was something so warming about the small town charm and the national park was stunning. We took a horse** and carriage ride around the park and I found myself falling in love with Ireland all over again. The wonder of mountains, trees and greenery made me goofy happy. Our carriage driver was a man, about 30 years old, who told us a lot about the park, though we were all more interested in his upcoming marriage (girls, I know). He was a sweet guy who also worked as a firefighter in the city. My morning in Killarney was the best and it made me certain that I would be back one day.
Finally, we made the trip to Blarney Castle, where of course, the Blarney stone is. The castle itself was quite small, but the grounds were absolutely stunning. The stone is said to give you the gift of the gab. That is to say, you can talk and talk and talk in circles without actually saying anything, which lets just be honest, isn’t something I ever needed haha! Regardless I kissed the stone and made our way back to Dublin where I finished off my trip with a day in St. Stephen’s green people watching and enjoying the sun.
Kissing the stone
Ireland was a wonderful adventure and I was thankful I got to do it on my own. I met a lot of cool people and will definitely be going back one day.
Cheers Ireland, you were awesome.
Jeg elsker du,
Meghan
*exception: 1 New Zealander, 1 South African and 1 Balinese
**Our horses name was Jumbo
SHEEP!
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