Sep 25, 2008 - Westport to Killybegs via Sligo and Donegal

We had been seated near a family from New Jersey last night at dinner, and when we went down for breakfast this morning, there they were. We had not enquired last night where they were staying. We had breakfast, packed the car, and went into Westport to have a look around, and guess who we met? The same family! We have met many people on our travels, but this is the first time we have run into the same party so often. We enjoyed our stroll through Westport then set off for Donegal, stopping at Sligo on the way. Sligo proved to be a...

May 25, 2008 - Gleann Cholm Cille

Went cliff jumping this morning in Bundoran. Smacked my face on the water and chipped a couple teeth and made a gash in my mouth. The 2nd jump was a bit higher, but ended up better. Stopped at a folk village in Gleann Cholm Cille which was pretty amazing. Situated right next to a bay. The sheep in the country are all over the street and country side.

May 24, 2008 - Donegal here we come!

Grabbed a rental car and drove to the North west coast/Donegal County. Stopped in Sligo where famous writer W.B. Yeats was buried. Drove over to Bundoran at a surf lodge and stayed the weekend there. Huge sufing area, but no surf this time of year : ( Kelly Slater goes there regularly. Had the best fish and chips ever at Mr. T's across the street. Went to a pub Saturday night where whole familes gathered(grandparents/babies, children) Kind of odd to see in a bar but excepted over here as no big deal. It was nice to be the only Americans in...

Sep 9, 2007 - Beautiful Galway

Monday, 3 September. Today was really the start of our Northern Odyssey, our venture into new parts of Ireland - at least for Angela and me. All of this trip has been new for Marie. We spent the morning seeing the children off to school for the first day of term, which was also Ruby's first day ever. They were both excited to be going. We then had a very pleasant couple of hours with Liz and Toner before setting off on our trip. The plan for today was to drive around the coast road of The Connemara district of West Galway, stopping as an...

Aug 18, 2007 - Letterkenny

One of the first things I came across today was a car accident. I car had taken the corner too fast in the rain and flipped onto it's roof. It looked pretty fresh so I pulled up to see if anyone was in there. Luckily there wasn't but it looks like their holiday is over. I passed through Westport where I went and did some shopping but found no clothes. I really am getting desperate for some new ones as the clothes I have are falling apart, being held together by pins and have changed colour. I wanted to get close to the border at least...

Jun 13, 2007 - Roadtrip-Malin Head Peninsula

Stopped in Ballyshannon at the Abbey Mills then up to Donegal Town. I toured Donegal Castle and the Railway Heritage Centre. I stopped at the famous Blueberry Tearoom for a quick snack. The food was excellent. I then drove to Ballybofey, Dunglow and all along the northern coastline to Horn Head Peninsula before going back down to Letterkenny then up through Buncrana to Malin Head. The hostel was the best I've ever stayed at! The people were friendly, the place was spotless, and the views from everyroom breathtaking. It was so beautiful I...

Jun 12, 2007 - Roadtrip-Bundoran

Set off through Glendalough then through the pass up to Hollywood. I by-passed Dublin then headed back towards the costline through Malahide and Rush. The weather cleared up quite a bit so I stopped at the beach for a picnic and a swim. Up to Drogheda then over to Trim Castle Navan, Kells, and Cavan. I stopped at a really neat little trendy pub in Cavan for dinner. It was all lit with blue lights and had really interesting drink names. I crossed into N.Ireland through Enniskilleen then back into the Republic throught Ballyshannon stopping...

Jun 2, 2007 - Surfing in Donegal!!!

Got myself back out to the airport to meet up with Leahanne and Aina (Finnish girl)as we rented a car from there to drive out to Donegal. We signed up for surfing lessons up there for the afternoon. So Leahanne drove, I was the map navigator because Irish roads are ridiculous and Aina hung out in the back. Got to drive through parts of Northern Ireland again to get to Donegal. We got to Bundoran and found our B and B right away since it's not a big town. Dropped our stuff off and quickly got changed into our bathing suits. The surfing...

May 30, 2007 - Belfast to Donegal to Derry

We started the day with a 'Black Taxi Tour' of the core of Belfast. It took us to the site of most of the problems (past and present). We saw the wall that has been constructed and continually added to to divide the Protestants and Catholics. The gates along some of the main roads are still closed at various times of the day. Although a temporary peace action has been put into place there is still a lot of friction and unrest. The tour showed and told of the story from a Protestant perspective. Just as with the Catholics in Derry the...

Apr 10, 2007 - Donegal, Nth most point of Ireland

I spent the day driving around this area with an American girl, Becki, who was working in Belfast in a "Forgiveness Programme" in primary schools. They are working at trying to prevent the kids from carrying on the issues of their parents. We crossed over on the ferry She dropped me in Derry. We went to a Famine Museum, which depicted the Irish Famine and then went on to show how most of the people in the world still live in these conditions. The stats were not good and I felt somewhat uncomfortable when I left. There was a good display...

Sep 3, 2005 - Dublin

We made it...we're in Dublin our first stop. We are having fun walking around checking out the city. we rented a car today so all day Drew has been driving around with me reminding him every few seconds to keep to the left! This will be a short entry but here are some pictures so far to enjoy. xo j & d

Jul 9, 2004 - Ireland - Glencolmkille - Mad Mary

The weariness in my body after my 20 mile Antrim ramble must have affected my brain as I read the schedule incorrectly and ended up missing my bus the next morning. Urrghh, what's happening to me? I used to be so organized and now I've messed up twice in 2 days!! Missing the morning bus was not a good thing as I was going from Ballycastle in the far northeast to Glencolmkille in the far northwest. I had lots of miles to cover along slow-going coastal roads and connections in towns with infrequent bus service. But somehow -- after 3 buses, 1...