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Visiting Ireland - Any sugestions...?

Travel Info
okay, so this is going to make me sound really stupid.....my husband and I live in the US and want to take a trip to ireland in the next few years. Im not sure what i want to see there, some pretty landscaping, and just buildings,....good food, i dont know i want a relaxing romantic vacation. We also want to travel down and stay in amsterdam for aday...is that even possible? im not sure how far apart they are. Has anyone been several times and knows exactly where to stay and what to plan on doing? Just wondering. Thanks so much guys!

Travel Tips

It's possible to spend a day in Amsterdam from Ireland. Aer Lingus flies from Cork and Dublin to Amsterdam early in the morning and there are flights back at 8 or 9 pm. The flight would take about 2 hours. Source(s): http://www.aerlingus.com/cgi-bin/obel01i...
Other Travel Tips

Go to Galway on the west coast coast and take the ferry
over to the Aran Islands and experience the old Ireland.
The ferry only takes an hour.
I am going next spring and I haver never been before. I plan on staying in the cork county area. I also want to go to the blarney castle, cliffs of mohr and the the ring of kerry.
St. Patrick's Cathedral is the site of a holy well used by St. Patrick for baptisms. A church was established there in the late fifth century. A stone marking the well was found in 1901.

The present-day cathedral was founded in 1192 by Archbishop John Comyn. He lived in the priory of Christ Church Cathedral. He didn't agree with the city laws, so he started a cathedral and palace outside the city walls.

St. Patrick's is one of the largest cathedrals in Ireland. It is 91 meters long. Jonathan Swift, the author of Gulliver's Travels, was Dean of the cathedral for many years, and his portraits show St. Patrick's in the background

Blarney is a world renowned tourist attraction and should not be missed by anyone visiting the South West of Ireland. The following sights are situated within a short walk of the centre of the village:

Ballyvaughan in County Clare is a fishing and farming village on the west coast of Ireland. It is situated in one of the most idyllic places in Ireland, nestled between the hills of the Burren (or mountains, as we call them) and the sea, on the southern shore of Galway Bay.

It is the ideal place for almost everybody: those who look for peace and tranquility in their holidays or long weekends, those who look for traditional music and old pubs, for the archaeologists, botanists, and fishermen. Families will enjoy the safety of our beach in Bishopsquarter, surfers will love the waves in Fanore. Hillwalking and cycling are among the most popular pastimes among locals and tourists alike.

Ballyvaughan is in comfortable driving distance of some of the best known landmarks of Ireland. Who has not heard of the Poulnabrone Dolmen, a burial tomb more than 5,000 years old, or the Cliffs of Moher? There are archaeological treasures everywhere some of which have not even been explored yet, and some of them being 2,000 years older than the pyramids! Like the many megalithic tombs and field systems, or the much 'younger' ringforts of celtic!

Ireland鈥檚 patron saint, St Patrick is widely celebrated by Irish people throughout the world on his feast day 17th March. But what about St Patrick himself and what does he mean to the Irish?

Go into any Irish town and you鈥檒l come across a cathedral, a church or a street named after St Patrick and if you鈥檙e know anyone of Irish heritage, chances are they鈥檒l have a Patrick, a Pat, a Paddy a Padraic or a Patricia somewhere in the family. St Patrick is linked to Ireland鈥檚 national emblems, a number of important religious sites and landmarks throughout Ireland, as well as countless folk tales. St Patrick is as much an integral figure in Irish cultural discourse as he is in the country鈥檚 Christianity.

There is much debate about St Patrick鈥檚 life. Much of what is known of him is taken from his own account in his 鈥楥onfessio鈥?and much more from legend. St Patrick was born around the 5th Century in the settlement of 鈥榲ico banavem taberniae鈥? which scholars believe to be somewhere in the west of Britain, probably Wales. He was born into a Romano-British family and his father was a deacon, but at the age of sixteen he was kidnapped and sold into slavery in Ireland.

Here he was slave to a Druidic chieftain, either in Dalradia, County Armagh or Fochill, County Mayo, where he herded sheep. After several years he escaped back to Britain and studied for the priesthood in France. After a vision in a dream, St Patrick set back out to Ireland on a mission to convert the pagans there to Christianity. Though he was by no means the first Christian mission he was certainly the most prevalent and to say he made the biggest impression on Ireland is an understatement.

Many places throughout Ireland are associated with the legends of St Patrick. The Hill of Slane, just outside Dublin was the stage for one of St Patrick鈥檚 most dramatic tales. At the time the High King of Laoghaire held a feast during which he would light the first fire in the land at the royal centre of the Hill of Tara. Imagine the look on his face when he noticed that St Patrick had already lit one just a few mile away on Slane! Outraged he met with St Patrick to put out his fire, but it was indistinguishable, then the King鈥檚 druids and St Patrick launched into a battle of miracles, bending the climate and elements at their will. Patrick won and it was here that St Patrick explained the mystery of the holy trinity with the humble shamrock, establishing the three-leafed flower as Ireland鈥檚 national emblem, which is ubiquitously worn on St Patrick鈥檚 Day.

St Patrick鈥檚 other famous miracle, the banishment of the snakes, is supposed to have occurred following his Great Fast on the mount Croagh Patrick, outside Westport in County Mayo. St Patrick climbed the mountain where he fasted for 40 days, before expelling all the snakes from Ireland. The fact is that there were never actually any snakes in Ireland to expel, the whole episode is really symbolic of St Patrick converting the natives to Christianity and banishing the Druids whose symbol was the serpent. But it makes banishing the snakes makes a better story and to this day Croagh Patrick attracts thousands of pilgrims who make the trek 765ft to the summit on the last day of July.

Other places connected with St Patrick include Lough Derg in County Donegal, where according to legend the great saint killed a monster in the lake. There is a shrine to St Patrick on Station Island here, where pilgrims come to fast and hold vigil on the island for three days.

But perhaps the most important religious place claimed by St Patrick is Armagh. According to tradition it is here in this Ulster town, that St Patrick built a stone church around AD 445 and ordained it the most pre-eminent church in all of Ireland. Even today Armagh is the primary seat of both the Catholic and the Protestant churches in Ireland and both the their cathedrals in Armagh are named after St Patrick.

Not to far away, in Saul, County Down is another important site for St Patrick Pilgrims. It was here that St Patrick established his first church in a barn or Saul given to him by his first convert, a local chieftain called Dichu. It is said that when St Patrick died sometime around AD 490 on March 17th, his body was laid on an ox drawn cart, to be rested in the place he loved most. The cart stopped at Saul, where St Patrick鈥檚 mission first started, and his last resting place is marked by a shrine in the grounds of Down Cathedral, which is built on the site of St Patrick鈥檚 first church. St Patrick鈥檚 final resting place is said to be shared by that of Ireland鈥檚 other main saints; St Brigid and St Columba. Close to the Cathedral and well worth a visit, is the Saint Patrick Centre, an interpretive exhibition drawing from the details of St Patrick鈥檚 own account in his 鈥楥onfessio鈥? The centre also looks at how St Patrick鈥檚 Day is celebrated throughout the world and what the day means to both sections of the community in Northern Ireland.

Throughout Ireland and indeed those other parts of the world that become Irish on 17th March, St Patrick鈥檚 Day is celebrated with street parades, music, dance and Guinness; Craic agus Ceol and because of (or perhaps despite) the whole green leprechaun frenzy of it all, St Patrick鈥檚 Day has become one of the biggest self marketing tools for Ireland. So as you can see, St Patrick isn鈥檛 just a patron saint, but a champion of the Irish people and figurehead for Ireland, that through his life and legend has come to symbolising to people a sense of hope during oppression, struggle against adversity and hopefully; of unity or at the very least a good excuse for a party!

Hope this helps a little.....!!!!! xoxoxoxox
I live in Ireland!!
well definitly pay a visit to Donegal!!
It has loads of great views and scenery and every where you look is green!!
It also has a load of blue flag beaches which means that they are clean and are well looked after!!
There are also many little towns and villages in the gealtacht which means that they speak our orignal language, Irish!
Also many of the rural pubs or just little local pubs usually hold traditional nights where some of the locals take out their fiddles, tin whistles, accordians and any other musical instrument they have to play a little of irish music!!
they are always great craic!!!
well i hope i helped.........
and i hope you can visit!!
good luck! <3....x.x.x(**,)x.x.x...<3