Picture-perfect Ireland
The Emerald Isle opens its arms to Americans.
We are less than 50 miles from Limerick, the largest city in this part of Ireland. After driving around this island of about 5 million people, the sisters confirm that it is as beautiful as it is in pictures. Even more so.
Ireland has become one of the most welcoming European destinations for U.S. citizens, with a currency in favor of the dollar and residents who appreciate visitors from across the pond. Ireland is hoping to capitalize on the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union by marketing itself as the English-speaking alternative in the region that wants to remain part of Europe. Add to it short and cheap flights — and a familiar yet beguiling culture — and visitors are showing up.
Aer Lingus has sweetened the deal with packages that often go for $1,000 a person, or even less, including flights and hotel stays — with a companion. A country once plagued by internal divisions has now become one of the safest in Europe, having dodged the kind of terrorist attacks that England, France and Spain have had in recent years.
“It’s a pretty peaceful country,” Blissitt says. “People are so friendly. You feel like you know them.”
After signing up for Aer Lingus alerts, I receive notices about discount packages. They sell out at times, but once you nab one, you can get a flight and hotel for less than what you would pay to fly to Hawaii or Rome.
Not being a good driver, I choose a six-night Dublin to Limerick package with airfare, train ticket and hotels included — all for less than $1,000 a person from New York.
My hotel voucher in Dublin gets me a stay at the North Star Hotel, a recently renovated property near the Dublin Docklands.
The Docklands evoke New York’s Meatpacking District: gritty, not far from the water, with dining options like Ely, a wine bar, and sushi restaurant J2.
The EPIC Irish Emigration Museum opened in a high-end mall at the Docklands last year. The CHQ, as the building is called, was built in the early 1800s as a warehouse for tobacco and wine. Wine may still be served at Ely, but there also are coffee bars and clothing boutiques.
The EPIC museum tells the story of the Irish presence around the world. Ireland, as the museum literature says, is an “open island,” and its people have been exploring the world. There are plenty of reminders of how many of them ended up in the USA.
“The Irish, believing in the value of
education, have tried to bring the benefits of education to less privileged parts of the world,” one exhibit reads.
It’s clear that the Irish value their education. The Dublin Writers Museum is located on Parnell Square in an 18thcentury house that has original prints of books by authors such as James Joyce, William Butler Yeats, George Bernard Shaw, Samuel Beckett, Oscar Wilde, Jonathan Swift and Bram Stoker.
Let’s not forget where Dracula, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Ulysses and Gul
liver’s Travels came from.
The Irish remember. The museum sits across from a revered spot in Dublin: The Garden of Remembrance for those who died in the pursuit of Irish independence.
And then there is the free and impressive Hugh Lane Gallery, which displays wonderful works by local artists as well as masterpieces by such international greats as Edgar Degas, Camille Pissarro, Édouard Manet and John Singer Sargent.
Dublin’s literary world — and its penchant for beer and whiskey — are so revered that local actor Colm Quilligan has started a literary pub crawl to combine the two.
At each stop, he and his partner, Derek Reid, entertain guests by reciting passages from the books of Irish greats.
“Twenty years ago, Ireland was a homogenous society,” Quilligan says.
After a glass of wine, he speaks in the present tense. “Now Ireland is an open economy and bringing people in,” he says.
It manages to bring me in, and I want to explore beyond Dublin. I hop on the Irish Rail for a two-hour train ride southwest to Limerick.
On the way, I stop by Adare Manor. The storied structure, built in 1832 on the site of a home belonging to the second Earl of Dunraven, is a five-star luxury hotel that has recently undergone a multimillion-dollar renovation.
As I am in Ireland, I can’t leave without visiting a castle, so I stop for afternoon tea at Dromoland Castle.
Then on to Limerick. With a population of just fewer than 200,000, the city has Old World charm — a riverfront for beautiful sunsets, pubs with live music and Irish jig dancing every night — plus many friendly neighbors.
I stay at the Absolute Hotel, a boutique property not far from The Locke, one of the most popular pubs in town.
The city has its own castle, King John’s — one of its biggest draws. On a recent day, I climb the tower for a 360degree view of the city and the River Shannon, which is particularly active at this point.
Then there are the Cliffs of Moher, considered one of the best natural wonders of Ireland. I get on a Paddywagon bus tour, filled with happy U.S. travelers, and I meet more on the ground.
“I think we bring a lot of economic growth to the country so they appreciate us,” says Kate Dorsey, who is visiting Ireland from Maine with her fiancé.
Dorsey has been traveling to Ireland for at least a decade because of family connections.
“It feels so safe here,” she says. “It’s just so beautiful.”
“People are so friendly. You feel like you know them.” Pam Blissitt