Planning on a trip to Ireland in the near future. Found out through AncestryDNA that my mother's ancestors were from County Clare, specifically Carrigaholt. Would appreciate any itinerary advice, where to stay and if anyone has done any genealogical research while traveling in Ireland, what was most beneficial to you?? We've been to Dublin before and loved it, but never to the southeast of Ireland. Also, is there any advantage to flying into Shannon instead of Dublin?? Thanks.
Posted by
Last Frontier aka Alaska 🏔️
3227 posts
Flying into and out of Shannon, allows you to maximize your time on the west coast of the island. I highly recommend it! The Shannon airport is great, very low-key and easy.
County Clare is amazingly beautiful!
For geneology check out My Heritage Tours.
Posted by
Vermont USA
359 posts
. Definitely in and out of Shannon......Will save a day's travel from Dublin. There are great rates in and out of Shannon....don't be discouraged if at first you don't find it. Clare is wonderful.
Would need to know how long you have and what you enjoy seeing to recommend things. Right in Clare are the Cliffs of Moher, the Burren and easy access to the gorgeous Aran Islands ....also Bunratty Castle and great scenery all over. The town of Doolin has great pubs and restaurants and trad music right next to the Cliffs, the Burren and the Arans.
As for genealogical research sadly a huge amount of the records were destroyed in the Irish Civil War so it can be a real challenge. Still there are some records and looking is a lot of fun (and frustrating). We found some through our families old Parrish.
Fairly near to Clare are many great sights from Dingle and Slea Head to the Ring of Kerry/Skellig Ring or to Galway. Connemara is beautiful. All of this is dependent on your desires and time available.
As for lodging there are many options from hotels to B&B 's to hostels. If your staying in Clare for research for a chunk of time (the best way to experience Ireland anyway - avoid one night stays like the plague) our favorite thing is to rent a home for the week. Even if you don't use all 7 days...it's cheaper than 4 nights In a hotel or B&B and gives you room, privacy and spectacular locations.
Anyway let us know more and we can give more specific recommendations.
Posted by
Southern California
62 posts
Hi Denise - We are also staying in Carrigaholt in May - Glencarrig B&B. We haven't stayed there before, but it has good reviews. My friend's mother was born and raised at the farm next door, before selling the property about 15 years ago. I've made plans with our host to visit it and to meet the new owners. As for my own genealogy research, I've done a lot of research here so that I can maximize my time in Ireland. So far, I haven't made plans to do any research there, since we are only going to Carrigaholt and Killarney.
Fly into Shannon - smaller airport, easy in and out. And the B&B is about an hour and a half from the airport.