I went on a RS 7-day Heart of Ireland tour June 29-July 5. Prior to the tour, I went to Galway and spent a day on Inishmore before going down to Ennis to begin the tour. And after the tour ended in Dublin, I spent a day in Belfast from Dublin and another day in Newgrange followed by a literary pub crawl that evening.
I had decided to fly in and out of Dublin because flying into Shannon would have cost me a few $100 more. I had purchased a ticket on a Citylink bus that went express to Galway from the Dublin airport. My plane arrived over 1.5 hours late, and I didn't think I would make the bus I had paid for (but not worried since my ticket would have been honored on a later bus if there was room). Much to my surprise, deplaning was fast (they used two doors) and my wait in line at Customs was minimal, only about 5 minutes. Your mileage may vary. I was on the street and at the bus just a half hour after deplaning!
Upon arrival in Galway, the bus went right past the Petra House B&B where I was staying, so it was easy to know where to walk there from the bus station, despite the pouring rain. I can't say enough about how good my experience at Petra House was. The owners were very gracious and flexible on when breakfast was served. I had a nice chat with Paul Holland, the owner, each morning.
My first full day I took the ferry from Rossaveal to Inishmore, one of the Aran Islands. I opted to take a minivan tour since I would get a narration from the van driver. Very informative and entertaining. The walk up to Dun Aengus was easier than I thought it was, just some stone steps near the top, and the views from the top were incredible. The rest of the tour was equally interesting. The tour ended back in Kilronan in plenty of time for me to walk up to Joe Wattys Pub for a pint of Guiness; I sat at the bar and had a nice chat with some locals who lived on the island. BTW, it's true what they say: Guiness tastes better in Ireland!
That evening I wanted to hear some trad music and walked past a few pubs which sometimes had that kind of music, but the only one I found that had trad music was the Crane Bar, across the river. As the RS guidebook warned, the upstairs where the music happened was quite small and crowded when I arrived. Alas the session had started at 6:30 and I arrived at 8:15, so I only heard about 45 minutes worth of music then, but it was very good. Then another session started at 9:30, and I stayed for another hour. They had an open mic and a guy got up and sang 'Grace', about the last-minute marriage between Grace Gifford and Joseph Plunkett the night before he was executed by firing squad for his role in the Easter Rising of 1916. The song has haunted me every since. One of my goals on this trip was to hear trad music, and the Crane Bar was the best experience that I had of that kind of music on this trip.
To get down to Ennis that Sunday, I knew there was a train that arrived a little after 1 pm, but thought I would take a bus so I would arrive a little earlier. But I couldn't book a ticket online. Paul Holland advised me to just go to the bus station and inquire; an agent told me there was a 10:05 bus and that I could pay on the bus, so that's what I did. Incidentally, a couple on my RS tour told me they took the train and it worked out okay for them.
As for the tour, it met and exceeded my expectations. Our tour guide was Jaime, who lives in Derry, and our bus driver was George, who did an amazing job driving through narrow streets in towns. If you get either of these on a tour later, say hi from Bob A. of Chicago!
Part two will follow soon...