I'm heading to Ireland for the first time, and am vegan and for health reasons need to adhere to it even while traveling (no "when in Rome" attitude for me). So I'm sharing some info I got below from the Vegan Society of Ireland, and would welcome any other suggestions and tips from those of you with additional tips. Thank you!
Very Healthy Food-- Cork, see: http://www.veryhealthyfood.com/
Healthy Habits -- Wicklow, see: http://www.healthyhabs.com/
Hibiscus Wilde (Food Bar)(Dublin)
Ruuts and Shuuts (Stall) (Open one Sat per month)
http://ruuts-and-shuuts.tumblr.com/Thrive (Stall) (Open every Fri from Apr to Oct)
Seomra Spraoi Cafe (Open Tues and Wed)
VegOut Cork (Tues)
Vegetarian restaurants friendly to vegans: like Cornucopia, Fresh, Govindas (There are three), Dehli Deli, Café Paradiso, Quay Co-op, The Grove, Gardan Café, Organico Café, Brats and Blazing Salads (a takeaway salad bar).
The best websites to find the best places to eat are here: http://tinyurl.com/jwuxa8p and http://tinyurl.com/ms2dhtj
Health Food stores (just put in the county you are visiting): http://tinyurl.com/mutfhwh
You can also head up to the Dublin Food Co-op which is a market open every Thursday 12noon to 8pm and Saturday’s 9.30am to 4.30pm. http://www.dublinfood.coop/
Supermarkets Tesco, Dunnes and Supervalue sell a range of vegan foods as do Marks and Spencers.
Accommodation
There is a self catering Vegan house in Kerry. See the advert below with contact details.
There is also a podcast from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau when she visited Ireland recently which is worth listening to. See http://tinyurl.com/kw3gns8
Here is a useful website for vegan friendly accommodation for the world (tick the box on the right for vegan): http://www.veggie-hotels.com/1-1-Home.html
In Cork there are a number of places which are vegetarian but also cater for vegans. The Green Lodge, See: http://tinyurl.com/low687x . See: http://www.gortnanain.com/
In Cork also there is a B&B which sells meat but caters to vegans called Mountain View B&B. See http://www.enjoy-our-hospitality.com/
In Clare there is Clare Island Yoga Retreats http://www.yogaretreats.ie/
On the East coast in Co Louth there is the Hippocrates Europe which is a raw food spiritual retreat. They use honey so this isn't vegan. See http://www.hippocrateseurope.com/
In Co Fermanagh, on the North West, there is Lake Isle which is vegetarian spiritual retreat.
http://lakeisleretreats.com/
You could also try Discover Ireland here: http://tinyurl.com/lk9f28n
In Kerry, Kerry Holiday Break - special offer for vegans...Discover the Killarney Lakes from an old traditional Irish house. Situated just off the Ring of Kerry on ten acres of land including an ancient oak forest, with the view of Kenmare Bay and the mountains of the Beara Peninsular beyond. This self-catering house is built of stone with the interior renovated and a built-on extension. It has 3 bedrooms, 2 lounge areas, 2 bathrooms downstairs and separate shower and a separate toilet upstairs. The kitchen is open plan and comes fully equipped and friendly to vegans. This rustic house can accommodate 4-6 adults and is heated via radiators by a wood burning stove with boiler. Contact Maria -- arnaldimaria@gmail.com Mobile Ph.: 086 8628428
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We would love to hear how you get on so we can add your own experience to our own knowledge.
All the Best, Owen O’Sullivan