We arrive mid-day on a Thursday in June, and we're planning on staying 5 nights in Dublin. We want to visit Cork (ancestors birthplace). We are NOT planning on renting a car. I'm looking for recommendations for what to do/see in Dublin, transportation to/from Cork, and whether it would be worth it to spend a night in Cork.
My son and I do enjoy trad Irish music, so any family friendly pubs with music would be most helpful as well. Thanks so much in advance!
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9363 posts
In my opinion, you won't need five nights in Dublin, unless you plan on taking day trips from there. It's a relatively small city. A couple of day trips that might be of interest are to Newgrange and the Boyne River valley (northwest of Dublin) and to Glendalough, in the Wicklow Mountains (south of Dublin). There are several tour companies who offer day trips to these areas. In Dublin, make sure to see Kilmainham Gaol. You might also want to visit the National Museum to see the gold hoards and the bog man. St Michen's Church is kind of a "hidden" site - they have mummies in the basement that you can see(one is the body of a Crusader). Grafton Street is fun to walk down, and there are always musicians playing on the street there (there is also a McDonald's if you have a "food emergency"). The Temple Bar area is interesting to walk around, but wouldn't be good for your son at night.
Posted by
Spring, Texas
635 posts
There is a very good castle to tour in Trim. You'd have to go by bus and I'm not familiar with the schedules. You can check on line but I know there is a bus to Trim from the airport. There may be a more direct route from Dublin. Trim Castle was used in filming Braveheart. It's officially a ruin but looks more like what you think a castle would look like than the Kilkenny Castle which was repeatedly modernized. There are B&Bs in town but outside of the castle there isn't too much to see. A bus tour to Glendalough would be a good side trip and that would have some hiking opportunities if interested. Reconsider renting a car. You can see so much more and the driving isn't really that hard to get used to. For five days you can see quite a bit. You'll get much more out of your trip with the car.
Posted by
Atlanta
1358 posts
You can also check out some sporting events in Dublin. It'll be hurling season, so you can see about getting tickets to a game, or head over to Phoenix Park to see some rec games of soccer, cricket, or hurling. Your son might like Dublinia, too, it's a Viking museum.
Posted by
New York, NY
319 posts
Jim,
One thing to consider in planning your trip is that Cork would make the most sense at either end of your trip. You could either fly into Shannon, spend a night in Cork, and then head to Dublin, or head to Cork after visiting Dublin and fly home from Shannon.
Cork is a good few hours train ride from Dublin so it doesn't make sense to go there and then back to Dublin. Make plane and hotel plans accordingly.
Posted by
OP
Philadelphia, PA, USA
21 posts
Thanks very much for all of the information! I'm going to consider renting a car, and also limiting time in Dublin to do some day trips. Also, I'll look into transportation in/out of Shannon.
I appreciate everyone's insight!
Posted by
Green Bay, WI, USA
21 posts
If you do rent a car, I'd consider flying into Shannon. It's MUCH easier to figure out how to drive in that area rather than Dublin. I think limiting time in Dublin is a good idea. I wouldn't spend more than 1 1/2-2 days there. Are you staying in hotels or B & B's? The owners of the B & B's we stayed at new which pubs were family friendly and when the family friendly trad music sessions were going on. Have a great time!