How do I Spend My Time in Ireland (Literary/Music/Foodie Edition)
September 8, 2015 9:45 PM Subscribe
My (almost) 70 year old father and I will be travelling to Dublin for ten days next week on the (unexpectedly!) second anniversary of a father/daughter trip in which he golfs and I occupy myself with books and booze. Help me not miss the best parts
I'm an annoyingly nerdy reader*/music snob** in my upper thirties. I also write plays. I enjoy good food, excellent drink and wanderng. My father has opted to take me along on as a breakfast/dinner companion on his (now) second annual retirement golfing trip trip to Isles. This time, I'll be (mostly) in Dublin and Galway for eleven days. Please help me identify places worth visiting, including pubs/bars, bookshops, cafes, clubs, sites, museums where a girl might find something interesting or a lively conversation or amusing conversation. This is my first time in Dublin.
*As is relevant to trip: I've read "Ulysses" more than once, and I really love Flann O'Brien.
**So, I work in a record shop. I have wide-ranging tastes, but have been accused of being judge-y about live music.
I'm an annoyingly nerdy reader*/music snob** in my upper thirties. I also write plays. I enjoy good food, excellent drink and wanderng. My father has opted to take me along on as a breakfast/dinner companion on his (now) second annual retirement golfing trip trip to Isles. This time, I'll be (mostly) in Dublin and Galway for eleven days. Please help me identify places worth visiting, including pubs/bars, bookshops, cafes, clubs, sites, museums where a girl might find something interesting or a lively conversation or amusing conversation. This is my first time in Dublin.
*As is relevant to trip: I've read "Ulysses" more than once, and I really love Flann O'Brien.
**So, I work in a record shop. I have wide-ranging tastes, but have been accused of being judge-y about live music.
Best answer: Books Upstairs is great; I came back with pretty much every book ever written on Flann O'Brien. And I loved the Dublin Writers Museum, but be warned that any non-book-nerds will be bored to tears.
posted by thetortoise at 11:54 PM on September 8, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by thetortoise at 11:54 PM on September 8, 2015 [2 favorites]
Best answer: If you're in Galway, check out The Roisin Dubh or Monroe's for live music.
Tigh Neachtain's pub (also in Galway) is a great place to check out for atmosphere, and a good place to people watch if the weather permits sitting outside.
posted by Samarium at 4:09 AM on September 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
Tigh Neachtain's pub (also in Galway) is a great place to check out for atmosphere, and a good place to people watch if the weather permits sitting outside.
posted by Samarium at 4:09 AM on September 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
Best answer: For bookstores, don't miss Chapters in Dublin and Charlie Byrne's Books in Galway. Also, check out the Secret Book and Record Store in Dublin.
The Chester Beatty Library in Dublin is a terrific free museum full of old manuscripts and rare books.
posted by tiger tiger at 4:37 AM on September 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
The Chester Beatty Library in Dublin is a terrific free museum full of old manuscripts and rare books.
posted by tiger tiger at 4:37 AM on September 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
Best answer: In County Galway:
Coole Park (site of Yeats' colleague Lady Gregory's home; I read both that her adult surviving family didn't want it after she died and that it was damaged during the Irish civil war) near Gort.
Thoor Ballylea (Yeats' home)was briefly open for Irish Heritage week, but isn't generally open to the public.
Bus to Cliffs of Moher.
Ferry to the Aran Isles and bus tour of Inismor.
Splurge on dinner at Michelin starred Aniar.
I was not able to get dinner at Oscar's; the staff doesn't show up until 4pm and they don't take reservations until then.
Famine museum in Strokestown, Co.Roscommon.
Dublin:
Nthing the Writers museum.
The Hugh Lane preserved the Francis Bacon studio.
Bus to Hill of Tara
Sheela na gigs at the National museum
posted by brujita at 11:42 AM on September 9, 2015
Coole Park (site of Yeats' colleague Lady Gregory's home; I read both that her adult surviving family didn't want it after she died and that it was damaged during the Irish civil war) near Gort.
Thoor Ballylea (Yeats' home)was briefly open for Irish Heritage week, but isn't generally open to the public.
Bus to Cliffs of Moher.
Ferry to the Aran Isles and bus tour of Inismor.
Splurge on dinner at Michelin starred Aniar.
I was not able to get dinner at Oscar's; the staff doesn't show up until 4pm and they don't take reservations until then.
Famine museum in Strokestown, Co.Roscommon.
Dublin:
Nthing the Writers museum.
The Hugh Lane preserved the Francis Bacon studio.
Bus to Hill of Tara
Sheela na gigs at the National museum
posted by brujita at 11:42 AM on September 9, 2015
Best answer: Probably too late to the party but I can't resist.
The James Joyce Centre.
St. Stephen's Green, which appears in Joyce's works. A Joyce walking tour would be lovely and there are published guides to doing this.
The Book of Kells and the incomparable Trinity College Library.
Bram Stoker's birthplace. I don't think you can enter but it is located in an area with many of the "Doors of Dublin" -type homes.
Public statuary includes the James Joyce statue and the Anna Livia monument, though I see it has been moved, which makes me a little sad.
The Brazen Head, Ireland's oldest pub.
Of course there's the Guinness Storehouse, as they seem to be calling it now. They say that Guinness tastes best closest to the source and you cannot get closer, AFAIK. And the Jameson Distillery; I'm not so into whiskey so I remember wishing I had time to visit the nearby St. Michan's mummies but YMMV.
More important than any libations, of course, is the difficult history of Ireland visible in its capital city. Consider visiting the GPO, where bullet holes attest to its importance to the Irish struggle for independence.
Ireland is magical, if I can say that in any sort of metaphorical, totally non-woo way. The air is different, the colors are different. Obviously, I'm overdue for another visit. You'll have a great time.
posted by Morrigan at 7:04 PM on September 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
The James Joyce Centre.
St. Stephen's Green, which appears in Joyce's works. A Joyce walking tour would be lovely and there are published guides to doing this.
The Book of Kells and the incomparable Trinity College Library.
Bram Stoker's birthplace. I don't think you can enter but it is located in an area with many of the "Doors of Dublin" -type homes.
Public statuary includes the James Joyce statue and the Anna Livia monument, though I see it has been moved, which makes me a little sad.
The Brazen Head, Ireland's oldest pub.
Of course there's the Guinness Storehouse, as they seem to be calling it now. They say that Guinness tastes best closest to the source and you cannot get closer, AFAIK. And the Jameson Distillery; I'm not so into whiskey so I remember wishing I had time to visit the nearby St. Michan's mummies but YMMV.
More important than any libations, of course, is the difficult history of Ireland visible in its capital city. Consider visiting the GPO, where bullet holes attest to its importance to the Irish struggle for independence.
Ireland is magical, if I can say that in any sort of metaphorical, totally non-woo way. The air is different, the colors are different. Obviously, I'm overdue for another visit. You'll have a great time.
posted by Morrigan at 7:04 PM on September 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
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posted by thivaia at 9:53 PM on September 8, 2015