The Republic of Ireland
& Northern Ireland
Ireland - the second largest island in the British Isles. Most of the island makes up the Republic of Ireland. However, three counties in Northern Ireland remain under British colonization, as part of the United Kingdom.
Growing up on the Irish Riviera
I don't have any Irish heritage, but growing up on Boston's South Shore, that didn't seem to matter. Everyone here celebrates St. Paddy's Day, more so than they do in Ireland. In fact, Boston has been celebrating Saint Patrick's Day since 1737. Claddagh rings and Irish pubs are as ubiquitous as scally caps and Boston Celtics basketball merch. My friends have last names like Reilly, McGlone, and Mulligan, and I had been drinking for years in bars like The Burren and Sligo before ever visiting those actual places abroad.
Leah, and her brother, Anthony, hiked along the Cliffs of Moher in gorgeous weather. 2024.
January 2020 & April 2024
Dublin, Wicklow, Carlow, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Clare, Galway, Sligo, Donegal, Londonderry (UK), Antrim (UK), Down (UK), & Meath
I have been to Ireland twice now. Once in January of 2020, to visit a friend, and then travel around - with no idea that the pandemic would alter travel for years to come. And again in April of 2024, to attend that same friend's wedding, and to travel some more with my brother. Both trips were full of adventures, driving on the left, and making friends along the way.
COUNTY DUBLIN
Dublin, such a fun city...
- Where I witnessed my friend get married.
- Where I was when a stranger on the street heard my American accent and told me Kobe Bryant had died.
- Where I celebrated my 33rd birthday.
But there's more to County Dublin than just the city.
Empty Temple Bar pubs and cobblestone streets in the early morning hours in Dublin, Ireland. 2020.
County Wicklow
The Round Tower at the 6th century monastic site, Glendalough, feels like something out of a Rapunzel fairly tale. The glacial lakes and dramatic valleys of Wicklow Mountains National Park were just breathtaking.
Glendalough, County Wicklow, Ireland. 2024.
County Carlow
The Celtic Centre of Ireland, County Carlow has many ancient stone monuments dating back to the Megalithic period. The Browne's Hill Dolmen is 5,000 years old, and has the largest capstone in Europe weighing 100 tonnes. Rathgall Hillfort dates from the Bronze Age and is made of 3 concentric stone walls, with the inner walls dating to the Medieval period.
Rathgall, Hillfort, a Megalithic in County Carlow, Ireland. 2024.
County Cork
Did I kiss the Blarney Stone? Well, I tried... and chickened out while laying on the ground up there. The fear of heights got to me.
Reflections of Cork City, and the River Lee. 2024.
County Kerry
Driving the single lane, two way road through the mountains of Dingle, the Conor Pass is one of the highest mountain passes in Ireland, was one of the most terrifying drive of my life, thus far. I white knuckled it, in the stick shift, on the right side of the car, ideally on the left side of the road, all because I wanted to see the scenic views. And then, just a few hours later, I drove across the Caha Pass, in the dark, with the series of tunnels blending into the night sky. To see it in the daytime, we did the Caha Pass again, and boy what a ride. The Ring-of-Kerry is worth all the hype.
Killarney National Park, County Kerry, Ireland. 2024.
County Limerick
It was a gray and rainy day when I was in Limerick, so I spent it inside the 13th century King John's Castle.
View of the Shannon River from King John's Castle. 2020.
County Clare
Famous for places like the Cliffs of Mother, Burren National Park, and the Doolin Cave, County Clare had so much natural beauty to explore.
Burren National Park, County Clare, Ireland. 2024.
County Galway
The charming city of Galway had such fun nightlife and a charming downtown.
Dusk in downtown Galway. 2024.
County Sligo
I hiked up Knocknarea to Maeve's Cairn, a 600 feet circumference by 34 feet tall stone burial for Queen Maeve.
A hiking trail on Knocknarea in County Sligo, Ireland. 2020.
County Donegal
Atop Greenan Mountain is, Grianán of Aileach, a hillfort that was the seat of the Kingdom of Aileach.
The Grianán of Aileach, the seat of the Kingdom of Aileach, and one of the royal sites of Gaelic Ireland. 2020.
County (London)derry
Derry, as the Irish nationalists call it, or Londonderry, to the British unionists, is a city still under occupation. The Troubles took place here in the 1960's, alongside the civil rights movement in the United States.
An Irish Republican Army advertisement. 2020.
County Antrim
Northern Ireland has some spectacular natural beauty, including geologic formations like Giants Causeway. The dramatic interlocking hexagonal basal columns
And the man made Dark Hedges, a series of beech trees planted along Bregagh Road.
But the Black Taxi Cab tour we took in Belfast was easily the most memorable experience. Learning about the history of colonization, oppression, and occupation from the people who lived, and continue to live through it. The walls separating the Irish Catholics and British Protestants are still standing today to 'keep the peace'. So it's unsurprising that the many murals covering the walls support other countries also under occupation.
Giant's Causeway features dramatic hexagonal basalt columns in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, UK.
County Down
If you're a Game of Thrones fan, perhaps you've heard of Winterfell Castle. The real medieval site exists in Northern Ireland.
The grounds of Winterfell Castle in Northern Ireland. 2020.
County Meath
Ireland is full of Neolithic history, some of which I explored in County Meath. These stone structures date to the prehistoric period - before Stonehenge or the Pyramids of Giza.
The Hill of Tara, where all roads in Ireland lead, was once the seat of the high kings, and before that, was a Stone Age passage tomb.
Newgrange, a Stone Age neolithic passage tomb dating from 3200BC in Boyne Valley, County Meath, Ireland. 2020.
