7 Great Reasons to Visit Ireland Right Away

Sometimes Ireland can get a little over looked. If you are planning a trip away you might lean towards sunnier climes and far off destinations and all but forget about lovely Ireland. I for one am more than guilty of this, with family over there and with it always being on my ‘must go back soon’ list, I definitely haven’t made it to Ireland nearly often enough. If ever I’ve had the time and money for a break away I’ve chosen hot and sunny countries that are a million miles away from the motherland, the rainy UK.

However once you delve into Ireland’s stunning and varied landscapes, buzzing cities, amazing history and culture, you’ll wonder why you never visited before. 1.The Great Outdoors

If you love being outside in the elements, feeling the sun on your skin or the wind in your hair then Ireland may be perfect for you. With rugged countryside to explore, hiking and walking spots in abundance, opportunities to go surfing, sea kayaking, rock climbing, caving and mountain biking, you’ll be totally spoilt for choice.

If you want to be outside everyday then there will be something new waiting for you each morning when you visit Ireland.

2.The Cities

Dublin is the most obvious city to mention here, it is vibrant and buzzing, friendly and welcoming, you’ll struggle not to fall in love with Dublin and if you visit Ireland you must make a point of stopping here.

Ireland’s other cities are full of personality, from the colourful, arty, harbour city of Galway to the medieval Waterford city, the oldest in Ireland.

Whichever of the eleven cities you pick to visit you’ll have a very warm welcome from the locals who will happily share their stories with you over a pint of Guinness.  

3.The Food

Irish food might not be the first thing that springs to mind when you are choosing to visit Ireland, but you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Traditional Irish dishes like irish stew, soda bread and colcannon can still very much be found, but there is definitely a new era of eating now. Think fresh, locally grown produce and catch of the day in the coastal locations including wild atlantic salmon, poached lobster and Dublin bay prawns. Seafood heaven!

4.The Castles

If history is your thing then you absolutely must visit Ireland to see the castles; gothic, stately or haunted, there are dozens to view.

Blarney Castle in southern Ireland is a favourite for many and gives you an opportunity to climb the ten storeys and kiss the Blarney stone at the top to get the ‘gift of the gab’ as the legend goes.

Doe Castle in County Donegal is a must see also simply because of its beautiful architecture and positioning right on a peninsula that has been completely surrounded by water via a moat cleaved into the rockside.

5.The Festivals

If anyone knows how to have a knees up and good time, its the Irish, and their festivals prove that. If you visit Ireland when a  festival is taking place then grab tickets and go along, we assure you it will be fun.

From the famous St Patrick’s day celebrations to Galway Arts Festival and Cork Sailing Festival, there is something for everyone spread across all genres; music, food, film, comedy and literature.

6.The pubs

The pub are the coroner stone of Irish community, you’ll find bustling city pubs, upmarket gastro-pubs and cute and cosy village pubs, all as welcoming as each other and all with a fantastic range of stouts and lagers.

There really is nothing quite like an old-fashioned pub, sink into a big armchair in front of an open fire and forget the time, just enjoy the moment.

7.The beaches

You may now be thinking we’ve gone a little mad, Ireland, beautiful beaches? Yes, yes and yes. Ok we can’t guarantee you the sunshine but you will love them all the same.

Banna Strand beach in County Kerry is probably our favourite, think beautiful sand dunes for its entire 7 mile length, the Atlantic Ocean and amazing views out to the mountainous Dingle Peninsula.

Strandhill beach in county Sligo is another fine example of Irish beaches. This is a great beach for surfing but not as good for swimming. The area is really beautiful and has panoramic views of Knocknarea and Benbulben. There are some great walks around here too.

6 Fabulous Family Walks in Ireland

What better day out for a family then going for a walk. You’ll immerse yourself in nature, get the away from the TV and get some fresh air into your lungs whilst getting some exercise. Children love exploring nature and as long as you don’t pick a very difficult or long route then you’ll keep them interested and entertained throughout  family walks.

There are just so many family walks to choose from in Ireland which boasts some breathtaking scenery that you may not know where to start. Don’t worry, we’ve handpicked six of our favourite walks that we think hold something for all of the family.

1.Lough Key Forest Park, County Roscommon On the Southern Shore of Lough Key you’ll find a beautiful 800 hectare forest park.

There is a self-guided walk around the park so your children can take the lead and go discovering amongst the vast woodland. There are many types of trees, flowers and wildlife such as deer, fox, hare, rabbit and squirrel.

There are also underground tunnels which the children will love playing in and a nine meter high canopy walk, electric bikes, segways to bomb around the forest on and a brilliant adventure park.

2.Glengarriff, West Cork Glengarriff is located right at the heart of West Cork and is a great spot for family walks. The area is stunning and is set right where the mountains meet the sea at Bantry Bay.

You’ll find a beautiful nature reserve that is great for all of the family to walk around, forming one of the best examples of oceanic sessile oak woodland in Ireland. The woods are nestled in the sheltered glen opening out into Glengarriff harbour.

Also in the area is the Ewe Sculpture Garden which is only a short walk but is always a favourite for the children with amazing sculptures, waterfalls and little bridges.

3.Bray to Greystones The Bray to Greystones trail is simply gorgeous for family walks. The walk itself is relatively easy but does involve some scrambling which children will find a real adventure. The coast line is stunning and if you’re lucky you may even see barking seals hidden within the coves.

4.Causeway Coast, Antrim The Causeway Coast is a beautiful route that can be seen in full via a roadt rip, but if you’re on foot then a great spot to head to is the Giant’s Causeway. The walk down to the causeway is quite long for little ones, but hang in there because its’ well worth the effort. Once you’re down there you’ll have fun jumping, steping and hopping on the interlocking basalt columns that total around 40,000 and make for a giant playground.

There are also some lovely National Trust walks along the causeway which would be suited to family walks.

5.The Great Western Greenway If you’ve a young train enthusiast in the family then this walk is sure to please because it follows the disused railway line from Westport to Achill and for this reason is fairly flat all the way, which is great for little walkers.

During the summer months the route can get quite busy with other people and is a popular spot for family walks.

Along the way you’ll pass by some of the West of Ireland’s most dramatic mountains and magnificent views of Clew Bay and its islands.

6.The Connemara Way The Connemara Way might not strike you straight away as a place for family walks as the difficulty levels vary greatly, but certain parts of this route are simply perfect for little feet.

The best spots to choose are the parts of the walks that go alongside the beach, these sections are flatter and mean the kids can play on the beach along the way, plus who doesn’t love walking alongside the beach?

This section of the Wild Atlantic Way is home to so many beaches we won’t list them all but three of our favourite spots include Omey Strand at the access point to the island of Omey. The beach here is huge which means plenty of space to let the kids run free. Coral Strand, Ballyconneely is another great beach for exploring since it is covered in coral rather than soft sand - no good for sandcastles but great for exploring and collecting pieces of coral in a bucket. Finally we love Glassilaun, Renvyle, one of the most famous beaches in the area because of its gorgeous soft sand and beautiful blue waters. This beach really shows the West of Ireland’s coastline at its most beautiful and provides family walks that you will adore.

7 Christmas Traditions that you'll only know about if you're from Ireland

Although many christmas traditions are celebrated across the board; christmas trees, father christmas, stockings and so on, each and every family have their own little traditions that make christmas unique to them.

The Irish celebrate christmas in much the same way as the UK, USA and so on, but in typical Irish style there are certain little quirks and chritsmas traditions that the Irish do differently.

1.December 8th   

December 8th is the official start of christmas as per Irish christmas traditions. Once this date arrives you can expect decorations to go up, christmas markets and shopping to commence, parties to be had and plenty of christmas cheer to experience.

2.Christmas day swim

For the brave (or slightly crazy) one of the big Irish christmas traditions is the christmas day swim where all over Ireland’s coastline people take the plunge into the chilly, chilly waters, usually for charity. Head for Forty Foot, Sandycove, County Dublin or Portstewart in County Londonderry on christmas morning and you’ll be sure to catch these brave swimmers.

3.Mistletoe

One of today’s christmas traditions is having a cheeky kiss under the mistletoe, however the ancient Celts believed that mistletoe had healing powers. Soon after mistletoe was banned from being hung in houses as it was felt a sign of paganism.

Today mistletoe is once again hung, as a sign of goodwill and peace, and of course the occasional kiss is still welcomed.

4.Midnight Mass

Midnight mass is one of the strongest of Irish christmas traditions and for even the lesser church goers it’s a time to visit church and attend a beautiful christmas eve midnight mass service.

Often family and friends congregate at midnight mass services, catching up and welcoming in christmas together so they often have a fabulous, festive atmosphere with much merriment and cheer.

5.Guiness for santa

So we all know that it’s only right to leave out mince pies and perhaps a glass of something for santa and some carrots for the reindeers, but one of the Irish christmas traditions requires a Guinness to be left out for santa. Yep that’s right, a  big red can of Guinness waiting for santa to consume in each and every house!

6.The Wexford carol

One of the oldest known christmas carols was thought to originate from Enniscorthy, County Wexford. This carol dates back to the 12th century and tells the nativity story though song. Christmas traditions the world over include carols, what would christmas be without carol singers and traditional christmas music.

7.January 6th

In Irish christmas traditions the 6th of January marks the end of christmas and is also known as women’s rest day where traditionally women don’t participate in any kind of house work and the men take down all of the decorations, sort the house out after the christmas period and cook all of the meals. Woe betide any men who don’t abide by this tradition, its very bad luck apparently!

Whether you celebrate a very modern christmas or are a stickler for tradition, we all have our own christmas traditions that make christmas what it is to us and special in its own way.  Enjoy your christmas traditions whatever they may be.