The Kennedy Family in Germany: Ireland

We were super lucky to visit the beautiful country of Ireland over Spring Break! It was nice not to have to travel to far to hear our native language spoken all around us. And it was a treat to easily read and understand the signs and menus.

We flew into Dublin and enjoyed a couple of days there, including Easter. We attended Easter service at St. Patrick's Cathedral. It was a nice service, especially because it was in English!

We also visited a famous jail called Kilmainham Goal founded in 1796 . We learned a lot about the Easter Rising of 1916 and the Irish Revolution. It was a fun discovery since we were there over Easter week-end!

Mark had the pleasure of pouring the perfect pint of Guinness at the Guinness Store House Academy! I don't know what was more fun, crafting the perfect pint or drinking it!

Trinity College in Dublin was fun to see too. This college was founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I. The library dates back from 1732 and and on display were the Book of Kells which are manuscripts of the four gospels in Latin. We were not allowed to take pictures of this amazing library which also houses the oldest harp in Ireland.

Those were just a few of our Dublin highlights. Then, we headed southwest to see the Irish castles, coasts, and countryside. We stopped at the Rock of Cashel on our way. This medieval castle was a huge religious center for 500 years from 1101 to 1647.

We also enjoyed an entertaining medieval dinner at this castle below called the Bunratty Castle.

Another amazing castle that we toured was the famous Blarney Castle just outside of Cork. There is a legendary stone at the top of the castle that you can kiss which then gives you magic or good luck.

It felt like we experienced all four seasons while in Ireland. (maybe not summer)

Rain, wind, hail, sun, and rainbows!

The cliffs of Moher were breathtaking and scary when your husband lays down and looks over the edge!

We visited the quaint little coastal town of Kinsale.

This fort was built in the 1670's to protect Kinsale against foreign naval forces.

Another city we visited was Dingle which is another coastal town and popular yachting center located on the Dingle Peninsula. I think this was one of our favorite places in Ireland. We took a boat ride out in the bay to see the dolphin named Fungi who has lived there since 1983. We did see him come up by the boat several times.

After visiting the town of Dingle, we took a scenic drive around the peninsula. We loved stopping at various cliffs and beaches and it was fun seeing all the sheep too!

We loved our stay at a bed and breakfast at the Adare Country House. Dennis and Eileen were great hosts! We started every morning with a nice home cooked breakfast and some helpful tips for our daily adventures!

We would definitely like to return to the Adare County House. Adare was a quaint little town with great restaurants, pubs, and historical sight seeing. There was a beautiful golf course nearby that had a five star hotel called the Adare Manor which is pictured below. It would also be lovely to stay there next time!!! It was just as beautiful inside too!