 |
|
|
Dublin is both the largest city and
capital of Ireland. It is located near
the midpoint of Ireland's east coast, at
the mouth of the River Liffey. Founded as
a Viking settlement, the city has been
Ireland's primary city for most of the
island's history since medieval
times.
The currency in Southern Ireland since
2002 is the Euro. Food and drink prices
are compatible with the UK. Beer
Prices. Currency
Converter.
Flight times between UK Airports and
Dublin are about 50 minutes.
Ryanair provide regular
flights between Dublin Airport and Aberdeen . Birmingham . Bournemouth . Bristol . Cork . East Midlands . Edinburgh . Glasgow/Prestwick . Kerry . Leeds . Liverpool . London/Gatwick . London/Luton . London/Stanstead . Newcastle .
Most UK based Airlines and
International Airlines also provide
flights to Dublin Airport. For
information on what airlines and from
waht airports, visit: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dublin_Airport.
Dublin Airport
is situated about 6 miles north of Dublin
centre. Aircoach
provide a good service with luxury
coaches waiting outside the main
terminal. Just pay the driver then you
are on your way to Dublin. The driver
announces each stop in Dublin with
information on what top hotels that stop
is close to. Returning to the airport,
just go back to the stop you got off at
and wait for one of the coaches that run
about every 15 - 20 minutes. World
Taximeter. Taxi/Coach
information.
CarHire at Dublin Airport can be
booked through CarTrawler who will scan the
best available deals from CarHire
companies based at Dublin Airport.
|
|
The 396 feet high Dublin
Spire, situated in the city
centre on O'Connell Street, is now
Dublin's most noticeable
Landmark.
The Dublin Spire was the winning
entry in an architectural
competition to provide a
replacement for Nelson's Pillar
which was blown up in 1966.
The Spike, as it is now normally
referred to, was erected between
December 2002 and January 2003.
This is now a favourite meeting
place, as it is so easy to find, is
on the main shopping street, and
situated only a few hundred yards
from the River Liffey and Temple
Bar. Most of Dublin's busiest Bars
are situated alongside the river
and in the Temple Bar area.
The tour bus booking offices are
situated next to the spire.
Ireland
Map . Dublin
Map . Bus
Tours.
|
|
 |
Trinity College, or University
of Dublin, was founded in 1591.
Famous authors that graduated at
Trinity are Jonathan Swift,
Oliver Goldsmith and Oscar Wilde.
Its library houses the
8th-century 'Book of Kells', the
famous decorated gospel book made
by Celtic Monks.
The college is situated in the
centre of Dublin. Walking tours
of the college, escorted by
students, take about 40 minutes,
begriming at 10.15?
More
Information.
|
|
Dublin Castle is another famous
building in the City centre. The
first fortified building on this
site was a Danish Viking Fortress
built around 930. The Norman
invasion of 1169 saw the Normans
strengthen and expand the existing
town walls. The castle was again
expanded and strengthened by King
Jouhn of England in 1204.
In a disastrous fire April 7th
1684, much of medieval Dublin
Castle, including the old
Parliament House, burnt down. The
rebuilding of Dublin Castle,
carried out for King James at that
time, is what can be seen
today.
Guided tours of the State
Apartments, Chapel Royal, and Garda
Police Museum, are available from
10.00 - 16.45 Mon - Fri and 14.00 -
16.45 Sat and Sun for a small
fee.
|
More
Information. |
More
Information. |
The original Viking church on
the site of modern day Christ
Church Cathedral was built around
1030. By 1152, that building had
been incorporated into the Irish
Church.
In 1562, the nave roof
vaulting collapsed. With the
cathedral in ruins, emergency
rebuilding took place
immediately. The present day
looks of the cathedral are
attributed to extensive
restorations and renovations
carried out by the architect
George Edmund Street in the 1870s
at the expense of a Dublin
whiskey distiller Henry Roe.
Situated in the centre of
Dublin, Christ Church Cathedral
can be visited 09.45 - 16.30 Mon
- Fri, 10.00 - 16.30 Sat and
12.45 - 14.45 Sun for a small
fee.
|
|
St Patrick's Cathedral, situated
only a few hundred yards from
Christ Church Cathedral, was
completed in 1254. The Lady Chapel
was added by Archbishop Fulk de
Saundford in 1270.
Although the original tower and
part of the west nave were
destroyed by fire in 1362, they had
been replaced by Archbishop Minot
by 1370.
This impressive building can be
visited each day 09.00 - 18.00, for
a small fee.
More
Information.
|
 |
More
Information.
|
The city's most famous business,
and now tourist attraction, is the
Guinness Brewery. Arthur Guinness
founded the business when he staked
his future on a rundown brewery at
St. James's Gate in 1759.
Now Ireland's number 1 visitor
attraction, it is open 7 days a
week from 09.30 am to 17.00 pm
(remains open until 20.00 during
July and August). Admission fee
includes a complimentary pint of
Guinness in the Gravity Bar (a bar
situated high above the old
storehouse with panoramic views of
Dublin).
|
|
Nestling in the heart of old
Dublin, just one minute's walk
north of the River Liffey, lies the
Old Jameson Distillery on the site
of the original Jameson Distillery
founded in 1780.
The visitor centre that opened
in November 1997, introduces
visitors to the taste and history
of John Jameson's Irish Whiskey.
Tours are hosted by professional
guides. The Old Jameson Distillery
is open 363 days a year. Tours run
from 09.30 till 17.30. The Gift
shop and the Stillroom restaurant
are open from 09.30 until
17.30.
|
More
Information |
|
|
North of the river, and west
of the city center, is Phoenix
Park, nearly 2,000 acres (800
hectares) in size, with a
Zoo and
Racetrack.
This park is regarded as the
second largest enclosed park in
the world, second only to
Yellowstone in the U.S.A. Built
to commemorate the victories of
the Duke of Wellington who was
born in Dublin, the memorial in
the Phoenix park is the tallest
obelisk in Europe. Although
originally intended to be higher
than it is, a shortage of funds
meant it was completed in 1861 at
205 feet.
The Irish
Presidents residense is also
situated in the park with tours
available every Saturday between
09.40 and 16.20.
|
|
Dublin Bus operate the Dublin
Tour - North Coast & Castle
that travels along the north coast
of Dublin where many of the richest
people in Ireland live, and stops
at Malahide Castle foe a tour of
this stately home.
Malahide Castle, set on 250
acres of park land in the pretty
seaside town of Malahide, was both
a fortress and a private home for
nearly eight hundred years. The
Talbot family lived here from 1185
to 1973, when the last Lord Talbot
died.
Website: www.malahidecastle.com
|
 |
 |
Dublin Bus also operate the
Dublin
Tour - South Coast &
Gardens that travels to
Dublin's beautiful south coast .
Along the great sweep of Dublin
Bay, past Dun Laoghaire's elegant
promenade and yacht-filled harbour,
to James Joyce's Tower at
Sandycove, the sea views are
unsurpassed.
Turning inland, the tour climbs
into the beautiful Wicklow
Mountains and continues through the
enchanting old-world village of
Enniskerry to Powerscourt House
& Gardens, as seen left.
Website: www.powerscourt.ie.
|
|
The Cork and Blarney Castle Rail
Tour from Dublin is a popular tour
that starts at the Dublin Heuston
Train Station, where you meet the
guides. You travel by train to
Cork, about 160 miles southwest.
You then transfer to a coach for a
tour of Cork, Blarney Castle and
Cobh (formerly Queenstown) where
many of the Irish emigrant ships
departed from.
Cork website: www.cork-guide.ie/corkcity
Tour website: www.viator.com/Dublin.
|
 |
|
Castle website: www.blarneycastle.ie
|
Blarney Castle was built nearly
six hundred years ago by one of
Ireland’s greatest
chieftains, Cormac MacCarthy.
Over the last few hundred years,
millions have flocked to Blarney,
making it a world landmark and one
of Ireland’s greatest
treasures.
Now that might have something to
do with the Blarney Stone, the
legendary Stone of Eloquence, found
at the top of our Tower. Kiss it
and you’ll never again be
lost for words.
Tour website: www.viator.com/Dublin.
|
|
Queenstown, as it was named for
some decades, before reverting to
its old Irish name in 1922 - the
Cobh (cove) of Cork. Is there
anywhere in Ireland more full of
poignant memories than this
embarkation point for America? From
here, hundreds of thousands of
mostly hungry and penniless Irish
men and women left to build a new
life, especially in the Famine
years of 1844-48.
Many thrived and
prospered, but many died on the
journey in the terrible traveling
conditions of the time.
|
 |
|
The Queenstown
Story is based in the disused
portions of the railway station at
Cobh. This highly imaginative
visitor attraction tells the story
of emigration from Cobh in the
period of the famine in 1845 up to
the era of the great Liners in the
1950s.
Cohb website:
www.cork-guide.ie/cobh.
Tour website: www.viator.com/Dublin.
|
|
Website: www.viator.com/Dublin.
|
The Limerick, Cliffs of Moher,
Burren and Galway Bay Rail Tour
from Dublin.
Explore Ireland's west coast
highlights on a coach and rail day
trip to the wild Cliffs of Moher,
the Burren and picturesque Galway
Bay.
Departing from Dublin Heuston
Station, you'll catch a train to
Limerick (breakfast service
available onboard), where you'll
enjoy a short tour of the treaty
city, the setting for Frank
McCourt’s best-selling memoir
Angela's Ashes.
The tour then heads north to
Bunratty Castle and Folk Village.
After a lunch, stop at the Doolin
Pub, it's on to the majestic Cliffs
of Moher on the wild Atlantic
coast.
|
|
|
|
|
|
