Dublin, Ireland – Sep 22-Sep 25, 2026

By Kathleen Ennen / September 25, 2026

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Tuesday September 22

Carrick on Shannon – Dublin

We booked tickets on the 1150 train to Dublin and even though google said Uber doesn’t work where we are, it did say that it could find a taxi. I understood maybe the ride sharing was absent but thought that it served for taxi hailing.

Well even though it kept indicating a driver would soon be announced, no driver showed at the appointed time of 1015. As panic started to set in, I called a few numbers I had for taxis. After 2 calls I really started to worry. Then a call to Carrick Taxis, and the driver was on a call but…. he gave a number to call and that worked. In about 5 minutes we had a taxi and the driver told us the train now only runs on one track so you don’t need to haul all your luggage over the foot bridge to the other side for the trains going east. I’ve done that and it’s no fun.

We had plenty of time and the panic and worry faded fast.

The train was great – 2+ hours through the country side and ended at the Connolly station, a 10 minute walk to the Premier Inn on Gloucester St South.

We arrived about 1445 and the room wasn’t yet ready. Check in is 1500. We left the bags and walked around for around. While exploring Marilyn, whom we met at the wedding and is Alex’s aunt (mother’s sister), called us. She and Mick live in Dublin and they proposed a wonderful solution for a meetup and dinner.

This removed those decisions from my brain which was great.

First was a drink at a pub about 15 minute walk along the river for us. I have been enjoying Smithwick’s Ale now and then on out trip. I pronounced it as it looks. I learned I was wrong, another Irish way of badly pronouncing an easy enough word – Smithwick’s is really Smithick’s. Just like Cobh is Cove and Howth is Hoat.

Then onto a really nice Italian restaurant for dinner. Marilyn’s friend Aileen joined us. We had various dishes and Thom had pizza. The toppings were great but the crust was really wimpy. Seems that is normal here, even Mick went at his pizza with a knife and fork. Maybe that’s the secret. It’s still not the way I expect pizza to be.

After dinner we walked to the Brazen Head, reported to be the oldest Pub in Ireland, established in 1198. It’s an extremely popular pub/bar with music every night. Aileen comes every Sunday afternoon. She knew the musicians well enough to introduce me to them. She made a request at one point to Johny Quinn who played an incredible and haunting tune on the Irish tin whistle. It was amazing. He also is a classically trained violinist who can just as easily turn his violin into a fiddle. He is often considered one of the best fiddle players in Ireland. I was very surprised to find that he has next to no presence on social media and the internet.

It was a wonderful evening. Lots of music, lots of participation and a great group of people enjoy great music in a cozy small room, the music room at the Brazen Head.

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Wednesday September 23

We had prebooked tickets to the Trinity College Book and Kells and Long Library. It was surprising to see the condition of something so rare and old. The library was a very long and tall room thought many of the books had been removed for conservation. Some stacks were still in place and you could imagine the vastness of the space if filled to the ceiling with books,

It was a really nice day and it seemed a deviation of the plans made sense. We headed on a long walk to the waterfront and decided to walk the 4 miles to the marina. It wasn’t clear anyone was there so we looked at the boats and thought about what to do next.

I found a back sliding glass door and spotted several men who waved me in. We were able to get a simple bite to eat – Ham/cheese toastie. It did what it needed to do and we decided to sort the buses out to get back to the hotel.

We searched for a spot for dinner and found what turned out to be a great, though rushed and a bit noisy Thai place. The Red Torch Ginger. I had some hot soup, and a prawn dish that was terrific! The cocktails were also very unique so had to try one.

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Thursday September 24

We’ve spent 2 nights here and today was possibly do the tour at the Guiness Storehouse. We decided not to do that and got tickets, last minute fortunately, for the Kilmainham Gaol, that we decided on instead.

We discovered a terrific breakfast place (wonderful yogurt bowl!) and then started the trek to the goal. The tour was very informative on the history of the goal. It highlighted key figures on the 1916 insurrection, the Easter Rising, that lasted only 6 days. A number of the participants were jailed and most of them were executed there.

Ireland, both North and the Republic, experienced many years of turmoil. There were the Troubles and Bloody Sunday as well.

After the long walk to the Gaol, we caught a taxi to a Vietnamese restaurant that was really good. We both had pho as we try to rid ourselves of our colds obtained last week. (after the wedding – a number of people there got it!!)

We sorted out how to take a bus back to the hotel with the shortest amount of walking. Given the filling lunch, we walked to the nearby Tesco to gather a few things for a “picnic” supper in our hotel room.

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Friday September 25

Our last day in Dublin.

Back to Honey Truffle for a terrific breakfast!! Then to the National Museum. It’s free and turned out to have some terrific artifacts. There was a small replica of a Viking sailboat. The hall and roof, partially blacked out to help protect exhibits from sunlight, was architecturally cool. Other exhibits, including clothing and items, recovered and in incredible condition, from bogs as well as some religious items and gold, were impressive.

We then walked to St Stephens Mall to find out where we needed to go to pick up the rental car Saturday. Google brought us to the driveway to get in, but it was not for pedestrians with luggage. We walked around to the other side, the entrance to the mall, and found the Enterprise kiosk. The gentleman manning the desk instructed us that the actual pickup point was on the roof. He pointed to the particular lift to take, with the luggage, to get there. He noted for us that once there to head across the parking deck and the signs would become apparent.

After sorting this out we walked to the adjacent St Stephens Green. A beautiful park with statues and plaques representing the main characters, once again, of the 1916 Easter Rising. There was a spot where some shelter was provided from machine gun fire coming from the rooftop of the building across the street.

Our new friend Marilyn recommended we go to the “secret garden” near the Green. It’s on google maps so I don’t know how secret that really is, but we found it. There was a food truck with salads and sandwiches near the entrance so we picked up lunch and went to find a bench. The fountain was very impressive. It was very peaceful and hardly anyone was present.

We decide to walk out a different path and find our way to St Patrick’s Cathedral. On the way out was a fun maze!!! I wound my way in and took some pics and then got a google satellite shot to show the full maze. Fun.

St Patrick’s was very informative. Somewhat pricey but with admission you get an audio tour device and could learn about the various stops along the tour.

We planned to meet friends Marilyn and Mick at a bar they hadn’t tried yet. 1661 is a new, special, cocktail bar that celebrates the Irish whiskey Poitin, which is a refined moonshine. We arrived early after a long walk from the cathedral but just when it was opening. We were able to get a seat and start to study the menu. There must have been 40 poitins. The cocktails presented, with fancy photos, where very exotic mixes of herbs and spices and other flavorings. It was very interesting and fun.

We walked to an Indian place for dinner which turned out, once again, to be great!!! We even asked someone to take a group picture!

It was then time to say goodbye with hugs and thanks galore. Marilyn was very helpful throughout our time in Dublin and we had a really great time together.

Short walk back to the hotel to pack up and get ready to taxi to the rental car and commence our roadtrip for the next 3+ weeks.