It was a great Railtours Ireland First Class! three day adventure from Dublin. A special thank you to Norman our attentive, funny and informative guide who showed us the Irish countryside in style. The food, the travel, the accommodations and the tours were all top quality and it was the highlight of our trip to Ireland.
Checking in at the Dublin Train station.
After arriving in Cork, Ireland’s third largest city, on Irish Rail, which included a fabulous full Irish breakfast, we went on by bus to visit the Blarney Castle and Gardens with the famous Blarney Stone.
Look up. The Blarney stone is at the very top.
Blarney Castle and Gardens
Blarney Castle was built in 1446. Kiss the famous stone for the gift of eloquence.
The Poison Garden
The Fern Garden
Blarney House
Western Red Cedar
The Blarney Gardens include the Poison Garden, Fern Garden, Herbaceous Border, Woodlands, Bog Garden and Himalayan Walk.
Next stop was Cobh where the R.M.S. Titanic made its last port of call. We visited the Cobh Heritage Center.
The Cobh Heritage Center exhibits the Queenstown Story which tells the story of the Irish Emigration and Famine, the Titanic, the Lusitania Exhibition and the naval and military history of the area. Cobh was known from 1849 until 1920 as Queenstown.
Annie Moore was the first Irish person to register as an immigrant at Ellis Island.
The beautiful town of Cobh.
St Colman's Cathedral in Cobh.
Lusitania Memorial in the Old Church Graveyard.
Next stop Killarney.
Our hotel accommodations were at The International Hotel in Killarney which is a four star family owned hotel with historical charm and modern day conveniences.
St Mary's Church of Ireland
Norman getting us ready for another day of sightseeing.
The Ring of Kerry
Skellig Monks outside Caherciveen
Ladies View and the Lakes of Killarney
St Michaels Church in Sneem
Sneem
The next day we drove along the Ring of Kerry. The natural pristine countryside with sheep grazing on gently rolling hills of green draws tourists to the area. You can stop at one of the picturesque villages such as Waterville and Sneem along Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way.
Lunch at the Scarriff Inn and Restaurant in Kerry
Kells Sheep Center
The last day we enjoyed seeing Bunratty Castle and the Cliffs of Moher
Bunratty Castle completed in 1425. There are fantastic views at the top once you climb the spiral staircases in this medieval castle.
Lunch at Gus O'Connor's Pub.
O’Connor’s Pub in Doolin which is a coastal village in County Clare.
Doolin
Next stop: The Cliffs of Moher
Cliff of Moher, among the highest sea cliffs in Western Europe. This is Ireland’s second most popular tourist destination.
The Burren.
We drove the coast road along The Burren toward Galway. The Burren is a national park meaning “rocky place”.
It is a unique lunar landscape of limestone which was described in 1649 by one of Oliver Cromwell’s men as:”No tree to hand a man, no water deep enough to drown him and no soil deep enough to bury him.” Railtours Ireland
Thank you Norman for sharing your love and knowledge of Ireland. Everyone on the tour loved the trip and we all felt fortunate to have you as our tour guide.
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