Ireland

We'd originally planned this trip for May 2020, as Meg was expecting to do a Chemical Engineering capstone project in Ireland prior to graduating but the pandemic thwarted that plan. Aer Lingus didn't give refunds but vouchers to use within 3 years. April turned out to be a wonderful time to visit- not peak season so we didn't have to contend with big crowds, and the availability of accommodations reflected this as well. A slight trade-off was that it wasn't especially warm (mostly 40s-50s F, but with the grey skies. damp and wind it often felt chillier).

As usual, there was a lot we wanted to see, so we planned a full two weeks for the two of us, and the kids joined us for the first 8 days. 

Our flight from Chicago was delayed by 10 hours for mechanical reasons, which was a bummer, but once we landed we packed into our Skoda rental car in Dublin and set out north towards Belfast.

Monaghan

Castle Leslie, Monaghan

Monaghan has the honor of being awarded Ireland's "Tidy Town" award (we later observed through our travels that a number of towns proclaim this award, so it became a bit of a running joke.) We had reservations for afternoon tea at Castle Leslie, but with the flight delay we had to settle for an early evening beer instead. Monaghan was where one of my 2nd great-grandfathers and two of my 3rd great-grandparents were born.

Belfast

The Titanic museum was really interesting (the Titanic was built in Belfast). We also took a 90 min. Black Cab tour guided by Paul, who's lived in Belfast his whole life and told us about his experiences, including during the Troubles.

Titanic Museum

Black Cab tour with Paul

Murals, Falls Road

Rusty Saddle pub in Belfast. Guinness is an immediate hit. Andy orders his first serving of fish and chips in the trip (many more to follow)

Antrim Coast

There were a lot of sites to see along the Antrim coast, and we just had to make sure we were at Bushmill's by 3 PM for our booked distillery tour.

Carrickfergus Castle

Chaine Memorial Tower (1887), Larne

The moment we realized we were wearing the same Eddie Bauer travel pants

Cushendun Caves (Scenes from Game of Thrones filmed here)

We ate a picnic lunch at Carrick-a-Rede at Bellycastle, then paid to cross the rope bridge.

Will checking out the bridge before crossing

On the island

Quick cookie before the distillery tour

Post-tour tasting. The whiskey sour was delicious

Andy didn't pass up the chance to buy a bottle with a customized label

Giant's Causeway

That night we stayed in Portrush, and had a lovely meal at a restaurant right on the coast, and watched a pod of dolphins playing nearby.

The Shanty, Portrush

Mussenden, Derry, Glenveagh National Park & Castle

The next day we continued our trek west around the coast.

Mussenden

Mussenden

In Derry we walked the walls, went to the Tower Museum and ate lunch.

Derry

Derry

Glenveagh National Park was beautiful.

Glenveagh Castle

Glenveagh

County Donegal

We enjoyed cooking our own breakfasts and dinners (bangers and mash one night, roast chicken, potatoes and mushy peas the next) in our great Airbnb in Lettermacaward, and Andy and Will did a little kayaking. We toured the Irish Premium Oysters farm in Tragheanna Bay, and our guide Jimmy told us all about how he and his son started as fishermen, and eventually worked their way into oyster farming, a completely new endeavor in Ireland. We got to eat fresh oysters.

In Ardara we saw how Eddie Doherty wove wool tweeds by hand and bought a tweed blanket and Aran sweaters.

Glen Colm Cille Folkpark

Hiking along Slieve League Cliffs

Slieve League Cliffs

Sligo, Carrowmore and Galway

Sligo Abbey

Sligo Abbey

Carrowmore Neolithic cemetery

Carrowmore Neolithic cemetery

We had a great evening in Galway, and were able to see live Irish music in two different pubs. We ended the night with Magnum ice cream bars.

High Street in Latin Quarter, Galway

Taaffes

The Quay's

Inishmore, Aran Islands

The ferry to Inishmore took about 90 minutes. Andy booked a great couple of "glamping" bungalows for us right on the water. We rented bikes and explored the island for 28 hours. 

Ferry

Glamping

Glamping

Ben and Meg were excited to try a tandem bike

Dun Aonghasa

Dun Aonghasa

Dun Aonghasa- cliffs here are 330' high

Made it to the tip of the island

Dinner at Joe Watty's. We ordered the oysters. More fish & chips were consumed

On the ferry ride back to Galway, they took us past the Cliffs of Moher, an astonishing 702' high.

Cliffs of Moher

Cliffs of Moher

Back in Galway, we had dinner in the hotel (Eyre Square) and turned in early. Meg and Ben were leaving at 4:15 AM the next morning on a bus to Dublin to catch a flight to the Netherlands for a few days, and Will was taking a 9:45 AM train to Dublin for a flight home the following day.

Catching a train from Galway to Dublin

Dingle Peninsula

Now with just the two of us, we opted to drive around the Dingle Peninsula. We made a number of stops along the way, including famine cottages, Fahan Beehive Huts, Blasket Island History Centre, Gallarus Oratory (built between 7th-8th century). On one stop we saw two enormous basking sharks swimming with their mouths wide open feeding on small fish. We had dinner in Dingle, then drove to our B&B in Killarney.

Feeding the sheep- there were so many cute lambs, too

Where we saw the basking sharks. Blasket islands in distance

Fahan BeeHive Huts

Gallarus Oratory

Killarney National Park and Ring of Kerry

We drove the 111 miles around the Ring of Kerry. We started at Killarney National Park, including touring Muckross House. We also visited the Skellig Experience Museum on Valentia Island.

Ross Castle

Muckross House

Hike to Torc waterfall

Kenmare Stone Circle

Kerry Cliffs Overlook

Blarney, Cork, Cobh

Blarney Castle

Waiting in line to kiss the Blarney Stone

Kissing the Blarney Stone

Cobh

Waterford, Glendalough National Park in Wicklow

Shopping for glass in Waterford

Monastery ruins at Glendalough National Park

Glendalough National Park

Dublin

We had one day in Dublin, and we packed in a lot. We started with the Book of Kells at Trinity college, then ended up getting to 6 additional museums from there. Andy enjoyed one last meal of fish & chips.

Trinity College Library

Irish elk at Natural History Museum

Irish Whiskey Museum- the last museum of the day

Rough sketch of route, starting and ending in Dublin

The Ancestors

On my maternal side, six 3rd great-grandparents and one 2nd great-grandfather emigrated from Ireland (circled in the fan chart here).

• James Tompkins was born in Wicklow in 1821 and emigrated in about 1842. He met and married a fellow Irish immigrant Eliza Stanton in New York. Eliza was born about 1825 in County Mayo and emigrated in 1842 at the age of 17. James and Eliza moved to Renville County MN in 1857, before MN was a state. They had 8 children.
• My 2nd great-grandfather, Joseph Nelson, was born in Monaghan in 1841 as the third of ten children to parents William Nelson (b.1812, Monaghan) and Jane Woods (b.1813, Monaghan). The family immigrated to Canada in 1848, with the birth of a sibling at sea during the journey. Joseph, a blacksmith, died of pneumonia in Marquette MI at age 57. He and wife Elizabeth Bacon (b.1844 in Canada) had seven children.
• Joseph Anderson (b.1819 in Belfast, d.1899 in Ontario) immigrated to Canada in 1824 at 5 years of age. In 1851 he married Jane Diamond (b.1832 somewhere in Ireland, d.1867 in Ontario at age 35, several months after giving birth to her 9th child). Joseph had another three children with his second wife.

My 2nd great-grandmother Clara (front left) with her father James Tompkins (front center). Clara was 8 when her mother Eliza died in 1877 

My 3rd great-grandparents, William and Jane Nelson, date unknown. No pictures exist for their son Joseph Nelson, my 2nd great-grandfather, also born in Monaghan Ireland

My 2nd great-grandmother Johanna Anderson Hudson (b. 1856 in Ontario, d.1932 in Superior WI), 4th child of Joseph Anderson and Jane Diamond (no pictures exist). Johanna was 11 when her mother died in 1867