Ireland 2023

May 18-19, 2023 – Travel Day 1 & Day 2 – Dundee to Halifax to Toronto to Dublin to Galway

Accommodations: Park House Hotel, Galway

Travelled twice with Brack and believe me, you will never have a worry.

After three postponements, the second leg of the Ireland trip was a go. I travelled to Ireland in 2019 with Brack Tours. The second part of the trip was to take place in 2020, but Covid raised its ugly head and prevented the trip from happening until 2023.

As departure day approached, many people reached out to wish me a wonderful trip and to ask if I was excited. I was more anxious than excited, as I felt at the last minute something would occur, and the trip would not happen. 

Day 1 – On May 18 I left home at noontime for the three hour trip to Halifax Airport. I left the car at the Park N Fly and it was not until I was inside the airport that I allowed myself to finally become excited. It was indeed going to happen. I met up with Laura, my roommate on the first trip, and her daughter, Krista, just after arriving at the airport. It was so nice to see Laura and meet Krista. Unfortunately it was not a direct flight this time, as it had been in 2019. I was travelling Air Canada, departing Halifax at 6pm bound for Toronto. I have never had much luck travelling with Air Canada, so I was assuming missed connections and/or lost luggage. 

We checked in and then waited for a couple of hours before boarding and departing for Toronto. We arrived in Toronto at 7:34pm and had about 1.5 hours before boarding and departing for Dublin. We departed Toronto at 9:05pm arriving in Dublin at 8:15am. My luggage arrived and the flights were fine, which says a lot for someone who really doesn’t like flying, and clearing customs was easy. Several people were returning from the 2019 trip. We met up with others who had flown in from various parts of the US and Canada. At last my feet were on Irish soil once again. My heart was truly happy. 

Dublin Airport

Day 2 – We are off and running. Our first stop was Tyrrellspass for breakfast at The Village Hotel Browne’s on the Green. It would be the first of several Irish breakfasts. Breakfast is one of my favourite things when travelling.

Browne’s on the Green
Browne’s on the Green breakfast stop.
St. Sinian’s Church in Tyrellspass

Our next stop was Athlone Castle in Athlone. The Castle dates back to the 12th century. It was built for King John by his Irish representative, Bishop John de Gray of Norwich.  It was built on the River Shannon and was strategically placed to provide a bridgehead to assist with the Norman evasion into Connaught. It reopened in 2020 after a multimillion euro renovation as a visitor centre. 

Colourful river boat
Athlone Castle sign
Athlone Castle
Cannon
Church of St. Peter and St. Paul – Athlone
A happy busker

From the Athlone Castle we had a very short walk to the oldest pub in Ireland, Sean’s Bar where we were treated to an Irish Coffee. Timmy Donovan ,of Sean’s Bar, gave a talk on the history of the bar, whiskey, moonshine, etc. Timmy was a wealth of information and very entertaining.  As Dennis (bus driver/tour guide) said, ‘Timmy doesn’t let a lie get in the way of a good story’.

Sean’s Bar
In the window of Sean’s Bar
Sean’s Bar – oldest pub in Ireland
Timmy Donovan, master storyteller, and Dennis Carrol, driver/tour guide extraordinaire.
Letter from Guinness World Records recognizing the pub as the oldest in Ireland.
Certificate from Guinness World Records

Once we left Athlone we made our way to Galway, our stop for the next two nights at the Park House Hotel, Galway. We had a welcome reception to meet and greet one another, a beautiful supper, before our first, of several evenings of entertainment by Evans and Doherty and Tom Sweeney.

A sample of our group meal. I had Iced Galia Melon & Seasonal Fruits with Raspberry Coulis, Stir Fry Beef Park House with Basmati Rice (and a side of mashed potatoes which is part of the meal) and Fresh Fruit Pavlova. My first time having Pavlova….I love it.
Pavolova

We were all exhausted by the end of the night. I had gone 37 hours with very little sleep, only dozing briefly on the flight from Toronto to Dublin. If I do a tour like this again, I’d fly in the day before and join the tour the following morning. 

Our first musical session. Yes, I was pretty much under the table at this point. Exhausted.

This is the first of 8, maybe 9, posts about my trip to Ireland. Please leave a comment if you wish. Comments are fun and make the blogging worthwhile. If you have any questions, please ask. All photos taken by myself unless otherwise noted.