Our morning started with another whiskey tasting at Sliabh Liag Distillery in Ardara.  It is recorded that Saint Colmcille distilled alcohol as early as 560 AD in the Derryveagh mountains.  Just up the road is the Kilclooney dolmen (in the middle of a farmer’s field) The 3500 BC portal tomb is thought to be one…

County Donegal is nicknamed Ireland’s ‘forgotten county’.  It is a wild, rural place, full of vast bogs, rugged mountains, forlorn coasts and quiet farms!  Donegal was the last county to come under British rule, retaining its Irish heritage throughout the 1500’s; independence was lost during the Flight of the Earls in 1607.  Co. Donegal has…

Sruth in Aghaidh an Aird, the Devil’s Chimney, is listed on the world waterfall database as Ireland’s tallest waterfall at 150m / 492feet.  But the fall does not flow in dry weather.  Powers-court Waterfall, which we visited just outside of Dublin, is quite a bit shorter at 121m but flows all year so there is…

We did one of Ireland’s great hikes today, the Cuilcagh Boardwalk leading to the Stairway to Heaven.  We technically crossed the border into Northern Ireland at Drummans but barely noticed.   This border crossing is in the center of a tiny town and other than a small red ‘crosswalk’ of brick in the road, you wouldn’t…

Today was one of those variable weather days that we associate with Ireland. Overcast but dry when we left Galway, pouring rain in Recess and by the end of the day in Clifton we were both sunburned! North of Galway is Connemara, one of the last remaining Irish speaking areas (a Gaeltacht).  This beautiful area…

We spent most of today exploring The Burren, an area known for its karst landscape.  Among the limestone karst are several important megalithic monuments. Gleninsheen Wedge Tomb is not too far off the road in a farmer’s field. Wedge tombs tend to be regional to Ireland and are thought of as the youngest of the…

It was raining when we woke up, but mostly cleared by the time we got going. We’ve seen ‘the seasons of Ireland’ on tourist shirts, bags, tea towels. Today it was appropriate! The first adventure of the day was to the Cliffs of Moher.  These cliffs range from 390’ to 509’ high.  The lighter coloured…

Today we walked along the Kilkee Cliffs.  Only slightly shorter than the famous Cliffs of Moher (tomorrow’s quest), the Kilkee cliffs are much less busy/touristy and offer a very similar view – even if the weather is back to more Irish like than Hawaii like. The beach below the Kilkee cliffs is full of shallow…