Ever been to Ireland?

:whimper:

I want to go to Ireland! It's always been a dream of mine, too... it calls to me. I get all misty eyed whenever I see a commercial for travel there.

:sob:

I don't know what it is... maybe it's the call of blood. Scotland and Ireland feel like home, even though I've never been there - and likely never will be. My mother's line is from England, and I feel almost the same pull there, but not quite. Dad's side has always been the strongest connection. My Highlander many-times great-grandfather came was sent over here in the 16th Century after backing the wrong side against the King of England in the Battle of Worcester.

Irish pubs feel like home to me.



I've never been to Ireland or Scotland, though I'd like to go very much. My wife's been to both. She had to meet with this Scottish laird one time. A car picked her up and drove her out into the country to his estate. Looked like Lara Croft's in Tomb Raider. It was full of suits of armor, huge tapestries and the like. For dinner, he and his wife took her to a run-down little village pub. Seriously.

There's only one way to know more about your ancestry... get involved in genealogy. With the ability now to get DNA information at affordable rates, it's much easier to connect with others in your family who've done a lot of the footwork. The majority are more than willing to share information. If it hadn't been for DNA, I'd have NEVER known about Daniel Robins and his activities in the 1600s. There's a three or four generation gap between my line and Daniel that may never be breached - apparently some of my ancestors made it very difficult to find them, even after death - but that little strand of DNA connected me with a vast amount of info.

On a side note....I am very slim....and do not take up much space. I am also willing to wear pig tails and talk like a little kid if necessary. Sigh. I might even fit inside a garment bag, for take on luggage. Sigh. Just a thought, mind you.

Who is Daniel Robins?

I was in Ireland about 20 years ago - and I keep telling Jersey Guy I want to go back there for our 15th or 20th anniversary. I loved it - the history (I'm Irish on my mom's side), the people (they actually like Americans, and if you're Irish-American, watch out. We got invited back to people's homes for dinner. ), the towns...

See the Ring of Kerry - It was beautiful. Drive along it. You won't be sorry.

The Cliffs of Moher... AMAZING!

Drogheda/Newgrange - a lot of history.

If you're feeling squirrelly - drive through Moll's Gap.

**jealous**

CACTUSWENDY said:

On a side note....I am very slim....and do not take up much space. I am also willing to wear pig tails and talk like a little kid if necessary. Sigh. I might even fit inside a garment bag, for take on luggage. Sigh. Just a thought, mind you.

Who is Daniel Robins?

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Daniel is that Highlander who was fighting on the wrong side against the crown. He's the farthest back ancestor I've got proof I'm related to on my father's side... and it was through the DNA testing.

The test can be as low as $100 and then you can add to it without having to do another cheek swab. I believe for $100 it'll get you a 12 Marker test, which is what we started with and it got me tons of information. Back then, you had to have a male do it... now they can test male or female.

Here's a link for more info.

Hi Gehanna,

I live in Dublin and other few people from AW live in Ireland too, so maybe you'll get a lot of help from us

I would recommend you to check these websites first:

http://www.irishtourist.com/directory/places_to_visit/

http://www.discoverireland.ie/destinations.aspx

Cliffs of Moher are one of Ireland's most spectacular sights as well as the Giant's Causeway and the Ring of Kerry.

When are you planning to come over? Might be a good idea to check any festivals in that period.

How long are you staying? What's your budget?

Me casa et su casa




most likely a couch, mind you...

Gehanna said:

I need to get out of this town and one of the places I dream of visiting is Ireland. Today I begin my planning for travel to Ireland and I do not want to initiate it using a travel agency or web site. I would prefer to begin with recommendations from some of you. If you have ever been there or perhaps you live there, will you tell me what the most amazing sites to see are?

Sincerely,
Gehanna

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Well from Donegal down along the coast, (keeping to the coast) right down to Cork, is flawless. After that, depends what you want.

Paul said:

Me case et su casa

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Did you want to say Mi casa es tu casa maybe?

Paul said:

most likely a couch, mind you...

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Are you on surfing coach?

laurafre said:

Did you want to say Mi casa es tu casa maybe?



Are you on surfing coach?

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Me and su are acceptable alternatives.

well su is anyway...

(and yes, I did)

Gehanna said:

I would like to know more about my ancestry. If I listened to my biological mother, she would have me convinced that I am the daughter of Satan. If that were true, it wouldn’t say much for my mother. Heh!

.

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You're definitely Irish then.

Ireland is a small country,you could visit and stay in every large town in in two weeks.It's also quite expensive, so make sure you have plenty of money . The weather is a bit on the cool side and wet, you will need the right clothing.The best of Ireland is,the food , night life in the pubs,music and the conviviality of the people.

Gehanna said:

Hello stephenf,

Although I have a preference for reclusiveness, I may be willing to check out the pubs. This is provided they are not equivalent to U.S. bars. I detest frivolousness. I realize that may come across as being arrogant of me, but it is not my intention. It is that I find a huge difference between being lighthearted and frivolous. Lightheartedness is a good thing.

Gehanna

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Pubs in Ireland are like nowhere else. That's why nearly every country in the world have 'Irish' bars (which in fact as as far as you could get from an Irish bar.)

Gehanna said:

Hello stephenf,

Although I have a preference for reclusiveness, I may be willing to check out the pubs. This is provided they are not equivalent to U.S.

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I have no idea what bars in the U.S. are like.But, visiting pubs, is not compulsory in Ireland.

Gehanna said:

I've been doing some quick genealogical research and so far the majority of information I have leads me to Wales. I know nothing of Wales. I shall have to remedy that!

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Do you sing? Wales is the Land of Song and the people are well known for their singing. Tom Jones was born there.

I was in Dublin in late March 2004. Dress warmly. It's COLD there, with a lot of rain, which is why it's so green. The people are wonderful, the streets & shops cozy. I was standing around one day when this lady asked me where "the nearest chemist shop was"! I guess I blended in pretty good.
Visit a couple of pubs, but beware: they like their beer warm. GAK.

I was there in October of 1993 and it was beautiful! It maybe rained once in the two weeks I was there - which blew me away, really. But it was cold. Like we had to scrape the frost off the windshield cold.

We started in Limerick and worked our way all around down the west coast, around the south, up the east, and crossed back. Best two weeks ever. Seriously - of all the places I've been, Ireland is my favorite. I can't wait to go back.

I love Ireland An Irish friend took me on a long road trip, all over except for the south. There is so much that is wonderful. Achill was like another planet [One with Hitler posters at that (quite Republican)].

But there is much frivolousness. They're Irish, c'mon (I'm Irish, too)! You may need to go to Austria, Northern Germany or Hungary. Lovely, too... but not so frivolous (ETA: I'm German, too and lived in/loved Hungary, so no insult there, btw).

BTW, it is very green, but we are so green here I was a bit like Huh? No wonder we had so many Irish move in back in the day.