The Emerald Isle
As pretty as a picture, Ireland has more to offer tourists than just beautiful scenery
- Published: 14/03/2010 at 12:00 AM
- Newspaper section: Brunch
For such a tiny country, Ireland gets a pretty big billing. Hundreds of songs sing its praises, telling of a green landscape brushed with rain, a wild coastline tormented by a windblown sea. Hang on, can this idyll actually be real?
Of course it is. Those songs may be sung with greatest fervour by the hyphenated Irish whose ancestors left Ireland's starving shores in their ragged millions, never to return or forget, but the images still endure.
It doesn't really matter that Ireland has long since outgrown its 40 shades of green and all of the other shamrock-laden cliches that never really did it justice.
DISCOVER IRELAND: Available at all good bookshops for 895 baht.
Ireland may have modernised dramatically, but some things never change. From the lonely, wind-lashed wilderness of Donegal to the postcard landscapes of West Cork, Ireland has retained that staggering beauty that has flummoxed all but the greatest poets; spend a day absorbing the brooding beauty of Connemara or brave the raging Atlantic on a crossing to Skellig Michael and we guarantee you'll struggle to find the words to describe how intoxicating the experience is. Because, despite the trappings of modernity, Ireland remains one of the world's most beautiful countries, and worth every effort you make to explore it.
And we mean, of course, the whole island, including the North - for so long scarred by conflict but now finally engaged in the process of recovery and able to once again parade its stunning self to a world that for so long only heard about the province on the evening news.
Contemporary Ireland is a land of compelling contradictions, the inevitable consequence of marrying modernity and all its noisy demands with the island's age-old charms.
Yes, everyone might appear to be in a hurry, but thankfully there's still time for a slow day and plenty of room for a history so old that much of it is made up, with myths and little people thrown in to fill the gaps.
This is an edited extract from
'Discover Ireland', Lonely Planet Publications,
2010. All rights reserved.
For more information visit
http://www.lonelyplanet.com.
IRELAND IN A NUTSHELL
FIVE DAYS: DUBLIN TO KILLARNEY
Five days only? Well, you'd better get cracking if you want to get the most out of the country. You won't linger too long anywhere, but if you manage it correctly, you'll leave with the country's top highlights in your memory and on your memory card.
1. DUBLIN
A one-day whistle-stop tour of the capital should include visits to Trinity College and the Book of Kells, the National Museum _ archaeology and history _ and the Guinness Storehouse, although make sure you also sample a pint of Guinness in one of the city's collection of superb pubs.
2. GALWAY
On day two, cross the island and make for the capital of the west, Galway city _ a journey that should take no longer than three hours. Once settled in, take a drive into Connemara. You won't get far, but the drive to Oughterard will give you more than a taste of Connemara's stunning beauty. In the late afternoon, return to Galway and soak in the city's aesthetic delights _ a meal followed by a drink (or four) and a live lticeilidh (session of traditional music and dancing) in a traditional old pub like Tig Coili.
3. CLIFFS OF MOHER
On day three, go south, through the Burren towards the Cliffs of Moher, where the crowds are a small price to pay for some of the most stunning views you'll see anywhere. A good base for the evening is Ennis, County Clare's largest town, where you'll find decent hotels and some excellent music bars _ we recommend Ciaran's Bar, unassuming by day but livened up by music at night.
4. DINGLE
Moving south again, cross into County Kerry through the beautiful Connor Pass and make for Dingle, on its eponymous peninsula. The town itself has plenty to keep you there, but it would be a shame to miss the peninsula itself, especially Slea Head and its stunning prehistoric monuments _ not to mention the views.
5. KILLARNEY
On day five, head south once more to storied Killarney, which you should use as a base for the equally renowned Ring of Kerry, a much-trafficked loop around the Iveragh Peninsula. By day's end you should feel exhausted and need another holiday; the good news is that there's plenty more to see and do in Ireland when you next return.
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