| | With another St Patrick's Day in the rearview mirror, the onslaught and ubiquity of all things Irish seems to dissipate. As if March 17 is the only day of the year that people think or talk or dream about Ireland! Hello? Are you kidding me? | Here at Lonely Planet, we're always wrapped up in Ireland, figuring out when and how to get back there was one of my primary preoccupations during the pandemic. Now that all the restrictions are finally lifted, I can plan my trip to Dublin and County Kerry (still deciding the "best" time to go 😉) !
I picture myself on a deserted Kerry beach, wearing a chunky creamy Aran fisherman's sweater, walking barefoot and just breathing. | | | | | | For today's newsletter, I Zoomed with one of our favorite Irish writers (among many), Lonely Planet author, Úna-Minh (OO'na Mingh, not Min) Kavanagh. It is entirely her fault that my inbox is overflowing with flight alerts for JFK > Dublin. Here's what Una-Minh has to say to me about
the real Ireland. | | | | Q: Where do you come from in Ireland? | A: Well, I was born in Vietnam, and was adopted by a single Irish woman when I was six weeks old. I was raised in County Kerry and brought up bilingually. My granddad was a native Irish speaker from West Kerry, which is essentially an Irish speaking area known as the Gaeltachts, though "Gaeltachts" is not really translatable." | | | Q: Is Irish spoken everywhere? | A: No. Well, a lot of our national signage is bilingual, so if you speak English should be fine. One thing to note, in the Gaeltachts, the signage is in the Irish language as it should be. The most important thing to understand is that it is a way of life in the Gaeltachts to speak the Irish language. | Unfortunately, people often think that it's elitist to learn the Irish language, which is extremely ironic, because the Irish language is the language of the poor. So, to call it elitist, or upper class or whatever, is just ridiculous. It's just a strange, strange concept. | | | Q: How can people learn, well not necessarily, the language, but about it? | A: There are festivals all over, but one that is very particular to Kerry, takes place the day after Christmas, St. Stephen's Day. | Lá an Dreoilín is the "Day (or hunt) of the Wren" (pronounced "Ran"). The story behind it is, according to folklore, the small bird was blamed for alerting people to St. Stephen's whereabouts. And thus, people went out and hunt the wren, but now it's quite jovial! People dress up in these impressive show outfits. | Unlike St. Patrick's Day, it is a festival that few tourists will know about. | | | Q: What questions do you get from people coming in from out of town? | A: Mostly people ask me how easy it is to get around, and Dublin, yes, it's super simple. We have Dublin bus, we have our tram system the Luas, we have an inter-city train the Dart, we have taxis. But public transport works well, so get a leap card! Also, it's a very walkable city. The rest of the country, though, is not so easy to get around, unless you drive. | We do have trains, but there's not one to Donegal, one of the most popular destinations. And Donegal is my second favorite county in Ireland, but that's probably because it looks like Kerry! | | | Q: What are your favorite spots in Dublin? | | Go the Capel Street for food. There's Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Italian. There's also Panti Bar, which is amazing. | | | Q: When should people come to Ireland? | A: May. And the reason is that is the best time to visit our UNESCO Heritage Site, Skellig Michael (also in Kerry and as seen in Star Wars). Obsessed. Obsessed with Star Wars. Anyway, it's a small jut of rock out in the ocean, you take a boat out to it, and in May all the puffins come over. They're so cute and so small. They just run around the island doing their own thing. | | | Q: What's your #1 recommendation? | A: Dublin is great, but there's so much more to see in the countryside where it's just vast stretches of outdoors and beaches. You can go to beach in Ireland and have no one on it. That's how cool it is. You know, certain beaches obviously are more popular than others, but when it's you alone, it's just magical really. • | *This interview was edited and condensed | | | | | The best time to go to Ireland | | | | | | With its famously unpredictable weather, it can be tough to decide the best time to visit Ireland. The good news is that whatever month you decide to go, you'll have lots of things to do. | | | | | | Lonely Planet's team in Ireland has some absolutely banging ideas for your next visit: | | | | | Listen |  | | | The Blindboy Podcast. Blindboy is an Irish writer, comedian, musician and philosopher. Listen to the episode on why the original Colonel Sanders KFC recipe can now only be found in a chip shop in Limerick City and you will understand why he gets over 1.5 million listeners per month. – Fionnuala McCarthy, Editorial Director | | | | Do |  | | | Leap Castle, Offaly. A 13th-15th century castle once owned by the O'Carroll clan, which is often considered one of the "most haunted" places in Ireland. It is being slowly restored by its owner, the musician Sean Ryan, who recites the bloody history of the castle in front of a huge open fire. The so-called "Bloody Chapel" features an oubliette, where the O'Carrolls would drop guests who would then be impaled on large spikes at the bottom of the shaft. – Alison Killilea, Editor | | | | Eat |  | | | O'Mahony's of Watergrasshill, a 200-year-old family-run pub located in a quiet little village in North Cork. Expect an Irish dining experience to remember, with seasonal menus using the finest locally sourced ingredients from artisan producers. Amazing for a group, order a couple of small plates to share and make sure you leave room for dessert! – Emily Carroll, Trade Marketing Coordinator | | | | Shop |  | | | Georges Street Arcade is the perfect refuge on a rainy Dublin afternoon - you could easily lose a couple of hours here trawling the second-hand books, records, and clothing, searching for a cheap and cheerful souvenir in the form of a postcard or print by a local artist, or enjoying a coffee in the basement of Simon's Place, whose walls plastered with concert posters and job ads take you back to a simpler time. – Clare Healy, Product Editor | | | | Read |  | | | Beautiful Pictures of the Lost Homeland by Mia Gallagher is one of the best Irish novels I've ever read. Beautiful, moving, complex and profoundly human, it is an outstanding and rewarding example of contemporary Irish fiction; you won't be disappointed. – Daniel Bolger, Editor | | | | Watch |  | | | Wolfwalkers:This gorgeous, jewel-toned film from Irish powerhouse Cartoon Saloon follows a young girl as she befriends a mysterious wild child in the forest while hunting the last wolf pack in Kilkenny. Based on an Irish folk tale, it's the final film in the Irish Folklore Trilogy from the studio – the first two films, Secret of Kells and Song of the Sea, are also beautiful representations of Ireland's mythical history. – Karen Henderson, Managing Editor | | | | | Úna-Minh is one of the writers of the new book, Experience Ireland, where she shares more of her advice for adventure in Kerry and beyond. | | | | | | Transport yourself to Ireland through music. | | | | | | Become an instant Ireland expert. Save this kick-ass guide. | | | | Where do you want to picture yourself? | Vote and we'll spotlight that location in a future | | | |
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