Southwest Ireland - Counties Clare, Limerick, Kerry, and Cork

The Cliffs of Moher are gorgeous. Stay away from the edge as the rock-face is not always stable.

UPDATED: 2/4/2023

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I have always loved Ireland for its beauty, history, and accents. In the 1870s my great-great grandmother and grandfather emigrated (likely separately) from County Cork, Ireland, to San Francisco, California, where they married. So, for my first trip abroad in April 2005, it’s no wonder that Ireland topped my list. This was the first official trip Dustin and I took, and we went with my (now) in-laws who had been to Ireland several times before and helped orient us and planned all the details of the 5-day road trip (an approximate map of the journey is at the bottom of this blog).

April weather in Ireland was interesting. Sunny skies would give way to clouds and rain, rainbows, and even sleet and back to sun – all in the matter of a few hours. It was generally chilly, but April is outside of the peak tourist season so Ireland is much less crowded. The country roads were an interesting challenge with confusing signage and driving on the left. Luckily, one of my traveling companions took the driver’s seat on this trip.

The highlights of the road trip – generally speaking – were checking out incredibly old cemeteries filled with Celtic cross headstones, churches, and other ancient sites, as well as hanging out in pubs. I learned that pubs are really nothing like any sort of restaurants in America. In Irish pubs, you can hang out in the them all day, periodically ordering food and drinks, staying cozy when it was cold out, and most have live Irish music periodically for entertainment.

The bright buildings of Doolin cheered up even gray skies!

Southwestern Ireland road trip: shannon to doolin

After landing at Shannon airport bright and early in the morning (local time), we hit the road and headed north to Doolin, about an hour away. We spent the first couple of days in Doolin, along the western coast. The town is quaint with brightly colored houses to liven up the gray coastal weather.

Doolin is a great place from which to journey to some of the local spots: Cliffs of Moher (we were pretty much the only ones there when we went but it’s very popular), The Burren (an otherworldly place wherein lies the Poulnabrone Dolmen), and other spots like the town of Lisdoonvarna, Kilfenora Cathedral, and Noughaval Church. Located in Doolin is a great pub: Gus O’Connor’s where we went for dinner, drinks, and listened to one of several Irish music sessions on the trip. We stayed at the Sea View House, which was a nice accommodation and very similar to many of the other small B&Bs/homes we stayed in on the trip.

When driving along the small roads of Ireland take your time, and watch out for traffic jams.

The portal stones of Poulnabrone dolmen in the Burren

Old ruins very interesting and are everywhere! Something we just don’t have back home in America.

Wandering the grounds at Kilfenora Cathedral..

Southwestern Ireland road trip: doolin to dingle

On the route to Dingle, we drove through the town of Tralee and visited Ardfert Cathedral. One aspect of exploring so many of these ruins and churches in Ireland that we truly loved is that they are basically just sitting there available for people to explore on their own. There is nothing 'touristy' about any of the ones we visited. We never ran into anyone else at them. It was just a nice, peaceful experience exploring the ruins in a beautiful landscape surrounded by all that history. I very much recommend a driving trip around Dingle Peninsula. You’ll find incredibly blue, Caribbean-esque water off the coast and can check out the clochán (Beehive Huts) that were lived in during prehistoric times about 6,000 years ago. Suffice it to say that while they don’t have bees in them, they look as uncomfortable to live in as if they were loaded with bees. In Dingle, we stayed at The Lighthouse B&B.

Dingle was one of the larger towns we stayed in.

Southwestern Ireland road trip: dingle to kenmare

Onward to Kenmare in County Kerry, we drove over Conor Pass, one of the country’s highest mountain pass roads, to a beautiful view of the lakes of Killarney. We visited Ross Castle, which is believed to have a tie to my ancestors; however, in my own genealogical research I haven’t quite found the link. And we drove the winding roads of Beara Peninsula. In Kenmare, we stayed at Oakfield.

The view from Conor Pass was spectacular with an overlook to the lakes of Killarney.

We did a short stop in Ennis , County Clare, before spending a final night in Shannon to be near the airport. While we crammed a lot into the 5 day trip, I’d love to go back at a more leisurely pace for more hiking and exploring! I'm even willing to drive on the 'wrong' side of the street next time!

literature to inspire your travels to ireland

For a complete list of the books we have read that either take place in Ireland or are written by Irish writers, go to our book list here. For a sampling of recommendations, you may want to check out this grouping that cover different aspects of the Irish literary scene:

Milkman by Anna Burns - This contemporary novel won the 2018 Man Booker Prize in Fiction and covers the Northern Ireland situation. Readers typically either love it or hate it (I loved it), and the best way to decide if it is for you is to answer this question: Do you like ridiculously long sentences in a stream-of-consciousness style (a la Virginia Woolf and James Joyce)? If yes, this book is for you. If no, skip it!
Himself by Jess Kidd - This contemporary (2016) Irish mystery was both short- and long-listed for a few awards. While the genre of the book is definitely ‘mystery’ - it’s not your typical mystery novel and is much more literary in style. The book evokes the haunting, Wuthering Heights-esque feeling that feels part-and-parcel of the Irish landscape and culture.
Normal People by Sally Rooney - This contemporary novel by up-and-comer Rooney deals with the complexity of class and generation. It is most likely to appeal to adults in their 20s and 30s given the subject matter as a coming-of-age novel. Read our more detailed review of it here.