Hidden Gems Full Of Culture In Ireland

It’s always a good idea to visit Ireland. It has world-class golf, a rich literary tradition, a spirited pub scene (Dublin alone has more than 700 pubs) and castles you can stay in. A recently launched Aer Lingus nonstop flight from Denver to Dublin makes getting there easy. 

WHERE TO STAY

The Shelbourne on St. Stephen’s Green in Dublin has hosted presidents, princes and other notable-quotables. Five-star service. Top-hatted doormen. Award-winning afternoon tea.
theshelbourne.com

A more contemporary option: the Anantara Marker in Dublin’s newly redeveloped Docklands. Reserve a table for Poetry & Places Tea, which celebrates Ireland’s literary heritage.
anantara.com

Photo courtesy of Anantara Marker Hotel | Sleek and modern, the Anantara Marker Hotel overlooks the waterfront on Grand Canal Square in the heart of Dublin’s newly hip Docklands

Out in the country, stay at Cashel Palace Hotel, a handsome Palladian manor at the foot of 12th-century Rock of Cashel. Dine in Michelin-starred Bishop’s Buttery.
cashelpalacehotel.ie

For old-fashioned romance, choose Mount Juliet Estate, a wisteria-covered 18th-century manor with a Michelin-starred restaurant (Lady Helen) in a Wedgewood-pretty dining room. Play the Jack Nicklaus-designed parkland golf course.
mount-juliet.ie

Photo courtesy of Ireland’s Blue Book | The classically decorated drawing room in 300-year-old Cashel Palace Hotel features floor-to ceiling artworks. The hotel’s owners are involved in thoroughbred racing and the hotel has a comprehensive equestrian program

A tiny, 18th-century village rescued by Ryanair airline’s founder, Cliff at Lyons has light-filled, fire-warmed stone cottages with canopied four-poster beds.
cliffatlyons.ie

For highly vetted country house hotels, consult Ireland’s Blue Book at irelands-blue-book.ie.

For unique self-catering stays in lighthouses, castles and other historic properties administered by the Irish Landmark Trust, check out irishlandmark.com.

Overview of Kinsale

WHERE TO EAT

Ireland has 20 restaurants with Michelin stars and six that have been awarded a Bib Gourmand. Must-visit: Dublin City’s two-star restaurants: Chapter One (chapteronerestaurant.com) and Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud (restaurantpatrickguilbaud.ie). Then jump in your car and drive southwest to County Cork, where you can order the four-course tasting menu at 18-seat Chestnut in the village of Ballydehob (restaurantchest-nutwestcork.ie). In historic Kinsale, the culinary capital of Ireland, reserve a table at one-star Bastion. Or grab a seat at the bar for drinks, snacks and a well-curated list of bubbly (bastionkinsale.com). Don’t miss Fishy Fishy (right on the harbor), The Bulman (fresh local lobster and crab), and Finns’ Farmcut, owned by John and Julie Finn (seafood from west Cork trawlers and pasture-raised meat from Chef John Finn’s parent’s farm.
kinsalegoodfoodcircle.ie

OTHER FOOD-AND-DRINK EXPERIENCES

Wild Honey Inn, Ireland’s only Michelin-star pub, has tweedy furniture, a menu that changes daily, and 14 en suite, country-chic guest rooms near the Burren and the Cliffs of Moher.
wildhoneyinn.com

Make chocolate truffles, foraged salads or brown bread at Ballymaloe Cookery School with Darina Allen, the Julia Child of Ireland.
ballymaloe-cookeryschool.ie

Sip an Irish Coffee at the Foynes Flying Boat Museum, birthplace of that legendary libation. Here’s the story: After flying through nasty weather, a transatlantic flight landed at Foynes (Ireland’s biggest airport from 1933 to 1945). The bartender made the passengers a drink “to take off the chill.” The rest is history.

In Northern Ireland, download a map of the Spirits Trail, a guide to 14 distillery experiences, including a two-hour Make Your Own Gin experience at the Belfast Artisan Gin School.

Photo courtesy of Tourism Ireland | One of the narrow winding streets in the coastal town of Kinsale, a designated Irish Heritage Town

The Giant’s Causeway (the result of an ancient volcanic eruption) is a geological wonder, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is located just a few miles from Bushmills Distillery. Sign up for Whiskey on the Rocks—a walk with a naturalist, followed by a tasting of rare-cask Bushmills single malts.
discovernorthernireland.com

Photo courtesy of Tourism Ireland | Northern Ireland’s Ardglass Golf Club offers stunning views of the Irish Sea; the opening five holes are routed across the edge of the cliff tops

BREAKING 80 … OR MAYBE NOT

Some say that golf was born in Ireland, and that can’t be too far from the truth. There are more than 300 courses on an island roughly the size of South Carolina. Ardent golfers will want to play the iconic Portmarnock and Royal County Down. Some lesser-knowns are worth the detour. Dooks (majestic views of Dingle Bay and the brooding McGillycuddy’s Reeks mountains) is not championship but an authentic links experience.
dooks.com 

The Island is famed for its rolling fairways, dramatic sand dunes and fast greens.
theislandgolfclub.com

Ardglass Golf Club in Northern Ireland has views of the water from every hole, and a Norman castle as its clubhouse.
ardglassgolfclub.com

ONLY IN IRELAND

Hop on an eight-minute (weather-dependent) flight from Connemara Regional Airport or take the 45-minute passenger ferry to Inis Meáin in the Aran Islands. Towering cliffs, deserted beaches, prehistoric ring forts and a thatched pub with traditional fiddle music and gin distilled with dillisk (a locally foraged seaweed) await. Shop the Inis Meáin Knitting Company for locally made Irish fisherman sweaters, reinterpreted in cashmere, merino and linen.
inismeain.com

Go beyond the wall at the Game of Thrones Studio Tour (where most of the show’s Northern Ireland-based filming took place) in Linen Mill Studios, in a converted 1900s linen mill near Belfast in Northern Ireland.
gameofthronesstudiotour.com

Take a glassblowing class at internationally recognized Jerpoint Glass Studio, located in a small town near Kilkenny.
jerpointglass.com 

Visit the sixth-generation family-run Cushendale Woolen Mills, with its fully traceable, hand-dyed Irish wool and vintage machinery. Scarves, throws and knitting yarn are for sale in the shop.
cushendale.ie

Stop at Nicholas Mosse Pottery (in an old mill on the River Nore and still hydro-powered) for a workshop tour and tea. Mosse’s cousin has a mill across the river that grinds flour for the café’s bread. nicholasmosse.com

GOOD TO KNOW

Aer Lingus offers nonstop flights from Denver to Dublin that take approximately nine hours.
aerlingus.com

For more information, visit Tourism Ireland (ireland.com) and Tourism Northern Ireland.
discovernorthernireland.com  

Irene Rawlings writes about art, travel, food and interiors for Wall Street Journal’s Off Duty, The Saturday Evening Post, Mountain Living, Hemispheres and other inflight magazines. She lives in Colorado with her photographer husband and two rescue dogs.