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Travel : Emerald Isle

Matt and I left for Ireland on Thursday 20 April 2000. We flew Aer Lingus from Heathrow airport over the Irish Sea which separates Ireland from Great Britain. From Dublin airport we hired a Corsica (Umm, that's a Corsa Niks!) and travelled into the city. We dumped our luggage at the 4 star Brooks Hotel in Drury Street and ventured towards Temple Bar.

These cobbled streets between Dame Street and the Liffey are named after Sir William Temple who acquired the land in the early 1600s. The term "bar" meant a river-side path. Today it is an exciting place, with bars, restaurants, shops and galleries. We found an excellent restaurant here where we sampled our first guinness and enjoyed a delicious lunch.

After lunch we meandered our way towards the north bank of the river Liffey. Here we came across one of Dublin's most popular and most photographed sights - the Ha'penny Bridge. This is an attractive high-arched foot bridge which is made of cast-iron and is used by thousands of people every day to cross Dublin's river. The bridge originally opened in 1816 and received its nickname from the halfpenny toll that was first levied on it. The toll was scrapped in 1919 but the nickname has stuck.

That evening Matt and I went out in search for a traditional Irish pub with live music. We had read that "Slattery's" was the best pub in the city for live music. When we arrived ththere, just north of the Liffey, we were bitterly disappointed as it seemed quite dodge. So we turned back towards Temple Bar. What a luck when we found a pub called "Fitzpatrick" where we not only found traditional Irish music but also traditional Irish dancers. We also bumped into Roonie and his cousin, so proceeded to have a festive time. On Good Friday we woke up with a bit of a hangover. Due to the fact that it was a public holiday no pubs or restaurants were open until much later in the evening, so we decided to do a Hop on Hop off bus tour around Dublin.

We had wanted to visit Dublin Castle, the Old Jameson Distillery and the Guinness Brewery and Hopstore, but these were all closed due to the public holiday. We did however see Christ Church Cathedral which is Ireland's oldest cathedral. We then spent some time at the Kilmainham Gaol. During its 130 years as a prison, it housed many of those involved in the fight for Irish independence. The tour of the Gaol included viewing the dank cells, the prison chapel and the prison yard. The Gaol finally closed in 1924.

Our next stop was Trinitiy College. It was founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I on the site of an Augustinian monastery. Originally a Protestant College, it was not until the 1970s that Catholics started entering the university . We thoroughly enjoyed Trinity's lawns and cobbled quads which provide a pleasant haven in the heart of the city.

On Saturday we left early for the village of Kenmare to meet up with Brends, Charlie Jean Difford, Sarah Dacomb, Murray Steyn and Duncan James. Our drive there took us approximately 5 hours. Brends had left us a note at our hired cottage to say that they had gone fishing and that we should find the fishing shop in the village to obtain directions. So we set off for the fishing shop and from there went in search of the fishermen. We enjoyed a lovely afternoon's fishing in picturesque salmon waters near a castle ruin. The scenery was typical of Irish countryside. The intermittent rain and coldness did not deter the fishermen and they persevered in the quest of catching a salmon. The girls, however, huddled in the 4X4 warming their cockles with brandy and coke.

That evening we enjoyed a delicious dinner in a local pub and then proceeded to have an absolute party at the cottage listening to Irish music and consuming vast amounts of guinness and red wine. A very hung over Easter Bunny woke up early on Sunday morning to hide the eggs. She mistook some nettle bushes as a superb hiding place and so much to everyone's delight a few hands were stung during the morning's hunt.

After a hearty breakfast we decided to experience the Beara Peninsular scenic drive. Along the way we enjoyed exploring rocky outcrops and rugged mountains on foot as well as panoramic views of the specatacular Irish coastline. At one of the local fishing ports we enjoyed a lovely lunch before heading back to our cottage in Kenmare for roast leg of lamb. The following day we explored the Ring of Kerry around the Iveragh Peninsula, one of Southern Ireland's highlights before flying back to London.