Hinchee's Irish Stuff

This page contains Irish travel information and a small collection of links to interesting sites in or about Ireland. This page, first put on-line in 1995, was inspired by the difficulty that my wife and I found in locating such information on the net prior to our first visit to Ireland.

• The Irish Times-national news site.
• Irish Weather
• The Galway Advertiser - a local newspaper.
• Kerry Insight - A guide to county Kerry.
• The Dingle Peninsula - It's a wonderful place.
• County Clare - the Banner County - if you fly into Shannon you arrive in County Clare
• The Burren - a beautiful and unique area in north Clare - see also our photo page
• The Irish Music Box
• RTE Radio - listen to Irish radio live on the net.
• Discover Ireland - published by the National Tourism Development Authority (tourist board). Lots of good information here.
• Blarney Woolen Mills. - we visited Blarney Castle and bought several gifts here.
• Irish Family History Foundation - provides info on the various heritage centers located throughout the country. We visited the Mallow Heritage Center and, although we found no new information, the people were friendly and helpful. See the Mallow Field Club which publishes an interesting journal for this area. See also this interesting Doneraile page.
• Mayo on the Move - a lot of useful information about County Mayo including tourism, history, and genealogy.
• County Map of Ireland - wouldn't want to use it as a road map but it gives a general idea of where everything is.
• Government of Ireland
• An Post - Irish postal service.
• Bus Éireann - bus schedules and fares.
• The Limerick Post - a local newspaper
• House of Ireland - an on-line catalogue of Irish merchandise.
• Hinchee's Irish Photo Page - some of our own photos.
• Irish Stones - there are standing stones, dolmens, ring forts, etc throughout much of Ireland. This web page (in Italy!) has excellent photos and descriptions of some of the major sites.

Getting to Ireland

There are regular flights from the U. S. east and west coast's to both Shannon (west coast) and Dublin (east coast). There are also connections available thru London and other points in Europe.

We made all our own travel arrangements and saved money by buying tickets thru a consolidator.

Driving in Ireland

We rented a car in advance and prepaid in U. S. dollars. There are a number of rental companies to choose from. I recommend checking on-line or calling around and comparing prices. Check your credit card's features. It may cover collision damage. If your card does not or if you are not sure then you should purchase the collision damage waiver.

The Irish drive on the LEFT - the most important thing to remember and constantly concentrate on. The roads are in good physical condition but are very NARROW. The island is small and distances are short but you should allow plenty of time to travel from place to place. Besides there is so much to STOP and SEE. The rental company will probably furnish a map. I recommend purchasing a Michelin map as well.

The Irish are good drivers but impatient and do not follow the speed limits well. It is common practice that, when you are overtaken on a two lane highway where there is a paved shoulder, you are to pull over on the shoulder and let the car following you pass. Thus it occasionally happens that you will see three cars approaching you, one on the shoulder, one in the regular lane, and another passing in the other lane!

Traffic circles serve the same purpose as four-way (or n-way) stops do in North America. These are intimidating to many Americans but we had no problem. Simply yield on entry and move all the way inside when you do enter. You can go around more than once to decide which direction you want to exit (the multitude of small road signs can make it slow to determine where to turn).

Where to Stay

There are Bed and Breakfast's almost everywhere. Be sure and ask to see the room - you may have a choice - and watch the parking situation. This is an excellent way to meet people - we spent hours chatting with the hosts. The Irish breakfasts are fantastic! Except for our first night (we called a couple of weeks in advance to get a room near the airport) we did not call ahead to reserve a room. It would also be a good idea to either arrive early or call ahead for your last night's reservation for a location near the airport.

What to See and More Information

Check the travel section of your local book store for a guide. Information is also available from Discover Ireland.

Visit Hinchee's Genealogy Stuff.