Ireland For Dummies

Liz Albertson worked as an editor for Frommer s Travel Guides for four years before making the leap to the other side of the computer as the author of Ireland For Dummies. When she isn t researching and writing, Liz spends much of her time in Ireland sitting in on traditional music sessions, fiddle in hand. During the school year, Liz teaches middle school Science and English in New York City, where she lives with her husband, Hugh, and her adopted African cichlid fish, Rocky. Liz welcomes feedback and suggestions for the next edition of the book at ejalbertson@yahoo.com

Introduction 1 Part I: Introducing Ireland 7 Chapter 1: Discovering the Best of Ireland 9 Chapter 2: Digging Deeper into Ireland 20 Chapter 3: Deciding When and Where to Go 37 Chapter 4: Following an Itinerary: Four Great Options 45 Part II: Planning Your Trip to Ireland 53 Chapter 5: Managing Your Money 55 Chapter 6: Getting to Ireland 63 Chapter 7: Getting Around Ireland 68 Chapter 8: Booking Your Accommodations 76 Chapter 9: Catering to Special Travel Needs and Interests 83 Chapter 10: Taking Care of the Remaining Details 91 Part III: Dublin and the East Coast 99 Chapter 11: Dublin 101 Chapter 12: Easy Trips North of Dublin: Counties Meath and Louth 168 Chapter 13: Easy Trips South of Dublin: Counties Wicklow and Kildare 179 Chapter 14: The Southeast: Counties Wexford, Waterford, Tipperary, and Kilkenny 198 Part IV: Counties Cork and Kerry 235 Chapter 15: County Cork 237 Chapter 16: County Kerry 271 Part V: The West and the Northwest 307 Chapter 17: Counties Limerick and Clare 309 Chapter 18: County Galway: Galway City, the Aran Islands, and Connemara 338 Chapter 19: Counties Mayo and Sligo 370 Chapter 20: County Donegal 390 Part VI: The West and the Northwest 401 Chapter 21: Counties Derry, Fermanagh, and Tyrone 403 Chapter 22: Belfast and County Antrim418 Chapter 23: County Down 439 Part VII: The Part of Tens 447 Chapter 24: Top Ten Traditional Irish Dishes and Drinks 449 Chapter 25: The Top Ten Items to Buy in Ireland 451 Appendix: Quick Concierge 453 Index 458