Ireland - Southwest Ireland

Poulnabrone

Overview:

Southwest Ireland has a landscape filled with natural attractions and dotted with small towns. You can see and get a taste for a good section of the area in 2-3 days, but there is more to discover if you slow down and take time to meander the region’s winding driving routes and lesser visited corners.

What I Did:

We set out from Galway and did 2 days in the southwest. Day 1 was spent driving through The Burren and to the Cliffs of Moher before spending the night in the town of Killorglin, at the northern side of the Ring of Kerry. The weather was pretty foggy on Day 2, so we skipped the Ring of Kerry and instead drove through Killarney National Park and Kenmare, did a quick hike at Moll’s Gap and spent the night in Cork.

Moll’s Gap

Neighborhoods/Areas

• Small towns

• Ireland in general is littered with small towns with a few BnBs and pubs. This section of the country in particular has a number of notable ones that serve the natural attractions around them. Some towns are sleepier than others, but if all you need is a bed, a meal and a pint, you can’t really go wrong with any of them. I visited Kinvarra, Killorglin, Adare and Doolin, but there are many others.

• Kenmare

• Kenmare is a small town that normally would fit into the section above, but Kenmare stands out on its own specifically because of its exception culinary scene.

• Cork

• Cork is Ireland’s second largest city. It has all of the amenities that you can expect from a city of its size – coffee shops and bars, shops, etc. – but doesn’t have the pull to compete in tourism with either the surrounding natural attractions in the west/southwest of the island, or the urban attractions that Dublin offers. It does, however, boast a great food scene.   Cork does have some draw for the Irish diaspora, though, as the city (and nearby town of Cobh) was the final embarkation point for many Irish emigrants.

Attractions

• The Burren

• The Burren lies south of Galway, primarily in County Clare. It gets its name from the Irish Boirinn, which means rocky district. That name is perfect for the area - it is a landscape of rolling, rocky hills and contains some prehistoric sites. 

• Poulnabrone

• Neolithic tomb in The Burren.

• Burren Perfumery

• We were pointed in the direction of the Perfumery by a local and it was a great stop to break up our day. Aside from the perfumes and skin products they make, they also have a great tea shop that served the best strawberry jam I’ve ever had in my life.

• Adare

• Small town that bills itself as “Ireland’s Prettiest Village”

• Cliffs of Moher

• Arguably Ireland’s most famous – or at least instantly recognizable – attraction.

• Cliffs of Kilkee

• The Cliffs of Moher’s little brother – smaller, less dramatic, and less visited, but still beautiful.

• Ring of Kerry

• A scenic drive around the Iveragh Peninsula in southwest Ireland’s County Kerry. Its 179km-long, circular route takes in rugged and verdant coastal landscapes and rural seaside villages.

• Blarney Castle

• Home of the famous Blarney Stone

• Rock of Cashel

• Historic site in Tipperary that has been a castle and cathedral, and now is largely ruins.

Food & Drink

• Siar (Kinvarra) – Coffee shop and café

• Franciscan Well Brewery & Brewpub (Cork)

• The English Market (Cork)

Burren local