A Trip to Ireland, Epilogue.

A Trip to Ireland, Epilogue.

Summing Up

I enjoyed that. Would I go again? To Ireland yes. To Dublin? Not without a specific reason. I’m glad I went. I feel that I’ve seen what I needed to though. I’d be more likely to take a car across next time (should there be a next time) and explore the south and west of the country. Belfast and the north is another possibility.

The Irish people I met were largely welcoming and friendly. Food was good and the Guinness… well obviously that goes without saying. With the one particular exception it was reasonably priced too.

Getting around, particularly in the Dublin area was dead easy with the Leap Card. The train from Rosslare to Dublin was ridiculously cheap compared to a similar journey in the UK. The ferry experience was far less stressful than I thought it might be. I chose Stena Line partly because of timing but also they were considerably cheaper than Irish Ferries - by almost a third.

On the subject of money

From walking out of my front door to returning to it my spending was as follows:

My hotels cost £837.72

Transport costs (Ferry, Train, and Bus) totalled £261.13

Food and Drink came to £194.90 (no, that wasn't mostly Guinness 😜 )

I make that a grand total of £1293.75

Which looks like a big number (because it is) but of course that’s not all extra expenditure, I’d still have eaten and drunk if I’d been at home and almost certainly travelled by public transport or car too.

I could probably have taken a package holiday on an aeroplane to somewhere stupidly hot with a beach for less. Frankly I’d rather stick pins in my eyes. I’ve done the package holiday thing once, a week on the Algarve in August 2005 - it was her idea not mine. Too bloody hot for me although the place is nice enough. (Actually it's lovely)

The thirty Euros in notes that I brought back from Portugal have now been on a round trip to Ireland as well 😂

And Finally

Having trouble sleeping? Here are 260 photos from my trip for you to look at. 

Either here on Flickr (opens in a new page) or as a slide show below if your viewer supports it.

A Trip to Ireland, Chapter 2.

A Trip to Ireland, Chapter 2.

12th May 2026

I had a wee lie in - it was a very comfortable bed - a cup of tea, a bit of time on the laptop backing up photos, then showered and packed. I checked out of the B&B by dropping my key in the box provided and miming a “thank you and goodbye” to Sue who was busy on a phone call. My train to Dublin wasn’t until 1250 so I had a couple of hours to occupy in Rosslare. First stop Supervalu to pick up some lunch for the trip. The clifftop path above the port where I’d eaten fish and chips the previous evening carries on south east past the RNLI cabin and since it was a sunny morning I decided to follow it and get some exercise before spending two and three-quarter hours sitting on a train.

It was breezy but warm enough that I soon had to take my jacket off. The cliffs tumbling down to the beach along Moran’s Bay were covered in bushes and flowers and populated by small birds. If I squinted a bit I could see Tuskar Rock out in the blue Irish Sea. I’d seen on the map that there was a memorial up here to the 61 victims who perished on 24th March 1968 when Aer Lingus Flight 712, a Vickers Viscount 803 named St. Phelim, crashed into the sea off Tuskar Rock. Despite a long investigation a firm cause for the crash was never established. I wasn’t sure quite sort of memorial to expect but it was so understated that I walked straight past at first without noticing it.

I walked as far as the outdoor gym on a semicircle of grass then turned and walked back towards Rosslare, putting my jacket back on as I was now facing into the chill wind. At the RNLI cabin I turned down the steep steps to the port road and then through the small car park and along the boardwalk to Rosslare harbour Beach. This long sandy strand was populated by just me and a couple of dog walkers. From the beach I made my way to the railway station via the Ferry Terminal building because that appears to have the only public toilets in Rosslare Harbour. I took a seat in the bus stop style shelter on the platform and read my book while waiting for the train. Which was nine minutes late arriving. There is very much not a lot at Rosslare Europort station, one platform, no benches other than the perch in the shelter, no information display, not even a bin bag blowing in the breeze 🙂

On the Iarnród Éireann website where I’d booked my ticket there is a seat picker but it doesn’t give a clue as to which way the train depicted is travelling. Like others before me I took a guess at what would be a forward facing seat on the seaward side of the coach and like others before me I was wrong on both counts. On the plus side my ticket from Rosslare Europort to Dublin Connolly which took over two and a half hours cost only  9.99€ (£8.64). For context a twenty minute ride from my local station to Reading costs between £7.60 and £9.10 depending on the time of day. 

Iarnród Éireann put your name in lights above your reserved seat - not sure how I feel about that - so swapping seats wasn’t really an option, especially as the train filled up as we progressed north and most seats were occupied by the time we left Wexford. The train slowed up considerably passing through the centre of Wexford, running right alongside the quayside and then it followed the River Slaney through Enniscorthy before swinging left to follow the River Bann.

The train did quite a bit of swinging as the line followed most of the bends in the rivers. Nice countryside views though. At Arklow the line turned inland to follow the River Avoca before returning to the coast at Wicklow so I was seeing quite a bit of south east Ireland and by the coast we remained, passing through Greystones, Bray, and Dun Laoghaire to arrive at Dublin Connolly at around ten to four, still nine minutes late. Apparently due to a bridge strike somewhere around Grand Canal Dock station which required a reduced line speed so it wasn't just our train that was delayed. It was only a short walk from Connolly to the Beresford Hotel which would be my home for the next three nights. I checked in and paid my £547.40 which included a late checkout on Friday which I’d forgotten that I’d arranged until the receptionist mentioned it. My room was on the second floor and was large, with a large bathroom containing both a bath and a separate shower. It looked out over a narrow side street called Frenchman’s Lane with Ryan’s bar right opposite and the Dublin Loop Line railway the other side of that at the same elevation as my room. I would get a view of every passing train. I would also know every time that a train passed because the wheels of every train squealed loudly on the curve 😀

Later on I went out for a walk and to get my bearings. In any new city I usually head first to the river so I found my way to the Liffey, walked along Custom House Quay and North Wall Quay for a way and then back into the city along Mayor Street.

It was time to find somewhere to dine. Somewhere not too fancy, where a lone diner wouldn’t be out of place, where good food and beer might be had without arranging a mortgage. By luck I wandered into Madigan’s inNorth Earl Street, an Irish pub with fantastic decor, all polished wood and stained glass and welcoming staff (Gerry and Jackie(sp?)). The food was good too, also the Guinness. Two pints of which and three large sausages with veg and mashed spuds was £30, quite reasonable and the pub was a nice place to spend an hour or two people watching. Even with the "owd fella" at the next table, evidently a regular, doing a fairly good Father Jack impression 😂

After dinner I went for a further explore, down Connolly Street past the famous GPO. However it had turned chilly and I was regretting not wearing a coat so I returned to the hotel via Abbey Street. On the way I popped into Lidl because I fancied some sort of cake. I thought better of it when I saw that the queue for the (self service only 😦) checkouts snaked all the way around the inside of the shop. I pushed my way out through the ‘in’ barrier setting off the alarm because there was no other way out, got a funny look off the security guard, thought sod you pal, and went to Supervalu instead.

Back at the hotel I caught up with YouTube on my laptop, had a cup of tea and a slice of something very sweet and turned in. Despite the fact that the trains were still squealing (fortunately they don’t run all night) I slept rather well.

A Trip to Ireland, Chapter 1.

A Trip to Ireland, Chapter 1.

I have somehow reached my seventh decade without ever visiting the island of Ireland.  I thought I should put that right. I don’t do airline travel so I went by train and boat, meaning I paid a visit to Swansea on the way and a very brief visit to Holyhead on the way back.

10th May 2026

I like to travel as light as I can so at 1100 on a Sunday morning I hefted a 40 litre backpack onto my shoulders and walked to the railway station to catch my first train. This took me to Reading where I changed onto a GWR IET to Swansea. Amazingly both these trains ran on time, quite an achievement for GWR, particularly at the weekend. No one could claim that this was a comfortable ride since the seats on these trains were never designed to be comfortable and are now after some years use quite knackered. I arrived in Swansea at about half past two, too early to check into my hotel so I went for a walk down the High Street to get a coffee and to see what had changed since my last visit in 2019 prior to riding the Heart of Wales railway line to Shrewsbury. I discovered that Castle Square was now a large building site behind hoardings and that Turtle Bay restaurant had closed down so no curried goat for me tonight.

The Grand Hotel is an Art Deco landmark right opposite the railway station so I’d have no trouble getting my train the next morning. It’s also an easy walk to the city centre which would give me something to do that evening. I checked in and was given a nice room on the second floor overlooking the station, despite which it wasn’t noisy.

I settled in, had a cuppa, had a sit down for a while then headed back out for the evening, walking down to the marina and then the beach, along the prom in the evening sunshine, and back into the city centre where I succumbed to the temptations of Taco Bell because it was cheap and easy. Don't @ me.

Once fed I went down to the River Tawe and then back up to the castle and to a nearby bar, Sessions by Mumbles Brewery. Very nice local beers and what’s that you say? Buy one get a second free because it’s still Happy Hour? Oh well, if you insist 😀

Some of Swansea’s finest, who had obviously been on it all day started kicking off. Not sure who upset who but eventually there were five of them all threatening one who they’d decided had upset one of the women and much squaring up and reddening of tattooed necks ensued. A couple of private security people were summoned by radio and the cabaret was curtailed. I finished my free pint and returned to the hotel, on the way passing a tattoo parlour which had a life-sized cardboard cut-out of the actor Warwick Davis inside the doorway and I have no idea why? 

11th May 2026

After a very comfortable night’s sleep I showered, dressed, packed, and checked out with plenty of time to grab some food for the day’s travels before catching the 1104 train to Fishguard Harbour. I had a brief moment of panic entering the station because I couldn’t find my ticket but it had secreted itself inside my wallet when I’d put it in my pocket. Phew!

The station announcer at Swansea that Monday morning seemed to have had too much sugar, peppering his announcements with a variety of funny voices, accents, and inflections. Way too happy for a Monday. The train arrived and I managed to get a seat on the left facing forwards, which would get the best views as we wound our way along the south Pembrokeshire coast before turning north to cross the peninsula to Fishguard. At Fishguard Harbour station the platform is adjacent to the Stena Line terminal, in fact the station is the ferry terminal, no chance of getting lost between train and boat.

I checked in and obtained my “Boarding Card” and “Stena More Members Card”, both actually just flimsy pieces of till-roll paper and took a seat to wait for further instructions. Through the window I could see the boat moored alongside bearing a large three-legged cross with the words “Isle Of Man Steam Packet Company” around it emblazoned on its side. Because Stena Line’s usual vessel was in dock being repaired we would be travelling on a borrowed boat, the somewhat smaller Ben My Chree. (Stena have since sent me an unexpected 20% discount code for any Fishguard-Rosslare or Holyhead-Dublin sailing if I travel before April 27th next year as recompense for not having the usual ship.) 

The only way to get foot passengers aboard was using a minibus to drive us the 100m or so from terminal to ship. Which meant all those who’d driven their own vehicles aboard had got first dibs on the seats while we were still in the terminal. I went up on deck to watch as we left port and for the first time since 2007 I left the UK mainland (if you don’t count the Isle of Wight).

It was breezy but not cold, actually quite pleasant when the sun came out if a little noisy with the exhaust stack adjacent to the public outside deck, so I remained on deck along with quite a few others for the whole crossing. Eventually most of the alarms on the expensive cars below stopped sounding. Except for the big Audi SUV. When I made a brief visit to the heads I discovered that inside the ship was quite as chaotic as I expected and had the weather prevented staying on deck it would have been bloody awful. Three and a bit hours later I got my first sight of Ireland, it was much smaller than I expected:

Oh, but that’s just Tuskar Rock, a ship’s graveyard six nautical miles off the Wexford coast which has 176 shipwrecks listed around it and one Vickers Viscount airliner. The rest of Ireland was appearing off the starboard bow. Another half an hour passed, we arrived in Rosslare Europort and the ship was neatly reversed into a parking spot alongside the seaward jetty ready for us to disembark. 

Which took ages for us foot passengers as once again we waited for shuttle buses. The bus took us on a great loop through the port to Immigration where an Irish Customs lady checked our documents (I’d blown the dust off my passport, not strictly needed because of the UK & Ireland Common Travel Area but I’ve no other photo ID). Then the bus drove all the way back around the port to the terminal building where we were turfed off to make our own way out. I followed the pedestrian signs out of the port, climbed the long steep steps up to the RNLI lookout cabin since it looked like the shortest way and then through the town? village? of Rosslare Harbour to my B&B, Ferryport House. I had a warm welcome from Sue, who pointed out where I’d be able to get food, although I’d already scoped out the local chippy on my way from the port, the facilities of the hotel. She supplied a large bottle of chilled water, explaining that the water in the taps is drinkable but comes from their borehole so I might prefer bottled, handed me my keys and pointed my towards my first floor room. The room was large, the whole place was spotless, the view was of the backs of the semi-detached houses in the next road but who cares for one night, and there was a generous supply of tea, coffee and milk which would put most chain hotels to shame.

Having limited time in Rosslare I had a cuppa and then headed out to explore. First stop Tuskar Takeaway the chippy I’d spotted earlier. I had a Fish Box Meal, fresh fish in batter with homemade tartare dip and mushy peas, chips & drink for €14.95 (£12.95) was good value and delicious. I ate it on a bench in the evening sunshine overlooking the Europort and overlooked by a noisy beady-eyed and ultimately disappointed Black Headed Gull which was perched on top of a lamp post.

I watched Ben My Chree leave harbour and a small sailing fishing boat pass by heading north and then I went in search of what turned out to be a rare commodity in Rosslare Harbour - a litter bin. Having eventually found one and responsibly disposed of my takeaway box I walked down to Rosslare Harbour “town centre”. This is mostly the SuperValu supermarket whose building also contains a cafe/pizzeria, the Post Office, a pharmacy, hairdressers, and a dog grooming parlour. On the other side of the road was a petrol station with a convenience store and “The Dock Boutique Hotel, bar, and eatery”. What there wasn’t was a proper pub. I consulted the map. The Kilrane Inn, in the village of Kilrane 15 minutes walk down the road. Off I went. My first pint of Guinness in Ireland, it had to be done. At €5.80 (£5.02) it would also prove to be my cheapest pint of Guinness in Ireland.

Suitably refreshed I walked back to my B&B as the sun set over County Wexford. I was a little confused on opening the door to my room to find the TV was playing. It hadn’t been when I left so either it was switched on but on a channel that wasn’t broadcasting when I went out or I’d had a visit from a Leprechaun while I was out.☘

I slipped into the largest most comfortable bed in the world and slept like a log.

The next day I’d be in Dublin…