In Dublin we stayed at the Clontarf Castle hotel, in a very nice neighborhood about a 10 minute bus ride from downtown (the #130 bus which cost 1.30 euro each - very easy to remember). We did a ton of walking - we began at Trinity College where we saw the Book of Kells (unbelievably ornate detail). We saw the Dublin Castle and Christ Church Cathedral before reaching the Guiness factory. They have an unusual bar at the top of a tower that resembles a giant pint glass.

For the "Coast and Castle" tour, we hired Colette to drive us up the coast a bit - highlights were the Bailey Lighthouse (could have hiked here for hours), the fishing village of Howth, and the Malahide Castle.

The train from Dublin to Killarney too three and a half hours. The weather was what we expected, a bit misty with breaks of sun here and there. The Randles Court hotel was a quick 5 minute cab ride from the train station. It was a short walk into town, which had about every type of shop you could imagine.

It took over two hours to drive from Killarney to Shannon. In Shannon we stayed at the Fitzpatrick Bunratty, right next door to the Bunratty Castle. The Cliffs of Moher was about an hour drive from Shannon, but definitely worth it.

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