Have you ever visited Ireland? And why?

I hope you enjoy it when you come here. Don't forget to bring your raincoat. I'd love to know what attractions you've heard of.

What a wonderful story. You have visited more places in Ireland than I have and I have been living here all my life. I've been to The Burren in Clare and seen Ailwee cave and I've been to Dingle in Kerry and sailed out to the Blasket Islands. I've also been to the Aran Islands. I've even gone up north to Antrim and seen the Giant's Causeway. But I've still so much to see.

A lot of Americans, Australians and English come here to trace their roots. I think tracing the family tree is very interesting.

You'll have to have an invite. And I only invite people who can participate in healthy debates and don't get insulted easily. LOl!

..just realised you live here too so you'll have to change my sentence slightly..:)

o, and just thought i'd add that it's estimated that there's around 48 million irish passport holders worldwide so many of them would want to see where their family originated from, I know i would..:)

Ok, it doesn't rain ALL the time......just most of the time. LOL! Actually the problem with the rain is that you can't predict it. On the continent people come up to you and say "It's going to rain tomorrow and it's going to rain for 3 days" and it does! Here you just hope for the best. But we are having nice summers now which I think is down to the global warming more than anything else. Unfortunately this seems to mean not as much snow. :(

These days Ballsbridge is practically the city centre and it's one of the most prestigous areas to live. House prices there are among the most expensive in the country. :)

I think that mansion is now the Mount Herbert Hotel. www.mountherberthotel.ie

I can see it being expensive there. The houses were really beautiful but it was cheap because back then it wasn't the center of the city and it was a long trek into Dublin. Can't remember exactly but I think we paid about $20 a day to stay in Lord Robinson's old mansion and that included breakfast overlooking a rose garden.

You should visit Kerry and go to Dingle. And go shopping and socialising in Kilkenny and Dublin. Bunratty Castle is a must and if you can, you should book the banquet there. The rock of Cashel in Tipperary is beautiful. If you head up North you can see the Giant's Causeway which is quite impressive. Those are just some of the places. You can log onto www.ireland.ie and you'll find lots more tips and ideas.

Ahhh, Dublin Airport Hotel....nowhere near Dublin airport.....just like many other places around here........nowhere near anywhere, or out in the arseh*le of nowhere as we say. Having travelled around Ireland so much, there are so many places I could tell you to visit. Bunratty Castle and Folk Park is a must and if you can book yourself in for the banquet, then do. It's a great experience. Dingle in Co. Kerry is beautiful. Travel all around the peninsula and over Connor's Pass for some of the most breathtaking scenery imaginable. I recommend about three days in Dingle to view the sights. Then spend a couple of days in Killarney and visit the National Park, stopping at the Strawberry Cafe in Moll's Gap. If you'd like to see the best of Northern Ireland, then rent a cottage in the Mourne Mountains. Base yourself there for a few days and visit the Giant's Causeway in Antrim. Spend a day shopping in Belfast. I'll trade you all my best Irish locations in return for your Scottish ones as I hope to go back there some day. I visited Edinburgh a while ago and can't wait to go back to do the tours of the vaults at night. Unfortunatley I missed out on those the last time I was there as I spent half the night searching for my car. Oddly enough I misplaced it.

I hope you do get to see it. I was in Canada two years ago and I have relatives that live there. It's very beautiful.

I love your answer dutchess. I'm studying travel and tourism at the moment and it's great to hear why people like yourself actually want to visit here. Just the sort of answer I needed. Thank you!

You're most welcome. I very much enjoyed answering it. I try to keep my answers as honest as I can and to make them as thorough as I can. Keep on posting such great questions and I'll happily continue answering them!

Gosh, it's a small world ukchriss. I lived not too far from Carlow at one stage and knew a lot of people there.

Yes, it is beautiful, especially the hills and valleys.

It sounds like you really love Ireland. I hope you can contact your relatives and come over to visit some time. The weather during the summer seems to be doing quite well here the last couple of years. And this summer is supposed to be the hottest on record.

Sounds like you'll all have a great time properator. I hope you get some good weather when you come over. I've heard this is meant to be the best summer we've had in years. :)

Yes, I've heard that Ballybunion is a great spot for the toursits. I haven't been there yet but I might get to visit this year as I think I'll be staying locally for holidays.

Excellent. Although it is hot and humid where I live in the summer, so I never minded the rain and cool weather much. Me and my family love walking on the beach when it isn't crowded (and when we get a sunny day, Ballybunion gets jam-packed within two hours, you can barely walk anywhere for all the people.

Good luck with the art history. With regard to the food here.....well......we're big into our potatos. You shouldn't have a problem. ;) Seriously though, most establishments will cater for vegetarians. And so do the supermarkets.

Yes, everything is so expensive here. On the few occasions I visited France I stocked up on the winter wardrobe for the family as things were so much cheaper over there.