Next week I will set off for a long overdue 2-week visit to the Irish Republic, subjecting my BMW 320d to the 4-hour ferry ride from Pembroke to Rosslare. We'll visit Dublin (advised to stop short of actually taking the car into the city!), go across to Galway, and continue the anti-clockwise tour. Would very much appreciate the experience of other Backroomers - do's or don'ts or other advice. I gather fuel is cheaper in this part of the Euro world, as on the Continent of Europe.
Oz (as was)
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Hi Oz, I'm from Ireland, and go back several times a year. (These days, it seems that most of my driving in Ireland,'cos I don't own a car over here).
Fuel is cheaper in Ireland -- not hugely so, but enough to make it worthwhile going there with an emptish tank and coning back with a full one. However, most other prices are noticeably higher than England, so don't expect a cheap holiday.
Traffic volumes used to be much lower than England, but sinvce the economy boomed in the nineties, that's changed. Dublin and its surroundings get very clogged: if you're going there, then it's a much easier to park in Greystones or Bray and take the DART train into the city -- it's a modern electric job, very useful.
Outside of Dublin, traffic isn't nearly as bad as England, tho the bigger towns do clog up badly. Motorways are a recent thing, rarely go all the way betwen major cities, and are mostly 2-lanes. The N-roads (equivalent of A-roads) are of variable quality: some really old, slow and narrow stretches where overtaking can be impossible for miles, interspersed with newer stretches. The new bits are difft to English A-roads: very wide single carriageway each direction, usually with a wide hard shoulder.
Other than on the new N-roads, road surfaces are variable, and can be very poor in places. Rural roads can also have sudden blind corners etc, and aren't anywhere near UK standards -- watch out!
In general, Irish driving standards have improved a lot in the last decade or so, and the manic tailgating which used to be common now seems less so. However, in the towns and cities, people still barge and shove a lot.
I can't remember whether any of the planned speed cameras have been installed yet, but human-controlled speed traps are more common than in England, and seem to be on the increase since a points-system was introduced a year or two back.
If you're going anti-clockwise from Galway, you may like to try the ferry across the Shannon estuary, from Trabert to Killimer -- a lovely journey, which avoids Limerick City. Further southm you'll find that the Ring of Kerry gets pretty clogged with tourist trafic in the summer -- progress can be slow.
Have a nice holiday!
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If you go direct from Rosslare to Dublin you'll pass through my old stomping ground in Co. Wicklow, which is worth a visit for the scenery. Take the time to cruise through the Vale of Avoca, which is utterly beautiful. Climb Lugnaquilla, the highest peak in the county, which I climbed aged 11. Visit Glendalough (but don't eat there, it's awful) and drive through the Wicklow Gap to Blessington Lakes. Call into the Porterhouse Inn on the seafront in the town of Bray for three unique pints of stout, including Oyster (which really is made with oysters). This is one of the two reasons why you should bother to visit Bray.
If you must visit Dublin, do not under any circumstances try to drive into the city between 6.30-10.30 a.m., nor should you try to leave it between 4.00-7.00 p.m. If you don't mind being on foot, you could park the car in Bray and take the DART train into the city - much quicker than driving (that's the other reason to visit Bray). Get out at any station after Lansdowne Road and before Connolly Station for easy access to the city centre.
If your route takes you from Galway through Co. Clare, explore the Burren - it's a wild and desolate Atlantic landscape. The Cliffs of Moher are the highest sea cliffs in Europe as far as I remember - when I was there, you yourself were responsible for not falling over the edge, as the six-inch high fence at the edge of the footpath wasn't much of a deterrent. Bring waterproofs rather than an umbrella unless you fancy giving Mary Poppins a run for her money. Find Ailwee Caves which I visited age 9 and I still have the souvenir to prove it.
On the western side of the country make the time to explore the Ring of Kerry and Killarney. Take the trip down to Dingle and Ventry, have a swim in the sea with Funghi the dolphin.
Try to include a night in Kilkenny town - it's kind of in the middle of the country, but well worth a visit.
On a practical note - dual carriageway speed limits are 60 mph, not 70, but this shouldn't really be a problem as they can't put points on your licence ... Give Way signs are nowhere to be seen, it's "YIELD Right of Way" instead. Pay attention to black arrows on a yellow background, this usually means extremely sharp bends in the direction indicated. Junctions are signed like this as well.
One important thing to remember is that there are still plenty of people driving on Irish roads who may have never had a lesson. Exercise all the usual caution, only more so. Pay heed to "Accident Black Spot" signs, it means people have died not being careful enough at that point.
Some of the rural roads will test your suspension to the limit. or even helpfully find the limit for you. Tractors, lorries etc will sometimes pull over onto the hard shoulder to let you by - a couple of flashes from your hazards once you have passed someone who helps you out like this shows your appreciation.
Complete strangers will wave at you as they drive past - this is normal. Dublin is different from the rest of the country. Distances are measured in kilometres (white lettering on a green background), speed limits are still expressed in miles for now (look similar to UK signs). If you're in a remote area and the road sign looks something like this
____________
GALWAY 18 \
Gaillimh____/
and is black lettering raised off a white background, those are the old ones and are still in miles.
And if you manage to head up to the wee north, I'll buy you a pint!
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andymc
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Boo, my road sign doesn't look right.
NoWheels, you hit the reply button while I was still typing. I didn't realise you were from the oul sod - Cár as thú?
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andymc
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Hi Andy, I'm a Dubliner :(
But my mum's family is from the North-West, so I'm not all bad!
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As one with Irish connections that is a good post No Wheels.
Just a couple of points I would add. Dublin and the major cities suffer from a surfiet of young folk who move about in packs which can be a bit intimidating at night to the more senior person. Youth also means a drug and crime connection and its there in Eire so watch your property in the motor. Beware of Tinkers, especially kids begging and trying to tap you for pennies. None of this in frightening proportions merely be on guard.
Great place to have a holiday. Stop at a village in the Country and sniff the smell of turf burning. Magical. Food tastes so better and those rashers.
We listen to Radio Eirean on the radio. Used to be 567 MW but they are doing repairs to the transmitter at Tullamoor and have now moved to 252 Long Wave. We get it clear as a a bell in Northern England. Listen in Sat nights 9 -10pm and Sunday morning 8.15 - 9 am for great music.
Oh, the Irish are not great getter uppers on a morning. Only seem to come awake just before noon.
DVD
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Don't be embarrassed about being a Dubliner NoWheels - I grew up in Bray :(((
It's not the Dublin people I have a problem with (on the contrary), I'm just city-phobic most of the time - the congestion, the noise, the crowds ... I chose a life in the sticks where the nearest shop is 2 miles away and the nearest town 15. The air is clean and the only time I get woken by the sound of fighting is when the birds squabble over breadcrumbs.
Anyway, back to motoring ... ;)
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andymc
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I'm embarrassed with riches (if that's the right expression) - so much thoughtful and useful info which I will definitely check out. Many thanks NW, Andy & DVD.
H'm, confirms and adds to what an Irish colleague of mine said: "Don't be in a rush to get places." In any case this was not my intention, just to get there intact.
Having booked some of the key elements of the accommodation I have also formed the impression: Allow plenty of time for conversations with the locals!
Will certainly be visiting Kilkenny - part of SWMBO's ancient ancestral trail. Looking forward to it all.
Oz (as was)
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Motoring in southern Ireland and mixing with perhaps the world's most friendly and hospitable people is a truly wonderful experience.
I've been lucky enough to visit parts of southern Ireland that most people never see and the scenery is fantastic.
You often won't see a another vehicle for 20 to 30 minutes so the locals tend to drive everywhere flat out and cut corners - on more than one occasion ABS proved a lifesaver on blind bends.
On the two lane roads which have a yellow line on the left hand side to indicate a form of hard shoulder, slower local drivers are usually quick to spot traffic coming up behind and move over to allow easier overtaking.
However, as some have pointed out, some of the roads can be a bit rough and care is needed on them not to damage the suspension or bodywork.
Believe me, as others have pointed out, you'll have an absolutely fantastic time - I'll raise one of my regular pints of Guinness when you set off...:-)
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One more thing to be aware of.
In Eire, it is a legal requirement to carry your licence whilst driving. A colleague of mine got caught out by this and spent several hours in the care of the Garda until someone else brought his licence to the station.
As others have said, don't expect to get anywhere quickly - Irish time is very different to UK time!
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I've visited Ireland the last two years and driven on both occasions. First time to south east - Wexford, Waterford and a day trip to Cobh (great place in you are interested in the Titanic). Second trip to west coast - Limerick and Galway. Driving there reminds me of Scotland - decent main roads with very little traffic. Ignore distances on road signs in rural areas they are sometimes in miles and sometimes km, but it doesn't tell you which unit the sign is in.
Someone mentioned the wide hard shoulders on N roads. Slower traffic generally pulls over to let you pass - this is courteous, but make sure there is nothing coming! Also consider pulling over yourself if you are being followed by faster traffic.
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Don't forget your headlamp deflectors - you are going abroad, after all...
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All great advice above, especially about slower traffic using the hard shoulder to allow faster traffic to pass.
I've always found driving in the Republic to be very relaxing, apart from the centre of Dublin. Going the wrong way up a one way street in Cork also raised the blood pressure a bit...
I'm in Kilkenny myself from Wednesday 11th to Sunday 15th for a wedding. If you see a red R reg Passat around, drag me into Langton's for the best pint of Guinness ever!!
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One of my best mates has an Irish background that goes back many centuries and he told me recently that he actually experienced one of the great Irish myths whilst visiting relatives and friends by car.
He got lost in a small southern Ireland village and came to a Y junction. Casually leaning on a bicylce at the junction was a young member of the Garda, so he asked him which way he should go to get to his destination.
The officer duly thought for a few moments and then declared, with great care: "If I was you, I wouldn't start from here."
Turned out that what he really meant was for my mate to retrace his steps and set off again on the correct route.....
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The officer duly thought for a few moments and then declared, with great care: "If I was you, I wouldn't start from here."
It's a kind of a standing joke which we play on tourists ;-)
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Read the posting again and don't make assumptions...:-)
My mate isn't, in this case, a tourist.
The officer in question was actually trying to say that my mate should go back to where he had begun that day's journey and set off in a different direction.
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Hi Oz,
I live in Dublin and agree with all of the excellent advice given by other Backroomers.
The only piece of advice I would add is to try and avoid travelling from the East coast (Rosslare or Dublin) to Galway during evening rush hour, expecially on Friday. The ring road around Dublin (M50) and the main route West (N4/M4) gets extremely congested.
Parking in Bray and getting the DART into the city is definitely the easiest way into the city.
Enjoy the trip,
DF
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Do try to make it on round the top through N.Ireland, go see the Giants Causway and the Carrick a reade rope bridge between Portrush and Ballycastle, then follow the Antrim coast road round the coast and down to Belfast.. which provided it is not on a weekend is a cracking drivers road.
Also do not miss the aqurium in Galway. It is better than the one in Portaferry in the North.
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Yep, I live less than half an hour from the north coast (wife works in Ballycastle) and these are great places to take visitors. Plus tourist traffic is relatively low in comparison to the south, so you get held up less. Somehow though I think that seeing the north as well as all other places mentioned is ambitious for just a two-week visit. I strongly recommend you try to include it on the itinerary for the next trip though, the contrasts and similarities between north & south are interesting.
First time I went over Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, I tried to do it hands-free - made it about three-quarters of the way over before the yo-yo motion of the bridge forced me to grab on or plummet into the sea! On the way back I foolishly volunteered to help out a harassed father who had three youngsters to contend with, when only two people at a time are permitted on the bridge. I held the hand of his daughter to take her over - she was about four, and she froze half-way across!
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andymc
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As departure time looms may I say once again, very many thanks to all the above contributors who have provided so much authoritative advice! Needless to say this has all been printed out and will form a vital part of our info kit.
Will add my impressions on my return!
Oz (as was)
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Just got back after our 950 mile tour of the Republic. What a great and charming place!
One or two hairy moments e.g. when rounding a left-hander on a narrowish single carriageway in the countryside, I was confronted with an HGV coming the other way, using more than his 50% of road. Not a lot of room to spare between him on one side and the embankment to my left, so SWMBO heard one or two words she didn't know existed in my vocabulary. Likewise when I failed to notice a pothole in time.
The yellow dashed line to the left of many roads, providing extra pull-over space to allow overtaking, seemed to work well.
Parking could be tricky, especially as most major towns were severely double yellow-lined. However, I loved the pragmatically casual attitude: we parked in a town (which shall remain nameless), opposite our B&B. Asked about the Pay & Display arrangements, our landlady replied: "Just ignore it. That's only for locals. You (with a GB plate) won't get a ticket. If you do, just tear it up. They won't enforce it because it would cost them too much."
Not the case elsewhere I hasten to add, where I gather defaulters get clamped.
Many wonderful places to visit by car (e.g. the Connemara area and the Dingle peninsula), and one best visited without a car (the Guinness brewery in Dublin).
Many thanks once again to for Backroomers' spot-on comments. More visits needed!
Oz (as was)
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