Sightseeing In Ireland

We didn’t have a lot of free time on our hiking vacation with Wilderness Ireland, but we fit in a bit of sightseeing in Ireland and saw enough to want to go back again. 🇮🇪

The Molly Malone statue in Dublin

Sightseeing In Ireland

We gave ourselves two days in Galway to leave room for travel snafus that thankfully did not arise. We did a lot of walking along the shore, and a lot of shopping, but also enjoyed the Galway City Museum and historic sights.

 The Spanish Arch was built in the 1500s

You can see the walls adjacent the Spanish Arch across the canal

The city I wish we had more time is Killarney. The city itself had lots of shops and restaurants, and members of our group who skipped the big hike got to visit interesting historical sights. We did get to spend a short time in Killarney National Park where we saw Ross Castle and walked along Lough Leane.

Ross Castle was built in the late 15th century.

Lovely views across Lough Leane

We only made a brief stop at Rock of Cashel, first built as a fortress in the 4th or 5th century. Our guide pointed out the round tower, which is a characteristically Irish structure built in the 9th-12th centuries.

We spent a few hours in Wicklow Mountains National Park, where we walked along Glendalogh, which has a historic monastic site first established in the 6th century.

A view of the entrance to Saint Kevin’s bed—
a tiny cave that served as a bare retreat.

My husband’s favorite part was the machinery at the abandoned lead mine.

I didn’t take many pictures in Dublin, but I had to share this photo of the Jeanie Johnston replica moored right by our hotel.

Our guide had told us about the Jeanie Johnston because he has family ties to the merchants who bought the ship for trading. During the Great Famine, they used the ship to carry emigrants to Canada. The pride of the Jeanie Johnston is that, unlike most ships that experienced many deaths due to unsanitary conditions and disease, the Jeanie Johnston never lost a passenger—apparently by having a doctor on board, taking health and nutrition precautions, and limiting the number of passengers per voyage.

One thing I really appreciated about our guide is how much knowledge he had about Irish history and lore, and how much he was willing to share when we quizzed him about history (ancient and recent). It made the sightseeing in Ireland that much more meaningful and interesting.

Weekly Rundown

If you saw my runfessions, you know I’ve been babying my right calf this week, but I did get out for three (short) runs with Scooby. I’ve got a long way to build back my endurance after mostly not running all summer!

Monday’s run was rough with lots of walk breaks.

Wednesday’s run was better, with only a few “Scooby stops”

Friday I suffered in the humidity and took a few breaks to stretch my calf.

I also kept up with strength and stretching on the Peloton app, and took a few of the Dolly Parton-themed classes in tribute. 💕🦋💕

A huge thank you to Deborah and Kim for hosting the Weekly Run Down link up.

Do you return to vacation spots of prefer to visit someplace new?

Please join the Ultimate Coffee Date on Friday for the final post in my Ireland series.