Ireland is known for its many charming small towns with picturesque cottages, lively pubs, and welcoming communities. But which of these small towns to visit?

Travel website TravelMag.com asked 300 writers, photographers and travel professionals to name three Irish towns they consider to be the most charming.

Towns of all sizes were considered for the survey, only excluding Ireland’s largest cities. The survey also did not include any villages.

Here are the 20 Irish towns that accumulated the most votes. Did your hometown make the ‘most charming’ list?

1. Adare

Adare’s beautiful thatched cottages and historic buildings make it one of Ireland’s prettiest towns. Adare Manor in the town is a historical landmark that has been converted into a luxury hotel and golf resort.

2. Ardara

Ardara (pronounced ‘Ardra’) is an unassuming coastal town in Co Donegal. Check out the views of the Atlantic Ocean from Loughros Point or visit nearby Maghera Falls.

3. Aughrim

Aughrim, in Co Wicklow, is located where the Derry and Ow rivers meet to form the Aughrim river. The town was a granite mining village, and its terraced houses, town hall and forge are all constructed of granite, giving Aughrim a distinct architectural style.

4. Birr

Known as a heritage town, Birr, in Co. Offaly, boasts well-preserved Georgian buildings, painted in many different colors, and graceful wide streets. The town is known for Birr Castle, home of the ‘Leviathan of Parsonstown,’ which was the largest telescope in the world for more than 70 years.

5. Bruff

U.S. President John F. Kennedy, a descendant of the Fitzgeralds of Bruff, visited this small town in Co Limerick in 1963. Bruff is known for its sporting heritage and its many murals that have been painted on the wall of the town’s buildings.

Read more: Ireland’s top seaside towns and villages

6. Carlingford

Northern Ireland is visible across the lough from Carlingford’s shore. Carlingford has a number of medieval streets — one, Tholsel Street, holds the remnants of an old toll gate and mint. King John Castle was built around 1210 by the Normans after they first invaded Ireland in 1173.

7. Clifden

Clifden in located in Co Galway, one of Ireland’s prettiest counties. The town is known for its surrounding verdant countryside. Connemara National Park, the Twelve Bens mountain range and Inishbofin Island are all nearby.

8. Cobh

Cobh was an important sea port for transatlantic ships. It was the last stopping point in Europe before the Titanic began its fateful maiden voyage. It was also an important port in some of the most significant mass migrations of Irish emigrants in the 19th century. Near the water’s edge is a memorial to the Lusitania, which was sunk by a German U-boat close by.

9. Dalkey

First constructed by Viking invaders in the 8th century, the town, which is located just to the south of Dublin, is considered an affluent satellite to the capital city. The pleasant historical town has been the home of Bono, Enya, and Van Morrison.

10. Dingle

Dingle, in Co Kerry, is the only town on the Dingle Peninsula, and sits on the Atlantic coast. Situated in a Gaeltacht region, the area is known for its Irish culture.

11. Donegal

Donegal’s early history predates written records and remnants of ring forts and stone circle formations are common in this part of Ireland. Donegal Castle lies in the town center.

Read more: Can you guess the most Irish towns in New York?

12. Dungarvan

Dungarvan is a small harbor town midway along Ireland’s southern coast. The town is split in two by the Colligan River’s estuary, and the main sights of the town found on the west side of the river. These include Waterford County Museum and Dungarvan Castle.

13. Kenmare

Kenmanre, in Co Kerry, is situated at the head of Kenmare Bay, which opens out into the Atlantic Ocean. The town is known for its lace-working industry and the Kenmare Lace and Design Center is open to the public.

14. Kilkenny

One of Ireland’s most popular tourist destinations, this medieval town is easily accessible on a day trip from Dublin. Kilkenny Castle and its well-tended grounds is nestled on the banks of Nore River. Every August, the Kilkenny Arts Festival showcases Irish and international creativity.

15. Killarney

Killarney, in Co Kerry is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, part of Killarney National Park. It is home to Ross Castle, St Mary’s Cathedral and Muckross House and Abbey.

16. Kinsale

This small fishing town located to the south of Cork was at one time a prominent royal navy port. Its buildings are brightly painted and good,fresh seafood can be sourced here. the town also has a significant military history. The final Spanish Armada landed at Kinsale in order to unite with  Irish rebels, but they were defeated. James Fort, now in ruins, was built shortly after the battle to protect the harbor.

17. Lismore

Lismore, in Co. Waterford, is is renowned for its early ecclesiastical history and the scholarship of Lismore Abbey. The abbey was short lived and replaced by Lismore Castle. The Book of Lismore was compiled in the 15th century of various writings, including folios on Irish saints, including Saint Patrick, and Irish mythology.

18. Malahide

This charming fishing town is located only 40 minutes north of Dublin. The town has a large marina and a small beach. Across the estuary are several different golf clubs.

19. Oughterard

Oughterard, in Co Galway, is surrounded by loughs on one side and hills on the other. It is well-known as an angling center, with Lough Corrib, the largest lake in the Republic, being an excellent source of fish.

20. Westport
    

Westport in Co Mayo is a heritage town and popular tourist destination. The town center was designed by renowned British architect in James Wyatt in 1780 in the Georgian architectural style. The famous pilgrimage mountain of Croagh Patrick is close by.

Read more: Where Irish history was made - Top towns and places

Antrim: I’m in Northern Ireland this week thanks to the generosity and kindness of Tourism Ireland and Norwegian Air.

This is a corner of Ireland that I don’t know well, really only through books, the tales of friends and the odd film.

I’ve passed through to get to Donegal a few times and I once spent an afternoon in Belfast but that’s it until now.

Norwegian Air’s virgin flight from the United States to Belfast was welcomed into the airport with a water cannon salute – an honor I remember Donald Trump received when he first arrived as President-Elect in Washington. If anyone ever tells you America is losing its importance in the world, think again. Belfast had been without a direct flight to the US for months and we were greeted by cheering employees waving the Star Spangled Banner.

The flight itself from Providence is a convenient one for anyone in the northeast. Not only is it affordable, but it leaves at 9.30pm, so you can snooze on the flight over and wake up in sunny (or rainy) Ulster first thing in the morning.

Upon arrival I decide to play a little game with myself: will I find Northern Ireland more like the Republic of Ireland I recently left to live in America, or will I find it more like the Britain I was born in?

The first destination on our trip easily falls into the second category: Glenarm Castle outside the town of Larne has been home to the Earls of Antrim for centuries and is managed by the 9th Earl’s son, Lord Dunluce.

With 14 rooms, the Castle’s walls are adorned with the portraits of blue-blooded ancestors, most notably Churchill’s grandmother, and its tables burst with photographs that span a century.

You could never doubt that it's a stately home: but the couch looks like kids have regularly thrown themselves onto it and there’s a pack of playing cards on the table just as there would be at my own gran’s house.

Lord and Lady Dunluce, their butler George tells us, work in London but whenever the children aren’t in school they phone to tell him they’re “coming home.” Landed gentry they might be, but that’s a phrase any Irish family in Britain will excitedly use the night before their flight or ferry west. 

The castle is used as a wedding venue when the family is in England. There’s a cafe and they host concerts throughout the summer months – country music star Nathan Carter is making an appearance in nine days. It’s doesn’t get more Irish than that.

Afterwards we thread our way along the coastline south to Islandmagee, home to the Gobbins Cliff Path. This coastal walkway was once more popular than the neighboring Giant’s Causeway with views spanning from County Down in the south to Scotland in the north.

Home to jagged cliffs, caves, wildlife and crashing waves, I can see why we’ve all been given hard helmets and hiking boots to navigate along the path.

Like anywhere in Ireland, the area has its share of tales to tell about its tangled history with England. Back in the 16th Century this part of Ulster was so wealthy the English banned it from trading its cattle or textiles with the rest the world. The result was a vibrant smuggling trade that saw cows stashed in the cliffs for the Scots to collect and sail away with.

A few centuries later in 1788, as America fought for her independence, the USS Ranger severely damaged HMS Drake after the two ships found themselves sharing the same channel between Islandmagee and Galloway in Scotland.

But, that fraught history aside, the locals clearly seem to like the English now. Or at the very least one English lady. The center of the town of Larne is dominated by an unmissable golden Crown built in 2012 to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s 60th year on the throne.

And just in case you might have missed that folk around Larne tend to like the British connection, the lampposts and curbs of sidewalks are painted red, white and blue.

The Union Jack and the Ulster Banner also fly from homes and most other man-made structures.

To me, these overt displays of patriotism remind me of neither England nor the Republic but small towns I’ve visited in Upstate New York.

In America and Northern Ireland patriotism is rarely hidden, which is odd because America is the biggest most powerful nation in the world. Secession has not been an issue in the US since the end of the Civil War and the American military remains the greatest fighting force known to mankind. America should feel safe and secure in her nationhood. Few countries have it as good as the US of A.

By contrast, Northern Ireland is a society divided and a place where flags have been fought over for centuries. The siege mentality of so many unionists means their identity is worn on their sleeves out of fear it might be stolen or even forgotten by people. 

But from my perfect hotel room at the Ballygally Castle on the edge of famous Causeway Coastal Route, I can see the waves of the Irish Sea crashing against the beach and I can smell the purest Irish air going.

There may be British flags flying down the road but I definitely feel I’m back in Ireland. And after months away, I’m very glad to be.

Read more: Did your hometown make the 20 most charming Irish towns list?

Antrim: The town of Bushmills is located between two of Northern Ireland’s most iconic tourist attractions.

The Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge was built by salmon fisherman 350 years ago and links the tall cliffs of Antrim to a small island some 66 foot away.

Honestly I’d never heard of the place until a few months ago but was charmed upon arrival. The seawater that surrounds the island is the most astonishing turquoise color that I’ve never seen previously in Ireland and whilst the area is clearly popular with tourists, the sounds of so many languages were almost obscured by the cries of the hundreds of birds nesting on the island.

Fulmars and razorbills nest on the almost vertical cliffs and hunt for fish in flocks on the not too distant horizon.

Back on the road to Bushmill, it’s hard to ignore the political allegiances of local people in the Glens of Antrim as red, white and blue flags and bunting dominates villages.

Perhaps they’re only there because it’s a week before the Twelfth of July when loyal Protestants celebrate the defeat of the Catholic King James at the hands of the Protestant King William but, I suspect, most of the flags will still be flying in August. There’s a handy sign explaining the development of the Union Jack over the centuries suggesting a permanence about the exhibits. 

Read more: Day 1 - Landing in beautiful Belfast on Norwegian Air’s inaugural flight

The Glorious Twelfth typically involves the burning of bonfires and in Bushmills town center a sign alerts drivers to a someone selling “Bonfire Wood Only”. Perhaps that’s why the local hotel uses turf for its fire?

More subtly, the local newsheet, the Bush Telegraph, hints at the town’s euroscepticism when it informs locals that that the brackets used to hold banners complied “even [with] EU regulations” - for which read burdensome red tape. Like most unionist areas of Northern Ireland the town gave the European project a red card (or should that be red hand?) in last year’s referendum and in North Antrim they did so by the largest margin in the province.

The town is also home to not one but two monuments to British forces. The first commemorates all those from the town who died in the two World Wars and a statue of a grimly determined Ulster soldier gazes down on all who pass.

The second is of Robert Quigg, a local boy who won the highest award in the British Army, the Victoria Cross, for “most conspicuous bravery” during the Battle of the Somme; seven times he entered No Man’s Land and each time he returned with a wounded comrade.

What 1916 is to Irish republicans, the Somme is to Irish unionists; in Ulster folklore, it is regarded as something of a blood sacrifice when so many young lads died fighting for the King and Country that it became almost impossible for English politicians to betray their loyal families by handing them over to Dublin rule.

Unveiled last year by Queen Elizabeth II for the battle’s centenary - the monarch’s choice of a green outfit was described by one local as “apt” - the newly laid wreaths of poppies testify to the enduring scar of the Great War on small towns and villages the length and breadth of Europe.

But Antrim has not just been home to servants of the Crown but also of rebels against it too and it is among the Glens that the remains of relatives of Roger Casement lie buried.

Casement was once a British diplomat but retired to this heavily loyalist corner of Ireland only to become convinced of the cause of Irish freedom. When the First World War broke out this Knight of the Realm gave succor to Germans looking to invade Ireland - leading to his execution by the British.

Fifty years on the British Government released his body from a prison grave for reburial in Ireland but on the strict condition that it would not be interned in Northern Ireland - then in the grip of the Troubles.

The Irish Government gave him a state funeral but to this day his final wish to lie in the soil of his beloved Antrim remains unfulfilled.

On to the nearby Giant’s Causeway and I find suddenly we are surrounded by fellow sightseers once again. Carrick-a-Rede seemed busy until you happen upon the Causeway and you realize the rope bridge is almost deserted by comparison.

Each year the Causeway clocks a million visitors and is one of the eight Wonders of the World. There are buses to take you on the short journey from the visitor center to the causeway itself and an audiobook to elaborate how it was formed.

It was worth doing for sure, it is an icon of Ireland after all, but I preferred the quiet charm of Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge.

Next up is Derry and although it’s only 40 miles away from the Causeway I can already sense a subtle cultural shift as we cross from the land that gave Ian Paisley a seat in Parliament to the city that raised Martin McGuinness.

For the first time I find evidence of an Irish identity: a store dubbed simply the “Irish Shop” displays a “Fáilte Isteach” (Welcome In) sign and a bilingual notice that smoking is not allowed.

Protestants have a long history of association with the Irish language, but sadly in Northern Ireland the language I love is highly politicized and remains very much a marker of nationalist identity.

Unlike in the Republic where public signage is bilingual, in the north it is strictly monolingual and I doubt I get a chance to use any Gaeilge until I head south on Saturday.

But tomorrow I’ll get to properly explore Derry, I suspect I’ll find even more differences as the day wears on.

The picturesque County Kerry town of Killarney has long been a must-go for visitors to Ireland, with its picturesque town center, pubs a plenty and proximity to Killarney National Park and the Ring of Kerry.

But according to recent census data, Killarney is also quickly becoming the Florida of Ireland – a hotspot for retirees.

As noted in a recent Irish Times article by Anne Lucey, Killarney now has one of the oldest populations of all the towns in Ireland, with an average age of 40.9.

This figure, from Ireland’s 2016 census, is a notable jump from Killarney’s average age in the 2011 census, which was 38.9.

While some of Ireland’s smaller towns, such as Castlerea, Co. Roscommon, Clifden, Co. Galway and Dingle, also in County Kerry, have an average population age a couple years older than Killarney’s, the size of Killarney’s population in the 2016 census far surpasses theirs, at 14,504.

While it’s conceivable that there could have been a great number of older tour groups in town at the time of the census, locals happily confirmed to the Irish Times that Killarney has been attracting noticeably higher numbers of retirees in recent years.

What could be the appeal? Lots!

To start, Killarney has been ranked in the top 10 places to retire – not just in Ireland, but in the whole world. Hiking trails, a walkable town center, shops, restaurants and golf courses helped earn it the #10 spot on Oyster’s 2016 list of The World’s 10 Best Places to Retire.

As the Irish Times, noted, Killarney also offers some important necessities for anyone advancing in years, such as a large community hospital and two nursing care communities, in addition to a number of groups for active retirees.

“Killarney is very attractive for retirees. This has always been the case. And in the last 12 months we have seen an increase in retired people buying or wanting to buy,” local property auctioneer Michael Coghlan told the Irish Times.

Another interviewee, Dr. Gary Stack of SouthDoc, added that a number of his patients in recent years have been newcomers to Killarney from the UK with no specific ties to the area.

The charming town – immortalized in songs such as “Christmas in Killarney” and “The Lakes of Killarney” – also hosts an abundance of activities year round, from the Folk Festival, the Beer Festival and the Walking Festival to Christmas parades and even a Fourth of July celebration.

Read More: Facts about Killarney on the Ring of Kerry

Would you want to retire in Killarney? Share your thoughts in the comment section.

Seriously! Can you say vertigo?! The Serpent’s Lair, on Inis Mór, was the incredible backdrop for the first stage of this year’s Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series.

Thousands turned out to watch 21 cliff divers laugh “in the face of fear” and pull off some spectacular dives from the 27-meter-high platform at the Poll na bPeist, a naturally occurring limestone pool on the Aran Islands off Galway.

Apart from the height of the platform, divers had the heavy dark clouds, 55F temperatures and high Atlantic winds off the west coast to contend with, but what’s clear is that this competition is any adrenaline-junkie's dream come true.

A post shared by Red Bull (@redbull) on Jul 6, 2017 at 2:05am PDT

British star Gary Hunt and Australia’s Rhiannan Iffland both came from behind to take crucial victories.

Hunt said, “When you’re up there in these conditions, your training kind of goes out of the window.”

“But with years and years of experience, you remember to block things out and you just think about the actions you have to go through to perform your dives and not be distracted.”

Iffland, who tested the waters earlier in the week with a spectacular dive from a helicopter at the Cliffs of Moher, admitted it was “the most challenging competition yet.”

After the Aran Island’s competition on June 29 the action moved to Portugal and then on to Italy in July. Red Bull’s Cliff Diving competition will then move on to the USA and Bosnia-Herzegovina in September and Chile will play host to the World Series in October.

Here are the highlights of the winning dives on Inis Mor:

Derry is a lovely, friendly place: I probably think that because our tour guide, Garvin, seems to know the world and his wife here and someone on nearly every corner is pleased to see him.

It’s a very hilly town and one man jokes to us that that’s why no locals are fat – they burn off so many calories bent over pulling themselves up the city’s many inclines.

And it’s an Irish town too: unlike in Antrim I can see tricolours flying and the flag pins sold in shops come in green, white and orange only.

It’s a European town too: the city voted by a margin of 78.3% to stay in the EU. Had it not been for the two London boroughs of Lambeth and Hackney, each with a slightly higher 78% voting to stay in, the constituency of Foyle would have taken the crown as the most pro-EU part of the whole of the United Kingdom.

And this being Northern Ireland, where political views come shaped in rectangles and flown from lampposts, the blue and gold flag of the EU can be often seen fluttering limply in the wind.

Derry will be the only city in the United Kingdom to share a land border with European Union come 2019, and Garvin worries about what impact a potential hard border could have on the area.

Spiritually Derry remains the capital of the County of Donegal – the Republic’s most isolated county – and the destiny of the two are heavily interlinked. They promote each other to tourists, buy each other’s goods and thousands cross an invisible line every day to work and play in the neighboring county. 

Read More: Why is Derry also called Londonderry? 

No one here thinks a hard border, or a wall, between two such good neighbors, would do anything but damage the peace process. 

And the legacy of the Troubles remains an identifiable feature of this city: like almost any municipal building in a city that once fell under British rule the Guildhall, now home to Derry and Strabane District Council, hosts a statue of Queen Victoria. That a council run by Sinn Féin retains a sculpture of the Famine Queen surprised me but look closer and you’ll see that the Empress of India is missing her hands.

The 16-ton statue was attacked by the IRA decades ago and whilst Her Majesty maintains her glum, glowering expression, the statue’s decapitated nature certainly humbles it.

A bust of the last Monarch crowned King of all Ireland’s 32 counties, her great-grandson George VI, stares back at her.

I wonder what the 14 Sinn Féin councillors think when they walk past them on their way to the council chambers.

During the Troubles supporting the party that was then the political wing of the IRA was a minority pursuit here in Derry. For decades the city was a stronghold for the Social Democratic and Labour Party that rejected the armed struggle and pushed for Irish unity through the ballot box. But times have changed and the city that once sent John Hume to Westminster tossed out his successor Mark Durkan in favor of the Sinn Féin candidate in last month’s election by a slim margin of 169 votes.

Despite their victory, Sinn Féin polled a minority of votes but their support is on the up and it is, at least in part, credited to the wave of emotion that swept the nationalist community after the death of former Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness.

The death of McGuinness was extraordinary: thousands lined the street and Bill Clinton choppered in from New York. Arlene Foster who served with him as First Minister in the final year of his life hesitated before attending the funeral - her father had been shot by the IRA and once on the way to school the group blew up the bus she and her friends were on.

Regardless she arrived dressed in sombre black and was greeted by a spontaneous round of applause from the mostly republican crowd. A friend of mine who grew up in McGuinness’s constituency told me he found that moment extraordinarily emotional.  

It was just another sign that the two communities are well on their way to reconciliation now, slowly but surely. Symbolizing this new era is a bridge between the mostly unionist Waterside community on one side of the Foyle River and the mostly nationalist citizens who live ‘Cityside’ is called the Peace Bridge.

A statue of two men extending their hands towards each other is meant to illustrate the healing between the city’s orange and green traditions. In that spirit of respect for the two communities the postcards I buy of Hands Across The Divide, in a studiously neutral fashion, call the city “Derry-Londonderry”. All the others just call it Derry.  

Agreement on the city’s proper name remains as elusive as ever but at least young lads from both sides agree it’s good craic to slip a can in between the hands of the two peacemakers.

Drinking has always been a cross-community activity, it’s confirmed to me. Guinness’s nickname in these parts used to be Protestant Black Border.

More recently honoring the war dead has also become something of a cross-community affair. Unionists have long cherished the memories of the boys who fought and died in the two World Wars; now, nearly a century after the guns fell silent in Europe, nationalists have begun to take part in remembrance ceremonies.

35,000 Irishmen died in World War One – most of whom were Catholics and favored home Rule for Ireland – but many returned to find they were not considered heroes but social lepers who served in the hated British Forces.

Hearts have softened in recent years and more Catholics than ever attend wreath laying at the city’s imposing War Memorial.

The town may never have wanted to be British but few will deny the key role it played in the British war effort 70 years ago.

Ships from the navies of the United States, Britain and Canada all dropped anchor in Derry during the course of the war – fresh from long months at sea defending the Atlantic from the Nazi menace.

At one point there were even more US soldiers living in the Derry than there were locals. With their exotic accents and smart uniforms they were a hit with young women. Plenty got engaged to the handsome GIs and bought passages to America; most landed at Elis Island but more than one was sent home heartbroken after her fiancée failed to collect her.

The local lads were jealous of these rich interlopers who lured their women folk away with their fat pay-packets; the city must be one of the few places in the world where the wage gap has historically favored women; there’s always been high unemployment but women usually had more luck finding work in a clothes factory and for some families the wife was sole breadwinner.

Read More: The top 5 places to visit in County Derry

Away from matters of peace and war Derry prides itself on its nickname, ‘The Music City’: the 1970’s band The Undertones hail from the area, Eurovision winner – turned politician – Dana Rosemary Scanlon grew up locally and the famed hymn writer Cecil Francis Alexander moved to the town when her husband was made Bishop of Derry. The next time you sing “All Creatures Great and Small” or “Once in Royal David’s City”, know that it was a Derry woman who wrote the lyrics.

However most extraordinarily of all, the city is the only place in the world where two winners of the Nobel Prize sat side by side in a classroom.

John Hume and Seamus Heaney both attended St Columb’s in the city – something I am sure might get mentioned in school assemblies once or twice a year.

Afterwards we speed off into the countryside to the nearby Seamus Heaney Home Place in his native village of Bellaghy. If you’re ever in Derry be sure to take the detour; the center is a magnificent testament to one of the greatest of all Irish writers.

The manager – the great man’s own nephew – asked if I was familiar with his work. I said I’d done it for exams and my expression clearly betrayed that my school time experience of Heaney was not as fond as it might have been.

Pictures of the people and places important to him in his life are displayed on the wall and the poems he wrote about them can be listened to – read aloud by the man himself.

It’s all very charming and even if you, like me, haven’t grappled much with his poetry since school I would urge you to go. Looking at his work with fresh adult eyes was a revelation and I’ll leave you with a short poem about his native city.

“Derry I cherish ever.

It is calm, it is clear.

Crowds of white angels on their rounds

At every corner.”

Ireland is in the midst of a horrendous housing crisis with most prices rising exponentially out of ordinary people’s reach, but every so often there comes along a bargain like this that would prick anyone’s interest: a 31-bed, three-star hotel in County Mayo on the market for $510,709 (€450,000).

The Lodge Hotel, in Geesala, positioned between the towns of Bangor Erris and Belmullet in north County Mayo, has the potential to make someone’s dreams come true… or so we think.

The hotel, which was previously known as the Teach Erris, is a whopping 30,677 sq. feet (2,850 sq. metres) of property. Dearbhla Friel Properties told IrishCentral the property has recently been refurbished and is a “successfully trading hotel business located along the busy tourist trail the “Wild Atlantic Way” in beautiful County Mayo.”

Can you picture yourself behind the bar yet?!

The hotel includes a bar, restaurant and 31 beds, spread over two floors. All guest bedrooms are en suite. The hotel also includes banqueting facilities on the ground floor for 250 guests and a smaller function room on the first floor. There’s also a two-bedroom, self-contained owner / manager’s apartment as well as staff areas, offices and store rooms.

We decided we’d play devil’s on your shoulder and tempt you even more. For the same price in Dublin city center you could buy a one bed apartment on Duke Street or in Cork City a three-bed bungalow / ranch-style house.

If we had money to spare we know what we’d be doing… learning to chef and surf and then moving to Mayo!

Day 4, Belfast: And finally, I am in Belfast, once the most populous and prosperous city in Ireland, now the capital of Northern Ireland.

My day started at the world’s number one tourist attraction, casual like. Once the story of Titanic, the 'unsinkable' ship, was like an illegitimate child – swept under the carpet and best not mentioned.

The city that built her had no desire to be associated with such a famous failure and it was only after the runaway success of the film that locals decided to reclaim the Queen of the Ocean as one of their own.

I’ll not lie, I really like most history museums, but Titanic Belfast was something special. The tale of the doomed passenger ship that sank on her maiden voyage is one of the most haunting of the 20th century and her story is a narrative patchwork quilt of love and loss, poverty and wealth, bravery and cowardice.

Our guide, Billy Scott, said people fly in from all over the world to see the museum and then leave the next day. Why they would do that when there’s so much else going on in Belfast is beyond me, but it’s also a testament to the spell that ship has cast upon our imaginations and the first-class museum that tells her story.

Next up: murals and ‘flegs’ – as they call them locally.

Read more: Day 3 – Discovering Derry, the legendary city where genius flourished with Heaney, Hume, and more

In West Belfast the bonfires were stacked and the flags were a-flying. The Twelfth of July is around the corner and it’s a day to celebrate for those in Ireland who are loyal to the Crown as it marks the victory of the Protestant King William over the Catholic King James at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.

Parts of Belfast remain as rigidly segregated as the Deep South 50 years ago and I’m not sure how serious our guide’s warning was when he told us not to cross ourselves when we get out.

In recent years government grants have encouraged people in Northern Ireland to paint over murals depicting paramilitaries and instead display more cultural images.

There’s still one of Stephen McKeag, a Commander of the Ulster Defence Association shot dead in 2000, but there’s also a nice “A-Z of the Shankill Road” and collage of Queen Elizabeth.

Progress comes in stages.

A towering wall divides a Protestant estate from their Catholic neighbors just feet away. They’re called peace-lines, but they’re much more of a symbol of conflict than of harmony.

Barack Obama dropped by in 2013 and suggested he’d like to see the walls be packed away by 2023. It lacked the drama of, “Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” but the sentiment was appreciated.

Still, 2023 might be a bit optimistic. Ask what lies on the other side of the wall and you might get the almost monosyllabic reply, “fear.”

But the two communities aren’t completely cut off from each other. At night time it might not be wise to cross the divide, but by day people will happily shop in each other’s shops and, of course, they are united through the use of a common National Health Service (NHS). The local hospital serves anyone who lives nearby and, like in mainland Britain, does not charge a billionaire or a pauper a penny for treatment.

The maintenance of this service, “free at the point of need,” is something of a shibboleth among all political parties in the province and it is by far Northern Ireland’s biggest employer – 70,000 locals (out of a population of 1.8 million) collect a paycheck every month from Her Majesty’s Government for working in the NHS.

“We have a very good health service,” one of the Americans I’m traveling with is jokingly assured after she almost trips. The remark might have been in jest but it was indicative of the pride people take in the 69-year-old system.

Read more: Day 2 – A journey through political divisions – from the Giant’s Causeway to Derry

No one here worries about the cost when a child gets sick or the loss of health insurance when they change jobs. Like how a free market economy is the settled will of the American people, socialized health care is the settled will of the people of this corner of Ireland – whether they be orange, green or a shade in between.

And speaking of the green folk, a large number of them live only a few streets away from Shankill on the Falls Road – the heart of republican Belfast.

I like the Falls Road: I love to hear the Irish language spoken anywhere, anytime and the local people have opened a cultural center where you can order a cup of tea as Gaeilge and browse through a huge collection of books in the language.

Irish speakers are clearly reading IrishCentral because they’re well abreast of current events stateside and a new novel called “Trumptaí Dumptaí agus An Falla Mór” (Trumpty Dumpty and the Big Wall) is being sold. It tells the tale of two lads from Galway who are asked by the White House to help build the President’s wall and keep out the bad hombres.

Down south the use of the language by officials can be a bit tokenistic. All public signage must be bilingual by law and you have the right to interact with the state through Irish but ask to talk to a civil servant through the language and you’ll often come up across a wall even more irritating than the one proposed along the Mexican border.

Here the language has few legal rights but it seems to be flourishing – even the graffiti is through Irish. The lack of official status has clearly irritated a number of teenagers and I see “Acht Gaeilge Anois” (An Irish Language Act Now) scrawled twice on walls.

Other Gaelic admonitions on the walls include, “Díchoilínigh d'intinn” (Decolonize your mind) and “Lig do Liú” (Let yourself yell).

The other thing I notice is there’s a sense of solidarity between local republicans and the LGBT community. The rainbow flag is occasionally seen flying alongside the tricolor (something I never saw in loyalist areas) and a mural commemorates the victims of the Orlando shooting alongside the leaders of the 1916 Rising.

I remember once knocking on doors two years ago in a working-class Dublin estate and not finding a single person planning on voting 'No' in the marriage equality referendum. So, I shouldn’t be surprised that the sense of solidarity and support for equality doesn’t end at Dundalk, but it’s still a pleasant sign of progress nonetheless.

Northern Ireland doesn’t have gay marriage and the issue was one of a number that led to the collapse of the province’s assembly earlier this year.

Sinn Féin wants it, the Democratic Unionist Party does not. The jaw-jaw continues but, as Winston Churchill said, that's preferable to war war.

There is, however, an upside to being a disenfranchised community: as one of Belfast’s many groups of oppressed peoples, LGBT people have the moral authority, nay divine right, to paint the kerb stones outside Belfast’s collection of gay bars in the colors of their ‘fleg’ and they do.

Sure, they can’t get married but they can at least make their home look a little better and what doesn’t look nicer when decorated in the all the colors of the rainbow?

After that we’re taken off on the city’s brilliant “Taste and Tour” trip and first up is the Mourne Seafood Bar. If you dig a little you’ll find even the local food tells the story of a place and as we’re tucking into a platter of seafood. The owner, Bob, tells us there’s never been a better time to sell fish in Ireland.

For so long there was stigma about seafood. When the potato crop failed in 1845 many were forced to head to the sea and fish for survival. The association with fishing and poverty endured for generations.

Since the Irish discovered cheap flights to Europe, he said, that has all changed and their exposure to seafood on the continent changed attitudes. Now people are happy to eat fish – the stigma has lifted.

If Britain strikes a poor deal with the EU over the next two years and tariffs are placed on goods traveling between north and south that would be a “disaster” for the industry, Bob says.

But not everyone is so apprehensive about Brexit. Moored not far away are a number of new trawler boats in Belfast harbor. Our guide Billy says the United Kingdom’s impending exit from the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy has seen a splurge of investment in what has long been a morose industry. The end of the CFP would mean the end of foreign trawlers fishing in British waters and industry insiders are anticipating the catch caught by boats from abroad will be reassigned to locals.

Hoteliers are happy too. The drop in the value of the pound sterling after the Brexit vote saw an influx of tourists from abroad. 12 hotels are under construction in Belfast alone and plenty more planning applications have been lodged. Taxes on hospitality are higher in the north than the in south, I’m told, but the pound’s plunge has given them a competitive advantage over the Republic at last.

In the pro-EU stronghold of Derry I saw stickers “No Brexit, No Border,” EU flags and felt a palpable sense of worry, but the further you get from the border with the Republic the more ambivalence, and even irritation, towards the European project you encounter.

One man’s difficulty is another man’s opportunity, as they say.

Now on my way to Dublin, I’m glad I got a chance to explore Northern Ireland. The way they describe everything as “wee” is endearing. “Would you like a wee drink now?” “Would you take a look at those wee sheep?”

The place is immersed in politics and history in a way I’m sure would be wearying if you lived here but for a short while it was fascinating to delve into.

My parents told me when they visited a quarter of a century ago it felt like a 1950s time warp: men wore their Sunday best to dinner, everyone went to church and children played out in the streets.

In a way it still felt like a small leap into the past. Our taxi driver wore a suit, there were few immigrants and far more local stores than big chains.

If you feel nostalgia for the late 20th century come quick. Globalization won’t ignore this corner on Europe’s western periphery forever.

As for me, I say "I’ll be back."

Read more: Day 1 – Landing in beautiful Belfast on Norwegian Air’s inaugural flight

The Trump Administration has sided with budget airline Norwegian Air as the company goes to court to protect its new route from Cork to the United States.

US labor unions have sued, claiming the airline has only set up the route from Ireland in a bid to avoid Norway’s more onerous regulation system.

They added that the company was set on hiring cheaper flight crews from abroad in a bid to undercut their competitors – something Norwegian denies.

"They're based in Norway, but they've started a company in Ireland and they're hiring crews using Asian employment contracts. This gives them an unfair advantage over US companies," a union spokesman said told Fox News at the time.

The unions have asked that the courts to rescind Norwegian's license and cancel all further flights to and from Cork.

Read more: Landing in beautiful Belfast on Norwegian Air’s inaugural flight

Other routes in operation include Belfast-Providence and Dublin to Stewart Airport in Newburgh, NY.

The flights were originally given the all clear by the Obama White House after an unprecedented two-and-a-half-year delay, and now the Trump Administration has also come out in support of the airline.

"Although petitioners [unions] do not explain their theory of causation, it appears to be premised on an assumption that existing carriers that provide service between the United States and foreign locations will pay less and provide less desirable conditions of employment to their own pilots and flight crews as a result of increased competition, or conversely, that existing carriers will lose market share on existing flight routes, thus forcing pilots and other aircrew members to work for Norwegian Air instead of a higher-paying competitor," the Department of Transport filed.

As to whether the new flights are undercutting wages in the industry, the Department added, “To the contrary, information in the administrative record suggests that the increased demand for pilots and flight crew, and employees' strong bargaining position, could result in higher wages and improved working conditions.”

Read more: Norwegian Air transatlantic low-cost flights take off out of Ireland

Join me on a journey to some of Ireland’s most isolated places. Since 2007 Iain Miller and his friends have been exploring and climbing sea stacks found dotted around the coastline of Ireland. Their favorite climbs lie along the spectacular coasts of counties Donegal and Mayo.

Iain contacted me to share some of his amazing videos.  And so, I’m delighted to take you way off the beaten track to explore some of Ireland’s off shore sea stacks. In fact, we’re getting so far off the beaten track, there is no track at all.

In these short videos Iain sets sail over the foaming ocean, or takes the high road by dangling across taut ropes to reach some of Ireland’s most remote and isolated destinations.

Just like me, many readers will never venture to the top of a sea stack, but that won’t stop us watching a video of some daring thrill seekers as they take us to some of the most beautiful, remote and atmospheric locations in all of Ireland.

I do not like heights, but I felt compelled to watch these fantastically scary and totally thrilling videos. Ireland’s rugged coastline is magnificent in all her natural and unspoiled glory.

Glenlough Bay, County Donegal

Glenlough Bay on the South West Donegal coastline is one of the most remote, beautiful and wild locations in Ireland.

In the video above, an international group of visitors climb a 60-meter-high sea stack braving bouncy westerly sea currents and winds.

The Ends of the Earth Sea Stack, County Donegal

This next film recounts a visit to Ireland’s most remote location on the western tip of the Slievetooey Massif.

Laura Hartmann and John Neary walk into the northern tip of Glenlough Bay and paddle 200 meters off the edge to The Ends of the Earth Stack.

I just love the name of this sea stack.  When exploring the western tips of Donegal’s coastline, it surely does feel like you are standing at the ends of the earth.

Read more: Beautiful Donegal captured in stunning drone footage

Downpatrick Head Sea Stack, County Mayo

This next video takes us to County Mayo. Living 80 meters off Downpatrick Head on the north coast of County Mayo is the iconic Dún Briste Sea Stack.  Its name literally means ‘broken dún.’

First landed on by helicopter in the 1980’s, this amazing sea stack was climbed once before in 1990.

In the short film above Iain Miller and Paulina Kaniszewska make a very rare ascent of Dún Briste sea stack.

The Wild Atlantic Way, Donegal, Ireland

For thrill seekers and mountain climbers, Ireland’s majestic sea stacks provide outstanding adventure, while climbing in isolated, unique settings.

Many of these stacks rise above the waters of the Atlantic Ocean at the bases of huge sea cliffs.  Easy access routes are nonexistent and a comprehensive understanding of the sea and rock climbing techniques is imperative to ensure a safe ascent of any sea stack.

If you are interested in learning from the experts or joining them on an adventure, you can find out more about Iain Miller and his team on their website, Unique Ascents.

A big thank you to Iain for sharing his work with us today.

Wishing everyone, who braves the elements and the majesty of Ireland’s coastline, a safe and happy climbing season this summer.

Slán agus beannacht,

(Goodbye and blessings)

Irish American Mom.

Read more: Visiting Ireland on a shoestring budget? No problem

* Mairead Geary came to America for one year 20 years ago. She now lives with her husband and children in Kentucky and is proud to be an American citizen. Read more on her blog here.

There’s a wonderful word in “The Random House College Dictionary” that describes what much of Michael Collins’ Dublin looks like today, nearly 100 years after his death: Extant—“in existence; not destroyed or lost.”

Imagine being able to walk about George Washington’s Philadelphia or New York and street-by-street being able to see buildings that he lived in or more famously, in Washington’s case, actually slept in.

Well, the George Washington of Ireland, Michael Collins, has left a kind of hands-on legacy to the Irish—it is his revolutionary Dublin and many of the buildings of that time are still standing. In fact, most of them are still standing without plaques noting their importance to the birth of the Irish nation.

As someone who has written two books about Collins and has read just about everything ever written about him—not to mention witness statements and other related materials—I know how difficult it is to track down Collins’ Dublin. But one man has done it and put it all in one volume. The man is Joseph E. A. Connell, Jr. and the book is “Michael Collins: Dublin 1916-22” (WordWell).

Read more: How Michael Collins was protected and betrayed by two Dublin porters

The author shares Collins’ secrecy

Joe Connell shares one of Collins’ traits—he’s rather secretive. He was reluctant to talk about himself, only saying, “I am a lawyer and have practiced in California for about 40 years.” IrishCentral had to dig into the Internet to see what they could uncover about him. At Kilmainhamtales.ie, where he is a contributor, IC found of picture of him wearing an eyepatch. In an Irish Times piece, we learned that he played wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers until a knee blew out. He was also a member of the 82nd Airborne and graduated from the Pepperdine University Law School. Oh, by the way, did I mention that he also altruistically donated a kidney? To put it mildly, he is not your ordinary Michael Collins scholar.  

How did his interest in Collins come about? “As I continued to research the revolutionary period between 1913-1923, and particularly after 1916, I found that Collins was everywhere. He was not ‘the man who won the war’ as Arthur Griffith called him, but I believe he was the one person without whom the War of Independence would not have gone as it did. I’ve read every book on Collins I could find, as well as all the Witness Statements, Mulcahy, de Valera papers, Cosgrave papers, etc., many other sets of papers, hundreds of Pension Applications, but the real thing was just walking the streets and trying to find out ‘where it all happened.’ ”

Years of scholarship

His work started innocently enough in 1999. “I started out with a loose-leaf notebook and just added addresses by hand. Then I put everything on USB sticks, and have continued to add. I’m still adding!”

Connell has written several books about revolutionary Dublin including the seminal “Dublin in Rebellion”—one of the most invaluable resources to the time—which pinpoints the important addresses in Dublin during the War of Independence. When asked the difference between the two books Connell simply says, “‘Michael Collins: Dublin 1916-22’ is ‘Dublin in Rebellion’ on steroids!”

As anyone who ever researched Dublin history—be it Collins, Joyce or the family tree—will find that there is no better source of Dublin’s yesteryear than the Thom’s Directories, which state every street address in Dublin and what businesses were there. The Pearse Street Library, two blocks from Westland Row, has a superb collection and Connell is a huge fan.

“The Thom’s are very important,” he said. “I’ve thought about getting my own copy of Thom’s for those years, but mostly I’ve just spent hours after hours at the National Archives on Bishop street and at the Pearse Street Library. Thom’s Directories are invaluable.”

His other sources of information include the National Archives, the National Library, Dublin City Library, the Irish Times, all newspapers, i.e., the Freeman’s Journal and London Times on microfilm, UCD and TCD Libraries. “In researching my books,” Connell says, “I just went to every source I could think of and started—then one source led to another.”

Another invaluable resource, says Connell, are the witness statements which can be found online at the Bureau of Military History at http://www.bureauofmilitaryhistory.ie/. “They are absolutely imperative for anyone researching the period,” claims Connell. “They were supposed to ‘stop’ at 1921 because of the emotions of the Civil War were still so strong, but some (Paddy Daly, for example) went beyond 1921 in their statements. Some are very short, some are very self-serving, some are almost book length (Joseph Lawless’ is about 180 pages), but one cannot do research on the period without consulting them. There are 1770 of them—and I think I’ve read them all.”

To make things easier for his readers, Connell has broken the addresses into postal districts. “It seemed,” says Connell, “the easiest way to get across the idea that one could know what happened in the area where one worked or lived. So many people I talked with over the years never realized they passed that building on the way to work every day, or that ‘Granny really did live right across from one of the Bloody Sunday houses.’ Many people have now told me they never knew how important the building where they work was to Collins and Irish history. I’m glad I made the choice to separate it by postal codes.”

“That feckin’ book”

The one thing that almost guarantees you access to buildings with a connection to Collins is the magic words—“Michael Collins.” I’ve been able to gain access to several buildings around Dublin just by asking if I could take a look, most prominently 38 Upper Mount Street where Vinny Byrne shot two British spies on Bloody Sunday. Connell has had similar experiences, but not all of them positive.

“I once talked to a TV producer,” he recalls, “whose offices were on Lower Baggot Street—one of the buildings on Bloody Sunday.  The offices were completely remodeled and no-one would know of their history, or recognize them as a former rooming house.

“On the other hand, a friend of mine, the late Glasnevin Cemetery historian Shane MacThomais (RIP) was once walking around Dublin with one of my books and went up to a house on Upper Pembroke Street where the owner was tending her garden out front—Shane asked her if she was aware that her house was one of the houses on Bloody Sunday and she replied: ‘That feckin’ book.  I wish you people would stop coming by here!’”

Connell attributes the success of his book to his Dublin publisher, WordWell. “I was very lucky to work with WordWell,” he told IrishCentral.  “I’ve been writing the column in History Ireland for several years, and I have had a regular spot on 'Talking History' for Newstalk since 2009, but many publishers were very skeptical of this kind of book.  I think the format is so different that it was difficult for me to get across the idea that one could open the books almost anywhere and just start reading—my books are not the kind that a reader would read from cover to cover.  I’m very grateful to Nick Maxwell at WordWell for seeing how it is used, and we’ve both been very pleased, as all the books have sold very well.”

Connell, now based in Florida, will be traveling to Dublin in early November to attend the Dublin Book Fair. It’s a safe bet that he just may find another Collins address or two on his backstreet rambles.

* Dermot McEvoy is the author of the "The 13th Apostle: A Novel of Michael Collins and the Irish Uprising" and "Our Lady of Greenwich Village", both now available in paperback, Kindle and Audio from Skyhorse Publishing. He may be reached at dermotmcevoy50@gmail.com. Follow him at www.dermotmcevoy.com. Follow The 13th Apostle on Facebook at www.facebook.com/13thApostleMcEvoy.

The multi-award-winning Guinness Storehouse has announced details of a $18.2 million (€16m) expansion plan which will see the iconic Gravity Bar double in size. With its spectacular unparalleled panoramic 360-degree views over the city, Dublin’s highest bar has proven to be a highlight for the 16.5 million people who have visited the Guinness Storehouse since it opened in 2000.

Upon completion, the expansion will enhance the visitor experience, allowing the Guinness Storehouse to continue to provide a world-class tourism product, providing visitors with an immersive Guinness experience and a warm welcome to Dublin. Subject to planning permission, it is hoped that construction will commence in 2018 and will welcome visitors by 2019.

Speaking at the announcement, Paul Carty, Managing Director, Guinness Storehouse said “The Guinness Storehouse has become part of Dublin. It is the number one visitor attraction, and is a must-see and must-do experience; celebrated by the staff, by tourism in Ireland and by the people of Ireland.

Read more: New Yorker handed keys to Dublin’s Guinness’ Storehouse for overnight stay

“Staying ahead of the game, innovating and constantly investing has enabled us to provide a world-class experience of one of Ireland’s most iconic brands with huge international demand. We are now excited to reveal the next chapter of the Guinness Storehouse, the expansion of the magnificent Gravity Bar.”

The innovative plans announced today involve the creation of a new 360-degree space, which will directly link to the original Gravity Bar forming a unique, spectacular, panoramic space, which can hold up to 500 people at any one time, doubling the current capacity. The good news for visitors is that the Guinness Storehouse and existing Gravity Bar will remain open as normal during the construction period.

In addition to the expanded Gravity Bar, the Guinness Storehouse Hub, a new facilities building, directly adjacent to the Guinness Storehouse building is also included in the plans. This three-story building will provide additional space for the Guinness Archives one of the world’s most remarkable archives, chronicling the history of Guinness over a long 257 years, along with retail storage and employee hub.

Read more: History and genealogy treasures online at Guinness Storehouse

The $18.2 million (€16m) investment in the Guinness Storehouse further demonstrates Diageo’s commitment to the Liberties area of Dublin and the St. James’s Gate site.

It follows the announcement earlier this year of the launch of new premium blended Irish whiskey, Roe & Co. in the former Power Station at St. James’s Gate.  The total project investment for Roe & Co is planned at $28.4 million (€25m) over three years.

“This is an enormously exciting step in future-proofing the Guinness Storehouse. We are very proud of its success and our expansion plans are devised to enhance the experience that we offer to our visitors who come from all over the world to learn more about the iconic Guinness stout, savor amazing food in our restaurants and experience the best views of the city and surrounds from Gravity Bar”, continued Carty.

Since first opening its doors to the public in 2000, the Guinness Storehouse has made a significant contribution to Ireland’s tourism sector and economy.

Read more: Guinness Storehouse the most popular tourist attraction in Ireland

Commenting on the announcement, Paul Kelly, CEO, Fáilte Ireland, the National Tourism Development Authority said “This is a very exciting development for tourism in Dublin and a great vote of confidence in the future of the tourism sector from the Storehouse and Diageo. Compelling visitor experiences are central to attracting tourists to our shores and, to stay competitive and grow visitor numbers, it is imperative that we continuously improve our country’s suite of visitor attractions.

“The Guinness Storehouse is one of Ireland’s leading attractions and an iconic destination which almost everybody who comes to Dublin will seek out and I very much welcome today’s development – it’s great for tourism and it’s great for Dublin.”

Housed in the heart of St. James’s Gate, Dublin, the Guinness Storehouse was born of an ambitious plan to build a brand new ‘Home of Guinness’ through a $47.8 million (€42m) redevelopment of a 113-year-old former Guinness fermentation plant.

Over the past 16 years the Guinness Storehouse has continually been enhanced, developing its visitor experience to exceed consumers’ expectations. Recent years have seen the Guinness Storehouse open an exciting new food experience, Guinness and Food, and the Guinness advertising exhibit, the world’s most unique and innovative celebration of Guinness advertising.

The Guinness Storehouse tells the story of one of Ireland’s most iconic brands. Inside visitors from Ireland and abroad, discover what goes into making each pint, they learn about the incredible brand history stretching over 250 years, its iconic advertising, as well as a tasting like no other. The experience unfolds across seven floors, including the highlight for many visitors - the famous Gravity Bar, where visitors can enjoy unparalleled panoramic 360-degree views of Dublin city.

Read more: What you need to know about Guinness

A businessman from Boston was captivated by the beautiful take-off as he flew from Donegal to Dublin recently.

Patrick Bench, who captured the stunning view and posted the footage on Facebook, was in Derry and Donegal for business meetings. His work focused on promoting the northwest for economic development and expansion in the US.

“This was my first time taking the Donegal to Dublin flight. This was the most beautiful landscape take-off I had ever seen,” he told Independent.ie.

"I have just arrived back home to Boston and the video was a big hit here too."

Earlier this year, Donegal Airport was voted the world’s second-most scenic airport in a poll by PrivateFly, a private jet booking service. First place went to the Caribbean island of Saba.

See more: Beautiful Donegal captured in stunning drone footage 

H/T Donegal Now

Icelandic airline Wow air yesterday announced the start of a new service between Dublin and Chicago via Reykjavik for as little as $181 one way, including taxes and charges. Set to fly four times a week (Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays) year round, the low-price route will offer travel between July 2017 and March 2018, making the Windy City or Dublin a top option for Christmas shopping or for St. Patrick’s Day festivities.

“We are thrilled to be able to offer our Irish passengers more affordable travel to transatlantic destinations and to continue our mission to offer the lowest fares across the Atlantic,” said Svanhvít Fridriksdóttir, Director of Communications at WOW air.

“With its unique history and attractions, and the city’s deep ties to Ireland, it’s easy to see why Chicago appeals to Irish travelers.

“We’re delighted to add it to our route list and are pleased to be able to make the city more accessible than ever before.”

Chicago is already a popular choice among Irish tourists and visitors given the city's large Irish population, plenty of great Irish bars and four of America’s tallest buildings: Willis Tower, Trump International Hotel & Tower, Aon Center and John Hancock Center.

Travelers from Chicago and the Midwest are now among those who can avail of the ultra-cheap new flights to Ireland for a late summer vacation or a winter break.

The flights went on sale from July 13 from Dublin airport to Chicago’s O’Hare airport with a stopover in Iceland which could be extended into on either the outgoing or returning leg into a stopover of unlimited time. At peak summer schedule the flight schedule may also increase to as many as six days a week.

Commissioner at Chicago Department of Aviation, Ginger S. Evans, said at the route’s announcement in March: “This announcement is great news for the City of Chicago and O’Hare International Airport. I want to thank WOW air for choosing Chicago as its first central destination in North America.

“This new service is estimated to generate approximately $80 million in annual economic impact for the Chicago region, and will boost tourism and business for both the cities of Chicago and Reykjavík.”

The new route adds to nine others already offered by the Icelandic carrier via Reykjavik. WOW air currently flies to New York, Boston, Washington DC, Toronto, Montréal, Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Pittsburgh, the first of which was announced in June 2015, from Ireland.

Wow air and rivals Norwegian Air are revolutionizing the transatlantic options between Ireland and the US, offering budget prices between Dublin, Cork, and Shannon and a multitude of US airports.

Read more: Why you should visit Ireland with WOW Air and Cork Airport

I love Ireland, not just because I ‘miss home’, but I genuinely always appreciated it when I was there too. I have created this blog post to include some of my favorite places in Ireland to visit. Let me know if you share the love for any of these gems too…

Seafood and views in Lahinch

Lahinch is a small, seaside town in the north of County Clare in the west of Ireland and although I don’t surf and don’t even like the sea, there is something about Lahinch that really makes me warm inside. I love the simplicity of life, the landscape views and the food, oh the food!

I have had some of the best seafood in the local restaurant, O’Looney’s Bar. Not only is the food melt-in-your-mouth quality, the views from the restaurant are truly breathtaking.  So much so, that I included it in my post about my best restaurant experiences in Ireland. Be sure to grab a drink in the towns local bars beforehand too for some cozy craic in a typical Irish setting.

Top tip: if you’re heading to Lahinch; keep it simple and stay in a B&B. Bring your runners and forget your makeup bag. iPhone only necessary for capturing the memories.

Read more: How I made my dreams happen and moved to New York, scared but strong

The Cliffs of Moher

Another hit while you’re in County Clare is The Cliffs of Moher. In 2006, the cliffs drew over 1 million visitors. The site is historically one of Ireland’s most popular tourist destinations, I think this should be the number 8 wonder of the world!

It’s one of those scenes that literally takes your breath away. Partially because of the beauty and because the wind is usually at whipping force up there. Take note, if you’re afraid of heights, don’t go to the Cliffs of Moher.

Go when the weather is calm and don’t bring small kids. If you’re interested in taking a trip to County Clare.

Beaches of County Wexford

Like many Dublin families, we often ventured to Wexford for a weekend stay-cation throughout my teenage years. We were lucky enough to have a little cottage by the beach that I typically hated. It had no wifi, no dishwasher and the TV was just RTE 1, TG4 and TV3. Clearly, the serene beaches, Sunday country drives and a stack of books on my bedside wasn’t my idea of a ‘getaway’.

Oh, I how I crave such tranquility now.

The beaches in Wexford are clean and the weather is always better than Dublin down there too. My favorite little village is Blackwater and the best beaches are Ballinesker, Curracloe and Carne beach.

A castle getaway

I was invited down to Killiane Castle, not long before I left Ireland. Me and my Mam took to the road for a spontaneous mid-week getaway which ended up being a beautiful experience.

The castle is set out in a serene location, on a farm outside of the town of Wexford. The drive from Dublin to Wexford is always a scenic one, short but sweet – we stopped off in Avoca on the way of course!

Fish by the sea in Howth

I lived near Dublin when I was in Ireland and so, a visit to Howth was a common weekend activity. I love the restaurants there, so many fish options and of course, so fresh! The walk along the promenade is a great way to spend a Sunday, or just park up, have a picnic and enjoy the views.

If you do venture out to Howth, you won’t regret a visit to Octopussy’s tapas bar. Its small, quaint and a little bit grubby but you’ll love it if you know good fish!

* Stephanie O'Quigley has been blogging on SnappedUp.ie for over 4 years now. After a life-changing career with one of Ireland's most talked about brands and a 5-stone weight-loss, her blog has caught the attention of thousands in Ireland and the UK. Now, Stephanie has relocated to take on the New York City concrete jungle. Follow her blog to see an insight into living and working in Manhattan. You can follow her writings on her blog at www.snappedup.ie, or via Instagram @StephanieOQuigley or on Snapchat at StephanieOQ.

Despite all the drama and danger swirling in last night’s season seven premiere of 'Game of Thrones,' it’s very good to be back in Westeros, the fictional realm of The Seven Kingdoms where much of George R.R. Martin’s series takes place.

What fans longing to enter the world of 'Game of Thrones' – to stake their claim to Winterfell, walk the shores of the Dornish coast, or explore the Dothraki Grasslands – might not realize is that it’s possible to visit the Seven Kingdoms with only one stamp on your passport, as a great deal of the HBO series is filmed in Northern Ireland.

What’s more, the landscape and geography of the island of Ireland also served as an inspiration for Martin when he was mapping out his world. He has revealed that Westeros is in fact based on an upside-down map of Britain and Ireland, with major Irish cities sharing their locations with famous Westeros landmarks: King’s Landing as Galway, Donegal Bay as the Sea of Dorne, Belfast as Old Town and Dublin as Casterly Rock.

In honor of the start of 'GOT' Season 7, here are seven wondrous Westeros locations you have to visit in Northern Ireland.

The King’s Road (The Dark Hedges, Ballymoney, Co. Antrim)

One of the most iconic settings of 'Game of Thrones,' The King’s Road is the longest road in the Seven Kingdoms, running from the Wall at Castle Black all the way to King’s Landing. The real-life setting of the road is the mysterious Dark Hedges of Gracehill House in Ballymoney, Co. Antrim.   

The Stuart family planted the stunning avenue of beech trees in the 1700s as the grand entryway to their estate. They are one of the most frequently photographed attractions in Northern Ireland, and conveniently located right off the beautiful Causeway Coastal Route, just a 20-minute drive from the otherworldly Giants Causeway.

The Coast of Dorne (Portstewart Strand, Co. Derry)

Less than 20 miles from the Dark Hedges, you’ll find yourself in a different part of Westeros entirely! The sandy beaches of Portstewart in Co. Derry is the filming location for the coast of the Dorne, the southern-most kingdom of Westeros, home to the House of Martell and the Sandsnakes. It’s where Jamie Lannister and Bronn set foot on land during their mission to rescue the Princess Myrella. 

Though it’s a sight to behold at any time of the year, Portstewart is, perhaps, best enjoyed in the summer months as it’s a blue flag beach – ideal for swimming, strolling and sunbathing.

The Haunted Forest (Tollymore Forest Park, Co. Down)

While it has appeared as a number of different settings throughout 'Game of Thrones' (the forest where the Stark family discovers the direwolf pups in the first episode; the trees where Ramsay Bolton hunts Theon Greyjoy), Tollymore Forest Park is perhaps most recognizable (and most terrifying!) as The Haunted Forest, where the evil White Walkers begin their long but seemingly unstoppable march to bring winter to the world of men once again.

In reality, Tollymore Forest Park is one of the most beautiful forests in all of Northern Ireland, and only 33 miles south of Belfast. Six hundred acres of ancient redwood trees and crumbling gothic ruins await you.

The Dothraki Grasslands and Sea (Shillanavogy Valley, Sleamish, Co. Antrim and Binevenagh Mountain, Co. Derry)

Northern Ireland manages to contain parts of the kingdom of Essos, too! Unleash your inner khaleesi (queen, for those not familiar with the Dothraki language) in these settings for the Dothraki Sea, home to the nomadic, equestrian-centric society.

The Shillanavogy Valley, in the shadow of Sleamish Mountain in Co. Antrim, is one such setting, as is the majestic Binevenagh Mountain in Co. Derry which boasts a mountain walk, a scenic route, and gorgeous views of Lough Foyle. 

Sleamish is just a few miles east of the lovely town of Ballymena (hometown of Liam Neeson), and Binevenagh is accessible via the Binevenagh Scenic Route, a quick detour from the Causeway Coastal Route.

Winterfell (Castle Ward and Demesne, Strangford, Co. Down)

This might just be the holy grail for 'Game of Thrones' fans. Castle Ward’s historic farmyard has served as the setting for the exterior scenes of Winterfell, the rightful home of the Stark family, oft usurped by others. The grounds are also where Robb Stark’s army camps.

The 18th-century property – a National Trust site – has fully embraced its modern claim to fame, offering visitors the chance to live a full 'Game of Thrones' experience, dressing up in character and practicing archery in the very spot where Robb, Bran Stark and Jon Snow do in the series. The castle is a mere 7 miles from Downpatrick, where St. Patrick is believed to be buried at Down Cathedral.

The Iron Islands (Ballintoy Harbor, Co. Antrim)

Ballintoy Harbor in Co. Antrim has been used as the location for Pyke, the seat of power of the Iron Islands, the kingdom of the Ironborn that splintered from Westeros. It’s where Theon first meets his sister, Yara Greyjoy.

Ballintoy is a stunning raised beach, connected to the historic village of Ballintoy. There are enticing attractions aplenty nearby, including Northern Ireland’s famous Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, which is less than a 10-minute drive away.

Bay of Dragons/Slaver’s Bay, and Renly’s Camp (Murlough Bay, Co. Antrim)

Another gorgeous example of one Northern Ireland location doubling as a Westeros and Essos spot. The beautiful Murlough Bay has been the scene of the Bay of Dragons – formerly known as Slaver’s Bay – and the setting for Renly Baratheon’s camp in the second season of 'Game of Thrones.'

Murlough Bay, a must-see along the Causeway Coastal Route, boasts unparalleled views of Rathlin Island and, on an especially clear day, even the Mull of Kintyre in Scotland.

Watch this video to see even more Game of Thrones filming locations you can visit in Northern Ireland:

Which 'Game of Thrones' location would you most like to visit? Are there any other settings you’d like to know the real Northern Ireland locations of? Let us know in the comment section.

This post is proudly produced in partnership with Tourism Ireland. Find out more on Ireland.com

It’s the centennial of President John F. Kennedy’s birth, and this month an exciting new exhibition in Provincetown, Massachusetts is celebrating his legacy and his deep attachment to the Cape Cod peninsula, a place that is now synonymous with the Kennedy family. Cahir O'Doherty talks to curator Christine McCarthy about JFK 100: A Centennial Celebration and is surprised and moved by this unmissable exhibition.

Cape Cod and the Kennedy family compound in Hyannis Port have achieved a near mythic stature in U.S. history. It was the original summer White House, a place where the famous Irish American family vacationed in good times and bad, and it functioned as a welcome retreat from the national stage.

“I always come back to the Cape and walk the beach when I have tough decisions to make,” wrote JFK. “The Cape is the one place I can think and be alone.”

This month the life and legacy of the 35th president of the United States is being commemorated on the Cape itself in 'JFK 100: A Centennial Celebration,' an unmissable new exhibition at PAAM (Provincetown Art Association and Museum).

A collaboration with the John F. Kennedy Hyannis Museum and the Edward M. Kennedy Institute in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s birth, the pride the peninsula takes in its most famous son is quite unmistakable from the moment you enter the new exhibit.

PAAM executive director and curator of the exhibit Christine McCarthy is clear about the main impulses that guided the collaboration. “Who doesn’t love the Kennedys?” she told our sister publication the Irish Voice. “And I thought it would draw some new people to town.”

That it is doing. For those who don’t know, Provincetown is located at the very tip of Cape Cod, just a 90 minute fast ferry from Boston. It has been a haven for artists, the gay community and every kind of counter-cultural movement for at least a century.

Provincetown is a small coastal resort of about 3,000 people, whose numbers swell to upward of 60,000 during the busy summer months, this year PAAM is rolling out the welcome mat to Irish and Irish American visitors by celebrating the life and legacy of the most celebrated Irish American of all time.

The first thing you will see as you walk through the museum doors is the iconic black and white photograph of JFK and his younger brother Robert huddled together in deep discussion, their bond never more apparent.

Jacques Lowe took the photograph on July 14, 1960, the day after JFK received the Democratic presidential nomination, sealing his fate. Looking at it in person is an unexpectedly moving experience, all the more so for being the first thing you see.

It’s a heady thing to stand and contemplate the fates of this Irish American family who have known more than their share of misfortune.

“This show has a lot of the family, it’s not just JFK,” McCarthy explains. “Here, for example, is a portrait of JFK Jr. from 2005 by Cape Cod artist Shelby Leyton,” McCarthy says, pointing to a particularly vivid portrait.

In Leyton’s vivid portrait she magically captures JFK Jr.’s intelligence and charisma, as well as his curious elusiveness, which makes the tragedy of his fate all the more moving too.

For all their achievements and wealth, there is an unmistakable note of yearning that ties the Kennedys to each other, and that is sometimes captured in these remarkable exhibition pieces.

Partly it’s from our knowledge of the horror that befell them; partly it’s from having to live their public and private lives in its endless aftermath. To us it’s near legend; to them it’s their folks.

A poem by the then 10-year-old Caroline Kennedy has the power to stop a viewer in their tracks. Written in a child’s looping script, it’s dedicated to her grandmother Rose and it celebrates her grandfather Joe Kennedy Sr., who had by then developed aphasia and lost the power of speech.

In pride of place is a Jamie Wyeth lithograph of JFK on his adored sailboat the Victura, which the family originally purchased in 1932 and which quickly became an important and enduring part of their lives.

Sailing was a skill that brought the family together, McCarthy writes in the foreword to the exhibition.  It taught them teamwork, perseverance and competition, lessons that later permeated their public service.

Some viewers (and I raise my own hand here) will be surprised to learn that Senator Ted Kennedy took up painting himself in later years, and one of his watercolors of a sailboat from 2005 is on display in the exhibition.

“Ted was an artist, who knew that?” laughs McCarthy, who admits to being Italian and one-quarter Irish (more so now her nonna is not here to scold her). “I was surprised to hear that myself. The picture here is of his boat The Mya. I thought it would be fun to include that.”

Since Provincetown is filled with theater designers, interior designers and fashion designers of all stripes, McCarthy has decided to include some of the papers of Robert Luddington, the interior designer to the Kennedy White House, the Hyannis Port house and the apartment that JFK lived in with his wife Jackie before he was president.

“These are some of the notes and receipts for the furniture for the apartment he lived in before he became president,” McCarthy explains. “Jackie’s notes to him always insist that he get the cheapest one of whatever he suggests.”

Perhaps she had an eye on bad press, fearing too much obvious luxury would be a cause for criticism. How times change.

The Kennedys were the ultimate Cape Cop family and yet in a way – being Irish – they were not too. Sixty percent of JFK’s neighbors on Cape Cod voted for Nixon after all.

“You would think Cape Cod is a Democratic stronghold, but up the Cape there were Trump signs on people’s lawns from Orleans to Bourne,” McCarthy says.

There were a lot of scandals in the Kennedy family, and that was a contributing factor to the coolness with which they were greeted in parts of the peninsula.

Some of the cold response to the Kennedys also stemmed from their remoteness. “You can see the compound from the road in Hyannis Port, but you are not allowed to approach it,” McCarthy shrugs.

Meanwhile, the idea for the JFK centennial is to have commemorations along the Cape all the way to Provincetown. People love the Kennedys and they respond in particular to the letters, seeing Jackie’s handwriting, she says.

“There is a depressing part of this too. After you’ve been here you can walk out and think, compared to what we have now, please let’s go back to this,” McCarthy says.

“KENNEDY FOR PRESIDENT” reads the famous red white and blue election poster on display. Above it are the words, A Time for Greatness.

“What the Kennedys represent in Provincetown and this side of the Cape is inspiration. That’s what Provincetown is all about too. People have been coming here to paint (and to live more freely) for 100 years and the light and the landscape haven’t changed that much,” McCarthy says.

“For JFK, Cape Cod was the one place where he could be alone and walk on the beach and think about the decisions he had to make. This was a safe haven for him. It’s very tranquil here even on blustery days.”

Being able to walk on the beach here alone is a privilege he appreciated, as well as the Cape’s breathtaking beauty and the ample opportunities to go sailing she says.

“The Victura is now on the front lawn of the Kennedy Library,” she adds, with a curator’s eye for metaphor.

This timely exhibition reminds us that to truly understand JFK you need to understand how deep his connection with the Cape peninsula actually was. 'JFK 100: A Centennial Celebration' successfully restores that link, and it does it in the place he was happiest, which makes it worth the trip to Provincetown in itself.

The exhibit is on display at the Provincetown Art Association and Museum through September 4.

One of Ireland’s most iconic landmarks is set for another close up on the big screen.

Skellig Michael off the coast of Co. Kerry on the Wild Atlantic Way featured in Star Wars: The Force Awakens in the very last scene when Rey goes in search of Luke Skywalker and finds him in a cliffhanger of a scene.

The production team chose the island because of its hauntingly beautiful scenery and its timeless nature.

And they enjoyed filming there so much, the island features prominently in the new behind-the-scenes teaser trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi - due to be released in December.

The decision came as something of a surprise to actor, Mark Hamill, who returns again to play the part of Luke Skywalker.

"When I read the script for Episode VIII, I went, 'Oh my God, we're going back?'" Hamill said. "Because I said I was never going back."

Read More: Mysterious history of Skellig Michael, ancient Irish island featured in Star Wars

Hamill has previously admitted that Skellig Michael’s unique geography has been something of a challenge to him as an actor.

“I had to stop every 10, 15 minutes to rest," he told Vanity Fair.

After centuries of habitation by monks, Skellig Michael was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.

Read More: Why we have to protect Skellig Michael before it's too late

Long known as one of Ireland’s premier tourist attractions, it attracted 12,560 visitors in 2015 but number surged after the cast of Star Wars visited the island and 14,678 people made the trip in 2016.

H/T: RTÉ/Irish Times

A stunning new hotel inspired by Belfast’s rich maritime history will open its doors to the public this September after a $36m (€31.5m) investment.

This new hotel will take inspiration from the city’s most famous ocean liner, RMS Titanic, which was constructed in Belfast before its ill fated maiden voyage from Southampton in England to New York City.

Titanic Hotel Belfast, which is currently under construction, will be located at the old offices of the famed shipbuilders Harland and Wolff, which began building the Titanic in 1909. This latest attraction in Belfast will offer 119 stylish rooms starting at $180 (€158) per night, as well as a 140 seater restaurant equipped with a 1920’s themed cocktail bar.

General Manager for Titanic Hotel Belfast, Adrian McNally, said: "There's a huge amount of design we have tried to carry through from the ship. You'll see the rivets on the back wall and the lamps are stuff that you would have seen on an old ship. The designer – Maria Rice – has done everything she can to get the Titanic nautical theme into this.

"Most rooms will have an amazing view; one side will have the cranes, Samson and Goliath – there's going to be huge demand for them, because everyone loves the cranes – while the other side will have the Titanic visitor attraction and the architecture of it is stunning as well. So there's no bad view anywhere."

This new venture is expected to attract over 50,000 visitors before the end of the year and the hotel has already taken multiple room and function bookings. Several event spaces will be available within the hotel for functions in the old offices of Thomas Andrews, Lord Pirrie and Mr Charles Payne, notable figures with Harland and Wolff.

Much of the old flooring and tiles have been salvaged and restored during construction, with developers eager to keep as much of the original aesthetics as possible while also incorporating the Titanic theme.

John Doherty, Group Creative Director at property management and construction firm Harcourt Developments said, “History and heritage helped build this hotel, and it can be seen in every aspect of the finish, from the carpet to the cornices. We are working with the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Titanic Foundation to ensure Belfast’s illustrious shipbuilding legacy is told in true style.”

Titanic Belfast Hotel will open its doors to the public this September and will be holding a free six week exhibition offering tours on the history of the building.

Could you be tempted to join the experience at this new luxury hotel?

Two of Ireland’s top hotels have been named among the “World’s Best 100 Hotels” as part of Travel and Leisure’s 2017 World’s Best Awards. Another is listed among the best resorts in Ireland, the United Kingdom and Europe.

Ballyfin Hotel, in County Laois, came in at number 39, with Cong, County Mayo’s luxurious Ashford Castle voted the 59th best hotel in the world. The five-star Sheen Falls Lodge, in County Kerry, was voted third in the “Top Resort Hotel in UK & Ireland” and number 11 in the “Top Resort Hotels in Europe.”

Each year Travel and Leisure invite their readers to vote for their favorite hotels, cities, airlines, other transportation, and more, between November of the prior year and March of the current year.

The prestigious site describes the “World’s Best 100 Hotels” list as: “From luxe adventure lodges to intimate inns to grand city hotels, these are the planet's best places to stay.” The results, voted for by their readers, include hotels from all over the world, from Indonesia to Wyoming.

Meanwhile, the five-star Sheen Falls Lodge in Kerry has been named the number 3 “Top Resort Hotel in the UK & Ireland” and number 11 in the “Top Resort Hotels in Europe” list.

In 2016 Ashford Castle won several international awards and in 2015 it was awarded the title of the Hotel of the Year by Virtuoso. This year the stunning Lough Corrib resort made the press as it played host to Irish golfing champ Rory McIlroy’s wedding.

Read more: Once in a lifetime stay in the “best hotel in the world” in County Mayo

Ballyfin, similarly, has been recognized in recent years for its success. In 2016, it was named the world's best hotel at the Conde Nast Traveler's Readers' Choice Awards. It was also joined in that list by Waterford Castle, at seventh place and The Lodge, also at Ashford Castle, came ninth.

General Manager of Sheen Falls Lodge, Seamus Crotty had this to say on being voted onto the “Top Resort Hotel in UK & Ireland” and “Top Resort Hotels in Europe”:  “We are very proud to have been named in two categories at this year’s Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards.”

He added, “The caliber of Irish hotels who feature on both the Top Hotels in UK & Ireland and Top Resort Hotels in Europe is testament to the exceptional standard and offering of the Irish hospitality industry, which we are delighted to represent.”

Nihi Sumba Island (formerly Nihiwatu), in Indonesia, an eco-friendly resort which is home to traditional villages, waterfalls, fishing activities, claimed the top spot on the list.

Here’s a run-down of the top 10 hotels in the world:

1. Nihi Sumba Island (formerly Nikiwatu), Indonesia
2. The Brando, Tetiaroa, French Polynesia
3. Lodge & Spa at Brush Creek Ranch, Saratoga, Wyoming
4. Lodge at Kauri Cliffs, Matauri Bay, New Zealand
5. Gibbs’s Farm, Karatu, Tanzania
6. Tswalu Kalahari, Tswalu Kalahari Reserve, South Africa
7. Triple Creek Ranch, Darby, Montana
8. Cavas Wine Lodge, Mendoza, Argentina
9. Inn at Willow Grove, Orange, Virginia
10. Rosewood CordeValle, San Martin, California tied with Zarafa Camp, Selinda Reserve, Botswana

Do you have a favorite hotel in Ireland? Let us know below.