Driving tour of Ireland

Rossnowlagh is my happy place :-)....June is a great time to go, you'll have the weather for it!

Not a lot to do, unless you like the beach and ice cream and guinness...but for me, thats the beauty of it...is it the Sandhouse you're staying? Kinda "retro" hotel....but we spend a lot of time in the Surfers Bar next to it....you'll have good craic in there. Would also recommend the Gaslight restaurant and Smugglers Inn.....smugglers is the one many recommend, i personally prefer the Gaslight.

If you had a wee bit of time, id drive Belfast - Dungannon - Ballygawley - Enniskillen and then on to Leitrim....just to get a bit of Ennikillen into the trip
we have a self catering right on the edge of the cliff! Good spot for watching the sun set and drinking wine. We will defo check out the pubs you mention. I think the smugglers is 5 mins walk from the s/c. I may look and get a days fly fishing in as well. Just had a quick look and Lough Melvin isn't far off. I'm sure we drove round the outskirts of Enniskillen on the way to the ferry last time. Its worth a visit?
 
Spent two days in Gallway in Sept, and ended up in O'Connell's bar a few times. We stayed in Forster court hotel which has a good restaurant as well.
Also the Quays is a nice, old pub that puts on the Trad music.
Thanks mate. Our choice of hotel was either the Residence or Fosters Court - both looked good. Ultimately we went for the Residence because it looked like it had the better bar. Will defo check out the pubs you mention.
 
we have a self catering right on the edge of the cliff! Good spot for watching the sun set and drinking wine. We will defo check out the pubs you mention. I think the smugglers is 5 mins walk from the s/c. I may look and get a days fly fishing in as well. Just had a quick look and Lough Melvin isn't far off. I'm sure we drove round the outskirts of Enniskillen on the way to the ferry last time. Its worth a visit?

Yeah, i just did a quick google map trip and it took you passed Enniskillen...just thought if you had a wee bit of time its worth visiting....though its not the end of the world if you dont manage it, theres a lot of beautiful stuff you'll see anyway :-)
 
Ha ha. Yes that’s what we were told last year and apart from one half day, we spent most of our 9 days in lovely sunshine. We will be bringing the weather with us again ;-)
Any recommendations on good authentic Irish pubs with good food and live music. I will look at Trip Advisor for stuff to visit but your own thoughts welcome.

For live music you can't beat Monroes bar in Galway. Events vary throughout the year. You'd also have Taaffes at the point where Quay Street joins Shop Street, and Tig Coili too just over the way. People rave about Neachtains too but i've never been in - I personally can't stand trad music, but then again i'm not Irish.....

Should you find yourself in/around the Burren, try and stop at Linnanes Oyster Bar at New Quay. This area is within one hour from Galway if you choose to head down that way.
 
For live music you can't beat Monroes bar in Galway. Events vary throughout the year. You'd also have Taaffes at the point where Quay Street joins Shop Street, and Tig Coili too just over the way. People rave about Neachtains too but i've never been in - I personally can't stand trad music, but then again i'm not Irish.....

Should you find yourself in/around the Burren, try and stop at Linnanes Oyster Bar at New Quay. This area is within one hour from Galway if you choose to head down that way.

Trad nights are all about the craic in the pub...ya dont need to love it :-)
 
So after the success of last years driving tour (it was totally brilliant). We have decided to visit the places we missed last year. So we are driving from Belfast ferry to Leitrim village for a night then on to Galway for a couple of nights in the city centre then we have 5 nights in a self cater overlooking the Atlantic close to Ballyshanon (say hi to Rory G) and then up to Bushmills before getting the ferry back. Any suggestions for Pubs, eateries and things to do in any of those areas very gratefully received.

If you're coming in June you'll just miss out on this.https://www.rorygallagherfestival.com/ which is a pity. That's the June B/Hol weekend.
Rory died June 14th so if you're around in mid June it may be worth checking Ballyshannon out. You'll always get live music there.

Great suggestions being given to you by people with local knowledge.
You have a lot of scope in the directions you could take each day. If you see out early you could see quite a lot.
From Galway I would definitely do the Connemara option as outlined when you inquired last year.The Wild Atlantic way is the way to go.
Clifden through Leenane up to Westport (a great spot). Through North Mayo, Sligo and onto your Rossnowlagh destination.
5 days there gives you plenty of options too. Slieve League sea cliffs (highest sea cliffs in Ireland) on Donegal's south coast well worth a look, as is the beach at Malin Beg. Very quiet out there, as South West as you can go in Donegal.
If you want to go further north, Mount Errigal and Glenveagh national park, past Gweedore, is a lovely drive and worth a visit.
It's a long way up and would take your entire day round trip, but really lovely.

Hope you have a great time and get the weather again.
 
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Not been to Ireland in 25yrs . Did a week touring and staying in farmhouses in 1992 , it was one of my favourite holidays of all time . Can you still find pubs that also double up as shops ?
 

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