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Simon Benton
18-Mar-2016, 06:33
I am lucky enough to be spending a month in Ireland the last half of May and first half of June. Have not been back since spending a year at university in Dublin in the 60's and if any Irish members can recommend photo opportunities ( and great pubs) I would be most grateful. We will be staying in counties Kerry, Galway and Donegal and have a small car so can travel around. How is the weather normally in May and June? I have a memory of woodlands dotted with bluebells but can't remember the exact time of year.

Greg
18-Mar-2016, 07:18
I am lucky enough to be spending a month in Ireland the last half of May and first half of June. Have not been back since spending a year at university in Dublin in the 60's and if any Irish members can recommend photo opportunities ( and great pubs) I would be most grateful. We will be staying in counties Kerry, Galway and Donegal and have a small car so can travel around. How is the weather normally in May and June? I have a memory of woodlands dotted with bluebells but can't remember the exact time of year.

Spent a week in Doolin few years ago teaching a Photo class. Loved the area.

Sean Mac
18-Mar-2016, 17:45
The weather is likely to be good. Winter is already over and Spring is with us now. Bring raingear but Tshirt weather on the same day is quite possible.

The west coast has Atlantic sea cliffs and sea scapes and Neolithic stone structures all the way from Donegal to Kerry.:)

Traditional music and good pints are easy to find.

Darkroom531
18-Mar-2016, 20:34
Strongly recommend the Donegal Coast and east to the N Antrim Coast. You have picked the driest time of the year.

Steven Tribe
19-Mar-2016, 12:29
Allow longer times than usual for road travel. All roads seem to go through the centers of every town and village on every route. But otherwise, a wonderful place - but then I am often mistaken for Gerry Adams, even by the passport checkers at Dublin airport!

Sean Mac
19-Mar-2016, 19:29
Allow longer times than usual for road travel. All roads seem to go through the centers of every town and village on every route. snip

The irish road "system" does make it easy to get from one good pub to the next good pub. Traditionally by donkey and cart.:)

The food is a lot better than in the 1960's according to the American Ambassador on the radio this morning. Hairy bacon, potatoes and boiled cabbage is now a "heritage" choice.

Simon Benton
20-Mar-2016, 06:17
Thanks for the great replies. When I was in Dublin in the 60's and had some free time I went trout fishing at Gouganne Barra and stayed at Cronin's Hotel which is still there. One memorable day Éamon de Valera visited the inn accompanied by an enormous police bodyguard with a Webley pistol stuck in his belt. The bar at that that time had no full time bar keeper and it was run on the honour system - you went behind the bar, poured your drink and paid and made change out of the cash till. Mr de Valera was behind the bar and graciously served our drinks and gave advice on fishing - only in Ireland could the President serve you a drink and take your money and give change. The bodyguard was very friendly as well and told some great stories of the area.

Steven Tribe
20-Mar-2016, 10:04
I have found memories of Lough fishing in the west for lake trout. Ugly fish with humpbacks, but taste OK said the Landlady. Always nervous about meeting the ghost of Michael Collins, now he would have another tale to tell!

go_jmo
21-Mar-2016, 05:14
Bring enough clothes and weather gear for 4 seasons in 1 day. Especially in the coastal areas. This is when our better weather comes in but it can still be cold and very wet. If you're lucky it will be dry and you will get spectacular sunsets. I am lucky enough to live not far from the North Antrim coastline and it is breathtaking (even for someone who sees it every week!). There are great restaurants (try the Ramore Winebar in Portrush) and decent pubs dotted around everywhere. Donegal scenery is also beautiful and deserted, even at that time of year. There should be plenty of scope for decent landscape pictures. Enjoy!

Richard Raymond
21-Mar-2016, 06:53
In County Kerry we spent most of our visit on the Dingle Peninsula seeing the coast, the small farms, sheep in the meadows and across the heights. There is some good hiking across the north of the area. Roads are narrow and the large tour buses have invaded the area for day trips but still enjoyable mixture of green and ocean. We also spent time in the Killarney National Park. A good mixture of tourist sites and remote trails with Red Deer visible in most places. The Ring of Kerry is ok but darn busy much like the town of Killarney.
In Country Galway we enjoyed the Connemara National Park for good hiking and scenery. Inishmor is classic Ireland with plenty of tourists and not much in the way of accommodations.
Getting from Kerry to Galway through Country Clare you might want to make a stop for the Burren. It is an interesting landscape with a variety of plants. There is a small national park in the area.
Our travel preference is generally for smaller places and back roads so we sort of meandered. Also, if you are getting a small rental car with standard shift I would recommend a diesel as the pulling power in the gears will get you around corners and roundabouts when you forget to downshift :)
Have a good trip.
Ric

DavidFisk
26-Mar-2016, 18:30
I am lucky enough to be spending a month in Ireland the last half of May and first half of June. Have not been back since spending a year at university in Dublin in the 60's and if any Irish members can recommend photo opportunities ( and great pubs) I would be most grateful. We will be staying in counties Kerry, Galway and Donegal and have a small car so can travel around. How is the weather normally in May and June? I have a memory of woodlands dotted with bluebells but can't remember the exact time of year.

The frustrating thing about Ireland is when you are driving along the "main highway" which is less than 2 normal traffic lanes wide, and see a good photo pop, but realize that there is nowhere to turn off and stop. The Irish have no concept of "road shoulder." Sad to say.

Check out this: South Pole Pub, Main Street, Annascaul, Ireland. It was founded, I think, by Tom Crean of the Shackleton expedition. Inside are photos of the expedition and sculptures of him and his really big dogs in the park across the street. The history alone is worth the stop. On the north side of the highway as I recall.

giorgiospugnesi
30-Apr-2016, 00:13
I was in Ireland some years ago. No LF shooting but a lot of B&W pinhole shoots. Let me say Ireland is a marvelous place!
Some tips on interesting place to visit photographically speaking:
Gledalough and Upper Lake
Rock of Cashel (expecially on sunset)
Dingle Peninsula and Connor Pass
Cliff of Moher (a bit crowded) and Burren Area
Aran Islands
Boyne River near Newgrange

If you like urban landscapes, you can visit Belfast: visit the two neighborhods, the Catholic one and the Protestant one, whith the big wall between them is very impressive. Some of the many graffitti painted on home walls are interesting and could be a photographic subject.