Countrywide Inns - Foxrock Inn Portlaoise

It was really exciting to be able to spend my 20th birthday in Ireland. It started off with an interesting surprise on Monday night before my birthday. I was at Irish dance and they informed the instructor that it was my birthday. So of course I got a cake and sung to be everyone at Irish dance which by the way it is us Americans and then all ederly people. Then they sat me in the stool in the middle of the room and because of irish tradition ...

... looks much more impressive from the air because of its concentric grassy rings. From atop the hill one can see for miles! It was here that St. Patrick used the shamrock to explain the Trinity to the druid king Laoghaire. Tara was also the home of the high kings, and on it is the sacred Lia Fail or "Stone of Destiny". It is said that when the rightful king of Tara placed his hands on the stone, the stone would roar. We tramped about the fields, climbed the hills, and took a few ...

Founded in 1620 - best known for the family's contribution to astronomy. In 1845, the world's largest telescope at the time was built here. The 56 ft wooden tube is supported by two walls.<br><br>In the gardens, they apparently also have the world's largest hedge-row.<br>

... Carlow in Irish Experience and you will see some of those pictures on here. This first week and a half has flown by but I already feel like I have been here for awhile because we have meet so many new people and made quite a few friends. We got invited to a hurling match today but it was going to be kind of expensive to go so we turned it down. This coming weekend we are going to Galway. We ...

After finishing the Ring of Dingle we pointed the GPS to Killarney. On the way we were in need of a rest, bathroom and a pint. So we stopped at a very interesting place, Inch Beach. Ironically the beach is a 3 miles long crescent of sand. Must be the old Irish sense of humor in play. <br>The beach reminded me a little of Wildwood, without the boardwalk. There was a lot of sand to traverse before reaching the water's edge. <br>It was ...

... end up dancing out of rhythm with everyone else - random!) Oh, and if you recognise my friend Jo that I was with, then yes, that's right, you've seen her before! She was the girl I met in Australia, and we travelled from Brisbane to Sydney together. If you're still unsure, I'm sure if I mention snake stew; surfing on sand; random hippy houses...it may trigger your memory! LOL!!

... which made AJ very happy indeed.! No hurling jumpers within price range were available for CS. We then travelled from Waterford to Ballybrittas to stay with family of AJ's. She had corresponded with family via email and letter with occassional phone calls so it was a major thing meeting them face to face after many ...

... us to a pub called Langton&#8217;s for dinner and a few drinks. It wasn&#8217;t quite the style of Irish pub that I had imagined, it was all marble and brown couches in the modernist design I was more used to in the try-hard pretentious venues around my former work-place in Martin Place in the middle of Sydney. But it was an evening we all enjoyed immensely, the craic was grand and it was a total gas. T&#8217;anks a million Shauna for a wonderful time.

... one man, John Onions, saw me he thought himself a little above me, and a lot more, when he saw me and the donkey. And we started off at the Rock and finished at the Heath which is three or four miles away, after the hounds. At the Heath there was only himself and two huntsmen after 30 starting and me with the donkey. He said, "How did you get here with that donkey?" Oh, I made little of those horses. I could take short cuts and I could see ...

... picturesque. And the buildings they built blend in well with the natural beauty. Most of the buildings are ruins now. However, enough of the complex remains to give the visitor a strong indication of what the place looked like in its heyday. Of particular note are St. Kevin's Kitchen and the Bell Tower. I stood in the shadow of the Bell Tower for about 15 minutes, simply marveling at its existence. Not only is this structure 100 feet high, it has also ...