This Winter in Ireland: Stunning Sunsets, Lively Music and Amazing Food Await You

-

 



Nestled between Christmas season and St. Patrick’s Day, the winter months in Ireland are full of magic, comfort and delight for intrepid travelers.

Irish winters are rarely extreme, with an average temperature between 40 and 46 degrees, and don’t be surprised to wake up to clear blue skies and sunshine. When Ireland is occasionally blanketed with the purest of snow, it only makes the landscape more evocative and alluring.

In winter, you’ll have plenty of room to roam, and time to explore the same charms that Ireland offers year round, from cozy pubs and lively music sessions to tasty cuisine and miles of breathless landscapes and seascapes. Here are suggestions to get you going.

Let’s start with the winter beauty of Ireland. Shorter days and longer evenings mean incredible sunsets up and down the coast. Try these spots for a memorable Irish sunset or discover your own! Along the Causeway Coast in Northern Ireland, check out Murlough Beach in Co. Down, and in nearby Co. Antrim, Dunluce Castle, the Giant’s Causeway, and the Dark Hedges. Along the Wild Atlantic Way, see the Cliffs of Moher in Co. Clare and Lough Gur in Co. Limerick. In Dublin, the view from Howth north of the city is stunning.

If your ideal cozy winter day is going to a pub, having a glass of whiskey or a pint of stout with home-cooked traditional meals, while enjoying a warm fire with live traditional music, then Ireland is the place for you! There are hundreds of Irish traditional music sessions nightly in Ireland. Some of our favorite sessions are at O’Flaherty’s Pub in Dingle, Co. Kerry; McCann’s Pub in Doolin, Co. Clare; the Crane Bar in Galway City; and O’ Donoghue’s Pub on Merrion Row in Dublin.

For a full course of excellent music, check out the annual TradFest in Dublin, on January 24-28, 2024, where the world’s best traditional musicians and singers converge. This year’s broad lineup includes singer Janis Ian, uilleann piper Paddy Keenan, American banjo star Alison Brown, Galician piper Carlos Nuñez and more!

For distinctive Irish food experiences, try the Saltwater Brig, a country style pub and restaurant nestled in Kircubbin, Co. Down on the shores of Strangford Lough. In Dublin, visit Sinnott’s Bar near St. Stephen’s Green on South King Street. Dating back to the 18th century, Sinnott’s has a full Irish menu with breakfast, lunch and dinner. MacNean House and Restaurant in Blacklion, Co. Cavan, run by Chef Neven Maguire and his wife Amelda, offers an award-winning menu, including great vegetarian dishes. Farmgate Café in Cork City offers a relaxed atmosphere in Ireland’s oldest covered food market, for over 25 years, sourcing the freshest ingredients from the Food Stalls of the English Market, and with small-scale market gardeners.

Wherever you go in Ireland, you’ll find beauty and warmth - even in winter!

For information about visiting Ireland this winter or year round, go to ireland.com/ 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Declan Crowley is new Cultural Programming Manager at the Irish Cultural Centre of Greater Boston

-
Image
The Irish Cultural Centre of Greater Boston (ICC) has announced the appointment of Declan Crowley as its new Cultural Programming Manager. Declan's primary role will be to curate a diverse lineup of Irish, Irish-American, and Celtic artists to perform at the Centre throughout the year, from musicians, singers and dancers to writers, filmmakers, historians and artists, while catering to a wide audience of people who cherish Irish culture. Crowley brings a wealth of experience and artistic vision to his new role.  Originally from Burnt Hills, NY, he is an eight-time Regional, two- time National, and All-Ireland Champion Irish dancer, as well as a two-time silver and bronze medal holder at the World Championships and a NFAA youngArts™️ Silver Medalist in World Dance, Crowley began touring internationally with Michael Flatley’s “Lord of the Dance” in 2009, where he played the principal role of ‘Don Dorcha, the Dark Lord’ until 2013. While completing his B.A. in English at the College ...
Read more

General Edward L. Logan, Namesake of Boston's Logan International Airport

-
Image
General Edward L. Logan (1875-1939), namesake of Boston’s Logan International Airport , died on July 6 1939 from a sudden 'heart ailment.'  His brother, Reverend Leo J. Logan, presided over the funeral mass at the Gate of Heaven Church in South Boston, with tributes by leading politicians like Senator David I. Walsh , former Massachusetts Governor and Boston Mayor James M. Curley and former Mayor John F. Fitzgerald .  Logan is buried at the Calvary Cemetery in West Roxbury.  A first generation Irish-American, military leader, civic leader and municipal judge with family roots in Galway and South Boston,  Edward was the oldest of nine children of Lawrence and Catherine (O’Connor), according to Michael Cummings of Milton, an expert on the Logan Family. Edward’s father Lawrence immigrated to Boston from Ballygar, County Galway, in 1858, and became a successful businessman at a young age when he became president of the Boston Brewing Company in South Boston.  The ...
Read more

Boston's Irish International Immigrant Center now called Rian Immigrant Center

-
Image
The Irish International Immigrant Center, one of Boston’s leading immigrant advocacy groups for over three decades, has changed its name to  Rian Immigrant Center . Rian (Ree-Ann), the Irish word for path, honors the groups Irish roots while reflecting its inclusive mission of empowering immigrant and refugee families on the path to opportunity, safety and a better future for all. The Center’s new logo is inspired by the Giant's Causeway on the north coast of Ireland, natural hexagonal stones formed 60 million years ago by cooling lava. The symbol represents how the Rian Immigrant Center provides the support to chart a pathway forward. “Our work has never been in higher demand,” said  Ronnie Millar,  executive director of the Rian Immigrant Center. “In recent years that path has grown more difficult. Legal obstacles, bureaucratic thickets, even physical barriers obstruct the path to legal status and citizenship. Together with our public and private par...
Read more