Travel & Stay

Accomodations

Castleknock Hotel

Porterstown Rd, Diswellstown, D15, D15 WNR7

Dublin, Ireland +353 1 640 6300

Located only 5-10 minutes away from the venue, this is our top recommendation!

We do have a room block under our names (or code 1511384) and recommend calling or emailing them!

More 0ptions!

  • Crowne Plaza Dublin (less than 15 minutes from the venue)

  • Plenty of charming B&B type places in the area.

  • Definitely take a look at Airbnbs/VRBOs too!

  • If you have any questions or want ideas of where to stay, please reach out to either John or Lisa!

Getting Around

RENTAL CARS

  • Driving on the other side of the road is great.  John only almost hit an oncoming semitruck once ← He’s kidding!!!!!!

  • We rented from National which had GPS included in the car, which you could use if you didn’t want to use your phone

  • Parking: Street parking/lots have meters that take credit cards. Very easy to navigate.  However, driving through Dublin is kind of a mess, and if you are just trying to get into the city and then out, we suggest cabs.  Dealing with parking, one-way streets, and traffic can be frustrating. (side note, we actually got towed but called them and turns out they just moved it a street over and we didn’t have to pay anything - unreal!)

MASS TRANSIT

Download “FreeNow”!! It’s the Irish equivalent to Uber and should be easy to use.

  •  Luas – This is the tram that goes through Dublin city.  Tickets can be purchased at the stations on the street.  Really helpful to get around.

  • DART – This takes you from Dublin out to the suburbs.  We took it down the coast.  You can buy tickets at the kiosks at the stations.

  • Ireland Rail – This takes you from Dublin to other major cities.  There are two train stations in Dublin, one that’s in northern Dublin and one in the south of the city. Lisa and I showed up at the station 15 minutes ahead of our train and bought tickets (~$16pp) that morning.  We looked up the schedule ahead of time to determine our train.

    • Trains go everywhere, Galway, Killarney, Belfast, etc, and there are trains that interconnect all of these cities.

    • Tip: If you go online and see that your desired time has no online tickets available, that’s ok!  Irish Rail only sells a portion of the tickets online, the rest they reserve for walk-ons.  However, if you are able to buy tickets online, do so and reserve seats so you can sit together.  

Daytime Dublin

  • St. Stephen's Green - Dublin's famous city park perfect for a quick amble around the ponds.  Warning: Do not eat around the birds...they have no fear

  • Trinity College - Iconic university in the heart of the city just next to Grafton Street.  Walking around the impressive courtyard is free, and $19 for tickets to the Old Library (magnificent and massive library) and the Book of Kells Exhibit (famous ancient manuscript)

  • Grafton Street - Dublin's 5th Avenue.  Excellent shopping on fully pedestrial street lit up brightly and always busy!

  • Bewley's Cafe - Caffeinate yourself in this massive and tasteful Parisian style cafe.  Watch the bakers at work in the basement

  • St. Patrick's Cathedral

  • Phoenix Park - Dublin's largest public park!  Spend an entire morning here exploring.  Drive through the middle of the park and see wild deer on each side of the road.  Google the "Boathouse Cafe Parking" and walk through fields of cows, llamas, donkeys and sheep before grabbing a cappuccino in the Boathouse Cafe.  Next, visit the Dublin Zoo!  Parking is free throughout the park so drive in worry free and take your time to find a space to rest on one of the many sprawling fields.

  • Guinness Old Storehouse - Hard to beat!  $24 self-guided tour including a chance to pour your own perfect pint at the top of the fully panoramic penthouse Gravity Bar.  Book in advance during the summer.

  • Jameson Distillery - Visit Jameson Distillery Dublin for the World’s leading distillery tours, cocktail-making classes, premium whiskey tasting sessions or to learn how to blend your own whiskey. All topped off with a Jameson at its centrepiece bar, straight from the proverbial source.

  • Pearse Lyons Distillery - Down the street from the Guinness Storehouse.  Spend $25 to sip a few great whiskeys in a gorgeously restored church.  Hear stories of the famous Dubliners buried just outside under cracked and whithered gravestones.

Pub Life

  • Bad Bobs - two floors with live music and lots of energy

  • Temple Bar - Always crowded but sprawling with lots of rooms so you can always find a corner to camp out in and will certainly meet 10 new friends from 10 different countries

  • Fitzsimmons - Three stories with large roof bar, live music on the ground floor, lots of room

  • Brazen Head - Oldest Pub in Dublin!  4 cozy, tight stories with endless seating.  Enter through iconic outdoor beer garden

  • Old Storehouse - One of the liveliest restaurants you’ll visit!  Waitresses will dance on the bar so watch your drinks!  Live traditional Irish music can be heard from many rooms across the establishment.  Underneath is O'Flaherty's (Welcome Drinks location!) with more seating and often an acoustic set.

  • The Long Hall - Long, cozy pub in the heart of the city with plenty of rail space if you can't find a seat

  • The Bankers - One of the last remaining traditional Irish pubs located in Dublin City Centre. A warm welcome awaits you.

  • Kehoes - Classic establishment off Grafton Street with lots of hidden nooks and crannies

  • The Palace Bar - Romantically described by novelist and poet Patrick Kavanagh as the “most wonderful temple of art”.

  • Foggy Dew - With an evocative name inspired by an old Irish ballad, The Foggy Dew is a cracking old Victorian pub with a penchant for great live music.

  • The Auld Dubliner - If you’re looking for Temple Bar pubs that host lively music sessions, look no further than The Auld Dub. Located in the heart of Temple Bar, The Auld Dubliner is a buzzy spot where you could spend an entire day in.

  • Oliver St. John Gogarty - Fantastic restaurant, lots of live music. A mainstay in Temple Bar

  • The Hairy Lemon - A quirky pub and restaurant that is just about as unconventional as its namesake, located a short stroll from Temple Bar, Trinity College and St Stephens Green. Known for being one of the best places for trad music in the city!

Around the Country

A popular daytrip is to visit the Cliffs of Moher, which is about a 1.5-2 hour bus ride away, on Ireland’s west coast.  Travel across idyllic Irish green countryside to arrive at the dramatic cliffs.  The West also makes for great extended trips, as the cliffs reside near the Aran Islands and the spirited city of Galway.  Take a ferry to the islands to see the traditional landscapes and grab yourself an iconic Irish Aran sweater.  Just north, Galway is home to countless castles, forests and museums, but at its heart the city is a musical paradise.  Walk along Quay Street or into any of the countless bars to hear the sounds of Ireland’s most popular pastime. 

Belfast is 2 hours north of Dublin in Northern Ireland, and an hour north of Belfast is the Giant’s Causeway, a remarkable geographic anomaly that delights visitors on every trip.  The Titanic was built in Belfast, and the Titanic Museum is one of the Country’s most awarded museums.  Enjoy afternoon tea inside of a recreation of the Titanic’s seating area at the base of the iconic staircase.  Northern Ireland is also packed with National Parks, castles boardwalks, and romantic views of the seaside.

Take a car south of Dublin through the countryside, past many of the country’s most famous castles (including Blarney Castle and the Blarney Stone), past the Jameson Distillery, around the Waterford Crystal factory and museum to arrive, finally, at Cork.  Cork's small city center is an island between two channels of the River Lee, and is an excellent place to explore on foot because of its narrow pedestrian-friendly streets.  Travel west from Cork and visit Killarney, with Ross Castle and the Killarney National Park which is a stop along the infamous Ring of Kerry.  The Ring, lassoed by a winding coastal road through a mountainous, lake-splattered region, is undeniably scenic. Visitors since Victorian times have been drawn to this evocative chunk of the Emerald Isle, where mysterious ancient ring forts stand sentinel on mossy hillsides. If travelling this route, the Gap of Dunloe and the Dingle Peninsula cannot be missed.

This only scratches the surface, so please reach out for more ideas to make your visit to Ireland unforgettable!