#5 best destination in the world

Jameson Distillery Bow St.

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  • Irish whiskey tour that is the original site where Jameson Irish Whiskey was distilled until 1971
  • Now a visitors centre that provides guided tours, tutored whiskey tastings, and JJs bar

St. Michan’s Church

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  • Church of Ireland church
  • The first Christian chapel on this site dated from 1095, and operated as a Catholic church until the Reformation
  • The current church dates from 1686, and has served Church of Ireland parishioners in Dublin for more than 300 years

Irish Whiskey Museum

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  • Guided tours tracing the history of whiskey through interactive exhibits, plus whiskey tasting

EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum

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  • Covers the history of the Irish diaspora and emigration to other countries
  • Galleries show migration patterns from Ireland since 500AD
  • Galleries also cover religious missionary work, Irish famine, religious and social persecution, criminal transportation, and the effects of Irish involvement in foreign conflicts

The Long Room Library at Trinity College

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  • Main chamber of the Old Library, the Long Room, which was built between 1712-1732 and houses 200,000 of the Library’s oldest books
  • By the 1850s the room had to be expanded as the shelves were filled due to the fact that the Library had been given permission to obtain a free copy of every book that had been published in Ireland and Britain
  • Holds one of the last remaining copies of the 1916 Proclamation of the Irish Republic
  • Visitors may also view the Trinity College harp, the oldest of its kind in Ireland dating back to the 15th century

Dunmore Cave

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  • Solutional cave formed in Lower Carboniferous limestone of the Clogrenan Formation
  • Well known for its rich archaeological discoveries and for being the site of a Viking massacre in 928

Spike Island

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  • Originally the site of a monastic settlement, the island is dominated by an 18th-century bastion fort now named Fort Mitchel
  • The island’s strategic location within the harbour meant it was used at times for defense and as a prison

Irish Sky Garden

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  • Contemporary piece of art and garden suspended in the air
  • Situated against the natural landscape of the Celtic Liss Ard, or “High Fort,” an ancient structure half reclaimed by nature
  • Features a central stone plinth of seemingly ancient Celtic and Egyptian altars which allows the viewer to lie down facing up and out toward the edge of the crater that invokes past rituals and ancient rites

Skellig Michael

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  • Island that served as a Gaelic Christian monastery dating back to the 6th-8th centuries
  • Abandoned in the 12th century
  • UNESCO World Heritage Site

Connemara National Park

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  • Features mountains, bogs, heaths, grasslands and forests
  • There are many remnants of human habitation within the park, including a 19th century graveyard as well as 4,000 year old megalithic court tombs
  • Founded and opened to the public in 1980

Brú na Bóinne

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  • Large megalithic passage grave
  • 1 of 90 additional monuments in the area
  • Associated with Boyne culture
  • UNESCO World Heritage Site

Costs

Number of Days: 18 days

Best Time To Fly: April-June, Sept-Oct

Airline tickets: $1,028

Seattle -> Dublin (round trip) = $1,028

Ferry/cruise tickets: $275

Cobh -> Spike Island (round trip) = $24
Portmagee -> Skellig Michael (round trip) = $251

Food: $54/day x 18 days = $972

Rental car: $53/day x 9 days = $480

Gas: $107

Entertainment: $135

Airbnb: $120/day x 16 days = $1,920

TOTAL: $4,917