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	story & photography Maureen Scott The "Luck of the Irish" meant that 2 flat tires and a cancelled flight still couldn’t put a damper on this go-as-you-please driving vacation Looking at a map of Ireland, one assumes you can get from quaint town to quaint town in no time flat. Over the summer, we discovered it takes ages to get from place to place, partly because of the roads and partly because every local person we met, was so darned friendly with a story to tell - we just had to slow down and take time to smell the Guinness! My husband and I, with friends Doug and Mary Ellen ventured to Ireland last July, booking the 7-night Castle and Country Adventure with Royal Irish Tours - a "Go-as-You-Please Driving Holiday" with six nights accommodation at Bed & Breakfast properties, a night at a luxury castle, plus car rental. Driving in Ireland is like playing my son’s video game Grand Turismo. You drive on the left side of the narrow, winding road, wedged between ancient stone walls overgrown with vines. The “freeways” are two-lane roads, sometimes four, linked by an endless series of roundabouts. The directional signs are in Gaelic, then English, positioned in the middle of the traffic circle, giving you no advance warning as to which road leads to Kilkenny. Like the game, a few obstacles are thrown in to test your wits - a herd of sleepy sheep standing in the centre of the road, a giant speeding tour bus taking part of your lane as it rounds a hairpin turn. We took one of those sharp turns, nudged a stone divider and ended up with two flat tires on the left side of our rental car on the very first afternoon in Ireland. Even that turned out to be an adventure! While the guys took the car to Patrick Sr. and Patrick Jr. for new tires, Mary Ellen and I sat in the 93-year old Jerpoint Inn Pub in Thomastown enjoying our new discovery - pear cider. We quickly learned that when you ask almost any Irishman if you can take his photo, instantly you have a new friend. “I have a cousin in Etobicoke. Perhaps you know him?” asked a toothless older man, enjoying a tall glass of stout at the bar. Within minutes, our newfound friend had broken into Irish song. “Bring your men back and we’ll buy them a pint,” they called as we were leaving. The Irish seem ready, willing and eager to party most any time of the day. Despite a struggling economy, the pubs we visited were bustling. We spent many an evening enjoying a late dinner and the live entertainment. Musicians stroll in with their fiddle, accordion or guitar and join the group. Every so often a band member gets up, heads to the bar, while the others play on. One bartender told us, “The reason the doors of houses are painted different colours in Ireland is so a gentleman can find his way home after a night at the pub!” Like pubs, there seems to be a B & B around every corner. Approximately 20,000 homes, cottages and manor houses open their doors to visitors every night. After we booked our trip, (at a cost of just under $1,000 per person, plus airfare) Royal Irish Tours mailed us a 300-page B & B guide and a map of Ireland. We mapped out our route, and then went online to pre-book our B & B’s. You can just wing it, but we chose to book ahead. We flew to Dublin, travelled south to Kilkenny, Waterford and Cobh—the picturesque seaside town where ships departed with Irish emigrants to America. We even stood on the same high ground as did the locals in 1912 when the Titanic pulled into port. We drove around the famous Ring of Kerry, and then headed north where we toured the soaring seaside Cliffs of Moher. The next day it was off to Cong for our night at Ashford Castle. We stayed a night in the mountainous region of Sligo, before making a full day west to east trip across the country, landing in the medieval town of Carlingsford (north of Dublin). We spent two additional days in Dublin - not included in the tour. Eileen Murphy who owns The Orchard in Limerick is a third generation “B & B-er”. Eileen served Afternoon Tea in her parlour, complete with Porter Cake - fruitcake type bread laced with Guinness Stout and raisins. “Would you like me to show you how to make scones?” asked the pretty redhead in her delightful Irish lilt. Within five minutes, I was wrist deep in flour in Eileen’s kitchen, making her generation old recipe. “I’ve made this recipe about a million times,” she laughed. “I don’t measure anything - just a bit of this and a pinch of that.” We enjoyed more of the buttery-rich, flaky scones the next morning as part of our “traditional Irish breakfast” - a mammoth meal consisting of eggs, rashers (Irish bacon), sausages, sweet breads, homemade breads and preserves, fruit and yogurt. At Newpark House in Ennis in County Clare, owner Declan Barron, served his Irish breakfast on blue willow china which matched the regal blue walls in the formal dining room. Set on 50 acres of lush forest, the 300-year old manor house has been in the family since 1904 and has operated as a B & B since the '60s. Declan, who has a Masters degree in Irish history, lovingly restored the 7000 sq foot “house” to its original splendour, installing new plumbing and heating and adding walk-in showers in the six large ensuite rooms, complete with canopy beds. Our night at Ashford Castle was the highlight of the trip. Set on 300 acres, this majestic castle is nestled on the shores of Lough Corrib in Cong, in County Mayo. It dates back to 1228 and was “home” to the Guinness Family from 1852 until 1939, when it was sold and turned into a luxury, international award winning hotel. The castle has its own private 9-hole golf course and tennis courts. Guests can try their hand at fly fishing, falconry, clay shooting or enjoy a two-hour tour boat ride. In the Ashford brochure, the regular price for the Dinner, Bed & Breakfast Summer Package for 2 starts at about the same price as we paid for our entire tour. Duty Manager Noreen Dougherty told us: “Pierce Bronson was married at the castle in 2001 and as you tour our “Hall of Fame” your see photos of the various dignitaries and heads of state that have stayed here;” President Reagan, Senator Ted Kennedy, Mel Gibson, Barbra Streisand and James Brolin, Robin Williams, Mel Gibson.” A 20-minute walk along a country lane takes you into the village of Cong where the movie The Quiet Man with John Wayne was filmed. Since the castle is over 700 years old, we just had to ask if the castle had a ghost. “When are you checking out?” laughed Noreen. “I’ll tell you then!” To visit Ireland and not kiss the Blarney Stone is like visiting New York and not seeing the Statue of Liberty. The sign on the castle wall reads, “The Blarney Stone is the very quintessence of Irishness. Kiss it and you will have the gift of eloquence bestowed upon you.” After you climb the 100 steps up the narrow, winding staircase to the tower, you lie down on your back, hang out over the edge of the wall over a metal grate, and throw your head back to kiss the stone, while an attendant holds your legs to keep you from falling! Food is a tad pricey – pub fare consists of tourist-friendly items like Caesar Salad, hamburgers and fries (we paid $12 Euro for a hamburger and fries near Sligo), Fettucini Alfredo, Salmon (generally around $17 to $20 Euro for the dinner portion), sandwiches and wraps. Some menus had a few traditional items like Irish Stew or Beef cooked with Guinness. A glass of Guinness will set you back about $4.50 Euro in most pubs, while a cup of coffee costs about $2.25 Euros. Possibly, because of the steep price of gas, several people told us they don’t like to travel much, even to the next county. At a pub in small-town Sneem, a rather intoxicated-at-1-in-the-afternoon farmer named Connie was flabbergasted that we were planning to make the five-hour drive to Limerick by dinnertime. “Oh you’ll never make it,” he exclaimed. “Stay here and let me buy you a pint!” Having become accustomed to the slow pace, entering Dublin seemed like ploughing into an anthill. The best way to see this bustling, beautiful city is on the Hop On Hop Off Bus. We took the entire route twice, hopping off to see Trinity College, the Guinness Storehouse, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin Castle, Phoenix Park and the Temple Bar area. I asked a few people if they believed in fairies or leprechauns. They all laughed and said no, although every bookstore has an entire section on Irish myth and folklore. I’ve come to believe in fairies, but they are the human type – named Connie and Declan and Eileen. Discovering that the people of Ireland are so genuinely warm and friendly was like discovering a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. For more information on Royal Irish Tours, visit www.royalirishtours.com. For travel information on Ireland, visit www.tourismireland.com. GL	ABOVE The magnificent Cliffs of Moher on the west coast Traditional thatched roof cottage shops in Killarney Ballycotton Bay from Castlefarm B & B in County Cork Statue of Oscar Wilde in Dublin's Merrion Square