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Each week, we ask someone who really knows Ireland’s twists and turns to share their favourite places. Today, Paul O’Dwyer, teacher, travel-lover and founder of Scratchable Map Ireland, brings us around.
My background: I’m from a small village called Dundrum in County Tipperary, 15 minutes from Cashel. We get an amazing view of The Rock (of Cashel!) every time we drive to town, something which I took for granted for years.
In my 20s, I really enjoyed travelling around the world, visiting the US and Australia. In the last few years, I have started to appreciate Ireland and everything it has to offer a lot more, particularly places like Kerry and Donegal.
I had a scratchable map of the world at home and I thought it would be cool to have one to keep track of all of the places I have visited in Ireland – but when I looked into it, I found that none existed. In the summer of 2017, I ran the idea by my mother, Vera, who loves a good project. She was keen so we set about creating Scratchable Map Ireland.
My love of travelling around the country inspired the map, but to be honest, the map is now inspiring more travels around Ireland.
My most memorable Irish destination: Slieve League, Co Donegal
It really blew me away. A friend of mine from Donegal claimed they had cliffs up in Donegal that topped the Cliffs Of Moher, and that he’d bring me to see them. It didn’t disappoint. It’s a much different experience than the Cliffs Of Moher. The cliffs at Slieve League are way way bigger and it was lovely and quiet the day I visited. It also has a cliff walk that I need to go back and finish this summer.
My favourite town or village: Inis Mór off the coast of Galway
Inis Mór is an amazing place for a day trip or weekend. I spent a few days there last summer during the heatwave. While having dinner in The Bar in Kilronan, the local football team came in for a pint still wearing their full kit – it was pretty cool to hear them talking about the game as Gaeilge.
Joe Watty’s Bar has great food and drink, as well as live music. The Craggy Island Tourist Office is just across the road too! Tourist attractions like Dun Aonghasa and The Worm Hole are all worth a visit.
The best place I’ve ever eaten an ice-cream: A ’99 from Grogan’s Café and Ice Cream Parlour in Cashel, Co Tipperary
I’m going to keep this one local. There’s nothing like an ice cream from Tommy Grogan’s before taking a stroll around the town, and heading up to The Rock.
The best breakfast I’ve ever eaten: Hollywood Café, Co Wicklow
The full Irish or poached eggs on sourdough toast with avocado are a welcome treat after a cycle around the Wicklow Way. When I visited, I’d forgotten my wallet. I was wondering how I’d manage the cycle all the way back to the car at Glendalough without food. They were kind enough to feed me and told me to drop in the payment any time. Phew!
My hidden gem that not many people know about: The cliffs at Ardmore, Co Waterford
The cliff walk here is nowhere near as well-known as it should be, which is obviously great when it is lovely and quiet for your walk. It’s a 4km looped walk with lots of interesting sites and beautiful views – and I’ve even been lucky enough to spot basking sharks in the water there.
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We do lead the world in politicians talking crap.
@Enda Ireland: The problem here with us is that our history was ruined by informers, we do breed a lot of people who enjoy serving others behind backs and that is what ruins us as a people and nation. We can still see that in how the Dail works and how this country is run, we do not do a thing without running to Merkel, IMF or ECB behind the peoples backs?
@Alois Irimaier
I think we have career advisors in gray suits running the country, Kenny and his kind are just the face of government these people behind closed doors walk away with big pensions never taking any flack for the decisions and cuts they implement.
What is your source for this “fact”?
@Enda Ireland:
Who checks FactCheck and who cheques FactCheck?
The source is quite clear. … i heard a man with two pints say exactly the same thing.
@Enda Ireland: Skilled my arse. TALENTED
@Enda Ireland: You should travel more.
We lead the world in overpaying politicians
On a completely unrelated story. Where is the section that reviews the comments of the week highlighting the story that got the most green thumbs????? The story about denis O’Brien being called out by Donald trump got nearly 2000 green thumbs the biggest response I’ve every seen. Yet no comment from the journal. ie. WTF…
@Seymour business: Can’t be annoying poor DOB.
Or as he’s known to his friends O Bribe.
In fairness there’s not many people who believe Enda transparent government anymore.
We lead the world in corrupt politicians
Of course it’s false. Most of the comments made by fine gael are false.
It amazes me that we should try and debunk any such claim , rather instead , we have a queue of people who are more interested in getting in their FG are liars jibes. Who gives a shite if it FG/FF/ SF or the man in the moon , Isn’t that what a government should do . Ie promote us ?? Should they say we are ok , kinda of alright . To hell with that , we have a small population with little or no natural resources , we need to take any advantage or leg up we can get
@Tensing Norgay: OK…let them away with lies and corruption….wouldn’t want to upset any pocket stuffers or their supporters.
Ha ha… very good…so they’re not flat out lying to us.. they’re promoting us.. “best little country to do business “, “most talented people ” etc. while the country’s colleges have fallen off the academic scale under their watch. Sure they only have our best interests at heart…
Tensing. Maybe it’s just me but I’d like to think that the members of the dail would only speak facts and not just make stuff up. What if a foreign company decided to invest here after listening to enda speak only to find out what he said wasn’t true, it’s important that people know that td’s only speak facts and I think that’s more important than waffling out any old rubbish. I know you disagree but it seems to me you’ve excepted a low threshold for accountability in governance.
@Aoife: Tensing needs to come down off his mountain and see the breakdown of our society that FG caused by playing people off against each other just so they could stay stuffing their pockets.
FG are parasites and nothing more.
al…as parasites go, they are fairly awful yokes..but to compare them to any FG Td is insulting to any parasite. have we a word for lower than parasite?
Jesus, can Fine Tory even open their mouths without lying anymore?
Same type of spin as their British counterparts who can rob you blind while telling you you’re getting a good deal.
Cmon people, get them out of Dail Eireann before it’s too late.
In fairness, we were number one last year. Not so much blatant lies as bigging us up a tad.
We pay these guys way too much. All elected politicians should have use the Public Health Service by law and their salaries should be limited to 10 times the minimum wage……
We’d have some world class health system then… And on minimum wage wouldn’t be a bad place to be!!!
@john doe: Don’t forget the €4,000 a month in expenses that can be claimed by all TD’s…..and now we can’t know what those expenses are anymore, because Howlin pushed through a motion last year on the QT under the guise of privacy.
Let’s hear again, that great word they said would be their mantra……’Transparency!’
Bitch moan all you want, elect fecktards or children of fecktards expect fecktards or just blame the British. In all honesty do you actually give a shit or just wannabe rebels.
Skilled Labour, the party fails as well.
Irelands main attraction at the moment are the tremendous tax breaks on offer for multinationals. Sadly not available for SMEs….
Where’s my tax cut. I remained in Ireland helping to keep this raft afloat and was the meat in the sandwich between the handouts and the corrupt ones who escaped paying their fair share
I see the ghost of Blue Hugh no longer haunts The Journal office.. you wouldn’t have gotten that verdict two years ago if circumstances were the same.
Enda’s biggest problem is that he’s been caught lying so many times that nobody believes a word that he says.
World leaders in useless politicians that take the county for a ride without fear of chastisement.
Two years is normal for enda to twig what’s going on
Do we need any more proof,this clown must go.
We were once a nation of skilled tradesmen back in the so called days of the Boom. When the building trade fell apart it sent the country into a whirlwind of huge unemployment & another era of Doom & Gloom. In my home town our young 20 something’s left for foreign shores just like other towns in Ireland. Older people like myself were told to retrain in the computer workforce & some did, with a result we have an overload of people retrained in this employment & most of our young & up & coming tradesmen have gone to other shores. I was taught years ago, when the building trade was up & going the country feeds of that & a lot of people gain employment from it. Will we have the workforce to regain those years again, I don’t think so.
Liam I did a course on computers a while back and a man on it, an unemployed builder in his late fifties with hands like shovels had been told to do it or else. He was trying to learn to type but was having zero success, it was a total mismatch of skills.
@Aoife: My exact point, I’ve met some of these people over the years. Some were good at it others on an older age found it harder to cope. Back about 25 years when the training centres were called ‘Anco’ it was similar. We all gathered in a room & spent our days with a copy of the Irish Times & were told to apply for all the jobs from a MD’s job to a dog walkers job even doe some of the jobs would neither suit our experience or training, we were given a banana to train in mock phone interviews. Can you believe in that. Mr Kenny & a lot of his colleagues were in Leinster House back then.
Skilled labour…..is that labours way or Frankfurts way!!
Delighted Mayo lost Kenny Ye big Bollox Ye.
Yes, of course we do. It’s one of our main exports.
So he is still telling lies
Cmon Journal, let’s have a fact check on the classic Thomas Byrne tale earlier today
This is the second Fact check that’s sought to undermine, albeit with facts, our marketing platitudes for FDI.
Not cool, beginning to think this is a UK site in disguise
@clad: The markets are influenced by Mary and her ability to be lie with impunity?!
Well, you learn something every day.
My God! We are only 5th in the World. Awful news!
Maybe but definitely not in Politicans all we have are clowns
Shows how FoS Enda is on many levels! If we have the most skilled and educated labor force as he proclaims, then surely thats good enough reason for multinationals to be setting up and employing here and paying the proper rate of tax for availing of our highly skilled workforce?!!??!
Free the Journal 50
@Powerabbey: Is that all you got left, since FG went nosediving?…..it’s pitiful.
and “availability of skilled labour” mean?
What colour is the sky in Enda’s world?
We are years behind.
Our true experts emigrate and the ones I know have no intention of returning.
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