What if your two sisters decide to take a trip to Ireland, and they ask you to join them? And if one of them is NextTribe’s founder, who wants to check out all kinds of cool things to do with one of her bold groups? Well, you might hesitate, swamped by all of life’s other what-ifs: What if family responsibilities and commitments seem overwhelming? What if the status of your passport is in question? What if you haven’t been on an airplane, much less out of the country, since before Covid? Even worse, what if your travel mojo is AWOL and you fear it may never report back for duty?

But then, you think, what if you dust off that passport, power through the travel planning, and touch down on the Emerald Isle? As this adventure in Ireland unfolds, you just might find your travel pot of gold. 

Living Large in Dublin 

Maybe then you would stroll through the streets of Dublin, devouring with your eyes, ears, and nose everything in your path. Oscar Wilde in all his statuesque splendor could beckon you into St. Stephen’s Green Park. There, a patch of soft grass next to a picturesque pond demands that you stretch out and gaze at the sky.

You just might find yourself serenaded by an over-served (but charming) Irishman at a local pub.

Perhaps the DoDublin Big Green Bus would waltz you around the city, twirling you from castles and cathedrals to distilleries and breweries. Trinity College and The Ireland Museum of Art could lure you with their treasures, educating and inspiring you. The magic of Riverdance (yes, still! After all these years!) might make you swoon. And an over-served (but charming) Irishman at a local pub just might awkwardly serenade you with a Frank Sinatra melody!

Off We Go: Exploring Ireland’s Countryside 

Of course, one of your sisters might decide to rent a car to traipse all over the country on the wrong side of the road. As you might guess, that would be my sister Jeannie, who was researching the best sights for a NextTribe trip to Ireland. You watch her gamely tackling roundabouts in the “wrong” direction, while you navigate, continually urging lazy left turns and wide right ones. You start praying (and don’t stop) that your side-view mirrors keep their “high-fives” to themselves on roads that are only one and a half lanes wide with names like “Corkscrew Hill.” Your other sister might just sit in the backseat with her eyes closed and a prayer on her lips!

Driving in the wrong direction on narrow lanes with names like Corkscrew Hill is quite the experience for Americans in Ireland.

The road might lead you to the quaint west coast village of Lahinch, where a stroll along the promenade may be quite the ticket, watching brave surfers do their thing in the whipping wind and crashing waves. A walk on the beach may afford the opportunity to touch a different side of the Atlantic Ocean and encounter the strangest purple jellyfish. 

Perhaps, when you struggle to secure a table at a busy restaurant, another Irishman (not the Sinatra serenader) would claim the three of you as his first, second, and “turd” cousins to help you get seated. And then buy you drinks!

Just over the hill and around the bend, the colorful seaside village of Doolin, with its hot-pink thatched-roof Sweater Shop, might invite you to stroll down to the pier and board a ferry to the Aran Island of Inisheer. There, a rusty shipwreck, castle ruins, and stunning views beckon, only a bicycle ride away. The Cliffs of Moher, all 700 vertical feet of carved rock and majestic glory, could capture your attention from both land and sea.

Getting Our Irish Groove On 

On your way south during your adventures in Ireland, the town of Adare in County Limerick could induce you to stop and shop. Then, while enjoying a bite and a pint, you might giddily compose a limerick of your own, maybe one to honor your “cousin” at that restaurant in Lahinch.

While enjoying a pint, you might giddily compose a limerick of your own in honor of a new Irish friend.

Maybe something like…

“There was a bald man from Lahinch

Who saved our arse in a pinch.

He called us his cousins

Even though we wuzn’t

And dining like queens was a cinch!”

Or maybe not…

Further south, along the Wild Atlantic Way, the lovely town of Kenmare may offer interesting shops, delicious food, and a gateway to dazzling landscapes. A drive around the Ring of Beara could provide opportunities to feed baby lambs and be startled by a massive black pig!  

Maybe you would venture off the beaten path to courageously board a tiny six-seat cable car that would whisk you from the very tip of the peninsula, over the wild Celtic Sea. Away you’d go  to remote Dursey Island where scattered stone cottages sit amid fields stitched together with rock walls and green hedges.

Adventures in Ireland: Do We Really Have to Go Home?

Maybe as your trip is coming to an end, you will stroll around the inner city of Cork to find the English Market, a vibrant 18th-century covered maze of fishmongers, bakeries, cafes, and specialty shops filled with tantalizing sights and smells. On the M8 highway heading back to Dublin, in County Tipperary,  perhaps a rousing rendition of “It’s a Long Way to Tipperary” would be in order. A lazy left turn off the highway might wow you with your first view of the Rock of Cashel, an impressive intact example of 12th-century architecture and one of the iconic wonders of Ireland.

I spent the week steeped in a brew of contented sisterly affection, sad that the adventure is ending but oh-so-glad that it happened.

Back in the airport hotel, after valiantly navigating through classic big-city rush-hour traffic, you could relax and review the entire week, steeped in a brew of contented sisterly affection, sad that the adventure is ending but oh-so-glad that it happened.

So… what if your two sisters decide to take a trip to Ireland and they ask you to join them?

You say “yes,” and love every minute of it!