Treasures of the Emerald Isle

Seven nights across Ireland, self-guided, from Shannon to Dublin by way of Connemara, Kerry and the midlands.

The midlands section is what sets this apart from the standard Irish itinerary. Most routes do the west coast and stop; this one crosses the middle of the country, which almost nobody does and where several of the oddest buildings in Ireland are.

Shannon opens it, with the Cliffs of Moher on the way to Ballynahinch Castle in Connemara. Kenmare follows for two nights at Sheen Falls Lodge, with the bay, the MacGillycuddy Reeks, and the Ring of Kerry or the Dingle Peninsula, where Irish is still spoken daily. Kilkenny comes next for a night in a restored Georgian house, with Blarney, Cork and Waterford Crystal nearby. Ballyfin House closes the route with two nights, reached over the Slieve Bloom Mountains, from where all four provinces are visible in clear weather, with Kinnitty’s thirty-foot stone pyramid, a nineteenth-century family tomb modelled on the Great Pyramid, Birr Castle, which once held the largest telescope in the world, and Leap Castle, reputedly the most haunted in the country.

The hire car for eight days, the accommodation, daily breakfast and all the listed sightseeing, entrance fees and guide services are included; flights, most meals, fuel, additional drivers and unlisted excursions are not. The price shown is per person sharing. May to September gives the best of the weather, such as it is. Eight days with four bases is a comfortable pace for Ireland, where the distances are short and the roads slow, and the two nights at either end of the route are the ones to protect when the itinerary gets tinkered with.