• In Sligo: Riverside Hotel (Riverside, 011-353-7191-48080, www.irishcourthotels.com) is a sumptuous, full-service hotel on the River Garavogue in Sligo Town, one of Ireland's most vibrant provincial capitals. Many rooms have balconies overlooking the river. The hotel also has a swimming pool, gym, sauna and Jacuzzi. Doubles from $130 per night per person.
WHERE TO EAT: Most Irish still eat their main meal in the middle of the day, feasting on such comfort foods as roasts, chops, gravy, root vegetables and two kinds of potatoes. But Europe has made inroads in pub food with pastas, salads and more delicate fare. Good soup with brown bread and sandwiches are also always on hand. Evening meals can be plate-filling or light, and wine is always available. Lunch or dinner won't cost two satisfied people more than $40, and if it does, as the saying goes, they'll have to carry you out.
The grave of Irish son W.B. Yeats in Drumcliff, County Sligo, bears the poet's own words.
() Peter Matthews)
|
|
• In Dublin: Bruno's (21 Kildare St.) has superb food, service, atmosphere and buzz. In the wine cellars of the venerable vintners Mitchell and Son, take all wine suggestions from the attractive and personable staff. Best desserts in Dublin. Dinner for two runs about $170. Chapter One Restaurant (18-19 Parnell Square), in the basement of the Dublin Writers Museum, is a fashionable cafe for lunch and a jumping bistro for dinner. Pricey but worth it: lunch for two is about $91, dinner, $182. For a world-class treat, the Shelbourne Hotel (17 St. Stephen's Green) serves high tea in the Georgian splendor of the Lord Mayor's Lounge. The sweets and savories, pastries and tea sandwiches are as satisfying and delicious as the people-watching. Not inexpensive at $36 per person, but well worth it.
• In Gort, County Galway: O'Gradys Pub (Main Square) is a big and bustling place for lunch with full meals, sandwiches, soup and particularly reviving hot whiskeys in this featureless market town near Yeats Tower and Coole Park. A hearty meal can be had for between $9 and $12.
• In Sligo: Garavogue, 15-16 Stephen St., Sligo Town. The coolest pub-restaurant in town. Get a table on the balcony. Look out on the river and the resident swans. Curried parsnip soup with homemade brown bread is about $5.25. Besides poetry and Guinness, Ireland's greatest gift to the world is the tuna and sweet corn sandwich, which also costs about $5.25 here.
WHAT TO DO:
• Hike. The Burren Country of County Clare is a spectacular place, a landscape not seen anywhere else in the world. In the winter, this vast limestone area of mountains, valleys, hidden lakes, caves and unspoiled villages is even more breathtaking. In the Burren, ruins from prehistoric times to the 19th century lie under an immense sky, the perfect place for history and legends to meet. For more information: Shannon Region Tourism, 011-353-61-361-555, www.shannonregiontourism.ie/clare. In Coole Park (about two miles north of Gort, County Galway, on the N18, 011-353-91-631804, www.irelandwest.ie/detail.asp?memberID=13376), take a nature walk through the deepest woods in Ireland. While the house where Lady Augusta Gregory welcomed Yeats, Sean O'Casey and other notables of the Irish literary revival no longer stands, the Autograph Tree, an enormous copper beech, has preserved their carved initials, along with those of George Bernard Shaw and at least a dozen others. The interpretive center is open only in spring and summer, but the grounds are open through the week.
• Take the waters.Kilcullen's Seaweed Baths (Enniscrone, County Sligo, 011-353-96-36238, www.irelandnorthwest.ie/detail.asp?memberID=12901)are open daily throughout the year. Rates range from $22.25 (bath and steam) to $40 (twin room with steam). All rooms are private and there is massage therapy by appointment.
• Visit a museum or gallery. The Chester Beatty Library and Galleries (Dublin Castle, City Centre, 011-353-1-4070750, www.cbl.ie) is one of the finest small museums in the world, concentrating on illuminated manuscripts, paintings and objects from the world's major and minor religions. By far Europe's best collection of Islamic art and calligraphy. Free admission. The Model Arts and Niland Gallery (The Mall, Sligo Town, 011-353-71-914-1405, www.modelart.ie) is a beautiful museum with a fine collection of Jack Yeats's paintings, and a comfortable venue for music and performances. On Sunday, don't miss brunch at the museum's cafe, the Atrium, where two can eat well for about $40.
• Go to the theater. Dublin options include:
* Abbey Theatre, 26 Lower Abbey St., 011-353-1-878-7222, www.abbeytheatre.ie. Through Feb. 26: "The Shaughraun," a Victorian melodrama by Dion Boucicault. "Improbable Frequency," a musical, runs March 4 through April 9. Tickets range from $20 to $40.
* Gaiety Theatre, South King Street between Clarendon and Grafton streets, 011-353-1-677-1717, www.gaietytheatre.net. "Jack and the Beanstalk," a children's pantomime, runs through Feb. 6 ($25-36.50). "Blood Brothers," a musical by Willie Russell, starts in mid-February ($46-$72).
* Olympia Theatre, 72 Dame St., 011-353-1-679-3323. "Alone It Stands," a comedy by John Breen, runs though Jan. 29. "I Keano," a comedy about football, runs Feb. 3-19. "The Elvis Show (The Way It Was)" runs Feb. 20 (one night only). The Olympia is famous for its winter one-nighters of hot Dublin rockers, jazz, folk and Ireland's most irreverent stand-up comedians. Prices range from $26 to $39. For a schedule: www.ticketmaster.ie, which will also tell you what's happening in Dublin and the provincial theaters, or www.dublinuncovered.net/theatres.html.
INFORMATION:Tourism Ireland, 800-223-6470, www.tourismireland.com.
-- Ambrose Clancy
