Dublin has some ancient churches many dating back to medieval times

some great old pubs around this district heres a few highlights

we started off the day at the Guinness Experience a 7 storey interactive tour of all things Guinness. the historic old building was incredible with huge iron beams and old bricks. the tour ended on the 7th floor a circular glass room offering spectacular views of Dublin and to help enjoy it a ice cold Pint of Guinness….who cares if its only 10:30 im on holidays and im sure its beer O clock somewhere!

Sure it’s Irelands most touristy pub but you have to have a few pints when passing and it is lunchtime. 350 whiskeys available and world famous oysters… I’m sticking to the Guinness, it is so delicious.

A great drive in the countryside from Kilkenny. Dublin is a much faster pace and looks like it will offer a fun couple of days. today is Arthur Guinness birthday and its like new years eve so many people out enjoying a pint or two.

The party district of Temple Bar rivals Bourbon Street in New Orleans, only more pubs.

The Guinness marketing is amazing pints $2.50-$3.50 and any pub in the country may be gatecrashed by one of dozens of headline acts including Fat Boy Slim and Mumford & Sons.

Here is a shot of the Half Penny Bridge

Parts of this castle date back some 800 years although much of it is between 200-300 years. no photos were allowed inside…but you can buy them in the gift shop.

Kilkenny took about an hour and a half to reach, it’s not very big probably the size of Warnambool. The city centre is very old with narrow streets and old pubs and shops.

Our hotel is right on the river overlooking the castle.

Cobh was the last port on the Titanic’s voyage to New York and the town has just opened a interactive museum to commemorate the 100th anniversary. The huge cathedral sitting above the small township is spectacular and took 46 years to build from 1868.

Here’s the ruins to what looks like an old castle tower we saw on the route to Jameson

We went for a half hour drive to the historic Jameson Whiskey Factory where we went on a tour of the magnificent old building and then sampled some of their beautiful whiskey.

click on the thumbnail images for bigger ones

We found this pub down a narrow lane near the marker. The Mutton Lane Inn dates back to 1793… Think about it for a minute the first fleet only hit Australia 5 years earlier. it was very dark and crooked and there were some old guys in there that could have been taken straight out of a story book. we estimated a conservative 100 beers a day would work out to about 8 million sold.