Doolin, Ireland

Doolin is quite a small town in Co Clare, Ireland, about 6 km north of the Cliffs of Moher.  It might seem a strange place to have on a list of recommended stops in Ireland, but it's in a great location and has a fabulous traditional music scene.  In April 2009, my husband and I found ourselves on a road trip around Ireland and this seemed like a great place to stop for the night.  I am so glad we did!  There are some who have said it's quite touristy, but we did not have that experience at all.

First of all, the scenery looks something like this…

Doonagore Castle, built in the 16th century.  This place is privately owned and you can't go inside, but I felt blessed just to look at it…

Then we stayed at this ADORABLE bed and breakfast - the Doolin Activity Lodge (353 65 707 4888).  It was so quaint and wonderful.

Charming bedrooms, wonderful breakfast - couldn't have asked for more.

And this is basically the village itself.  Looks like a lot of small villages in Ireland, especially the coastal ones.  Take the time to explore them, if you are able.  Meet the people.  Talk with the shop owners (there are some wonderful little craft shops).  Breathe in the magic.  There is nothing quite like them.

Doolin has three pubs.  Gus O'Connors is in the main village, and McGann's and McDermott's are down the road.  We decided to do a pub crawl, and settled into Gus O'Connors relatively early for dinner.  We were hoping to get a taste of the traditional music scene Doolin is famous for, and we were not disappointed.  Just as we were finishing, some local musicians set up shop at one of the booths and started playing...

We decided to have another pint...

…and then this started.  I never actually believed that spontaneous singing and dancing broke out at Irish pubs, but we were proved wrong more than once on this trip.  This guy apparently comes here often and was not shy at all about showing off his extensive dancing skills.

Others from the crowd also came up to join him.  The girl in the black sweater was English and actually did some tap dancing, but somehow it all worked out…  Needless to say, one thing led to another and we never left this pub.  It was worth every minute!

But I'd still love to go back someday and try out those other pubs  :)

One big Doolin hint: When you go out at night, there are NO lights.  It's a farming village, and we had very real fears when we were walking back to the Lodge about running into stray cattle.  It was so black you could not see a hand in front of your face.  So keep that in mind and maybe pack a small flashlight - it would help a little!