Adare to Killarney, Ireland October 2,2026

Our first stop today was Adare, home of Adare Manor, a very exclusive golf resort. Next year's Ryder Cup will be played here.

To play the course, you must stay at the historical manor hotel on the grounds, pay for a caddy plus greens fees. All of this will run you thousands of dollars. 

Historic entry gate

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Photo of hotel from web

The town is very cute with many thatched roof buildings and an 800 year old abbey.

We will be passing through the town of Limerick today, so our guide challenged us to write two limericks. He will read them out loud when we're done. That should be good for some laughs!

Our weather luck has run out today. It's been pouring pretty much all day. Our tour today was for a scenic drive along the Atlantic coast side of Ireland, but we didn't see much as it was quite misty in the distance. What we did see was the greenest countryside imaginable. At least it wasn't a planned day of walking around a lot.

We stopped in the town of Dingle. There is a jewelry store that will write your name on jewelry in Ogham, the first known written language of Ireland, dating to 400 AD.

It's a series of lines representing the letters, and is written from bottom to top. They wrote my name for me on a piece of paper. 

Further along the coast, the weather was still miserable, so not much to see.

In the later Star Wars movies, Luke is living on a remote island as an old man. Those scenes were filmed on an island off this coast of Ireland. Apparently, they ruined some historical structures. There is a statue of Yoda and Darth Vader at the local inn.

Another castle.

The Irish countryside looks like a giant quilt. All over the western side of the island are ancient stone walls that are protected by the government. No one is allowed to move or damage them. So, homes and farm fields are just designed around them. 

More Atlantic Ocean scenery on our way to tonight's stop in Killarney. 

Our route today.