SALE: Top 5 Places to Stop in Ireland with Jessica Dall

Top 5 Places to Stop in Ireland

Author Jessica Dall stands with a falcon on her forearm at a falconry in Ireland.

I was extremely privileged to be able to take a trip to Ireland almost exactly four years ago, which was a huge inspiration for Forever Bound! If you ever get the chance as well, these are the five stops I enjoyed the most out of an amazing trip!

Author Jessica Dall stands with her partner in Trinity Library. Behind them are rows and rows of books on two separate floors and a large arched ceiling above, with statues lining the lower walkway. Many people are walking behind them.

Trinity College Library. An absolute must for the book nerds amongst us. Trinity College in Dublin is a beautiful campus to walk around in general with several art pieces just out on the lawns, but the Old Library is the bibliophile’s dream. If I could have, I would have moved in. They also have the Book of Kells, a 9th century illuminated manuscript that is kept in a specific room that is both light and temperature controlled to protect it from deteriorating. If you want to go soak in some history (or just pretend that you are getting to live out your Beauty and the Beast library fantasy dreams) stop by Trinity College Library.
Cliffs of Moher. I went back and forth or whether to give this spot to the Cliffs of Moher or the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland, but for the sheer “wow” factor, I have to give it to the cliffs (though, too be fair, they might have had an artificial assist by it being a beautiful sunny day when we were at the cliffs but a rainy miserable one (we were in sweatshirts and coats even in June!) while we were at the causeway. If you really want to soak in that natural beauty of Ireland’s west coast, the Cliffs of Moher are a great stop (even if I was warned that they can feel a little tourist trap-y with all the souvenir places down the way). Depending on the time of year, you can also see puffins nesting there, which I found especially cool (I’d suggest not bothering to pay to go up O’Brien’s Tower, though (a Victorian tower built as a viewing platform). You can get a beautiful view just from walking the cliffs themselves).
White’s Tavern. If you make it up into Northern Ireland on your trip, I recommend a stop in Belfast in general. We had an amazing time, even if the city feels more subdued than Dublin (at least where we stayed near the Titanic Museum, a lot of stores and cafes closed in the evening, making dinner a challenge at one point. We went to a number of great stops in Belfast (I’ll sneak in City Hall as a bonus suggested stop!) but we had the most fun at White’s Tavern. Opened in 1630, it’s one of the oldest pubs in the city, and as a “two hundred years is old” American, it was a really happy find (and not just because we were struggling to find somewhere to stop after sightseeing all day!)
Newgrange. Newgrange Passage Tomb and Visitor Centre is another site I was warned was a bit “touristy”, but I actually loved this stop. The Visitor Centre had several wonderful exhibits on paleolithic Ireland. And being in a something that was constructed nearly 1,000 years before the Great Pyramid of Giza was mind blowing. A lot of the information I learned at Newgrange (including myths about fairy hills!) made it in to Forever Bound. Far warning, though, it is a very tight squeeze to get from the reconstructed entrance to the main sanctuary inside the tomb. If you are at all claustrophobic, prepare yourself before attempting it!
Ashford Castle’s School of Falconry. This was our “splurge” stop of the trip, but it was undoubtedly my favorite memory in a trip that was full of favorites! While staying at Ashford Castle (or, well, the Lodge there. It was cheaper!) we signed up for an hour lesson with their school of falconry. Our instructor got us kitted up with what we needed to get started and then lead us around the grounds with our new bird friends (some beautiful (and friendly!) Harris Hawks). If you can make the trek out to Ashford Castle, I highly suggest dropping by their School of Falconry as well!

Author Jessica Dall with her hair tied back wearing an open button down shirt and a white and black stripped top. She is wearing a falconers glove with a falcon rested on her hand.

From the minute Bridget Marshall began renovating the old Irish Castle she bought outside the Village of Shansally, Ireland (pop. 119) she’d been on the verge of being labeled another “Silly American.” But after years of managing other people’s hotels, she’s ready to run one herself. And nothing will get in her way, not even her grumpy next-door neighbor, Liam O’Flannagain.

Soon, though, the dream Bridget’s been waiting for is becoming a living nightmare. The renovations, not to mention the budget, are out of control, and someone—or something—is determined to get her out of the castle. And if that wasn’t enough, whenever she’s with Liam, the castle’s ancient past seems to come roaring to life, sweeping them along in a story they’re apparently destined to relive.

If she is to uncover the castle’s secrets, Bridget will need Liam’s help to figure out exactly how they’re connected…before the tragic past repeats itself.

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Jessica Dall is the author of such novels as Forever Bound and The Stars of Heaven. She has written across an array of genres, though her love of history and romance always seems to find a way into her work. Born and raised in southern California, she now resides in Maryland with her husband and daughter. When not living vicariously through her characters, she enjoys travel, crafting, and helping others with their own writing journeys.