Published: 22 Sep 2009 updated: 05 Feb 2019
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| The stunning cliffs of Moher |
Neil and Sue Revington have competed in many rallies over the years in Ireland and whilst the rallies were fun and competitive, the scenery flashed by at 100 miles an hour.
We thought at the time it would be nice to revisit Ireland in the future and savour the atmosphere and scenery that is the essence of Ireland and to do so at a more leisurely pace. To that end Sue had kept a selection of road books.
The plan was simple. Invite our friends Mel and Sue Francis from Denver USA to join us in taking two powder blue TR's over from Fishguard to Rosslare for a 10-day tour. The ex works TR4 rally car and our rally prepared TR5 were the obvious choice. The Cars were duly prepared and adorned with sponsors stickers, Heldite Gasket cement and Superpro in particular.
A mixture of Hotels and B&B were booked that took us in a clockwise circular route. We had chosen the 'Vomit Comet' (fast but bumpy) for the crossing and the boat lived up to its nickname. Sat at the back we were witness to a hairy arsed hells angel type rushing to the open air, getting to the railing just in time and letting go. Sadly in his rush, he had not taken care of his position and the flow caught on the wind and covered the arm of the bloke next to him. Needless to say, given the persuasion of the biker bloke, the man with an arm full, thought better of making a fuss!
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| Faithlegg arrival - Day 1 |
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Once on dry land we headed for Waterford and the Faithlegg golf hotel via the ferry at passage East. No we don't play golf, but you do get a nice park to stay in. Our intention was to try out some of the types of roads we were used to on the rallies. It was nice to see that motoring in Ireland can still be very pleasant off the beaten track.
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| Dramatic Sky over Blarney castle |
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| Durty Nelly's pub in front of Bunratty Castle |
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From Waterford to Kinsale, a charming fishing village that whilst somewhat commercial now, has managed to retain its charm. Kinsale is fish restaurant central. If you like fish, go to Kinsale. In fact the charm of the place encouraged us to curtail our motoring for a day, whilst we wandered the streets. Needless to say, lunch involved Guinness, as it did most days.
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| Kolourful Kinsale |
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| Fresh seafood at "Fishy Fishy" chippy in Kinsale |
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On then to Kilmallock. This is a town I had little experience of before but its location enabled us to take easy day trips to the Ring of Kerry, Bantry and up to the cliffs of Moher. We stayed in a charming Farmhouse B&B run by an equally charming Imelda. The service and food was 5 star and we were sad to leave.
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| On the beach, lost. |
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| Johnny Fox's pub in the Wicklow Mountains |
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Next stop was Blessington and another golf Hotel, the Tulfarris. Set on the side of a lake the views were stunning. We had chosen this location, as Mel and Sue had not been to Dublin. As Blessington is a relatively short distance form Dublin it would be an easy drive into the City in the morning. We had made contact with the Martin McGovern, the secretary of the Triumph Classic Owners Club in Ireland who set about putting an impromptu Triumph meeting together. We were delighted to be joined by a good crowd consisting of Stag, Spitfire and TR for a few bevies at the Tulfarris Hotel, which made for a very pleasant evening.
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| Neil's TR5 gets close inspection from one of the Irish Triumph Club Triumph lads. |
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| At Tulfaris golf hotel with the Irish Triumph Club |
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After Dublin the following morning we journeyed through the Wicklow Mountains via Sally Gap with an obligatory stop at Johnny Fox's pub to find our last B&B in Rosslare to be ready for a very early ferry back to Fishguard.
All in all the entire trip was a great success. The weather was mostly kind to us, the Guinness was great (particularly with oysters at Bunratty castle), the food was fabulous as was the country side, but above all the cars went well covering the distance effortlessly and completely without a hitch. Must try the north next time!
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| Unknown village across an un-named estuary |
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