05_769819 ch01.qxp 1/4/06 9:19 PM Page 4 1 The Best of Ireland from $90 a Day “ The modern American tourist,” wrote historian Daniel J. Boorstin, “has come to expect both more strangeness and more familiarity than the world naturally offers.” That said, Ireland continues to offer more than its share of both. At first glance, Ireland presents a familiar face to American visitors. The language is the same, only more lyrical; the faces are familiar; the food, recognizable; the stout, legendary. Many visitors, notably Irish Americans, experience their arrival as a kind of homecoming. It takes a while for this superficial reverie to wear off. When it does, the other face of Ireland shows itself, and this is when the country becomes truly exciting. Ireland is a place of profound contradiction and complexity. For one thing, it is at the same time both ancient and adolescent. Ireland’s age is obvious to anyone with a car. Within a half-day drive of downtown Dublin lie Neolithic tombs, Bronze Age forts, early Christian monastic sites, Viking walls, and Georgian estates—enough antiquity to make your head spin, all in plain sight. Centuries-old castles are as commonplace in Ireland as Wal-Mart stores are in the United States. The Irish past doesn’t exist just in books; it’s in the backyard. A shovel, digging for peat or potatoes, may well strike a 5,000-year-old grave. Thousands of unexcavated ancient sites litter the countryside. Any visitor to Ireland who ventures beyond its shops and pubs will soon be struck by how the country revels in its age. What is less obvious is how new Ireland is as a nation. The Republic of Ireland, with its own constitution and currency, is barely 50 years old. Mary McAleese, the current president of Ireland, is only the eighth person to hold that office. In political age, Ire- land, for all its antiquity, is a mere pup. Like any adolescent, it’s doing many things for the first time, and at least a few of its contradictions make sense when you keep that in mind. Compounding Ireland’s youth as a nation is the youth of its people. Roughly half of the population is under 25, and nearly a quarter is under 15. This means that in some homes, those who once fought for Irish independence are living under the same roof with those who have never known anything else. In these same homes, the gapCOPYRIGHTED between generations is often seismic. MATERIAL It is indeed curious that in a country where what happened 1,000 years ago reads like yesterday’s news, it is com- mon to feel old and outnumbered at 30. Ireland’s past has been remarkably tumultuous, inspiring a tradition of courage, humor, and creativity. Change is nothing new to the island, yet the rate and scale of the changes occurring today are without precedent. And that’s where the contradic- tions become so endearing, like the old farmer in a tweed cap who is afraid of com- puters but rings his bookmaker on a cellphone. Like the publican progressive enough to have a website but traditional enough to not like seeing a woman drinking from a 05_769819 ch01.qxp 1/4/06 9:19 PM Page 5 THE BEST PICTURE-POSTCARD IRISH TOWNS 5 pint glass. (Older folks often tsk-tsk that “ladies should drink from half-pint glasses.”) Like the grocer–cum–post office or, better still, the grocer–cum–hardware store–cum–pub, both common entities in many a rural town. Like the national weather forecasts, which, even with the help of a gazillion satellites, still manage to appear so parochially informal. One radio weatherman actually offered this by way of a forecast: “It’s dry and clear across most of the country, and let’s hope it stays that way.” The magic of today’s Ireland lies in these daily slices of life. 1 The Best Websites • Irish Tourist Board (www.ireland.ie): even tell the database to avoid motor- Bord Fáilte’s site is both easy to navi- ways and toll roads. gate and extremely informative. An • Entertainment Ireland (www. excellent place to start gathering ideas entertainment.ie): This handy, exhaus- for your trip. tive, searchable database includes just • Aer Lingus (aerlingus.com): If you’ve about every event in Ireland, from decided to fly with Aer Lingus, book museum exhibitions to rock concerts your ticket here. While we don’t to hot new plays to nightclub theme endorse any single airline over another, nights. And it includes well-written Aer Lingus’s site is exceptional in that reviews of them all to boot. it always offers its lowest fares online. • Irish Family History Foundation • Irelandhotels.com (www.ireland (www.irishroots.net): This compre- hotels.com): What catapults this hensive genealogy resource contains accommodations database ahead of documentation from all 32 counties the raft of hotel-finding sites is its on the island. Much of the archived “detailed search” function. Gotta information is free for your perusal, have a gym? Need to find a babysit- and you can also hire researchers to ter? Want an in-room dataport for do the work for you. checking your e-mail? No problem. • Newshound (www.nuzhound.com): Just plug in your requirements, and Hands down, the best single resource the site will spit out a list of hotels for keeping up to date on Northern and guesthouses that fit the bill. Ireland. It’s a vast, searchable library • AA Roadwatch (www.aaroadwatch. of news articles about developments ie): Planning on driving in Ireland? in the North, including a terrific The route-planning feature of the timeline of key events in the “Trou- Irish Automobile Association’s site is bles.” In addition, there’s an impres- brilliantly simple. Plug in your start- sive array of articles on the Republic, ing point and destination, and you’ll including travel and dining reviews. get very detailed directions. You can 2 The Best Picture-Postcard Irish Towns • Dalkey (County Dublin): This fine and simple restaurants, pubs, and charming south-coast suburb of shops anyone needs for a brief visit or Dublin enjoys both easy access to the a long stay, Dalkey is a tempting town city and freedom from its snarls and to settle into. See “Easy Excursions frenzy. 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