7- Day Ireland to Island

We leave Dublin and head south, arriving at Cobh Harbour in County Cork, the place of 3 million goodbyes as famine and poverty forced people aboard ships bound for a better life. It’s also where the Titanic last stopped, before embarking on her ill-fated voyage.
Is it a chapel? Is it a palace? Is it a cathedral? The 1000-year-old Rock of Cashel is all three and it’s an open-mouthed moment. We’ll travel forward to the 17th century and the home of the Midleton Distillery, now a modern complex and the largest whiskey producer in Ireland. From Jameson to Powers and Tullamore Dew to a Middleton Rare, get to taste, mull and learn about our uisce beatha (water of life).
It’s back to the twinkly lights of colourful Cobh and over a pint of the blackstuff, (Murphy’s, not Guinness in these parts) in Mansworth’s, you’ll hear backstories about how this pub was the last port of call for the misty-eyed emigrants, waiting for their ships to come in. The harbour beckons and perhaps a trip to the Quay’s Bar & Restaurant, famous for its private marina and slow-roasted scallops.
Total driving time: 3 hours excluding stops
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MEETING POINT
The Ashling Hotel Dublin, 10 - 13 Parkgate St, Stoneybatter, Dublin 8, D08 P38N
Time: 08:00 am