On tour with car and driver/chauffeur West of Ireland

Sheep on the hillside overlooking a lovely beach at Slea Head in Dingle.
Rhododendrons in the grounds of Blarney Castle.
Azeleas in the grounds of the five star Hotel Europe in Killarney with the Kerry mountains in the background. This hotel is in a magnificent location on the shores of the Lakes and the views are absolutely out of this world. The lakes cannot be seen in this photo but they are just behind these beautiful gardens.

Well i finished up with my present party yesterday and today i am unwinding and relaxing with a bit of gardening. There is nothing nicer when the weather is like it is here at the moment. What a nice surprise for everybody here to be able to get through two months like March and April with great weather.
My most recent tour went well and they tell me that they had a great time and loved Ireland. We did cover a lot of ground without having to change location every day and this is the best way to enjoy a holiday in Ireland. Too many people try to cover too much ground and are on the move all the time and end up exhausted. We were in Dublin, Waterford, Cork and Kinsale, Blarney and Bantry, Killarney, Adare and on to Connemara. Then it was a final day spent looking for ancestral connections in the Mullingar area and ending in Dublin where we said our goodbyes. I overnighted myself in Dublin and then made my way home yesterday for a much needed rest.
This weekend we have another bank holiday and in Knvara where i am we have the Cuckoo festival where we welcome the arrival of Summer with the arrival of the Cuckoo. It is a festival of music, song and dance and is great fun. Kinvara is a lovely little harbour town and most popular with the tourist. It has a lovely old castle, Dun Guaire, and is noted for its traditional Irish music which you can enjoy in the local pubs. It is also noted for its great seafood and you can also get great steaks and rack of lamb along with a fine selection of foods in its great restaurants. Come and see for yourself.
Back soon.

On tour with car and driver/chauffeur West of Ireland

Moran's of the Weir Oyster and Seafood bar near Galway

This is a world renowned bar in Kilcolgan near Clarinbridge in Co Galway where my party had their lunch yesterday. It is located at the mouth of an estuary and they have their own Oyster beds and fresh Salmon. It is a wonderful place to go if you like seafood and the pub is quaint and dates back into the eighteen hundreds. I would highly recommend.


Slea Head with the Blasket Islands to the left on the Dingle peninsula

No, this photo was not taken during the Summer. I took it at the weekend when we were at Slea Head. We have had such good weather in recent times and there is no sign of a change at the moment. This tour started out in Dublin and we traveled to Waterford, Kinsale in Co Cork, Blarney and Killarney, Adare and Limerick and on to Galway and finally Connemara. Tomorrow we travel from Connemara back to Dublin where i end this tour. It has been nice but there has been a lot of ground covered. The fact that these people were so understanding made it managable for me as it can be tiring. They made sure that i had down time and i think that they enjoyed their down time also.
I do have a break after this and i am looking forward to it.
Talk to you again soon.

Chauffeur/Car and Driver Ireland

Sorry once again for not keeping up to date on my Blog but i have been very busy with my latest tour. The great weather continues here, even though we have had showers in places, but nothing that has spoiled our touring.I have not been able to load any photos today as my Blog does not seem to be responding to that. I will get some up there tomorrow hopefully so you can look forward to that.This present tour started out in Dublin and on the first day we drove to Waterford where we visited the new Waterford Crystal centre. I was very impressed and will certainly go back there again.From there we drove to Kinsale where we stayed on the first night. Yesterday we visited Blarney before moving on to Bantry and today it was a lovely drive on the Ring of Kerry and on to Killarney.Holiday makers are traveling in their droves as this is the Easter weekend and they are blessed with wonderful weather.
Hopefully i will have a couple of nice photos here, so come back if you have time.

The McCarty's enjoying the glorious sunshine on the Dingle peninsula
The beach at Inch on the Dingle peninsula with the mountains of the Ring of Kerry in the background
A view from the Conor Pass high in the mountains on the Dingle peninsula
The Mc Carty's bidding farewell to the Plaza Hotel in Killarney as we prepare to set sail for Cork airport for their flight to London

Well all good things must come to an end and i bade farewell to the McCarty's at Cork airport yesterday after what was a very nice time together over the past few days. They were great company and very easy to be with and they truly loved all that they saw. They had their favourite places, the Sky Road in Clifden, the Dingle peninsula and Maura Houlihan, and the Conor pass in Dingle. They loved our food and really enjoyed the traditional music and Ireland did not let them down.
My thanks to a lovely family and i hope that they all arrived home safe and well. it would be nice to think that we will meet again someday.

Chauffeurdrive west of Ireland

Mike McCarty outside Maura Houlihan's Beehive hut in Dingle.

I love to visit this site as Maura has some very special beehive huts. These huts were the homes of the local residents many hundreds of years ago and were also popular dwellings for the ancient monks and holy men. Make sure you see the large communal one with the underground souterraine.This has a hidden chamber where people could hide in safety when endangered by bandits or other enemies.


Inside Maura's 500 yr old house at Slea Head.This house stands on this very site for all those years and has undergone many changes in its long history, from thatched cottage to its present state.



A fitting place at Slea Head today for a prayer on Palm Sunday, or Passion Sunday, as we also know it. This memorial to the crucifiction stands overlooking the wild Atlantic and the Blasket Islands at Slea Head. Here,many prayers have been offered for the safe return of the men at sea by the families and friends of these brave men.


The McCarty family, with landlady Helen Heaton, outside the lovely B&B in Dingle, Castlewood House, where they spent last night. This is a wonderful place to stay if you are visiting Dingle and overlooks the lovely harbour and is convenient to the town of Dingle.



Marie, Taylor, and myself with the donkeys on the Sky road near Clifden in Connemara on Friday.Yes, the donkeys are the ones on the right.

This collection of photos was taken over the last couple of glorious days as we continue out tour of the west and southwest of Ireland. I think that we are all having a great time enjoying Ireland at its very best. Tonight we are in Killarney and tomorrow we make our way to Cork where this tour ends at Cork airport as my group begin the first leg of their journey home.

Then i start all over again with my new family.

Car and Driver West of Ireland

The Mc Carthy's at Ashford castle

This has to be brief as i am presently on tour but i just want to let you see for yourselves just how nice it is in Ireland right now. Today we spent in Connemara and what a lovely day it was. My touring companions had a great day touring the Quiet Man country along with Kylemore Abbey, Clifden and the Sky Road, and the quaint little harbour town of Roundstone, along wityh many more wonderful places. Dont not let anybody tell you that it always rains in Ireland. The Mc Carthy's will put you right on that one.

Back soon with more photos.

Chauffeurdrive vacations in Ireland/Car and driver Ireland

Feeding the swans on Lough Rea on an overcast day
I have been missing again, and sorry for that, but i have been busy. Our son was at home on holidays with his family from NewYork and i was kept going. Our weather has been very nice and continues to be so. The temperatures for this time of the year are higher than normal so anybody coming our way right now is reaping the benefit of this fine spell.I have a busy April ahead of me and May looks like being the same. I am not complaining as in these times i am sure that people have a lot more to think about than holidays.
Easter is almost upon us now and the stretch in the evenings is great. That is also to the advantage of the tourist as it is nice to have daylight early in the morning and late in the evening if you like a good stroll in the fresh air. I always tell people to bring rainwear and a warm sweater or two as it does get cool later on.
There is a lot of excitement in Ireland right now as we prepare for the visit of Barack Obama and also Queen Elizabeth. Obama is sure to get a great welcome as we always love to have the President of the USA come to our shores regardless of what party he represents. It is a honour to have the President of the most powerful nation in the world visit our humble shores and he is assured of a welcome second to none. Of course, now that they have found an Irish link in his ancestry, the county of Offally will be centre stage.
Despite what some people may think, the Queen of England will receive a real Irish welcome also. We have had our trouble with them down through the years but i think that at this point in time the relationship between our two countries is at an all-time high. They are our neighbours and as neighbours it is so important that we work hand in hand, as we are doing right now. There are many Irish people like myself who would like to see our country united as one nation, but by peaceful means only. Let it be the will of the people North and South, and i believe that the day will come when that will happen, and peacefully.
Again i have to emphasise that if you are looking for my services from now forward, please get in touch as soon as you can as i always work on the principle of first come first served. I do get many enquiries and i hate to disappoint anybody.
Talk to you again soon.

April fool's day in Ireland with a car and driver

The famous Rock of Cashel in County Tipperary

This photo, taken on a rather gloomy overcast day, shows that wonderful historic castle in the town of Cashel. It has a great history and its connections with the high kings of Munster, and also the ruins of the old abbey within its walls make it a magical place to visit. If you do get there, do not forget to have lunch in the "Ryan's Daughter" restaurant which is quiet close to the castle.That is where you will get wonderful home cooked food. If you like your desserts , like me, then you cannot leave without having their wonderful "Bread and butter" pudding. Mmmmm.


I am sure that we all know the feeling when someone say's, "I have good news and bad news, which do you want first?" . Well in a way that is the case with me today. I will give you the bad news first so that you will have something to look forward to, maybe.
The stress tests on our banks, which have been ongoing now for some time, revealed their findings yesterday. In order to stock our banks up with enough money to get them up and running and "Safe" again we are going to have to inject another Euro 24 billion into them, and that brings the total of refunding now to Euro 70 billion. What an abomination, that the taxpayer, who had nothing to do with any of this, has now got to fund this massive debt to bail out these irresponsible idiots. The unfortunate thing is that we seem to have little choice. If we do not, then we go bust. If we go bust then nobody will lend us any money and we will really be up to our necks in it. China?.....help!!!!!!
The good news.....and this is not new news,......is that President Obama is coming to Ireland. Is it Obama or O' Bama? I suppose we will find that out when he gets to his hometown in Offaly in Ireland. I know that in the USA this man is either popular or unpopular, and it depends on which side of the divide you are on, but in Ireland we have always loved the idea of the President of the USA coming to visit us. We really do not care what party he represents as long as he has some Irish blood in his veins. I suppose that this is a little silly really as nearly all Americans have. I remain neutral on the politics, but when it comes to a President of that great country coming to our humble little country, and especially at this time, we are all truly happy about it. It nearly feels like he is coming with a blank check which he will fill in when we give him the figures. Any chance? From what i hear from many of my friends over there i think not. You are finding it tough also, and for many of the same reasons. Have we all learned a lesson? Hardly.
As soon things swing around again, whenever that may be, and it will happen, we will be off again enjoying the good life believing that tomorrow can look after itself. Right now we all know that tomorrow will not look after itself, we have to look after tomorrow, and how.
Enough of that. I feel better having got that off my chest though. It is the Irish in me, now i am picking myself up, once again full of optimism, knowing quiet well that when the going gets tough there is nobody better than us Irish. Tell us that we have no chance and we love it. We cannot wait for that day when we will confront you once again, slap you up against the wall and say, " WHAT WAS THAT YOU WERE SAYING?"
I am in hiding today, not answering the door or the phone, ignoring the post and waiting patiently for April fool's day to pass. If you need me really badly then your message will be dealt with by someone.
Talk to you soon.