Over the summer, one of our goals is to do a few little trips around Ireland to soak in all the gorgeous sites and scenery here on the Emerald Isle. There really is a wealth of choices for places to visit around the country — so much so that it feels a bit overwhelming at times figuring out what to choose! The good news is, you can’t really go wrong with most places in Ireland. No matter where you go, there’s a pretty good chance you’re never far from gorgeous coastlines, rolling green hills dotted with cattle, charming colorful towns, and loads of historical sites and pubs.

Last weekend we decided to explore the eastern part of county Cork, specifically the picturesque town of Kinsale which we’d heard great things about. We found a B and B in a town called Crosshaven — about 30 minutes from Kinsale — which had a few nice restaurants, a cute harbor, and a new playground where we got some energy out after dinner. Our B and B hosts were a quirky older couple who made us feel like family. Playing fetch with their dog was a highlight for Isaac! Across the water from Crosshaven we could see the town of Cobh, which was famous for being the last port of call for the Titanic (at that time it was called Queenstown), as well as the launching point for many Irish immigrants to America.

We spent a pretty full day in and around the town of Kinsale and really enjoyed it. It’s a super cute town to stroll around, with brightly colored buildings, bookshops, cafes and restaurants, and little galleries. When Ireland’s food scene was just emerging in the ’90s, Kinsale was the self declared gourmet capital. Although the rest of the country has caught up with cuisine, Kinsale is still a great dining town, especially seafood. One of the best regarded fish restaurants in all of Ireland, Fishy Fishy, is in Kinsale, and we were able to eat lunch there. Though we had to wait a little while to get a table, it was still relatively welcoming (especially since we had kids with us, and I saw a lot of kids there) and unpretentious given its reputation (at least for lunch), and we had a delicious meal.

And of course, we found the town playground, which was situated in a lovely small town square with a fountain and beautiful hydrangeas. There were also some carnival rides, which the boys loved. It’s fun to see Rafi big enough now to join Isaac on the rides.

Kinsale’s harbor has played an important role in Irish history, especially during the 16th-18th centuries when maritime countries were global powers. Kinsale was Ireland’s gateway to the seas, particularly to trade with Spain and France, so it was a potential base for either of these powers to try to cut off English shipping. When England broke from the Catholic Church, Spain had economic trade reasons, and now religious reasons, to protect fellow Catholic Ireland from the English. The Spanish and Irish teamed up against the English and a big battle was fought in Kinsale, with the English ultimately victorious.

The English eventually built a huge star-shaped fort, Charles Fort, to protect the harbor and maintain control. We visited the fort, which was occupied by the British until Irish independence in 1922. It was a lot of fun climbing up and down the hills and along the walls of the fort — the boys had a blast!

We also drove about 15 minutes out of Kinsale town to Old Kinsale Head, a narrow spit of land that sticks out into the sea with a lighthouse on it. In addition to gorgeous views, there was a memorial to the victims of the Lusitania, because this is where the boat sank just 10 miles offshore.

Along the road from Kinsale to Old Kinsale Head, we passed another very interesting memorial, which was a bit off the beaten track. It’s called Ringfinnan Garden of Remembrance and it was built by a woman, on her land, to honor the 343 firefighters who died on 9/11. The woman, who has since passed away, worked as a nurse in New York for 40 years and wanted to do something to honor the memory of the firefighters, many of whom had Irish heritage. She planted a tree in honor of each one, with American flags next to each tree. It’s a very moving and peaceful tribute and well worth a quick visit if in the area.

So it was a full day around Kinsale! On our way to and from we stopped at a few great places too. On the way down we broke up the driving with a stop at the Rock of Cashel, which is a spectacular and iconic tourist site in Ireland. It’s a complex of church buildings, mostly from the 12th and 13th centuries but from other periods too, built on a tall hill that overlooks the otherwise flat landscape. As you approach in the car, the Rock emerges out of the plains of Tipperary and makes a dramatic impression. It has some really interesting architecture, including a round tower (which are unique to Ireland) and an original 12th century St Patrick’s Cross (now housed inside the museum there to protect from the elements). It was a fascinating place to walk around for a little while.

On our way back to Dublin from our weekend, we stopped at one of county Cork’s best family attractions, Fota Wildlife Park. It’s a huge zoo, but the animals are on vast expanses of land so it looks/feels very much like their natural habitat, rather than cages. You can get pretty close to giraffes, zebras, bison, and even cheetahs and tigers are behind strong fences but are still pretty close up. Kangaroos are just hopping around the grounds. There are several playgrounds throughout the park and a train you can ride from one end to another. The boys wore themselves out walking and running all around, and we could have spent longer there but everyone was getting tired and ready to hit the road back to Dublin.

So all in all we had a wonderful weekend getaway to Kinsale and the surrounding area. We lucked out with beautiful weather too! There’s an Irish joke I’ve heard that in Ireland the two best days a year are Christmas and summer 😃 Well we definitely had the “day” of summer in Kinsale. (Hopefully there will be a few more summer days here in the next month or two). Our next Irish adventure will be to see some of the ring of Kerry, which is supposed to be gorgeous…stay tuned!