A Quick trip to ireland

After watching the Banshees of Inesherin, I was left with the lingering thought of Ireland. Set in an imaginary representation of the Aran Islands, the film taking place in 1923 and shot across western Ireland paints a picture of the past. Whilst it is set in a fictional version of Inishmore, Inisheer, and Inishmaan all blended, the need it created in me to go and see the islands for myself grew stronger with each passing day.

Whilst they are fairly attractive touristic destinations in the summer, for some reason (the weather) the Aran Islands tend to be much quieter in November which is when I went.

Killing two birds with one stone, I decided to use the trip to also tick off the Cliffs of Moher from my bucket list.

I flew into Cork on a Saturday night on a delayed plane barely allowing me to see the city. It led me to leave my hostel the following day at dawn to explore whatever I would have the time to do before a two-bus journey to the Cliffs of Moher.

A four hour bus ride to the cliffs of mother through limerick

Limerick Bus Station - November 2022 - Kodak Gold 200

For this section on the cliffs, I’ll just let the photos speak for themselves as I was at a loss for words.

After another 2h bus ride to Galway, the following day would turn out to be the reason for this entire trip.

An old double-decker bus ride to Rossaveel later, I embarked on the Aran Island Ferry to Inishmore.

All photos taken with Cinestill 400D

Walk on Inishmore along the sea amongst fields divided by rock walls which have seemingly been around for centuries.

As the sun started to turn, I reached my goal: Teach Nan Phaidí Café. This little café in the middle of the island had all I had been seeking on this cold and windy day: a nice hot cup of tea and Beef & Guinness stew.

This classic Irish dish of which I had fond memories from visiting Dublin 6 years ago exceeded my expectations. The sweetness of the Guinness mixed with the tenderness of the beef with on top a nice serving of freshly made mashed potatoes was everything I had been seeking that day. This simple but delicate homemade stew was simply one of the best things I have eaten in the last year.

Whilst enjoying this succulent Irish meal, I struck up a conversation with Nessa, the café’s owner’s sister working there that day. I jokingly asked if Colin Farrell had enjoyed the stew during his stay in Inishmore for the preparation of the filming of The Banshees of Inesherin and turns out that unsurprisingly he loved it as much as I did.

Both Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell spent some time on the islands enjoying both the beef and Guinness stew, but also pints of Guinness from the Island’s own Joe Watty’s Pub, the only pub on Inishmore.

Teach Nan Phaidí Café - Kodak E100

After a beautiful but freezing day, the Ferry ride back to Galway brought waves directly sent from Poseidon’s wrath, which was enough to make the 40-minute ride a terrible experience but not enough to ruin the day.

For the second evening in a row, I found myself at The King’s Head in Galway, enjoying the free live music in the pub dating back to 1649.

The following day was my last in Ireland, I took a train to Dublin Heuston station and enjoyed a few hours in the capital already dressed for Christmas.

Photos on Kodak E100

A short but intense trip had been my intention from the beginning. My inability to drive rendered the trip slightly more complicated than if I had had a car, but the Irish public transport system turned out to be reliable and handy even if fairly pricy.