The city of Dublin is situated in such a great location. There are miles of gorgeous countryside just past the city limits, making it easy to find ways to explore the country of Ireland and still make it home for Sunday roast dinner.

My family and I have had so much fun exploring, and I hope some of these itineraries inspire your next holiday break!

Northern Ireland

One of our most favorite trips to date has been to Northern Ireland. We drove about three hours straight to Giant’s Causeway which I was told was a must-see but I was not prepared for how gorgeous it really was. If you’re lucky enough to see it on a sunny day, it’s one of the most unique places I’ve ever visited. Giant’s Causeway is a UNESCO World Heritage Site comprised of 40,000 basalt columns formed 60 million years ago. And I know that sounds kind of boring but trust me, it’s much cooler in person!

After our afternoon at the Causeway, we stopped at The Fullerton Arms for a yummy dinner. And for you Game of Thrones fans, The Fullerton Arms has door 6 of 10 doors depicting one episode of Season 6 GOT.

As evening approached my family of four pulled into our glamping pod for the night at Thornfield Farm, which is across the street from Dark Hedges Estate. These pods were adorable and incredibly fun for our two boys, who were 6 and 8 when we visited. The pod had 1 queen bed and a bunk bed and included all the ingredients for s’mores by the fire and breakfast in the pod the next morning. One pod even has a private hot tub!

If you have time on your way back to Dublin, stop in Belfast and hit up the Titanic Museum. We did not spend nearly enough time in this very cool, modern museum. It’s worth the 2-3 hour detour on your way home.

Southern Ireland

About two hours southwest of Dublin is the little town of Cashel in County Tipperary, and that is where you can find the Rock of Cashel castle. We stumbled upon this place simply because we were looking for a place to stretch our legs, and it ended up being one of the coolest “ruins” castles we’ve ever seen! There are guided tours if you want them, but honestly just walking the grounds and enjoying the peaceful scenery is enough. It was the sleeper hit of our tour down south.

Drive one more hour south to Cork and you will come to Blarney Castle, arguably one of Ireland’s most famous landmarks. The grounds were much larger than I remember from 20+ years ago but the castle itself is still gorgeous. Get there early if you want to wait in line to kiss the stone, though! A 90+ minute wait in the middle of the day is quite common.

After the castles you’ll be ready to relax! Drive south to Kinsale for the night. Enjoy the brightly colored buildings and welcoming atmosphere. Eat at Fishy Fishy and watch the sunset on the harbor.

West of Ireland

If you’d rather head west, Bunratty Castle is a fun all-day castle and folk park. Located in County Clare, this two-and-a-half-hour drive ends at “the most complete and authentic castle in Ireland.” When you’re done exploring the grounds, head over to Doolin or Lisdoonvarna for the night. There are plenty of great small hotels in the area to choose from. Stop at Gus O’Connor’s Pub for a pint and some fish ‘n chips. In the morning, book a visit (8:00—11:00AM) to the Cliffs of Moher at the Visitor Experience. This is obviously one of the most common tourist spots in all of Ireland, but if you get there early, you’ll beat the crowds and have coffee looking at one of the most spectacular sights in Ireland. Currently you can also walk/hike the northern section of the Trail from Doolin down to Surfers Path.

Finally, if you want a day trip with kids, I highly recommend River Valley Holiday Park in County Wicklow. They have endless activities for kids of all ages: electric go karts, “crazy bugz” electric buggies for little kids, downhill tubing, rustic cabins for family camping, archery, mini golf, and more. We had a total blast here one day and the glamping areas looked well maintained and family friendly for those wishing to extend the good times all weekend.

Where will you be off to next?

Liz Anderson is an American wife and mother living abroad for the second time. She writes about her experiences as an expat in Europe and Asia at anoceanaway.blog.  She has called Dublin home since March 2024.

Is é an uile faoi do chuid!

It’s All About You!

Well, first, it’s about me, saying good-bye to you all, as I hand over the reins to the new Prez and her Board and wish all of them the best as I get to enjoy the AWCD as an active non-Board member! It has been a privilege and a pleasure.

Now - for the “You” part!

June has been officially declared AWCD Member Appreciation Month!

We have many members to thank for their contributions organizing, hosting and giving their time to ensure we had another wonderful Club Year. I will try not to forget anyone in the Acknowledgement page in this edition, but if I do, please don’t be shy! Drop me a line, let me know. I want to have an accurate picture of all of your contributions for our archives!

How do we plan to show our appreciation? Well, with an AWCD Swag Bag, of course!

Throughout the month (and beyond) there will be opportunities for you to collect your bag. In addition to the June Luncheon, there will be several coffee gatherings all around town, North, South, East and West, weekends included, where you can meet up and grab your bag. Those get-togethers are being organized as we speak, so keep an eye on your Wild Apricot calendar and sign up for one.

Swag Bags will also be available at the Fourth of July/Canada Day cookout at my place in Greystones on Saturday, July 5th. And not to worry, even if you can’t make any of these activities (So sorry we’ll miss you!), I am around all Summer, and we will find a way to connect and deliver your tokens of appreciation.

One more thing. To show our gratitude for your support and your engagement with the AWCD, we will have a drawing for a free MEMBERSHIP for the 25/26 Club Year!

Ladies, we know these are just small tokens of how we feel about our fabulous membership, but know that you are appreciated and that we recognize that together we have built - and maintain - a truly special community.

Looking forward to more good times together and thank you for your support these last two years.

Andrea Worker
AWCD President 2023-2025

You needn’t have lived in Ireland very long to be familiar with the term “craic.” But where did this word come from and what exactly does someone mean when they say it?

Back in Ye Olde English days, the word “craician” meant to make a loud noise or to brag/boast. This word was then taken into the Irish vernacular and used to describe the sound of loud thunder or a cracking whip. Eventually, it simply referred to any loud noise or commotion.

By the 20th century, the loud noise and commotion Irish people associated the word with was that made during gatherings or enjoyable experiences (see where this is going?), and the word got shortened—giving birth to the “craic” as we know it today.

But the evolution didn’t stop there. It began to encompass all the positive aspects of social interactions and experiences including gossip (“What’s the craic?”), entertainment (“How’s the craic?”), great conversation (“They’re great craic!”), and general fun (“It was good craic!”).

In fact, the Irish take their craic so seriously that there are actually SIX levels into which the craic could be categorized. So,study up, and after your next social outing you can be certain exactly how much craic was had:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	THE CRAIC WAS NINETY The absolute Nirvana of craic. One for the books. The pints, the people, the vibe—everything was AMAZING!!!
⭐⭐⭐⭐	DEADLY CRAIC Incredible fun, good times, but not peak craic.
⭐⭐⭐	SAVAGE CRAIC A step below Deadly. Drinks were flowing, everyone was getting along, plenty of laughs.
⭐⭐	MIGHTY CRAIC Great stories, memorable moments (probably most nights out with your best mates).
⭐	GOOD CRAIC Decent, good fun, but maybe not the best time you’ve ever had.
	MINUS CRAIC You should’ve stayed home with that tub of Ben & Jerry’s

Gabby Dunne was born and raised in Las Vegas, NV, and never left the States before meeting her Irish husband on the Vegas Strip. She moved to Dublin a year later and has been here for 12 years. She has one son and two stepchildren, and she works in early intervention for neurodiverse children. Gabby joined the AWCD in 2023 and is 'finally reconnecting with [her] American side!'

Leathdhéanach - Penultimate

pen·​ul·​ti·​mate - adjective - meaning next to last

And that, dear AWCD friends, is where we are. We have arrived at the next to last letter from me to you! Can you believe it?

Once the online votes are in and the paper ballots added from the upcoming May General Meeting at the National Concert Hall, a new board will be chosen, and I and some of this year’s gang, will be bidding you “slán” in June. I’ll save the rest of the tearful-cheerful stuff until next month, just know it will be a bittersweet moment.

OK, hankies aside for now.

In addition to voting on the slate for the 2025/2026 board filled with fabulous women ready to step up and take us forward, May and June have lots of other fun and frivolity to keep us occupied.

As mentioned, the last general meeting of the Club year will be at the NCH. It’s a light-filled cozy space, so hope you have already registered and that you can stay for lunch (Sorry! Your expense!) afterwards.

Philanthropy chairs Amber Liggett and Jenny Lavin will be hosting a Pub Quiz Night at Brew Dog to raise funds for Dogs Trust Ireland and pooches in need, head over to Wild Apricot to join in the fun for a good cause.

Deb O’Brien,  VP of Programs, has us set up for a wonderful visit to the National Stud and the Japanese Gardens on May 27 - this one has been on my bucket list for ages! Can’t wait!

And don’t forget to register for the Annual June Luncheon! Else O’Neill has secured us another great outing with a 3-course meal in a lovely setting at the National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire. The Club will be subsidizing the event a bit, so the price will be a great value, and includes a welcome drink, which will get us started and help us toast to the end of one Club year and the beginning of the next.

In addition to these events and the usual activities, there are plans afoot for a road trip to Gorey to visit Maureen (our fab Afternoon Tea milliner) at her goody-filled shop, and to wander into some of the other retail therapy spots in Gorey before we enjoy lunch.

And what about a visit to Mount Usher Gardens in Ashford? And lunch and a browse of the courtyard shops afterward? Also working on a “farewell” gathering to the evening edition of the ACWD get togethers. Stay tuned and keep checking Wild Apricot!

And one penultimate note before I close this out….

June is officially AWCD MEMBER APPRECIATION MONTH! But, ssshh! That’s all I can say on that subject for now!

See you around,

Andrea Worker
AWCD President 2023-25

One of the absolute best aspects of living in Ireland for our family has been skiing throughout Europe. In the past 12 months we have skied Zermatt, Switzerland; St. Anton, Austria; and Les Arcs and Val d’Isere, France. All are unique locations within the Alps and every ski trip with children is different because the more they ski the better they get, which changes the enjoyment level significantly.

The question we get asked the most is, “which place did you like the best?” And the truth is, they were all great in their own ways. But I love ranking our trips, so here’s a few thoughts on the “best of” the Alps.

Best for families – Les Arcs 1950

There are four Arcs comprising the full Les Arcs ski area, and in my opinion 1950 is by far the best because it looks like an old-fashioned French village whereas the other Arcs are more modern. That said, all Arcs have wonderful blue runs that you ski right into the towns. There are no cars allowed and no need even for the bus system – you can move between Arcs as long as the gondolas and chairlifts run.

Every night in the center of 1950 there was either a dance party, snow games competition, or ski instructor jumping competition – plenty to keep kids entertained every day. And if that wasn’t enough, Les Arcs also has a ski zipline, two sledging (aka sledding) tracks, and every residence was ski in / ski out. In the afternoons, the boys would play in the snow outside our chalet and use the ski runs as sledding hills once the skiers were done for the day. The food was much more American than French, which was a bummer, but with so many activities to do each day we had a total blast as a family.

Best Après scene – St. Anton

Ski vacations can’t be all work – you gotta relax too! Admittedly we do not always do a great job of exploring the on-mountain scene every time, but there were major highlights for us. St. Anton had a wonderful mix of on-mountain and in-village restaurants and bars with a great après ski scene. We felt they had the most variety, but La Folie Deuce in Val D’Isere certainly concentrates all the atmosphere of most ski resorts into one major on-mountain party.

Best value for your money – St. Anton

I am only speaking for Europe when I say this, but in general the ski costs were similar across the four resorts we visited. Rental ski gear, lift tickets, ski school – all of that seems to be wildly less expensive than the US right now. However, the countries you’re skiing in can vary widely in cost which affects accommodation pricing as well as your food and drink prices.

We found Austria to be quite enjoyable – the food quality was good, meals were reasonably priced, and beers were cheap. The same cannot be said for Switzerland. Unfortunately, we have been in and out of Switzerland enough to know that no matter which city or town you’re in, the cost is high; it is one thing to splurge on vacation but to spend double or triple the normal price for food and drink at each meal does not make it an enjoyable experience. France landed in the middle between Austria and Switzerland as far as costs go.

Most Unique Experience – All

I am not being annoying when I say this – you really can find amazing benefits at every ski resort in the alps.

Highlights for us: St. Anton night-time sledging run. A wild and crazy ride down from the top of the mountain on a sledging-only track, punctuated by hairpin turns and lots of wipe-outs. It was terrifying and so insanely fun we still talk about it weekly in our house a few months later.

Les Arcs snow zipline. A terrifying and exhilarating zipline over the ski runs in a single or double-basket sling that runs one mile long. I was literally shaking while waiting for the zipline to release me, but I laughed the whole way down and the kids begged to go again.

Zermatt Glacier Palace. Walking through ice tunnels and past ice sculptures at the top of the mountain was such a cool experience. The Matterhorn is one of the most gorgeous ski views in all of Europe, but Glacier Palace was a really cool, unique experience we haven’t seen anywhere else.

Val d’Isere La Folie Douce. As big a party as you will see on a mountain, La Folie Douce was quite the mid-afternoon ski break. We visited on a gorgeous blue-sky day and watched the dancers (both on the stage and in the crowd) for a few hours on a Wednesday afternoon. The kids did not find it as entertaining as we hoped, and you definitely do not need sit down restaurant reservations to enjoy the party.

I hope this breakdown helps you choose an amazing location for your next family ski trip. For Americans, a trip to the Alps is far cheaper than skiing in the US whether you fly from Europe or North America. At the end of the day, our ski trips brought us closer together as a family regardless of where we were, and I am already looking forward to planning a 2026 getaway.

For a more complete list of highlights, check out the full blog post. 

Liz Anderson is an American wife and mother living abroad for the second time. She writes about her experiences as an expat in Europe and Asia at anoceanaway.blog.  She has called Dublin home since March 2024.

No matter how long you’ve lived in Ireland, come the start of spring there’s no possible way to miss those massive chocolate eggs taking up shelf space in practically every shop! People are buying them left and right to be gifted to loved ones of all ages before Easter is over. So, what’s the story behind this delectable tradition?

Traditionally, people would gift chicken eggs (a symbol of spring) during Easter. They would hard-boil and decorate them (as is still done in the U.S.). Once chocolate became more widespread, some European countries began making and selling eggs made out of solid chocolate.

Joseph Fry created Fry’s Chocolate in the 1750s and sold drinking chocolate in the U.K. His grandsons made the first chocolate bars in the 1860s, and in 1873 they created the U.K.’s first chocolate Easter egg. However, unlike their European counterparts, this egg would be the first hollow egg which was made by using a mould—invented by the Fry family. Their unique mixture of cocoa fat, cocoa powder, and sugar formed a paste that was easy to fill the mould with. The mould had a signature “crocodile” pattern to help hide any cracks or imperfections in the final product.

In 1935, Fry’s competitor Cadbury bought them out, and their name took over the iconic giant egg. Today though, nearly every chocolate brand has their own version of the hollowed-out chocolate Easter egg ready to be sold in the spring. Living in Ireland, it’s hard to escape being gifted one (or five) this time of year, and even harder to eat them all (I recommend melting them down and covering some strawberries)! But now, Cadbury have made it easier to bring this giant chocolate tradition to anyone, anywhere in the world! If you go to their Worldwide Hide website, you can “hide” a virtual egg for someone to find.

Gabby Dunne was born and raised in Las Vegas, NV, and never left the States before meeting her Irish husband on the Vegas Strip. She moved to Dublin a year later and has been here for 12 years. She has one son and two stepchildren, and she works in early intervention for neurodiverse children. Gabby joined the AWCD in 2023 and is 'finally reconnecting with [her] American side!'

Labor Day, President’s Day, Memorial Day, etc. are the old American three-day weekends that we all know and love. But in Ireland, no such importance is attached to some of those Mondays that most of us get off during seemingly random months. So, why are they called “Bank Holidays” and why do they happen when they do?

Originally centered around local traditions, certain rest-days or festivals would have been an excuse for the community to take a break and celebrate things like the harvest or a religious feast day. These would have occurred more frequently in the countryside, and prior to the 19th century before people moved from farms into the city for factory work. The modern, urbanised working mentality meant less opportunity for leisurely celebrations.

However, in 1871 (while Ireland was still under British rule), a banker-turned-politician by the name of Sir John Lubbock introduced the Bank Holidays Act (hence, the term) which subsequently secured four holidays off for the people. These first “Bank Holidays” were: St. Stephen’s Day/Boxing Day (recognizing the day after Christmas), the first Monday in August, Easter Monday, and Whit Monday (recognizing Pentecost). A Monday recognising St. Patrick’s Day was added to the Act for Ireland in 1903.

Once Ireland became a free state, they passed their own Public Holidays Act and repealed all of the listed U.K. Acts related to these holidays. This Act gave the government full power to select the public holidays as they saw fit.

While the term “Bank Holiday” is still widely used, technically, those we recognize today that mostly everyone is entitled to have off are considered “Public Holidays.” One example of a day where banks and other businesses might close is Good Friday (the Friday before Easter Sunday). Though certain institutions might be closed, is not a recognised Public Holiday (under the Public Holidays Act) whereby most workers are entitled to have it off (with pay).

The original public holidays remained after independence (with Whit Monday being altered to simply the first Monday in June), but additions were made and changes still occur to this day. There was even a once-off public holiday designated on September 14th , 2001 as a “National Day of Mourning” for the victims of the September 11th attacks in the U.S.

The most recent change to the regular public holiday calendar happened in 2022 with the introduction of the February holiday that recognises St. Brigid, one of the three Irish patron saints (February 1st ) as well as the Gaelic festival of Imbolc (marking the beginning of Spring).

Currently, Ireland has 10 public holidays. The EU average is 12. So, there might be some more coming our way!

Below is a list of all the current public holidays in Ireland, so you can plan something ahead for the day off:

• St Brigid’s Day (first Monday of every February except when February 1st falls on a Friday)
• St. Patrick’s Day (March 17th)
• Easter Monday (Monday after Easter Sunday)
• May Bank Holiday (first Monday in May)
• June Bank Holiday (first Monday in June)
• August Bank Holiday (first Monday in August)
• October Bank Holiday (last Monday in October)
• Christmas Day (December 25th)
• St Stephen’s Day (December 26th)
• New Year’s Day (January 1st)

Gabby Dunne was born and raised in Las Vegas, NV, and never left the States before meeting her Irish husband on the Vegas Strip. She moved to Dublin a year later and has been here for 12 years. She has one son and two stepchildren, and she works in early intervention for neurodiverse children. Gabby joined the AWCD in 2023 and is 'finally reconnecting with [her] American side!'

You may have noticed that the day after Christmas (December 26th) is called Boxing Day in the U.K. and St. Stephen’s Day in Ireland. Besides being Bank Holidays in their respective nations held on the same day, the two days have very different histories.

In the U.K., a tradition began around the 1830's where the upper classes would literally “box up” small gifts for their servants, the poor, or even tradespeople. Christmases were so over-the-top in these wealthier households and servants often worked throughout the holiday. So, as a sort of thanks, small gifts would be given in different forms including money and leftovers from the Christmas feast.

Photo: almanac.com

In Ireland, there is a bit more depth to this day as December 26th recognizes two separate times in history. The more obvious one has to do with celebrating the life and martyrdom of St. Stephen—the first Christian martyr. Stephen was a Christian deacon in Jerusalem during the time directly following Jesus’ death. He defended the Christian faith to powerful Jewish rabbis, and as a result, was stoned to death in 36 CE.

Being a Catholic-centric country, this saint’s feast day became entwined with Celtic folklore. While it might not be printed on the calendar you bought from Eason's, the other name for this day in Ireland is Wren’s Day (or Lá an Dreoilín in Irish). There is no documented explanation for why exactly the wren came to be the centre of this day, but one story is that of the wren betraying the hiding place of St. Stephen while he hid among trees as the wren began flapping its wings drawing the attention of his persecutors. Another story tells about the wren pecking on the drum of a soldier that awoke the Vikings leading to an invasion and mass slaughter.

Photo: Independent.ie

Whatever the true reason, the wren has always been a revered symbol to the Celtic pagans as it was also attached to Samhain. The wren represented the end of the year as winter approached with the solstice and the robin represented the beginning of the year. Historically, on Wren’s Day local boys and men would dress in bright clothing calling themselves “Wren Boys.” Others dressed in suits made of straw and called themselves “Mummers.” These would then hunt for the scarce wren, cage it, and place the cage atop a pole. They would march through the towns asking for money to keep the wren alive. They would give a feather for good luck only to those who donated.

From the 20th century onwards, they used fake birds instead and still carried on the traditions. However, the practices altogether at present have now become as scarce as the wren itself and Irish people tend to opt for enjoying a pantomime on the last Bank Holiday of the year instead!

Gabby Dunne was born and raised in Las Vegas, NV, and never left the States before meeting her Irish husband on the Vegas Strip. She moved to Dublin a year later and has been here for 12 years. She has one son and two stepchildren, and she works in early intervention for neurodiverse children. Gabby joined the AWCD in 2023 and is 'finally reconnecting with [her] American side!'

The bonds between the Irish and Americans are well-known to be strong, but did you know that those bonds include an amazing act of generosity from a people who had already endured so much and had little to spare, and that their act of human kindness continues to resonate even today?

In 1847, only a few years after the Choctaw Indian Nation was forcibly relocated along the infamous “Trail of Tears” from Mississippi to Oklahoma, the tribe learned of the suffering of the Irish due to the scourge of famine. Somehow, these people who had so little raised a donation of $170 (equivalent to about $5,000 in today’s dollars) to send to people across an ocean who they would never see or know personally.

Their donation eventually made its way to Midleton, in County Cork. Decades later, the local populace learned of the gift and from where it had come, and the bonds began to strengthen.

Photo courtesy of weloveireland.ie

In 1990 members of the Choctaw Nation visited Ireland to participate in the “Famine Walk” in County Mayo, to reenact the 1848 walk of starving Irish to their landlord.

In 1992 a delegation from Ireland walked the “Trail of Tears” with Native Americans to raise funds for aid to Somalians. Also that year, a plaque commemorating the Choctaw gift was installed at Mansion House, official residence of the Lord Mayor of Dublin.

In 1995 Irish President Mary Robinson visited the Choctaw Nation.

In 2017, the sculpture “Kindred Spirits” was dedicated in Midleton.

In 2018, former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar visited the Choctaws and initiated a series of yearly scholarships for Choctaw students to study in Ireland.

In 2020 - the gift was beautifully returned, when Ireland took up a considerable donation for the Hopi and Navajo tribes who suffered acutely during the Covid-19 pandemic.

2024 - Two students have just begun their year-long studies at the University of Cork, recipients of the scholarship for Choctaw native students.

Today, it’s just a lesson, how you don’t have to have that much, just a big heart, to build bonds and friendships through helping those around us in need.

Learn more: https://www.choctawnation.com/about/history/irish-connection/

The Irish Round

It’s customary for groups of Irish people meeting for drinks at the pub to engage in “rounds”. Usually, someone takes everyone’s orders, proceeds to the bar to get them, and then pays for all of them.

Once that person has done so, their round is complete.

There is no particular rule or order for who goes next during the first round, it just has to be someone other than the person who just went.

When everyone has bought a round once, the next round will go in the same order as was established during the first round.

Obviously, it is considered bad etiquette to bow out of the scene before you’ve bought a round (especially if you have accepted the rounds bought for you)! If you plan to exit early, you should do so immediately after you have bought your round (whatever round that may be).

Rounds can also be done as couples, where one person from the couple gets the round and it still counts as their one round.

So, if you find yourself out with a group of mostly Irish people, you probably won’t be let to simply buy your own drinks (and you should be prepared to cover everyone else’s—at least once!)

Yer what?

Sometimes, while speaking to an Irish person, they might say something that sounds like “Yer man” and/or “Yer one”. What they mean is “Your man” and “Your one”.

The “man” they are referring to is a man they don’t know.

The “one” they are referring to is a woman they don’t know.

It might be said while passing comment about a stranger in public. For example, “Yer one nearly fell off her seat there!” or “Yer man looks lost…” It might also be used while telling a story about an encounter with a stranger. For example, “I had to tell yer man to wait in the queue like everyone else!”

It is not meant rudely in any way. It is simply like saying, “That guy” or “That woman”.

Have a go at it the next time you’re out with an Irish person!

Gabby Dunne was born and raised in Las Vegas, NV, and never left the States before meeting her Irish husband on the Vegas Strip. She moved to Dublin a year later and has been here for 12 years. She has one son and two stepchildren, and she works in early intervention for neurodiverse children. Gabby joined the AWCD in 2023 and is 'finally reconnecting with [her] American side!'