In Dublin's Fair City...

The last time we were in Dublin was over six years ago and it's been in the list for a while. We found an apartment in Smithfields (below) which is a short walk from the city centre. We stayed in a 3 bed duplex which was spacious and beautifully furnished - we highly recommend it to anyone going to Dublin for more than a couple of nights.

On the list of things to do was Dublin Zoo, Croke Park (we shall put pictures up separately), meeting family and friends and walking around the city. Donncha and the kids even managed to catch the Ireland vs Croatia friendly with Grandad and Ruairi and part of the Micallef family - though with a 0-0 finish, the kids described the evening as "BORING". Overall, a great few days in Dublin!

The Liffey

Walking through Temple Bar - nice and quiet early in the day

The quick toilet break turned into a pit-stop with music

Performers on Grafton Street

No visit to Dublin without calling to Donncha's uncle's bar

An afternoon with the cousins - the kids had fun running around the garden and messing with the lads.

And of course we had to get a few rides on the LUAS. If only the two lines were connected - Irish logic at it's best !!

An outing to Waterford

Whilst at Castlemartyr we went for a drive to Waterford. We were lucky it was such a lovely day and the kids had a great time at Ardmore beach. Ireland at its best with blue skies!

The main reason for the drive was to see an old school friend of mine Sally who I went to school with in Bedford. We have't seen each other for 20 years and it was great to catch up! And it was great that the kids got on so well!

Castlemartyr

From Nohoval we made Castlemartyr our base for four nights. Our accommodation was the Mews, and not exactly as the website had advertised. The bedrooms were great but the kitchen/dining/lounge left a lot to be desired - so much so I didn't even take a photograph even after some ingenious furniture arranging by Donncha. But the kids loved the open space just outside the front door and as always made friends to play with.

Lovely grounds around the hotel for walks

And the village just outside the hotel grounds

One of the things we love about Ireland is the quality of raw ingredients available here. Not much has to be done to produce a great meal. One day we headed to the English Market in Cork City - (now made even more famous after the visit of Queen Elizabeth in June) - and bought trout fillets, asparagus, samphire and salad. So simple but such amazing flavours!

For the kids the highlight of Castlemartyr has to be the pony & trap ride which they couldn't get enough of. And it was nice to see them comfortable enough to pat the ponies.

Mairead & Eoin's Wedding

One special reason why we came back to Ireland this year was to attend Mairead's (Donncha's sister's) wedding. A number of first's involved, including everyone going to Mass so it was an experience full of questions and not so straight forward answers - prize goes to Ayden, who half way through the Mass, asked when the food was going to be served? This was followed by Jack asking why Jesus died !!

Our little men did scrub up quite well and Jack even surprised us by accepting that he should wear a jacket.

Iman had a very important role, being one of three flower girls. She loved it !!

Mairead did very well all day and didn't have too many nerves .... she did keep Eoin waiting 15 minutes but Sean (Donncha's brother who was driving the bride to the church) was blamed for that.

The boys with Ruairi ...... their best mate in Cork.

Jack being 'picked' on .... loved the attention of the older boys ......

Everyone was entertained on arrival in the hotel by a great Barber Shop group

McCarthy family minus Baby Tom

Paul below with his sisters Mary and Noreen and their husbands Gerard and Bernie together with their visiting cousin from Boston Marie and her husband Joe (couple on the left). Hopefully they enjoyed their visit - we certainly enjoyed meeting them.

The Groom's speech - he did a great job!

Cars 2 in 3D

As I've mentioned before, Donncha and I are not huge cinema goers. As a couple we have only been to the cinema together once; Bend It Like Beckam in Notting Hill Gate and I don't think Donncha has ever been to the cinema in Brunei. The last time I went was to High School Musical3 in 2008 which brings my total of cinema visits in Brunei to 2!

So today was a special occasion when I decided to take the kids to see Cars 2 here in Cork (the weather played a huge part in that decision). But really we had a great afternoon and the kids were so excited (especially as Ruairi was with us) though poor Ayden fell asleep 15 minutes to the end. We all loved the movie and guess what - I think we should do this more often!