Our Ireland Adventure: Family Roots, Fish & Chips, Castles, Cliffs and Bon Jovi
Ireland was never going to be just another vacation for us.
When Glynn and I planned this trip, we knew we wanted to see the beautiful places everyone talks about—the rolling green hills, castles, pubs, cliffs and little Irish towns. But there was something much more personal behind this adventure. We were coming to Ireland to follow Glynn’s family roots, visit the places his ancestors lived, and hopefully learn a little more about where his family story began.
And because this is Lucia & Glynn, we also planned to eat our way across Ireland, get lost a few times, change plans on the fly and somehow end the whole thing standing inside Croke Park watching Bon Jovi. 😂❤️🤘
You can follow our entire Ireland adventure here:
Watch the Lucia & Glynn Ireland Adventure Playlist on YouTube
Following Glynn’s Family Roots Through County Mayo
Our journey took us into County Mayo, where places like Ballina and Crossmolina weren't simply dots on a map anymore.
We were walking through the same areas where Glynn’s ancestors had lived generations before us.
In Ballina, we started one morning on Pierce Street with real Irish raisin scones from Michelle’s Bakery and Cafe. Huge scones, butter, raspberry jam and Americanos—pretty damn good way to start an Irish morning.
But the really important part of this section of the trip was genealogy.
We visited the North Mayo Heritage Centre, home to an enormous collection of digitized historical records, and gave researchers the information we had about Glynn’s family.
Then came one of those moments that makes all the planning worth it.
While we were still traveling, the genealogist called us with a breakthrough. They had located a birth record connecting Glynn's family to Thomas Nocton and Ellen Merrick in the Letterbrick area during the 1800s.
Suddenly these weren't simply names we had read on old records.
We were actually standing in the part of Ireland where they had lived.
That was one of the biggest reasons we came.
The Stories You Find When You Aren't Looking for Them
Ireland kept surprising us.
We visited small museums and historical sites that we probably never would have discovered on a typical organized tour.
One of the most moving was the Addergoole Titanic Memorial Park, dedicated to the fourteen people from this tiny parish who boarded the Titanic at Queenstown—today's Cobh.
That story would eventually come full circle later in our trip when we actually visited Cobh, the Titanic's final port of call.
There was something incredibly powerful about seeing how one enormous moment in world history was connected to these very small Irish communities and individual families.
From Ballina to Galway Through The Quiet Man Country
Leaving Ballina, we headed toward Galway—but naturally we weren't taking the boring route.
We stopped in Cong, famous as the filming location for the 1952 movie The Quiet Man with John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara.
We visited the Quiet Man Museum, saw some of the famous filming locations and, of course, stopped at Pat Cohan's Bar.
That brought us to another major storyline of our Ireland adventure:
The fish and chips competition. 😂
Pat Cohan's battered Atlantic cod immediately became one of our favorites.
Little did we know how seriously we were going to take this competition by the end of the trip.
From Cong we continued past Ashford Castle and eventually found Ballyglunin Train Station—the station movie fans know as Castletown from The Quiet Man. The old station dates back to 1860 and has been beautifully restored by the local community.
Eventually we made it to Galway and checked into the Clybaun Hotel.
Then came Asian fusion at Wakaba, our first adventures with Tesco's Scan as You Shop system and a night at Tom Sheridan's with pizza and Guinness.
It was exactly the kind of day we love while traveling—history in the morning, random discoveries in the afternoon and food at night.
Galway, the Aquarium and the Cliffs of Moher
The next part of the adventure took us from Galway toward one of Ireland's most famous sights.
But first we visited the National Aquarium of Ireland, where we saw everything from sharks and rays to seahorses and learned about the traditional Galway Hooker fishing boats.
Then we stumbled across Dunguaire Castle before heading toward Doolin.
And that's where the fish and chips competition changed again.
We stopped at McDermott's Pub and Restaurant and ordered seafood chowder, Murphy's Irish Stout and, naturally, fish and chips.
At that point, McDermott's became our #1 fish and chips in Ireland.
Crispy cod, proper chips, mushy peas, tartar sauce and curry sauce.
It was going to take something pretty damn good to beat it.
Then came the Cliffs of Moher.
No video or photograph can really explain how enormous they feel when you're standing there looking down at the Atlantic. We walked toward O'Brien's Tower, looked out toward the Aran Islands and just took it all in.
Those are the moments when Ireland doesn't feel like somewhere you're visiting.
It feels like an experience.
Blarney Castle, the Poison Garden and County Cork
From Killarney we headed toward Fermoy, but first there was something that had to be settled.
Would we kiss the Blarney Stone?
Getting to it isn't exactly a casual stroll. You climb through Blarney Castle and eventually have to lean backward over an opening while someone holds you so you can kiss the famous stone.
According to legend, kissing it gives you the gift of eloquence.
Whether either of us needed more ability to talk is probably debatable. 😂
The Blarney Castle grounds were incredible, especially the Poison Garden, filled with plants that can be medicinal, dangerous—or both.
Then it was back to something we had become experts at.
Fish and chips.
At Murphy's Traditional Fish and Chips we got another enormous helping with mushy peas, curry sauce and vinegar.
Somehow Ireland kept finding new ways to serve us fried fish.
An Unexpected Circus and the History of Cobh
One of my favorite things about traveling is when the plan gets thrown out the window.
We stumbled across Circus Extreme and decided—why the hell not?
So suddenly our Irish road trip included a circus.
That's pretty much us.
Later we traveled to Cobh, formerly Queenstown, one of the most historically important ports in Ireland. Millions of Irish emigrants left through this area on their way toward new lives overseas.
And it was also the Titanic's final port of call.
At the Titanic Experience, located in the original White Star Line ticket office, visitors receive the identity of an actual passenger who boarded the ship there.
Standing in Cobh and thinking about the people who left Ireland from that harbor—some looking for a new beginning and some unknowingly beginning their final journey—is something that stays with you.
Our Last Big Day—and We Forgot to Film It
Then came one of the funniest parts of the entire Ireland series.
We had an incredible final day planned.
And somehow...
we forgot to film it.
Not one normal vlog.
Just 36 pictures.
But there was NO WAY we were leaving this day out of our Ireland adventure.
We left Fermoy after a McDonald's stop and headed toward Dublin. Along the way we drove past the site of Electric Picnic, which after all the rain had basically turned into one gigantic mud pit.
Our plan was to visit Swords Castle, but when we arrived it was under construction.
So plans changed.
Again.
We headed toward Howth.
Fish and Chips Number Seven
When we arrived in Howth, we somehow found parking near Beshoff Bros. just as someone pulled out.
We also learned an important travel lesson.
Having our Pennsylvania disability ID card wasn't enough to use an accessible parking space in Ireland. We needed the actual proper parking placard displayed in the vehicle.
Lesson learned.
Then came our seventh fish and chips of the Ireland trip.
By this point, we considered ourselves qualified judges. 😂
We grabbed food from Beshoff Bros., ate some of it right out of the trunk of the car and even tried the octopus.
It was DELICIOUS.
Then we made the decision:
Beshoff Bros. in Howth tied McDermott's at the Cliffs of Moher for our #1 fish and chips in Ireland.
Seven fish and chips later, Ireland officially had two champions.
And Then Came Bon Jovi
After Howth, we checked into our airport hotel, returned the rental car and figured out transportation back into Dublin.
Naturally, it started raining.
Raincoats on.
Because absolutely NOTHING was keeping us from Croke Park.
We got inside, grabbed a Guinness and something to eat—and then discovered our seats were covered.
WIN.
Then, as the weather changed outside, a rainbow appeared directly over the stage.
You couldn't have planned it any better.
The Boomtown Rats came out and gave an incredible opening performance.
And then finally...
BON JOVI AT CROKE PARK. ❤️🤘
Standing in Ireland surrounded by tens of thousands of people, listening to songs we've known for years, was one of those experiences we'll remember forever.
After the concert we headed back to the hotel, had a nightcap and realized something.
We hadn't filmed the day.
No vlog camera rolling.
Just 36 pictures.
But sometimes 36 pictures are more than enough to remember one hell of a day in Ireland.
Ireland Was More Than a Vacation
Looking back, this trip became everything we hoped it would be—and plenty of things we never could have planned.
We followed Glynn's ancestors through County Mayo. We stood in churches, towns and communities connected to his family history. We visited castles, museums, gardens, pubs and places tied to the Titanic. We drove through the Irish countryside, dealt with rain, parking, confusing roads and plans that changed without warning.
We ate an unreasonable amount of fish and chips.
And we ended it all watching Bon Jovi in Dublin.
That's what we love about traveling.
It isn't about making everything perfect.
It's about going somewhere new, staying curious, talking to people, trying the food, learning the history and seeing where the road takes you.
Ireland gave us history, family, laughs, incredible food and memories we'll be talking about for the rest of our lives.
And we'd do the whole damn thing again. ❤️🇮🇪
Watch the entire Lucia & Glynn Ireland Adventure series here:
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