Located along the shores of Lough Corrib, the Currareveagh features the most magnificent 150 acres of woodland. Set on a golf courses means that you will be able to experience the real essence of Irish life in the 21st century at its best. Get more information here: http://www.politics.ie/forum/political-humour/164555-moving-lough-neagh-laois-grand-plan-united-ireland-dublins-water.html Offering a real traditional Irish stay, the Glenlo Abbey dates back to the 1740′s and is situated on 4kms, Glenlo is just 2 miles from Galway City Centre.

Considered Ireland’s 5 star finest, the hotel was fully restored in 1984 and has a golf course. Genlo Abbey Hotel features 48 well-appointed bedrooms and suites. For those interested in a castle stay during your trip to Ireland, the Castle Durrow offers an authentic stay. Built in 1716, the Irish castle charm set in luscious surroundings is located at Durrow, Co Laois.

Abraham “Bram” Stoker was born in 1847. Fifty years later, in 1897, Stoker’s most famous novel, “Dracula”, was published. In between those events, Stoker graduated from Dublin’s Trinity College with honors in mathematics and worked as the business manager for London’s Lyceum Theatre. Stoker also wrote other novels, short stories and non-fiction. Stoker’s life ended on the 20th of April 1912 in London.

James Joyce

Forty years after his birth in 1882, James Joyce’s seminal work, “Ulysses”, was published in 1922. A graduate of University College Dublin, Joyce taught English in Trieste, worked on “Ulysses” in Zurich and finished the controversial book in Paris. In addition to other novels, Joyce wrote a play, a collection of short stories and several collections of poetry. Joyce died in Zurich on the 13th of January 1941.

Samuel Beckett

Born in 1906 and educated at Trinity College, Samuel Beckett won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1969. Along the journey of his writing life, Beckett wrote poetry, novels and plays. Beckett’s most famous writing is the play, “Waiting for Godot”, originally written in French and published in 1953. This twentieth century Irish writer died on the 22nd of December 1989 in Paris

The first of the top five pubs lies in the beautiful plain of the smoky mountain region, neighboring creameries, co-ops and racetracks. Several antiquedated monastaries line the wet county roads. The pub is Fethard, home to the successful thoroughbred stud in the world, “Coolmore Stud”. Tales of this amazing stallion continue to be told in the proud pub crowd. The smoke stained walls house pictures of revolutionaries, trophy yielding racehorse owners and members of the Bloody Sunday football team. “We wine you, dine you and then bury you” can be heard through the regular pub-goers of the area, as the pub also houses a restaurant and a good old-fashioned undertaker service.

Abbeyleix is home to Morrissey’s old-style pub. This pub features the old-time biscuit tin lids and old clocks that have been torn apart to build the walls that stand up between the seating areas. Along Morrissey’s old walls are shelves that boast products from the earlier days of Abbeyleix – large jars filled with candies, an antique slicing machine, Boyne Valley cornflakes boxes and the pub’s own Famous Tea, neighboring the scales where they weighed out the packages. The pub is dimly lit with lamps that are harbored on the ceiling and kept high by metal beams that run through the tavern. Visitors to Morrissey’s get a full taste of history when sitting on the old chairs and seating areas along the rough wooden bar.

At Clancy’s, Breda and Ger Clancy have kept the feel of the old Edwardian style pub as original as possible. Known as one of the best music pubs in eastern Ireland, Thursday nights Clancy’s becomes a meeting place for musicians. Fiddles, bodhrans, flutes and mandolins break the Irish night sky, and allow the background for a sing-along from visitors. Sheet music lines the tobacco stained walls of this pub although nobody seems to notice as they sit upon the benches and assorted chairs, moving with the flow of the music, and moving their feet to the beat of the traditional song choice.

Tigh Neachtain’s in Galway City and Thomas Conolly’s in Sligo are both found to be the good old-fashioned pub you would expect to find in Ireland. Wooden walls and tables give seating to the literary and musically inclined. Thomas Connolly’s is host to an old pot-bellied stove at one end of the pub. Tigh Neachtain’s is located on one of the city’s busiest thoroughfares, making it a popular venue when wanting to enjoy an evening at the local pubs.