Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel Killiney, Dublin

The first hotel I am going to recommend is the Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel Killiney, which is located in South Dublin just outside Dublin City. I stayed in the hotel myself not too long ago just for one night and have been to it on many occasions for fuctions. The Hotel is located in the beautiful hills of Killiney with stunning views of the bay with the beach close by. The room I stayed in was lovely and big with two double beds a two seater sofa an arm chair, table and desk. The room itself was nice and big with a nice sized bathroom, the bed was lovely and comfortable and helped me to a good nights sleep. In the hotel the staff was very welcoming and friendly with booking in very pleasent. There's two restaurants in the hotel I have eating in the Dungeon Bar & Grill on a few occasions with it each time been very nice with there also been a bar.

The Hotel is only a short walk way from the small town of Dalkey where you can catch a dart into the city centre which takes around 40 mins and is the best way to travel with you also able to take the bus. Dalkey is full of bars and restaurants so you have many choices of where to eat to drink and with Dun Laoghaire a little further on offering you even more.

You can get many more details on the hotel from ther site






The first hotel I am going to recommend is the Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel Killiney, which is located in South Dublin just outside Dublin City. I stayed in the hotel myself not too long ago just for one night and have been to it on many occasions for fuctions. The Hotel is located in the beautiful hills of Killiney with stunning views of the bay with the beach close by. The room I stayed in was lovely and big with two double beds a two seater sofa an arm chair, table and desk. The room itself was nice and big with a nice sized bathroom, the bed was lovely and comfortable and helped me to a good nights sleep. In the hotel the staff was very welcoming and friendly with booking in very pleasent. There's two restaurants in the hotel I have eating in the Dungeon Bar & Grill on a few occasions with it each time been very nice with there also been a bar.

Guinness StoreHouse

Guinness Storehouse
The Guinness Storehouse is located in the heart of Dublin City. It is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Dublin and shouldn't be missed having attracting over 4 million visitors since opening in 2000.
The Storehouse is laid out over seven floors surrounding a glass atrium in the shape of a pint of Guinness. The ground floor introduces the beer's four ingredients, water, barley, hops and yeast, as well as the brewery's founder, Arthur Guinness. Other floors feature the history of Guinness advertising and an interactive exhibit that encourages responsible drinking. In 2006, a new wing opened incorporating a live installation of the present day brewing process. The seventh floor houses the Gravity Bar where visitors may claim a complimentary pint of Guinness and enjoy the 360 degree views over Dublin City.

A Brief History
Arthur Guinness started brewing ales from 1759 in Leixlip, then at the St. James's Gate Brewery, Dublin. On 31 December he signed (up to) a 9,000 year lease at £45 per annum for the unused brewery. Ten years later on 19 May 1769 Guinness exported his ale for the first time, when six and a half barrels were shipped to England.
Guinness is sometimes believed to have originated the stout style of beer. However the first use of the word stout in relation to beer was in a letter in the Egerton Manuscript dated 1677, almost 50 years before Arthur Guinness was born. Arthur Guinness started selling the dark beer porter in 1778. The first Guinness beers to use the term were Single Stout and Double Stout in the 1840s.
The breweries pioneered several quality control efforts. The brewery hired the statistician William Sealy Gosset in 1899, who achieved lasting fame under the pseudonym "Student" for techniques developed for Guinness, particularly Student's t-distribution and the even more commonly known Student's t-test. Guinness brewed their last porter in 1974.
Guinness acquired the Distillers Company in 1986. This led to a scandal over a £5.2 million kick back received during the takeover bid to one of the directors, Mr Ward, approved by the chairman, Mr Saunders. In the case Guinness plc v Saunders the House of Lords declared that the payment had been invalid. The Company merged with Grand Metropolitan in 1997 to form Diageo plc. The Guinness brewery in Park Royal, London closed in 2005. The production of all Guinness sold in the UK and Ireland was switched to St. James's Gate Brewery, Dublin.

Visiting Hours
GUINNESS STOREHOUSE® is open 7 days a week from 9.30am – 5pm (last admission is at 5pm).
Late opening during July and August until 7pm (last admission is at 7pm).
* Closed Christmas Eve Dec 24th, Christmas Day Dec 25th, St Stephens Day (Boxing Day) Dec 26th and Good Friday.
Car Parking
Complimentary car parking is available at the visitor car park on Crane Street.
Disabled Access
GUINNESS STOREHOUSE® is fully wheelchair accessible.

Prices
Adult €13.50
Student over 18 €11.00
Family (2 adults, 4 children) €34.00
Student under 18 €9.00
Senior Citizen €11.00
Children 6-12 €5.00

Trinity College

If you have decided to take in the beautiful city of Dublin a most place to visit is Trinity College

Founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I on the grounds of an Augustinian priory that was a victim of the dissolution. Trinity College even today dominates the city landscape and the oldest buildings (the brick-built "Rubrics") date from 1700. Most of the impressive buildings were built during the renovation phase of 1759. Trinity College Library is home to more than an million books and priceless manuscripts, the most famous being the "Book of Kells" please be advised that during the summer long queues may form.

Upon finding Trinity College next to Dublin City's busiest (and permanently clogged) intersection most visitors go "Ah ... this is it?" The façade of the Bank of Ireland right across the road is more imposing, true. But the classical view of Trinity College is actually hidden behind the small wooden doors that are the original entrance. Pass through them and you will see the glorious campanile, built by Charles Lanyon, in front of the old Rubrics. This is the view that launched a thousand postcards!

You are now in Parliament Square. The red-brick Rubrics are the oldest buildings here (with the Dutch gables being a later addition), the Examination Hall and the Chapel are exact mirror images of each other.

Signs will guide you towards "The Book of Kells", or rather the Old Library, the entrance is in Fellow's Square. The building is another of Trinity's favorite postcard views. 200,000 antiquarian books, busts of writers and philosophers and "Brian Boru's Harp" (which, contrary to its name, is considerably less than a thousand years old) are in the collection and on display. Pride of place, however, goes to the magnificent "Book of Kells", an illuminated edition of the gospels and arguably the most famous book on earth.

Be warned: You will only see two pages of the book, on display behind glass. Whether the usually long wait and the high entrance fee are worth it is ultimately your decision. I would recommend signing up for a guided tour at the entrance, this will give you a good overview and includes the admission to the Old Library. And if you would actually like to look at the Book of Kells up close - the museum in Kells (County Meath) has an excellent replica.

Trinity's main entrance


The Campanile


The Library


Book of Kells

Visit Dublin Ireland

Thinking about coming to visit Dublin you wont be disappointed i promise!



This is my very first blog so please give me time to get use to it. Hope over the next very weeks if you're thinking of coming to Dublin for a trip that my blog might be able to give you some info of where to go, what to see and do and some of the hotels and B&B's that you could stay in and finally some of the up and coming events going on in the city.

Dublin is the capital city of Ireland and it's biggest city with around one and a half million people living there. Irealnd and the Irish people are famous for there warm welcomes “Céad Mile Fáilte" meaning a hundred thousands helping you feel a sense of fitting in "part of the family" wanted. It is a city full of history maybe have a pint or two of the famous "black stuff" guineness at St James's Gate were one of Ireland's best known export is produced or take a boat ride down the River Liffey which runs right throught the heart of the city. There is endless options on how you may spend your time in this wonderful city.