Hello all and we hope everyone is doing well back in the states! We’ve been entertaining some visitors and doing a little travel & wanted to give everyone an update.
Back in September, I took a quick trip to Limerick to visit one of my college roommates, Mike Astrorino, who was in Ireland on a golf trip with his buddies. One of the reasons I mention Mike’s trip is for the golfers reading this blog. Mike probably hit six of the top ten courses in the country including Old Head Golf Links (which I go to next week), Killarney GC, Tralee GC, Waterville Golf Links, Lahinch GC & Ballybunion GC. If you take a golf trip to Ireland, you can’t go wrong with his choices. Kim made a crack about our hair color changing since college, but it has been 40 years after all!
Kim’s friend Katie & her husband Dan came in for a quick trip and we spent a whirlwind three plus days around Dublin. We hit several Dublin sights but I think our main accomplishment was hitting four pubs on each of their three full days in town. Believe it or not, a couple pubs Kim & I had never been to before!
Our next visitors were my cousin Richard & his wife Eva. We took a nice day trip to Howth as well as hitting the Dublin sights. The Donnellys took a day trip on their own to Northern Ireland and it ended up being the only rainy day on their week-long trip! Coincidence maybe?
Richard & I are the last of the Donnelly men in the family, so we have a special connection. We both decided we wanted to be buried in Ireland so we bought a Donnelly plot at the Glasnevin National cemetery in Dublin. Daniel O’Connell, Michael Collins & the Donnellys all in one place!
Actually, we really didn’t buy a Donnelly plot. Someone else named Donnelly beat us to the punch, although I think it should be first come, first serve so stay tuned!
Soon after the Donnellys left Kim went back to AZ for a couple weeks while I rented a car and drove around the island playing golf. Unfortunately, I had to reschedule my trip a little because of food poisoning. Just a coincidence that the first meal I had after Kim left got me sick.
My first course was County Sligo Golf Club, better known as Rosses Point. A great links course that played a little difficult in the wind. It was dry though, so I got along.
Next up was Donegal Golf Club in the north of Ireland. Donegal is a great music town to hang out in for a couple days so I had to tough it out without Mrs. Donnelly!
The final two courses on my trek were both at the Killarney Golf & Fishing Club. In the states we add tennis courts to country clubs, in Ireland it’s fishing! On day one I played the Mahoney Point course with a very nice couple from France, which allowed me to dust off my high school French, although not too well, I’m afraid.
Day two was the Killeen course which was by far the better of the two course lay outs. Apparently, I didn’t take a lot of pics, but I did get a good one of the red deer joining us on the courses.
Following Kim’s visit to the states we rendezvoused in London to watch the Eagles-Jaguars game at Tottenham Stadium. We had a great few days in London, including trips to Westminster, the British Museum and a Sherlock Holmes walking tour (which was more for me than Kim).
We also did a great pub tour of the Belgravia neighborhood of London including a pub around the corner from Brian Epstein’s house where the Beatles hung out.
As much fun as London was, the game was a true let down. An exciting game I guess that included some pre-gaming at a Philadelphia themed bar, but a loss is still a loss as the Birds fell in spectacular fashion 19-17.
Following the disappointment in London we hopped a plane to spend a few days in Italy; Bologna and Siena to be exact. We had never been to either city & were excited because a friend of Kim’s (also named Kim) joined us. We spent several days in Bologna and took a quick train to Siena for the day.
Our AZ friends, the Baggs, had been telling us about Siena so we were glad we finally made it & it was the highlight of the Italy trip in my opinion. It’s a walled city where you feel like it is a place out of time. Should be high on anyone’s list.
After Italy it was back to Dublin and we spent several days with Kim in & around the city. One of the tourist attractions we have been trying to hit is called 14 Henrietta Street. This is a Georgian townhouse/tenement dwelling you can tour that shows life in the city over a 300-year period. It was an amazing tour that anyone visiting needs to schedule. I may have to add it to my favorite tours in Dublin.
Kim, Kim & our friend Stephanie enjoyed a day away from me (thankfully) with an afternoon champagne & tea party at the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin. For you history buffs, the Shelbourne was the first hotel in Dublin with gas lighting. That being said I had set up a champagne tea event for Kim & I at the British Museum, so my tea parties are good for seven years! Do I look thrilled?
We did want to let everyone know that we have decided to extend our adventure until October (or so) of 2027. What that means is everyone who have not yet been over to visit now have another year to set up a visit to the Dublin Donnellys.
We will be back in AZ from late December until early February before we head to PA for a couple weeks. We’ll be visiting family and attending a wedding in PA so we hope to see everyone either on the golf course or for dinner during our visit before we head back to Ireland for the balance of 2027!
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