Module 3: OKCU Ireland – Page 6

Now what? You’ve gone through all that information to help prepare you for Ireland, and so what’s next?

KEEP EXPLORING! The more you read-up on the cities you will be visiting, the more you will get out of your time abroad! Remember to bounce back to Module 1 and Module 2 of this online pre-departure information any time.

Here is a little more information about the cities you will be visiting soon!

Dublin

Georgian elegance aside, Dublin mightn’t seem as sexy or as sultry as other European capitals, but Dubliners will tell you that pretty things are as easy to like as they are to forget. Their beloved capital, about which they can be brutally unsentimental, has personality, which is much more important and lasts far longer. Garrulous, amiable and witty, Dubliners at their ease are the greatest hosts of all, a charismatic bunch whose soul and sociability are so compelling and infectious that you mightn’t ever want to leave.

Read more from Lonely Planet

Galway

Arty, bohemian Galway (Gaillimh) is renowned for its pleasures. Brightly painted pubs heave with live music, while cafes offer front-row seats for observing street performers, weekend parties run amuck, lovers entwined and more.

Steeped in history, the city nonetheless has a contemporary vibe. Students make up a quarter of its population, and remnants of the medieval town walls lie between shops selling Aran sweaters, handcrafted Claddagh rings and stacks of second-hand and new books. Bridges arch over the salmon-filled River Corrib, and a long promenade leads to the seaside suburb of Salthill, on Galway Bay, the source of the area’s famous oysters.

Galway is often referred to as the ‘most Irish’ of Ireland’s cities, it’s the only one where you’re likely to hear Irish spoken in the streets, shops and pubs. Even as it careens into the modern age, it still respects the fabric of its past.

Read more from Lonely Planet

Donegal

‘Up here it’s different’, the saying goes, and it’s true. County Donegal is the wild child of Ireland. Even before the twins of history and politics conspired to isolate it, Donegal was a place like no other on the island. It’s a county of extremes: at times bleak and desolate and battered by brutal weather, yet in turn a land of unspoilt splendour where stark peaks and sweeping beaches bask in glorious sunshine. The rugged interior with its remote mountain passes and shimmering lakes is only marginally outdone by the long and labyrinthine coastline with its precipitous cliffs, windswept peninsulas and vast expanses of golden sand. The landscape here easily rivals anything Connemara or Kerry has to offer but Donegal sees only a fraction of their visitors. Proudly different and fiercely independent, one-third of the county is official Gaeltacht territory, where Irish is still the lingua franca.

Portrush

The bustling seaside resort of Portrush (Port Rois) bursts at the seams with holidaymakers in high season and, not surprisingly, many of its attractions are focused unashamedly on good old-fashioned family fun. However, it is also one of Ireland‘s top surfing centres and home to the North’s hottest nightclub.

Belfast

Once lumped with Beirut, Baghdad and Bosnia as one the four ‘Bs’ for travellers to avoid, Belfast has pulled off a remarkable transformation from bombs-and-bullets pariah to a hip-hotels-and-hedonism party town. The opening of Titanic Belfast in 2012, along with the 50th anniversary of the Belfast Festival at Queen’s – the UK’s second-biggest arts festival – saw visitor numbers soar by more than 40%.

Although the economic recession has slowed development, the old shipyards on the Lagan continue to give way to the luxury waterfront apartments of the Titanic Quarter, while new tourist venues keep popping up – historic Crumlin Road Gaolopened to the public in 2012, SS Nomadic in 2013, and there are plans for WWI warship HMS Caroline to become a floating museum. They all add to a list of attractions that includes Victorian architecture, a glittering waterfront lined with modern art, and foot-stomping music in packed-out pubs.