Another Wednesday post from the great guest blogger: birdsey7

The obliging Drury Court staff kept calling the airport about our bags and finally determined that they would arrive at about 10.30. So after farewelling B and A who were travelling to Sligo for a family reunion, we walked over to Trinity just before nine o’clock in the hope of seeing the Book of Kells. But alas the queue was already stretched around the quadrangle, so we contented ouselves with looking at a couple of other libraries on the campus (although we couldn’t go inside) and the beautiful playing fields.

Then we walked back to Drury Court through St Stephen’s Green, a lovely tranquil green park in the busy city, and the St Stephen’s Green shopping centre, where Pru bought me an Irish silver ring.

Of course our bags had not arrived and we spent a couple of anxious hours until finally they magically appeared. I honestly thought we would never see them again and was quite looking forward to  a whole new wardrobe, but sadly it wasn’t to be. We changed out of our rather mucky clothes, cleaned our teeth, checked out of the hotel and took a cab to Irish car rentals.

Soon we were bowling out of Dublin and down the coast. We tried to visit Bray and Wicklow, both of which turned out to be surprisingly large towns where it was almost impossible to park. So we kept driving along the little coast road, unable to catch more than an occasional glimpse of the coast through the sea mist.

We stopped for a drink at the Arklow pub, on the River Avoca, where I enjoyed my first real Irish Guinness. Then we navigated our way across to Carrick-on-Suir on the roads more travelled, arriving there soon after six o’clock and a few wrong turns in the winding cobbled streets of some of the towns on the way.

Once settled into our accommodation at the Carraig Hotel we found a spot in the busy bar and had drinks (a couple of pints of Budweiser for me) and dinner (fried crumbed brie with chips and salad). I also shared Pru’s bowl of vegetables with white sauce which was served with her lamb shank. Very nice hearty food.

After dinner we went for a walk, drawn as if by magic to a back street where we found the Clancy family home and a mural of the four brothers (Paddy, Tom, Liam and Bobby) on a nearby wall.

Then we walked to New Street to the Clancys’ local Figgerty’s pub, formerly Lawlor’s, which featured a photo of Paddy and a gentleman in the bar who knew the Clancys and remembered Bob Dylan visiting with Liam in 1964 and singing in ‘that corner over there’. I had some more Guinness. We learned that there are about 28 bars in Carrig Mór and Carrig Beg, as the two parts of Carrick-on-Suir are known, so there is unfortunately no way we will be able to visit them all.