Ireland Golf Links Courses

A links golf course, is the oldest style of golf course, first developed in Scotland but most common in Ireland. The word comes from the Scots language and refers to an area of coastal sand dunes. Links are located in coastal areas, on sandy soil, often amid dunes, with few water hazards and trees. This reflects both the nature of the scenery where the sport happened to originate, and the fact that only limited resources were available to golf course architects at the time. Any earth moving had to be done by hand, so it was kept to a minimum.

The challenges of links golf fall into two categories. Firstly the nature of the courses themselves, which tend to be characterized by uneven fairways, thick rough and small deep bunkers known as “pot bunkers”. Secondly, due to their coastal location many links courses are frequently windy. This affects the style of play required. As many links courses consist literally of an “outward” nine in one direction along the coast, and an “inward” nine which returns in the opposite direction, players often have to cope with opposite wind patterns in each half of their round.

Ireland is home to over 408 Golf Clubs, 53 of them links courses, choosing can be difficult. So our golf experts, at Celtic Tours, have played the courses and tailored itineraries to suit the average and expert golfer alike. For a limited time only these packages are on sale!

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Have you ever wanted to stay in a castle?

Think Indulgent Thoughts

At Clontarf Castle Hotel, 111 guest rooms and hotel suites range from the luxurious to the truly extravagant, with design that mesmerizes your senses, and all the in room touches you need to ensure the perfect nights rest.

From the fashionable style and comfort in their deluxe bedrooms to the definitive in opulence in their individually designed executive rooms and suites, many with four-poster beds and views of the Dublin mountains.

Nearby Attractions:

The Birthplace of Bram Stoker
Bram Stoker, author of the world famous novel, “Dracula” was born in Clontarf in November 1847. This Gothic Horror novel was only outsold by the Bible and has been hugely successful in theatre and cinema productions to date. Stoker died in April 1912, after a successful life as novelist and columnist for newspapers such as the Dublin Daily Mail. The Bram Stoker Park commemorates him, at his ancestral home at number 15 The Crescent, in close proximity to Clontarf Castle Hotel.

Guinness Storehouse
As you wander up through Guinness Storehouse, you'll discover what goes into making the Black Stuff- the ingredients, the process, the passion.

Old Jameson Distillery
The Old Jameson Distillery in Smithfield Village is in the heart of Old Dublin.Irish whiskey can trace its history back to the 6th century. Almost like a tour of a working distillery you can follow the fascinating craft of whiskey making.

Croke Park Stadium in Dublin
The GAA Museum at Croke Park Stadium is designed to facilitate an experience of an integral part of Irish life and heritage through an exploration of its culture, history and unique national sports. Croke park is the proposed setting for the famed Notre Dame vs Navy 2012 Rematch.

Trinity College in Dublin
Trinity College is the oldest university in Ireland.The college is famed for the great treasures it has the honour to be guardian of. These include the Book of Kells, a 9th century illuminated manuscript, the books of Durrow and Armagh and an early Irish harp.

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Hiking in Ireland: Mount Brandon

Ireland offers something for everyone, here is a great hike for the expert climber and the tourist alike. Mount Brandon on Dingle Peninsula, in County Kerry takes its name from Saint Brendan, “The Navigator”, who legend suggests climbed to the summit around AD 530 to see the Americas, before setting sail for them.

Mount Brandon is the second highest mountain in Ireland. On a clear day, the summit commands spectacular views right across the west coast. Nevertheless, being on the Atlantic coast, clear days are few and far between. The western slope of Mount Brandon presents a huge contrast from its eastern side, as it largely escaped the gouging effect of the glaciers, with the result that it presents an almost unbroken grassy slope.

There are several main routes up the mountain. The main tourist route would be from the West from Ballyrack. This is a nice gentle slope to the summit, ideal for the average tourist, as it is a little more than a nice walk. For the serious hiker, the best route is from the East. Beginning in the village of Cloghan. This route includes quite a steep incline involving some hands and knees scrambling to reach the top and is not recommended for casual walkers. It involves walking along the knife-edge Ridge, with quite impressive drops away on both sides. Either way, Mount Brandon is quite a sight to see.

Dublin Shopping

In Dublin's shops you can find much more than kitschy leprechaun designs. There's a tremendous variety of stores here, many of which are quite sophisticated—as a walk through Dublin's central shopping area, from O'Connell to Grafton Street, will prove. Department stores stock internationally known fashion-designer goods and housewares, and small boutiques sell Irish crafts and other merchandise.

Grafton Street
Dublin’s most fashionable area. Grafton Street is now pedestrian only and offers a choice of department stores: Brown Thomas, Marks & Spencer and the many small shops and boutiques in The Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre.

O’Connell Street
Located in the city center, is a legend in the history of Dublin. Cleary’s Department Store is steeped in tradition and considered one of the oldest department stores in the world, and is a veritable one-stop shop of Irish crafts. Also in this area are smaller shops, notably, The China Showrooms (Lower Abbey Street), which has a vast selection of Waterford, Cavan and Galway crystals, as well as Irish and English china.

Henry Street
The first “pedestrian only” district in Dublin is accessed from O’Connell Street. Known as the main shopping street, on the north side of the city. One is spoiled for choice here, from Arnotts, Ireland’s largest department store, offering an unparalleled choice of Irish and European brands, to the Ilac Centre, a small complex off Henry Street, with a wide variety of stores to choose from.

Nassau Street
You will find a large selection of everything Irish on this Street; The House of Ireland, The Door Store and the Blarney Woollen Mills store, to name some.




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Have a Pint at the Galway Races

Adrenalin-pumping action, heart-stopping finishes and breath-taking fashion; you are at the Galway Races. Situated on the outskirts of Galway city, in the West of Ireland, the Galway Racecourse is the place to be.

The Galway Races holds a very special place in the heart of many race-goers from across the globe, and indeed in the hearts of Galwegians themselves. It has been the subject of many a famous song and poem. The Galway Races has had a long and exciting history, stretching back to 1869 when the first racing festival was held at Ballybrit. It was a two day event with a staggering 40,000 people in attendance. In over one hundred years of racing at Ballybrit, the Galway Races has gone from strength to strength.

The Galway Races is certainly a festival for everyone. The Festival runs for seven consecutive days at Galway Racecourse starting from the last Monday in July each year.

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Fly Back in Time at the Foynes Flying Boat Museum

Foynes, a small town and major port in County Limerick, Ireland, is noteworthy for having been, in the early years of aviation, the last port of call on the eastern shore of the Atlantic for flying boats, a fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. Surveying flights for flying boat operations were made by Charles Lindbergh in 1933 and a terminal was begun in 1935. The first transatlantic proving flights were operated on July 5, 1937 with service from Foynes with successful transits of twelve and fifteen-and-a-quarter hours respectively. One of Foynes' main claims to fame is the invention of Irish Coffee. This came about, it is said, in order to alleviate the suffering of cold and wet passengers during its aviation days in the 1930s and early 40s.

All of this changed following the construction and opening in 1942 of Shannon Airport. Foynes flying-boat station closed in 1946 and Foynes Flying Boat Museum leased a portion of the building in 1988. The Foynes Flying Boat Museum is dedicated to recalling that historic time from 1939 to 1945, when Foynes, Ireland, became the center of the aviation world. Foynes Flying boat Museum houses the world's only full scale replica of the Pan Am Boeing 314 flying boat "Yankee Clipper". You can travel back in time and see for yourself what it was like to be a passenger in one of these wonderful flying boats.

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Kylemore Abbey, County Galway, Ireland

Experience the character and atmosphere of a former castle and enjoy the breathtaking views from the large picture windows which capture and frame the majestic landscape. Prior to becoming an Abbey, it was built as a Castle and private home for Mitchell Henry, a wealthy politician from Manchester, England. The first stone was laid in 1867. With 100 men employed every day, construction was completed in 4 years. The castle covered approximately 40,000 sq ft with over 70 rooms. Today visitors are invited to enter the Abbey where four rooms have been sympathetically restored.

Kylemore became an Abbey in 1920, and is the oldest of the Irish Benedictine Abbeys. The Community of Nuns, who have resided here for 189 years, have a long history stretching back almost 340 years, hailing from Ypres, Belgium.

Visitors to Kylemore are welcome to enjoy the 6-acre walled Victorian garden and the Gothic Church. The Gothic Church was designed to be a ‘cathedral in miniature’ and the interior is said to have been suggested by the beautiful Chapel of St Stephens at Westminster. Built by Mitchell Henry, the Gothic Church was built in memory of his beloved wife Margaret Henry who died only four years after the castle was constructed.

Kylemore Abbey is located in Connemara, County Galway, Ireland.

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