The votes for "The 'Wild West' of Ireland: You Won't Forget Your First Time' are the culmination of our 24-day exploration of the glories of travel in Ireland's rugged western counties.  Our panel of five…

One day during our just completed two-week vacation to Ireland my wife, Lindy, and I had another of those thoroughly enjoyable “only in Ireland” experiences that make traveling there such a joy. We stayed in a 200-year-old cottage in the little town of Ardfinnan…

The ‘Wild West’ judges are lined up and raring to go! Knowing their mettle and commitment to promoting Irish culture, we are confident that “justice” will be a lot fairer, if a tad more considered, than that meted out in Tombstone or the OK Corral. ;-)

Speaking of 'swift' justice, by the way, our judges have requested additional time to more carefully…

I gaze upon a lonely beach, two figures walking all alone,

Slowly the sun settles in the west, remnants of daylight shone.

From my vantage I see two shadows moving on the beach,

Strolling slowly just within darkness’ reach.

I watch the pair moving slowly along,

And listen carefully, I can hear their song.

A lifetime of love and…

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Have you ever had a place strike at the core of you, even though you've never been there?  It's a sort of remembering....like something calling to you that you don't really understand yet.   Like fog rolling off of hills as the landscape reveals itself, or a walk through a wood so covered in moss and foliage you feel…

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page”—Saint Augustine

I am not really sure when our sons love for pretty much anything and everything Irish began. His passion runs deep and has continued to grow stronger over the years. His obsession for the music, history, food and culture is indescribable. When he was around four…

"Your soul knows the geography of your destiny. Your soul alone has the map of your future, therefore you can trust this indirect, oblique side of yourself. If you do, it will take you where you need to go, but more important it will teach you a kindness of rhythm in your journey."

John O'Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom



For me, a trip to Ireland through Wild West Irish Tours would be not only the vacation dream of a lifetime, but also the "spiritual…

Beyond the Blue  Door ~ Dreams & Memories of the Wild West of Ireland

Nothing like a wee bit o' procrastination! When I first read about the Wild West of Ireland contest I knew that it was something I wanted to do. I had ideas of an album of photos of my travels to Ireland with captions about the many wonderful memories I have of travelling in Ireland. However, I have so many photos and…

Sitting quietly alone, gazing out the window at the sight,

Of night’s grasp soon giving way to morning’s light.

The sun slowly rising, erasing the morning gloom

With me sitting quietly alone in that room.

Enjoying the peace and solitude of this place,

A good book in hand, feeling the rising sun in my face.

The smell of eggs, rasher, sausage and toast,

Being prepared by our gracious Irish hosts.

Suddenly out of the corner of my…

Can you be homesick for somewhere that you have never lived ? I have visited Ireland twice in my 35 years on this earth. I remember after my first visit at 19 thinking if I die tomorrow then I can be happy because my eyes have never seen such beauty.  For me Ireland has always been a place to heal your soul, at 19 during my first visit I was healing from some health issues…

I want to return to Western Ireland for spiritual and artistic reasons. In college I fell in love with Irish literature, from the pagan/pre-medieval myths to the current day. I love Irish music, too. And oddly enough, I married a man from County Cork (we met in college). My mother’s family has a lot of Irish heritage as well. We are descended from a man who came on a ship to New York Harbor on Christmas Eve, 1847. I can only imagine what was in Martin’s heart when he left Cork and when he…

Visiting Ireland has long been one of my deepest desires. I have Irish ancestry on both sides of my family, but sadly very little of the Irishness has been passed down, save my red hair, a few sayings, and tall tales that are no longer credited to their birthplace, but relegated to Ozarkian culture.

As a history teacher, I include a…

I have been to Ireland twice. But I NEED to go one more time. On my first trip my best friend and I rented a car and had the most amazing visit. But even then we knew that we weren’t seeing the “real” Ireland. By the time we got to the Blarney Castle, we didn’t even want to go in – and we didn’t. There were so many tourists and it just didn’t appeal to us. By then we had been several days into our visit and we found that what we really enjoyed…

(Resurrected below are a few travel tips I scrawled to my much-loved older sister/guide a decade ago.  She prevailed upon me to enter them in your contest.  If some other lucky blokes win, perhaps they'll find them useful.)

Hey, Helen - The Ireland thing is for real.  The mistake most people make in…

The Grace of My Grandfathers

I arrived at dawn at the airport in Nairobi, Kenya jet-lagged from my 30-hour journey from San Francisco.  A battered taxi conveyed me over the rutted highway into the city and to the overcrowded matatu that would carry me several hours into the bush for three months of medical relief work with AIDS orphans. …

What an exciting opportunity this might be - to win a trip to Ireland at age 77.  When I was 32 years of age, my husband and I won two tickets on Aer Lingus to Ireland.  While our grandparents had emigrated from the auld sod in the early twentieth century, John and I had never set foot in the Emerald Isle.  What a delight when we saw the green fields from our airplane seats!

We went immediately by car to my grandaunt Alice McMahon's cottage in Miltown Malbay.  Alice had emigrated to…

How I long to walk with Yeats to Benbulben's mountain top to view lovely Lissadell and the Strand's shoreline;

then on to visit Drumcliffe Churchyard and the High Cross there.

Then onward and southward to Gort in County Galway to walk along the pathways at Coole Park,

and sit under the Autograph Tree;

and end my day at Yeats dear home at Thoor Baylee.

Tell us why YOU want to experience the ‘Wild West’ of Ireland, and you might win a free 9-day…

It was a "soft", chilly March day years ago when my then-20-something daughter, Quinn, and I left the Abbey House Bed and Breakfast for the short journey across the highway to the Jerpoint Abbey ruins in Kilkenny.  (To the Irish, a "soft" day means it isn't raining cats and dogs---just puppies and kittens.)  We planned a quick stop at Jerpoint, then a drive up to Dublin for the remainder of our stay in Ireland.  Celtic tigers were still roaring and you could feel energy in the air.

We…