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Having read the book McCarthy's Bar by Peter McCarthy a small idea started to form in the back of my mind.

Eire. Anyone been to camp across the water? I've never been myself but I've yet to hear any bad comments about the place.

Had a look in the campsite search but that seems to cater more for the North, any links available?

Looking forward to enjoying the craic

Hi Graham

we go most years to Eire and have"Done" most of it only touring with a motor home last three years ,before that mostly cottage holidays What part are you thinking of,we actually passed Mccarthy`s Bar two years ago and i bought the book!!!

 I see your in Wolverhampton so probably Holyhead /Dublin route would be your choice, have stayed at Carnac Valley and Roundstone near Dublin worked way across country to the other side lots of small sites along the way.. Stayed at the Downings in  Donegal then on to Galway near Galway City back to Dublin.  Further down south I`d  reccomend Jasmine Villa site outside Cork(Bit hair raising crossing the Dual carriageway!!1

Travellers Rest on main road to Wexford ,Lady`s island for lovely sceneryLots more can`t recall off hand BUT have never had a bad,noisy or dirty site in all our travels

Dragongirl

Ta for the reply. Yes, Holyhead-Dublin seems the best ferry option for me. To be honest Iv'e no idea where I would like to visit. Perhaps somewhere close (ish) to Dublin after the long drive up to Holyhead. How long is the ferry crossing?

Hi Graham

               Holyhead to Dublin is approx 1 hr 45 mins journey about 6 crossings  a day and goes right into Dublin itself Practically straight off the   ferry out of the port and into Dublin itself!!!!

          Pembroke /Rosslare  about 3hrs 30  to 4hours   Fishguard about the same.

          Swansea to Cork I wouldn`t consider again 12hours and ROUGH!!!!!Just put up" Irish Ferries" it will  give you timetables prices even special offers  on line.have a good trip  whenever you decide to go,

Thanks for asking the question Graham and thankyou Dragon for your info. Have been toying with the idea for quite some time. Personally would opt for Fishguard Rosslare with an overnight Swansea area and a daylight crossing. Think we'll. start planning for main hol for 08. More I think about it, better I like the idea..Mick

Dragongirl,

Once again thanks for the info.

1 hour 45 mins is OK as her-in-draws is not a good sailor  Nothing worse than feeling queezy at the start of your jollydays is there

Right then, time to start the 08 invasion of Eire. Here comes the craic.

Hi Graham,

If you are going to "do" the south, then either stay your first night at Camac Valley just outside Dublin, or you could always go about 90 miles to Roscrea which has a nice site and stay there overnight. Then you could go to Tralee for a night or 2, then up to the Dingle area, then back down and go around the Ring of Kerry, 2 nice sites at Cahersiveen and Caherdaniel. Personally I would give Killarney a miss, unless you like done to death tourism and high prices. It all depends how long you are going for, Donegal is lovely too (OH comes from there), but it's a long way from the far south.

There are about 3 main areas to viist in the South :

Dublin. Camac Valley, as mentioned, is the best site near Dublin, but needs to be booked in advance. Guiness, Book Of Kells, Temple Bar, GAA at Croke, etc - all the usual suspects.

Cork / Kerry. The typical area to visit in Ireland, and for good reason. There are some great central touring sites near Killarney like Flemings White Bridge or Fossa.

'Sunny' South East. Sunny is a relative term. It's sunny to those of us that live in the damper parts of this island, but don't expect the Vendee. Personally I like Kilkenny here - and Nore Valley is a good site. Kilkenny is close to Waterford, Cashel and the town itself is a nice taste of a less touristy Ireland. Close to the Rosslare ferry too.

It depends on how much you travel and want to see, but I'd say no less than 5 days in each of these areas. There are also other places, like Galway & Clare, Sligo & Donegal, the lakes in the Midlands - and that's not even touching on the North with the Giants Causeway, Fermanagh Lakes and St Patricks country. But the 3 areas listed above would give you a nice broad view of the place - in my opinion of course.

Mrs Bonce + Arthurdent,

brilliant, that's what I'm after some tried and tested sites and a bit of advice to a guy whos never sampled Eire.

'We' normaly try to do a group booking for a party of 10 adults. We all live in a cul-de-sac and have lived together since time BC (Before Children) The kids now jet off to sunny Islands and 'we' get peace and quiet under canvas.

Will start to look at the sites mentioned

My family are from Dungarvan in Co.Waterford. I was visiting earlier this year and took a look at Caseys, which is an area called Clonea, two or three miles from Dungarvan

The site looked very nice, and the location is superb - right next to a great beach and with a hotel next door for drinks and meals etc. I would definately consider staying there in the future.

The area has lots to do and is very scenic. If you do visit, try the Guiness in Mountains Bar in Dungarvan Square - you can't beat it! Excuse the plug for my Uncles pub, but it has a'McCarthys Bar' feel to the place so hopefully you'll like it! By the way, try 'Round Ireland With a Fridge' by Tony Hawkes.Very funny. 

Anyway, I would estimate that Caseys it is about a two hour drive from Rosslare ferry port - ideal as a stop-over for a few days if you plan to drive on to Cork and Kerry.