Ireland Travel Part 2 : County Donegal

 By Jason Rupp and Carla Marie Rupp

Hope you enjoyed our article about County Mayo in last month’s Discover Pattaya. If you missed it you can go to pattayatrader.com to read it where it is still online.

This month in Part 2 we continue our Ireland Travel story in the beautiful county of Donegal, where again we had a guide this time it was David. David was pretty amazing, he led us to Europe’s highest cliff, the stunning Sliabh Liag,which stands 1,972 feet (603 meters) over the Atlantic Ocean. The land around this majestic sight is owned by the farmers who work the land, and this is in a Gaeltacht region of Irish language and culture.

From where our driver Bradley parked it was a two kilometer walk to the top to enjoy an extraordinary view. We took plenty of photos of the sea and granite and quartz mountains. Guide David was full of stories; one was about a girl whose father told her to go look for the cows, but a storm came and she didn’t come back. “They never found her; but we believe she lived happily ever after”. – we like happy endings. He smiled his Irish grin.

At the visitors center below, we enjoyed refreshments; and also bought Irish tin whistles and a lovely handmade hat.Then on to Danny Minnie’s Country House, with a long family heritage. Here we were provided with a class taught by owner Brian O’Donnell on how to make the famous Irish soda bread. Over a delicious lunch of seafood chowder, we were able to eat the hot and tasty soda bread with Irish butter in the restaurant, right in the heart of the Gaeltacht area, which is full of culture and charm and where the locals speak the Irish language: Gaeilge..

On a different day, we went on tours of beverage companies. Our favorite was the whiskey tour at Crolly Distillery where there was sampling of experimental tastes. We also loved learning about the history of the building, which was once a site for making dolls and at another time for making rugs. After Crolly, it was off for craft beer tasting at a family-run brewery. We met owner James and his brother Ben. They showed us how their beer at Errigal Brewing Co. is made. It is available all over County Donegal and we enjoyed chatting with the family and sampling delicious cookies and pastries made by the wife of the chef at their restaurant. 

Letterkenny, our Donegal County base, is where we found lodgings and visited pubs each evening after day trips to enjoy Guinness, chatting to the local people, and enjoying the lively traditional Irish music sessions. Our favorite pubs included Brewery Bar, Cottage, and McGinley’s Bar. When in County Donegal you should really try to make it to the famous music pub Leo’s where Enya and also the Irish group Clannad got their start. We loved the Irish coffee at Leo’s. Also the stories the owner told, and the music performed by the two musicians Dermot Byrne and Steve Cooney when we visited the pub.

In Letterkenny, we also found a 15-year-old young man named Abdull who helped us make a barber experience video for the Jason Rupp channel on YouTube. Then we went to Oakfield Park, a secret jewel in County Donegal with beautiful gardens, Buffers Restaurant and best of all a little red train that we enjoyed riding through the grounds! Not too far away, we also loved Wild Ireland, an attraction worth visiting to see the rescued animals. They had wolves, brown and black bears and other animals and birds. The owner is passionate about what they do there: it’s a really special place.

In touring sights in several counties, we learned a lot, felt exhilarated being near the ocean and beautiful land, found serenity seeing the sheep and cows grazing in the fields, and had jolly fun in the pubs being with strangers who quickly became friends. We love Ireland and are happy to bring these recommendations for the awesome Counties of Mayo and Donegal. We hope to return someday to the Wild Atlantic Way!

Jason Rupp and Carla Marie Rupp are freelance travel journalists curious about the world and its people and places. Their emails are [email protected] and [email protected].