Over on my Instagram (follow me @_thepinkchickadee), I have been sharing ALL about my first-ever solo trip to Ireland that I took in early April over the past few months. Now, I have *finally* gotten the chance to start sharing ALLLLL about this incredible trip of mine!!! I will be splitting my content into each day trip (I took 5!) alongside one bigger guide for my home base for those amazing 8 days in Dublin (including hotels, getting there, dining, etc.). And, I am going to start my first of MANY Ireland posts over here with my day trip to Cork County, Ireland.

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A Day Trip To Cork County, Ireland

Cork County, Ireland was the first of 5 day trips that I took on my trip to Ireland. I used a few different tour operators throughout my time in Ireland (more on that below!) and primarily used GetYourGuide to book each of my day journeys across the Emerald Isle. Personally, as a first-time solo traveler, I LOVED getting to simply hop on a tour bus with a ton of other people hassle-free as I got to see SOOOO many incredible sights that Ireland has to offer. And, overall, my day tour to Cork County truly BLEW ME AWAY. Not only were my fellow travelers on my tour bus pretty awesome people that I learned SOOOO much from, but I ALSO ran into my cousins’ former high school classmates while at Blarney Castle (VERRYYYY small world!) AND spent much of the day with my jaw LITERALLLY on the floor!

About:

Cork County, Ireland covers the majority of Ireland’s southwest coast upwards. From fertile farmlands and castle country to the North to rugged coastlines and peninsulas to the South, Cork County, Ireland truly has it all. It is also home to Ireland’s second-largest city and the 2nd stop on my Ireland tour … Cork! Cork is home to much of Ireland’s tech hub, having both Apple’s and Amazon’s international headquarters (including several other tech companies) located there. Some of the most notable sights in Cork County (which I saw on my incredible day there) include Rock of Cashel and Blarney Castle which is home to the well-known Blarney Stone.

Tour Operator:

Paddywagon Tours is a popular Irish-based tour operator with headquarters in Dublin (with pick up’s literally just a couple of blocks away from both of my hotels!). I ended up doing 3 Paddywagon Tours while in Ireland, especially due to its utter convenience of pick-up right by my hotel!

Rock of Cashel

Rock of Cashel was our first major stop on our tour of Cork County. Technically, Rock of Cashel is located in Cashel County, Ireland about 1-2 hours from Cork City. The significance of Rock of Cashel is that it served as the traditional seat for the Kings of Munster before the Normans invaded Ireland. Much of the structures at Rock of Cashel date back to the 12th and 13th centuries.

Truly, Rock of Cashel was magnificent! The tour bus stopped at a scenic overlook of Rock of Cashel at a distance for a few minutes and it truly was incredible to see it amongst the partially cloudy skies and green Irish pastures. Once we drove and walk up to and around Rock of Cashel, I was TRULY in awe at the magnificent structures that laid before my eyes. Indeed, Rock of Cashel was the start of many jaw-dropping moments (LITERALLY!) throughout my weeklong adventures in Ireland!

Cork City

As previously mentioned, Cork City is the second-largest city in Ireland and home to many international hubs for tech companies. Needless to say, Cork is a VERY tech-savvy city! Cork is ALSO the county seat of Cork County and our *very first* stop in Cork County. We had a brief lunch stop in Cork where I got *none other than* fish & chips at a local Irish cafe/pub. Cork was extremely colorful and gorgeous. The streets were lined with beautiful shops holding many charming antique and grand millennial inspired finds. Not to mention the fact that the buildings alongside Cork’s streets were super colorful and fun! I seriously wish we had more time in Cork to stroll the shops and colorful streets (alongside the city’s notable historic market which some of my fellow bus-mates explored!).

Blarney Castle

Located near downtown Cork, Blarney Castle was our final stop on our tour and BY FAR my favorite of them all! Blarney Castle is home to the *VERY* notable Blarney Stone. Blarney Castle is a medieval structure built as early as 1446 by the MacCarthy of Muskerry Dynasty, which is a cadet branch of the Kings of Desmond. To kiss the Blarney Stone, you are gifted with the gift of great eloquence. Alongside the Blarney Castle which provides guests with the opportunity to kiss the Blarney Stone, guests can enjoy Blarney Castle’s extremely gorgeous gardens and stroll alongside its stunning medieval structures including the Blarney House (which ALSO left my jaw dropping literally again!!!!).

My jaw was dropped THE MOST while at Blarney Castle during my day in Cork County! I opted to not kiss the Blarney Stone (however, I DID climb a bit of the stone tower that IS Blarney Castle though!!!) and the line that ensued to do so to stroll the gardens instead. While strolling throughout the gardens amongst the rain and mud and my forgetfulness in bringing an umbrella during the day, I truly enjoyed every twist and turn and opportunity to take in ALLLL of the sights and sounds and smells around me. One of the BEST parts of it all was coming across the Victorian looking home that is known to be the Blarney House. I LITERALLY gasped when I saw it! It was STUNNING!!!!! There were also some extremely gorgeous medieval stone towers amongst the gardens and green pastures around me, too. Blarney Castle was truly my highlight of the day!

Most notably, I ended up coming across my cousins’ former classmates via recognizing their high school name on sweatshirts while strolling through the gardens. As I was leaving, my cousins’ classmates and teachers were gathered getting ready to leave as well, so I *of course* introduced myself and confirmed that they were my cousins’ former high school classmates (they are in early college/post-college now!) which was a super special and fun moment!

After I left Blarney Castle’s grounds, I went to the gift shop and the Blarney Woolen Mills outlet which is the largest Blarney Woolen Mills outlet (I discovered that there are MANY of these throughout Ireland!) in all of Ireland. I got a gorgeous hot pink woolen blanket there and two wool scarves at the gift shop. Irish fashion is pretty similar to my own preppy and grand millennial style, too! It was super fun to see the similarities between my own personal style preferences and those that are considered mainstream Irish to visitors and locals, alike.

Wrap-Up:

My day trip to Cork County, Ireland was the first of MANY tours that I took throughout my 8 days in Ireland. I LOVED the people I met on my tour throughout the day alongside those that I ran into, too! I found the most similarities with people on my Cork County tour than any others, which makes it have a special meaning to me. Truly, I look back and smile when I think of this tour the most out of all of my Ireland tours.

Stay tuned for more details on the rest of my experience and adventures in Ireland in the coming weeks/months!!

XOXO – Katie <3