Ireland Travel Blog

Another legend of the Cliffs of Moher that would not too much sense to most readers.

To start the “story”, you need to first have some knowledge about Christianity and Ireland. Before St. Patrick came to Ireland, most people believed in and practised Celtic paganism. Instead of having someone or something as “God”, these deities are usually historical heroes who process superpowers. One of the well-known ones is the TuathaDé Danann.

The words “TuathaDé Danann” mean “People of the Goddes Danu”. They were descendants of the goddes Danu. They learned their skills in art, science, poetry and magic from some mythical cities before they migrated to Ireland.

So, now back to the story. St. Patrick arrived in Ireland. He was preaching and converting all over the country. This angered the TuathaDé Danann. As masters of magic, they transformed themselves into horses (what?) and galloped to Kilcornan to protest (what?!).

Not sure if these angry horses managed to make a point but they ended up hiding in the Kilcornan caves, which are quite close to today’s Cliffs of Moher.

Many many years later, one day, seven foals came out from the caves. Frightened by the bright sunlight, they ran to the edge of the cliff (instead of running back to the cave…). Eventually, they all ended up falling over and died. The spot where they fell off, is now known as the Cliff of the Foals, or Aill Na Searrach.

What have we learnt from this legend about the Cliffs of Moher? Easy – Inbreeding is really bad for you. The TuathaDé Danann were once so smart and skilled to be called Gods. After years of inbreeding, they couldn’t even figure out the best way to avoid the sun is to go back to the caves.

Written by: Susan K.

*The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Finn McCools Tours. 

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如果你是在英国留学，圣诞假期没有打算回国，那北爱尔兰是一个很好的去处。

为什么？因为北爱尔兰虽然是英国的一部分，但当地人的生活习惯和文化，比较像爱尔兰人。不用担心签证问题的同时，可以感受一下欧洲其他国家的气氛，一举两得。

去北爱尔兰的话，可以坐飞机或是搭船到贝尔法斯特 (Belfast)。

到北爱尔兰，不能不去的，是巨人堤道 (Giant’s Causeway) 及卡里克索桥 (Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge)。以下提供几种方法 ：

1. 自己开车游
   记得要带上 GPS，不然的话，有机会迷路。但一般问路的话，北爱人都是挺友善的。问题是，他们的口音很重，很多英国伦敦出生的人，很多时候在北爱，也不是太沟通得来。
2. 自己搭公车
   这里有英文的详细介绍。
3. 参加一天游
   圣诞假期可以说是旺季，也可以说不是。毕竟冬天太冷，很多人都会选夏天才旅游。而且，圣诞节对欧洲／美国等等的国家来说，是像我们中国人过年一样，大家都要回家聚聚，很少会去旅游。所以，这时候的一天游，其实大部分都是留学生。我推荐 Finn McCools Tours 的一天游，原因有二。第一，当然是基本的，他们的旅游车舒服，导游专业（虽然是当地人，但他们在车上讲解和跟旅客沟通的时候，会改变一下他们的口音，并说得慢一点，很容易明白），要去的景点都会去，时间也充裕。第二，是因为他们其实是从爱尔兰的都柏林出发的。有大概一半的人，其实是参加他们的都柏林一天游。所以，大概六点回到贝尔法斯特后，导游会跟从都柏林出发的旅客回到都柏林。如果你想跟他们的车去都柏林，你只需要在订票的时候说，然后当天付十英镑就行。

   (北爱尔兰和爱尔兰是没有海关的，车都是直接驶过就行。很多时候，你根本就不会留意到你已经在另一边。)

   巨人堤道和卡里克索桥一天游可以在这买票：https://www.finnmccoolstours.com/giants-causeway-tour-from-belfast/

   权力的游戏和巨人堤道一天游可在这买票：https://www.finnmccoolstours.com/game-of-thrones-location-tour-from-belfast/
   

Written by: 鹰影

*The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Finn McCools Tours. 

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你曾經跟我說，香港壓力枷鎖大，很希望有天可以不顧一切地丟下所有，和我一起出走，去世界的盡頭。我說，地球是圓的，那有甚麼世界盡頭之說。你隨手拿走地圖，指著最左邊的一個小島，說，看，那就是盡頭。

最後，我們沒能一起掙脫枷鎖。但我還是選擇了到愛爾蘭一趟，去看看這個世界的盡頭。

在都柏林 (Dublin) 待了幾天，決定到北愛爾蘭 (Northern Ireland) 走走。

明明是同一個小島，偏偏因為宗教，歷史等等，成了兩個國家。都柏林是愛爾蘭 (Republic of Ireland) 的首都；而貝爾法斯特 (Belfast) 則是北愛爾蘭的最大的一個城市。

經貝爾法斯特，我來到了巨人之道／巨人堤／巨人之堤 (Giant’s Causeway)。六角形的石柱，怖滿整個海岸，非常的壯觀宏偉，不愧為世界自然遺產。我坐在其中一堆石柱上，聽著海浪沒有節奏的拍打著石群，看著一道道的白浪濺起，就這樣，過了一個下午。

時間是相對的。一個下午，如果是要坐在會議室聽報告的話，可以很長。但如果是呆呆的坐著的話，可以是轉瞬即逝。

那天晚上，我在附近借宿。第二天，來到了卡里克索橋／凱利克里亞德吊橋／雷德索吊橋 (Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge)。

如果是和你一起來的話，畏高的你，應該不會過橋吧。然後，我也應該會選擇陪你在島的這邊看看便算。如今，我卻是二話不說的購了票，走到了卡里克小島 (Carrick-a-Rede Island)。

有時候，我也想不透，到底我們分開，是好？是壞？

但我知道，如果兩個人在一起，會覺得有一些枷鎖是解不開的話，無論怎樣，都很難會幸福。

Written by: 阿亨

*The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Finn McCools Tours. 

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You get a set time at each place
You do not get a say as to how much time you want at each place. Going on a day tour means you have to follow the tour’s itinerary. Time at each place has already been decided before you book. A bus does not wait. (To be fair though, a tour company has put in a lot of thoughts before they finalise an itinerary.)

So, when it’s time to go back to the coach but you suddenly find this cow that you really want to gaze at…
Sorry, you’ll have to go. Byebye cow.

Having said that, it would probably be the same if you are taking public transport, especially if it is a remote attraction, like the Giant’s Causeway or the Cliffs of Moher, where buses are not frequent. How much time you get to spend at the attraction depends on the bus schedule. Read here to see how to go to the Giant’s Causeway by bus/ train.

It is cheaper to go on your own
As long as you do your research, it should always be cheaper if you take the public transport. For example, going to the Causeway from Dublin would cost around €44.00 (Based on a quick Google search. Joining a day tour would be around €50. If you actually spend time and go to page 2 of the search results, you might be able to find an even cheaper way.) Renting a car and share the cost with your friends is another option.

Day tour companies are always about making commission
Have you ever been on a tour that took you to loads of shops and restaurants/ pubs during the day? That is because the drivers and guides make commission from each person they send! Even if they are only making €1 or £1 per person, stopping at 3 places on the tour would make them €180 / £180! Not to mention that some places pay more than €1 / £1 per customer!

“Trust me their hot chocolate is really nice!” “Their Irish Stew is the best you can find.” “We will stop here so you can buy some souvenirs and take home.” — Sounds familiar?

Given that all restaurants and pubs near the attractions are always overpriced, we, Finn McCools Tours, do not see the reason why we should force our passengers to take an expensive meal just so our driver and guide can make some money. Instead, we give you the freedom to choose. If you really fancy a sit-down meal at a nice location, you have more than enough time to do so (as the time allocated for a lunch stop has been added onto the time we stop at the attraction). Or, if you have brought your own packed lunch, you can enjoy more time at the location.

Not all guides are great guides
One of the reasons why someone would choose a guided tour instead of going on the tour by themselves, is for the guide. Yet, some tour companies, especially the ones that have been there for a long time, do not care about the quality of their guides. They call everyone that can talk a guide. A guide is not just an audio version of information that you can find online by yourself. A guide should be entertaining and adjusting their way of presentation according to the group.  This is what we believe in. All our guides have to go through at least 2 weeks of training. Read our reviews on TripAdvisor and you will understand.

Falite Ireland gives a badge to everyone that passes their tour guide exam. Don’t get us wrong – it is not an easy exam. You have to study hard and go on training etc to earn the badges, which is why it is one of the most recognisable qualification in Ireland. However, as their test is based on the guides’ knowledge/ time management etc., they would not disqualify a person due to the fact that they are boring. Not all good guides are great guides.

(Last updated: 24 July 2017; First written on: 16 Aug 2016)

Want to travel like a local and save a few quid? Here is how you can go to the number 1 tourist attraction in Northern Ireland by public transport. Although possible, it is quite a lot of hassles.

Option 1: Bus/ Train from Dublin to Belfast –> Direct Bus from Belfast to Giant’s Causeway

OR

Option 2: Bus/ Train from Dublin to Belfast –> Bus / Train from Belfast to Coleraine –> Bus from Coleraine to Giant’s Causeway

Step 1 – From Dublin to Belfast

a) Train –

Checked on Irish Rail‘s site. It is €38 for adult single and €40 for a day return. €19.99 for adult single, €10.00 for child single. No day return specials.

b) Bus –

(i) You can take Bus Eireann. Depends on what time you are leaving, it ranges from €12.95 to €17.58. It is €10.00 for adult single and €7.77 for child single. I can’t find any day return specials. A return trip is also costing the same

(ii) Aircoach seems to be a cheaper option. has Adult Single ticket for €11.00 / £8.80. Return ticket is costing €20.00 / £16.00. For children it is €9.00 / £8.00 for a single ticket and €14.00 / £12.00 for a return ticket.

(iii) Translink has a one way ticket from Dublin to Belfast which costs £8 for an adult and £4.80 for a child. I can’t find any day return specials. A return trip is also costing the same. has £8.50 one-way ticket from Belfast to Dublin if you buy online in advance.Bus X1 or Bus X2. You can’t buy it the other way round though (from Dublin to Belfast) as it is a Northern Ireland’s company. You also can’t get this price if you buy from the station/ on the bus.

(iiii) Dublin Coach offers a single ticket which costs €10.00 / £8.00. A return trip is also costing the same.

Step 2 – From Belfast to Giant’s Causeway

a) Direct bus –

Bus 221. Once everyday leaving at 09:30am; Once everyday coming back from the Causeway at 02:00pm. Only available between May and September. £9.00 return*

b) Change in Coleraine –

From Belfast to Coleraine – Train is £11.50 adult single and £18.50 day return; Bus 218 is £9.00 return*.

Then from Coleraine to Giant’s Causeway – Bus 172 / 402 / 402a /252 is £3.50 £4.40 single and £6.30 £7.90 day return if you come back before 9:30 am (This is almost impossible! Unless you were staying in Coleraine the day before and only want to spend less than 1 hour at the Causeway) .

*£9.00 return – It is actually the fare for the Bus Rambler Ticket (only available between May and September) which provides unlimited Ulsterbus & Metro Day Travel after 9:15am. All the buses listed above are Ulsterbus. You can take your Bus Rambler Ticket and hop-on to a bus when you are done with the Causeway. They have stops at Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, White Park Bay, Dunluce Castle, Bushmills, Portrush etc. However, keep in mind there are only around 6 buses a day between 11am and 5pm. Deducting the time you actually have to spend at the attraction, you can only see 2 to 3 attractions at most. Saturdays and Sundays are worse as there are only 3 – 4 buses for the whole day.

—

So, the cheapest way: Aircoach Dublin to Belfast (€10.00) –> Bus 221 Belfast to Causeway (£9.00; part of Bus Rambler ticket) –> Bus 221 Causeway to Belfast (£0; part of Bus Ramble ticket) –> Translink bus Belfast to Dublin (£8.50) Aircoach Belfast to Dublin (€10.00)

That’s around £25.00 / €30.00 for the day. Sounds good. So what time do I have to start the day?

0630 – 0850 Dublin to Belfast
0935 – 1106 Belfast to Giant’s Causeway
Around 2.5 hours at Giant’s Causeway
1358 – 1534 Giant’s Causeway to Belfast
1630 – 1840 Belfast to Dublin

An alternative that costs the same would be:

0630 – 0850 Dublin to Belfast
0935 – 1106 Belfast to Giant’s Causeway
Around 6 hours at Giant’s Causeway
1702 – 1733 Giant’s Causeway to Coleraine
1800 – 1945 Coleraine to Belfast
2030 – 2240 Belfast to Dublin

—
For both the options above, you have to start your day 6:30am in the morning. I know. We all want to sleep in a little bit but there is simply no other way. I have tried searching for a few different dates (weekend/ weekday), but it all comes back with the same result – From Belfast to the Giant’s Causeway, there are only four options a day. Leaving at 9:30am in the morning or 4:00pm in the afternoon. Obviously the two 4pm options are too late so you only have 1 option – leaving Belfast 9:30am. See below a screenshot from translink’s journey planner. It wasn’t like that last year. I am not sure if they have forgotten to update their timetable online or actually changed the whole thing.

—

Taking public transport is around €15 – €20 cheaper than joining a guided tour. Is it worth it though?
– Every time when you have to change a bus, you will have to look for the new bus stop. Running around the city sounds fun…?
– What if there is traffic and it looks like you are going to miss the connecting bus? What’s the plan B here…?
– And what about when you actually miss the bus?
– Bus strike? In 2016, we had almost 20 days (mostly weekends) in Dublin that buses were not running due to bus strike. Who knows what’s going to happen next?

Booking a guide tour is slightly more expensive but definitely has its advantages.
– guided by a local Irish that is more than happy to answer all your questions about Ireland/ Northern Ireland
– seats on coaches are far more comfortable than seats on public buses
– don’t have to plan at all! Just make sure you get to the pick up on time. Rest of the day is hassle-free

To book a day tour with Finn McCools Tours,

From Dublin. Giant’s Causeway and Rope Bridge tour – https://www.finnmccoolstours.com/giants-causeway-tour-from-dublin/

From Dublin. Giant’s Causeway and Game of Thrones location tour – https://www.finnmccoolstours.com/game-of-thrones-location-tour-from-dublin/

—

P.S. All the information above is based on my checks on their websites on 16 Aug 2016. 24 July 2017.

According to the folk legend, somewhere close to the village of Liscannor, there was a giant eel that came ashore every night to eat corpses from the cemetery of an Irish Saint Macreehy’s church.

Although it was acceptable for humans to eat dead eel, it was not acceptable for an eel to eat dead humans. St. Marcreehy killed the eel eventually. No one knows how he killed it but he did kill it.

Today, if you go to the Cliffs of Moher when it is low tide, you can see the saint’s bed, the two stones on the shore. A craving of the eel could once been seen on a stone in the Kilmacreehy cemetery too. However, a few decades ago, it had vanished due to erosion.

Written by: Susan K.

*The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Finn McCools Tours. 

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First off, let me be honest, this legend has nothing to do with the actual Cliffs. It could have happened anywhere else that is close to the Sea. Someone must have come up with the idea, let’s call the Mermaid in this legend “The Mermaid of Moher”! She could have been the Mermaid of the Causeway, the Mermaid of the Carrick-a-Rede in my opinion.

Anyway, to get back to the legend.

Long time ago, close to where the Cliffs are, a local fisherman (immediately in my head Theon Greyjoy’s image pops up) saw a mermaid, whose name was, of course, “The Mermaid of Moher”.

Like Theon before he became Reek, this fisherman could only think of one thing when he saw this beautiful mermaid (think mermaids are always portrayed as gorgeously-looking woman, except for those in Harry Potter’s world). He approached the mermaid and tried to start a conversation.

“Hi Miss Mermaid, How are you? You know what, I wish you were my pinky toe.”

Instead of the usual “Why?”, the Mermaid of Moher replied, “What is a toe? Can it be blue? I like blue more than pink.”

Well, not the best pick-up line for a creature without toes I guess…

They continued talking anyway. A while later, the fisherman noticed a magical cloak next to the Mermaid of Moher. After knowing that the Mermaid of Moher would need the cloak in order to get back into the sea, the fisherman decided to steal it so he could keep the mermaid with him forever. He grabbed the cloak and ran back to his house to hide the cloak.

She followed but could not find the cloak as it was well hidden. She then agreed to marry the fisherman (What?). They had a son and a daughter after marriage (WHAT??).

(I know what you are thinking. I, too, have many questions in my head. Why would she agree to marry the fisherman? How did they make babies? The two children, what are they? But then, come on, it’s a legend after all…)

Few years later, one day, when the fisherman was out fishing, The Mermaid of Moher found her cloak! Woohoo! Without a goodbye, she went back to the sea. The fisherman and the two children never saw her again.

The end.

See? I told you. It could have happened to a fisherman up at the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge as well. In that case, that would be a Salmon Mermaid I assume.

Written by: Susan K.

*The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Finn McCools Tours. 

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說起莫赫懸崖 (Cliffs of Moher) ，要先從一個小故事開始…

那年二月，我倆在那間常去的 Cafe。你點了你最愛的 Cappuccino，我試了他們的新出品，Irish Coffee。年少無知，以為 Irish Coffee 是用了愛爾蘭咖啡豆的意思，跟那些花巧的甚麼肯尼亞咖啡沒大多分別。

咖啡煮好，我大口地喝下去，OMG，那份苦澀是，如果你把苦瓜曬乾了後落鍋炒，重複以上步驟兩次，你應該會感受到 Irish Coffee 的十份一。舌頭在申訴的同時，你笑了，笑我愚眛，笑我沒知識，笑我表情誇張。

然後去年十月，我隻身來到了愛爾蘭。莫赫懸崖 (Cliffs of Moher) 是這邊最出名的景點。於是，決定來看看。

你曾經跟我說過，去旅行，你最愛逛的，不是甚麼名店、城堡。你最愛的，永遠是自然景色。你說，大自然真的很奇妙，很多地形、景象，看似解釋得來，但其實，大部分的形成，都要結合很多「 湊巧」的因素。而你並不相信這世上可以有這麼多的「 湊巧」。我說，我倆能夠認識，原本就是一個「 湊巧」啊，難道你不相信我們嗎？你說，我早知你會這樣回答。

那時沒留意到，原來你很有技巧地把問題略過。

還是說回莫赫懸崖吧。在車上，我聽到有人說 Cliffs of Mother。噴笑。點呀大佬。大自然是母親的懷抱，而如果這個 Cliffs 是母親的 Cliffs，那到底是先有 Cliffs of Mother/ Cliffs of Moher，還是先有大自然？

不好意思，仍然是離題。回來。

莫赫懸崖/ 莫赫大斷崖，是歐洲最高的一座懸崖。巨大高聳的頁岩，達 702 英尺，從最頂頂處俯瞰，艾倫群島(Aran Islands)、十二峰 (Twelve Bens) 和 Maumtauks 的山脈美景盡收眼簾。

那天，很冷；天空，很灰。我怱怱的走了一回，把最重要的景點 (O’Brien’s tower) 都看過了以後，走回室內。在入口旁邊有一個 Cliffs of Moher Exhibition Centre。都是那些吧。介紹 Cliffs of Moher 的起源，它的經歷等等。其實該改名叫 Cliffs of Moher museum 比較適合。談不上十分有趣，但亦未至於枯悶。

頂樓是一間 Cafe，供人歇歇腳。它的設計是一片大玻璃，自然光照射進來的同時，可讓人以另一個角度欣賞莫赫大斷崖。

來到收銀機前點菜，忽爾看到餐牌上的 Irish Coffee，眼眶一熱。藉口說句天氣太冷，眼睛不適應，馬上轉身隨意找個位置坐下。

原來還是忘不了嗎。沉思之際，侍應把咖啡送上。

呷了一小口。仍然是很苦很苦。到底為甚麼愛爾蘭人會把威士忌加進咖啡，至今我仍是百思不得其解。或許他們就是要摑醒所有人，狠狠地讓人類感受到那真切的苦澀吧。

再喝一口，還是很苦很苦。或許是自我懲罰吧。又或許，我以為，只要我努力地喝著這杯 Irish Coffee，你，或許會在地球的某個角落，仍然笑著吧。

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When you are at the Cliffs of Moher, head towards the South and try to find the signal tower. You will notice some rocks there that look a bit unusual. That is the Hag’s Head, also know as “Head of the Old Sea Witch”.

The story behind it? There was once a hag/ witch whose name was Mal. She was madly in love with the great Irish hero Cú Chulainn. Well, before Harry Potter came out, when you mention the word witches, people tend to imagine an old lady with no teeth that is always cooking some poisons in a big black pot.

So naturally, Cú Chulainn did not like Mal back. If Mal was like Hermonie Granger, maybe we would have a different story to tell now. Anyway, to get back to the point, so Mal kept following Cú Chulainn, hoping to tell him how much she loved him (and maybe to cast the love spell onto him…?). Cú Chulainn kept running away from her. He went all the way to the Loop Head. Now, think of that Lion King scene where Scar killed Simba’s Dad, Mufasa… It was like that.

Mal and Cú Chulainn were standing at the end of the land when Mal was like – YESSS!!! He has nowhere to escape this time. He’s mine now! Well, unfortunate for her, fortunate for him, this Irish hero actually had some superpowers. HE JUMPED ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE SIDE OF THE CLIFFS OF MOHER! Mal tried to follow as well but the wind was against her. She dashed to pieces at Hag’s Head. Her blood stained the sea all the way to the Cliffs of Moher.

So what have we learnt from this sad romantic story?
Always bring your broomstick!

Written by: Susan K.

*The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Finn McCools Tours. 

If you would like to like us to publish your article, send us an email! 

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