Temple Bar in Dublin.
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Irish Streets – A Photo Essay

ByBram Reusen

When you think about Ireland, you immediately think about drinking Guinness in cozy pubs, leprechauns, St Paddy’s Day, wild coastlines and trad music, don’t you?

But do you also think about cities or towns? I bet not, unless you’ve been. Last July, before I went there, it surely wasn’t architecture that came to my mind when I was daydreaming about Ireland. And apparently that was for a reason; in the end I didn’t care for the cities at all – the countryside and coastline on the other hand were unforgettable.

What I did love, however, were the typical Irish streets. The brightly colored houses, plethora of pubs and street artists make every street pleasantly lively, like only a street in Ireland can be.

Join me on a street tour around the Emerald island!

Dublin

My highlights: Trinity College, National Museum of Ireland, Chester Beatty Library, Kilmainham Gaol, the National Botanic Gardens and Guinness, obviously.

Irish streets: Temple Bar in Dublin.
Cobblestones and pubs in Temple Bar
Irish streets: Georgian Dublin.
Georgian Dublin
Irish streets: O'Connell Street in Dublin.
Busy O’Connell Street
Street in Dublin suburbs, Ireland.
Lovely street in the Dublin suburbs
Shopping on Grafton Street, Dublin.
It’s always crowded on Grafton Street
Street musicians on Grafton Street, Dublin.
Street musicians next to Molly Malone

Cashel

My highlights: the Rock of Cashel alone is well worth a visit to Ireland.

Gaelic cross in Cashel, Ireland.
A Gaelic cross and a castle hotel

Kilkenny

My highlights: Kilkenny Castle, St Canice’s Cathedral, medieval alleyways and local beer in pubs.

Irish street in Kilkenny.
Quiet and narrow street running towards St Mary’s Cathedral
Colored doors in Kilkenny, Ireland.
Colorful front doors
Colorful Irish street in Kilkenny.
Lovely little houses
Pubs in Kilkenny, Ireland.
An awesome street of pubs

Cork

My highlights: the English Market and the signposted walking tours.

Irish street in Cork.
Interesting neighbors: a pub and a funeral home
Narrow street in Cork, Ireland.
Typical narrow Irish street in Cork
Lovely day for a Guinness
Lovely day for a Guinness!
Irish streets: Colored houses in Cork.
I love how every house has its own color

Kenmare

My highlights: the coastline, ruins and small villages on the Ring of Kerry.

Irish road signs in Kenmare.
A whole lot of road signs
Colorful street in Kenmare, Ireland.
Here comes the rain!
Irish streets: Kenmare, Ring of Kerry.
Here is where we enjoyed a wonderful dinner on our Ring of Kerry road trip

Kilfenora

My highlights: the High Crosses.

Kilfenora, Ireland
Don’t you love that yellow and green? Imagine if every house was grey.

Galway

My highlights: Galway Bay and the River Corrib, Galway Cathedral, the pubs on Shop Street and Galway City Museum.

Irish streets: Galway.
A busy street in Galway
Shop Street in Galway.
This pedestrian street full of shops is actually called Shop Street
Irish streets: Kirwan's Lane in Galway.
Medieval Kirwan’s Lane
Irish streets: colorful houses in Galway.
One of my favorite streets in Galway

Cong

My highlights: the lakes and ruggedness of Connemara.

Street in Cong, Ireland.
Cozy street in Cong, where some scenes of the Oscar-winning movie The Quiet Man were filmed
Cong, Ireland
Hmmm, where to park?

This is the first of three photo essays I’m doing on Ireland. So stay tuned for more!

You can find more of my photos in my travel photography portfolio.

Have you ever been to Ireland? What did you like most?

Based in Oregon, Bram is the founder and CEO of The National Parks Experience.

For well over a decade, he has been passionate about America's national parks, forests, and other public lands. Bram is an avid landscape photographer, wildlife enthusiast, as well as an experienced hiker and cyclist.

His love for U.S. national parks keeps bringing him to some of the nation's most spectacular places, where he enjoys camping, stargazing, exploring trails, and immersing himself in the great outdoors in a multitude of ways.

Bram is an expert on all things related to America's national parks and is on a mission to visit all National Park Service sites. He documents this fascinating and incredibly fulfilling journey on this website.

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8 Comments

  1. Looks amazing! I’ve never been to Ireland but the pubs are always the first thing that came to mind. Looks like I’ll have to take a Guinness to go and explore 😉 Thanks for sharing such great photos!

    Reply

  2. Funny I don’t recall everything being so colorful when I was there a few years ago, and it wasn’t because it was gloomy or anything, perhaps my perception was off, heh.

    One of my favorite although somewhat scary memories from Ireland was in Dublin.

    We were walking around some neighborhood, not too far from the Temple Bar district and happened upon some graffiti covered walls. As we were taking pics we noticed a group of kids – 6-12 year olds – harassing a Domino’s delivery driver on his bike. We thought nothing of it really as they didn’t bother us. However as we were leaving that block we turned back and saw one of the kids using an aerosol can as a flame thrower on one of those electrical boxes – the ones that control street lights – and realized that the Domino’s guy probably got away in the knick of time or else he might have been the one in flames, not the inanimate electrical box. Needless to say we got out of there pretty damn quick!

    Reply

    1. That’s a crazy story. I did notice a lot of youth hanging around on the streets, and sometimes they were loud and rude. But I bet that’s the case in most og the bigger cities around the world?

      Reply

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