President Donald Trump is set to meet Irish Taoiseach (prime minister) Leo Varadkar on Wednesday, but as MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow pointed out, the scene of the get-together isn’t quite as grand as you might expect.
The two are expected to link up at the VIP lounge of Shannon Airport after Irish officials rejected Trump’s plan to meet at his golf resort, as reported by Anne Rumsey Gearan of the Washington Post:
Seriously, the president’s bilateral meeting with Irish PM Varadkar is going to take place at the VIP lounge at Shannon. Trump wanted it st his nearby golf club. The Irish said no thanks. So, across from the Duty Free and next to the Irish Coffee bar at the airport. Perfect.
While chuckling, Maddow said Irish officials essentially told Trump: “No, we will not use our government to create a commercial for your golf course. Even though you, sir, are clearly comfortable using the American government to hold a commercial for your golf course. We’re not going to do that.”
The Irish government proposed meeting at a castle, but Trump declined.
“Instead, they will meet at the airport,” Maddow said, still suppressing snickers. “Which is a little weird, but this whole overseas trip has been pretty sort of clunky for the president.”
She offered some examples in the clip above.
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For Outdoors Lovers
In County Clare, the time-honored Cliff’s of Moher’s loom as the most visited natural wonder. Now a brand new coastal way path can take the experienced walker as many as seven miles from Liscannor Village to the south, up 700 feet along the jaw-dropping cliffs, past the visitors center, and back down to Doolin. Up in Northern Ireland, give yourself a long morning to stroll and stare in wonder (and you will) at the naturally-formed 40,000 interlocking, hexagonal columns of volcanic basalt leading down into the sea at Giant’s Causeway, a World Heritage Site very near Bushmills, in County Antrim. A shuttle to the shore is available, where you can walk a stretch long enough that the light changes the color of the landscape and you can watch the smashing North Atlantic tide wash out to Scotland’s Mull of Kintyre. Pause here to ponder the tale of Irish giant Finn MacCool who, legend has it, created the causeway to reach his Scottish rival Banandonner across the sea. Climb across the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, if you dare. It’s very nearby along the Causeway Coast.
For Foodies
Dublin’s Gallagher’s Boxty House, in the Temple Bar district, serves the traditional dish alongside contemporary fare. Their Celtic Boxty is tender medallions of Irish fillet beef in a whiskey and mushroom cream sauce, wrapped in a traditional Leitrim Boxty Pancake. The Irish capital's newest star is Chef Clodagh McKenna’s Clodaugh’s Kitchen, a charming, bright bistro in the Blackrock area, with an open kitchen serving the Irish TV star’s personal culinary creations. Kinsale, near Cork in the far south of the country, is a picturesque, walkable fishing village known for a high-concentration of haute cuisine eateries, including Fishy Fishy, pier-side dining serving all locally-caught fish. Wherever you are, from the border region of County Donegal to ancient Waterford in the south east, start your day with the full Irish breakfast. Sometimes referred to as a fry up, Irish breakfast is king, with farm fresh eggs, ham, tomatoes, beans, sausage, soda bread with butter, toast and jam, plus black and white pudding — artery-busting discs of delicious blood sausage.
For Golfers
For an epic golf adventure over wild and tumbling terrain between dunes and stirring sea, head to breathtaking Lahinch Golf Club near the Cliffs of Moher. Original designer Old Tom Morris crafted the legendary links from the corner of town up and over County Clare Atlantic coastline, with dips back down into the golden grassy dunes and courageous blind shots over bluffs on the famed Klondike and Dell holes. Alternatively, head farther south to Doonbeg, Greg Norman’s relatively new and glam links golf resort (recently bought by Donald Trump) just an hour from Shannon airport. A short trip from there via the Tarbert-Killimer car ferry across the Shannon River leads you to County Kerry’s iconic, dramatic links at Ballybunion, Tralee, Dooks, Waterville and, in Kinsale near Cork, Old Head, one of the most photogenic ocean courses on the Emerald Isle. The wit and wisdom of Irish caddies will enhance your experience at each course. For serious duffers, Shamrock Vacations offers customizable golfing tours with stops at a different course each day.
For Romance Seekers
Every romantic fantasy needs a castle, and Dromoland Castle Hotel and Country Estate, which, unlike many of the stirring royal ruins dotting the landscape, retains the kind of luxury fit for a king and queen. And while the comforts are modern, Dromoland feels ageless. Take in the castle grounds and woodlands on horseback, dogs alongside; fish in its streams; or simply lounge in the grass beside a reflecting pond and nibble on a Dromoland-prepared champagne picnic basket. Return to your country pile for afternoon tea and dine formally on all-local duck, roast rabbit saddle, oysters, Irish cheeses, smoked salmon and lamb. Get a similar taste of romance at Adare Manor near Limerick, a destination for the best of Irish hospitality and opulence under one roof and 840 acres. And in Northern Ireland, lakeside Lough Erne is a modern majestic manor for all seasons, with private turret-tower rooms and a Thai spa. For more ideas, check out Hotels Ireland's raft of romantic sleeps from Killarney to Dublin.
For Literary Types
The land that gave us James Joyce, Bram Stoker, Samuel Beckett, Oscar Wilde, George Bernard Shaw and William Butler Yeats has a literary heritage that springs forth from the nooks and crannies of both city and shore. The books, letters portraits and personal items of many of the greats are in the Dublin Writer’s Museum, which offers stirring lunchtime readings and even children’s programs. Or take a less traditional approach and join a Dublin Pub Crawl, a tour full of humor, anecdotes and watering holes in the place UNESCO named a City of Literature; Davy Byrne’s, a pub visited by Leopold Bloom in Joyce’s Ulysess, is just one stop on the Literary Crawl. The DaVinci Code’s author Dan Brown would feel at home in the Old Library at Dublin’s Trinity College peering at the ancient Book of Kells, a Latin manuscript prepared in 800 AD of the New Testament’s four Gospels. Or, for a more structured itinerary, Destination Ireland's Literary Tour of Ireland offers a 10-day exploration of Irish scholarly traditions.
For Culture Vultures
A walking tour above the walled city of Derry-Londonderry, in Northern Ireland, leads you literally atop the medieval wall and around the sites of political struggle and strife — both ancient, dating back 1,500 years, and recent, as evidenced by the striking murals and site of 1972’s Bloody Sunday massacre in the Bogside during The Troubles. In the Docklands area along Dublin’s River Liffey, you’ll find and be moved by Famine, a series of bronze sculptures dedicated to, and depicting, starving Irish forced to emigrate during the 19th century famine. Continue your walk through history by boarding the Jeanie Johnston, a tall ship famine museum, docked nearby. For a more in-depth culture trip, Lynott Tours' six-night Irish Fling takes in a medieval-style dinner in Shannon, traditional music show in Cobh, a stroll along the historic streets of Kilkenny and free time to get under the skin of Dublin's local scene.
For Road Trippers
Experience a portion of the rugged Wild Atlantic Way on a hair raising drive along the Dingle Peninsula’s craggy Conor Pass. This ribbon of road cut into the side of a mountain is a harrowing and heroic experience offering, at one point, a panorama of both Dingle Bay to the south and Tralee Bay to the north — both far below your boots or tires. Wooly sheep dot the County Kerry landscape of Dingle’s Slea Head Drive, which juts out into the Atlantic high above Ireland’s lonely westernmost point and offers both beach- and cliff-side experiences. Nearby, the Ring of Kerry scenic loop — potentially done as a 105-mile day trip from Killarney and back, though better done in stages — dips in the out of villages such Kenmare and the placid Watervillle for strolling and shopping. Or, for mini road trippers, Adventures by Disney's® Ireland tour is a rollicking adventure encompassing Dromoland Castle, Dublin, the Rock of Cashel, the Cliffs of Moher and more.
For Music Lovers
There are plenty of “rare old times” to be had in central Dublin’s Temple Bar area, which, similar to New Orleans’ French Quarter, is a series of streets packed with bars, restaurants and music venues to suit every taste. In the heart of the fray is the Gaiety Theatre, where you can toe tap to the acclaimed Riverdance Irish dance show throughout the summer months. And yes, there is a Temple Bar, established in 1840, with a different band playing traditional Irish music during afternoon and evening sessions every day. Across the country in County Clare, the town of Ennis is renowned for Irish folk music and is near Shannon Airport. Make the Queen’s Hotel and Nightclub your headquarters from which to explore since it includes, in addition to Ennis Night Club, Cruise’s Pub’s “trad music,” and The Sanctuary’s tunes from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s each on the premises and open select nights.
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