ATriptoIreland.com offers a personal tour through the best of Ireland: the best places to visit in Ireland, the best of Irish culture, and the touchstones of Irish history.  I hope to share the historical importance of Irish places, traditions and art, convey their modern roles, meanings and place in the national life, and inspire readers to visit Ireland, enjoy Irish art, and understand something of our history.

The author of atriptoIreland.com is Rich Rennicks, a native Irishman who now splits his time between the Blue Ridge Mountains (ah, real mountains: the one thing Ireland lacks) in North Carolina, and the lush farmland of Co. Meath, Ireland. My drink is Jamesons, my sport is rugby, and my focus is teaching my children about the country I come from. I choose tea over coffee, Murphys over Guinness, rural living over city life, traditional music over chart-toppers, and Mac over PC. To this day I’m more comfortable driving on the left, relying on my own two feet to get me around, and reading Irish and British newspapers over local ones. Given my druthers, I’d pick Lyons over Barrys, but living in the US I’ll take whichever I can find.

I hope you enjoy these highly personal favorite places, stories, and bits of Irish trivia, and will be inspired to visit Ireland, if you haven’t already.