We spent ~10 days in Ireland, split between Dublin and the Aran Islands, with our 15 month old. I have some thoughts.
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The landscapes were beautiful, from central Ireland and rolling fields criss-crossed with stone (how did they get all these stone fences setup - by hand??) to the coast, which is gorgeous. Do make a stop at the Aran Islands if you're near Galway; stay for a couple nights, don't rush it. Lot of people go for day-trips, that's dumb. You'll miss the glory of waking up and biking around this incredibly navigable island with cozy pubs, seal viewing points, and ancient sites like Dún Aonghasa.
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Overall Kidfriendliness
- Flying with a toddler isn't great, but i've had more difficult -5 F weekends in Toronto entertaining our child in a house compared to the flight. It's a battle of 20 minute increments - this toy, then that toy then this TV screen haptic touches then snacks attack then toy #3 then snack #2 and run the aisles and so on and so on. Chat with some of the other parents doing the same routine, the children get to squwack at each other, the parents get a brief repreive - not physical, but mental in that you can do a quick elevator convo and god damn does it feel good to have an elevator convo at 50,000 feet and you're tired from a 10 day trip.
- Dublin has some fantastic playgrounds, notably St Stephen's Green and Merrion Square Park.
- Some museuems are better than others for kids - the fine art museum should probably get skipped. This can make it tough when the weather turns, but we had incredible luck while we were there.
- As advertised, we found the Irish incredibly welcoming to our little one. Busy pubs always made room for 2.5 people, where the half person was busy exploring the grounds and poking chairs prety constantly.
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We borrowed a friend's slumber pod - it was yet another item to bring on the trip (in which we overpacked) but it was incredibly useful when we shared a room with our child, which we did for 2/3 places we stayed. Being able to open windows, turn on lights, watch something with headphones is so clutch and much less dreary than being in the dark all damn night.
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Food: You should get yourself a spice bag while you're in Dublin, I found the Xian Spice Bag incredible, though somehow the theme of fried foods continued. The other best food we had was an incredibly well made chicken curry in Central Ireland in Athlone called River View Bistro, run by very nice Indian family. Immigrant food is much older there than in the US/Americans.
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Driving is terrifying for American/Canadian (most of the damn world?? can't we just agree there is one right way, the way that 90% of cars on earth drive?) drivers, especially with childrens. I'd recommend splurging for the insurance, if for no other reason than making yourself feel better if you ding something. Depth perception is super weird.
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We met a few people from Belfast, exploring Northern Ireland and the history up would be next on our list if we were to return to the Emerald Isle.