If you have been following my brand(ish) new TikTok (@JessicaDallAuthor) you’ll have seen some of my “places to stop in Ireland” videos in honor of Forever Bound‘s recent sale. If you missed them (or the article in Entangled Publishing’s Newsletter!) here are my top places to stop if you ever get the chance to make your own trip!

1. Trinity College Library

An absolute must for the book nerds amongst us. Trinity College in Dublin is a beautiful campus to walk around in general with several art pieces out on the lawns, but the Old Library is the bibliophile’s dream. If I could have, I would have moved in.

They also have the Book of Kells, a 9th century illuminated manuscript that is kept in a specific room that is both light and temperature controlled to protect it from deteriorating. If you want to go soak in some history (or just pretend that you are getting to live out your Beauty and the Beast library fantasy dreams) stop by Trinity College Library.

2. Cliffs of Moher

I went back and forth on whether to give this spot to the Cliffs of Moher or the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland, but for the sheer “wow” factor, I have to give it to the cliffs (though, to be fair, they might have had an artificial assist by it being a beautiful sunny day when we were at the cliffs but a rainy miserable one (we were in sweatshirts and coats in June) while we were at the causeway.

If you really want to soak in that natural beauty of Ireland’s west coast, the Cliffs of Moher are a great stop (even if I was warned that they can feel a little tourist trap-y with all the souvenir places down the way). Depending on the time of year, you can also see puffins nesting there, which I found especially cool (I’d personally suggest not bothering to pay to go up O’Brien’s Tower, though (a Victorian tower built as a viewing platform). You can get a beautiful view just from walking the cliffs themselves).

3. White’s Tavern

If you make it up into Northern Ireland on your trip, I recommend a stop in

Belfast in general. We had an amazing time, even if the city feels more subdued than Dublin (at least where we stayed near the Titanic Museum, a lot of stores and cafes closed in the evening, making dinner a challenge at one point. We went to a number of great stops in Belfast (I’ll sneak in City Hall as a bonus suggested stop!) but we had the most fun at White’s Tavern. Opened in 1630, it’s one of the oldest pubs in the city, and as a “two hundred years is old” American, it was a really happy find (and not just because we were struggling to find somewhere to stop after sightseeing all day!) And speaking of old…

4. Newgrange

Newgrange Passage Tomb and Visitor Centre is another site I was warned was a bit “touristy”, but I actually loved this stop.

The Visitor Centre had several wonderful exhibits on paleolithic Ireland. And being in a something that was constructed nearly 1,000 years before the Great Pyramid of Giza was mind blowing. A lot of the information I learned at Newgrange (including myths about fairy hills) made it into Forever Bound. Fair warning, though, it is a very tight squeeze to get from the reconstructed entrance to the main sanctuary inside the tomb. If you are at all claustrophobic, prepare yourself before attempting it!

5. Ashford Castle’s School of Falconry

This was our “splurge” stop, but it was undoubtedly my favorite memory in a trip that was full of favorites! While staying at Ashford Castle (or, well, the Lodge there. It was cheaper!) we signed up for an hour lesson with their School of Falconry. Our instructor got us kitted up with what we needed to get started and then led us around the grounds with our new bird friends (some beautiful (and friendly) Harris Hawks). If you can make the trek out to Ashford Castle, I highly suggest dropping by their School of Falconry as well!

Forever Bound: For sale in paperback and ebook at all major retailers