After spending a couple of hours at Blarney Castle and kissing the Blarney Stone, we hopped back in the car and headed towards that night’s accommodation in Wicklow.
It was due to be a 3.5 hour drive as we wanted to go via Waterford. There wasn’t anything in particular we wanted to see on that route, but we figured that’d be our best chance of seeing something cool along the way, rather than just taking the motorway the entire way.
Great in theory, not-so-great in reality.
Roads in Ireland are narrower than the US, we were in a rental car, the steering wheel was on the opposite side of the car, it was a stick-shift and we were driving on the opposite side of the road to normal.
A bus was coming in the opposite direction and Shae drove a liiiiiittle bit too close to the curb. We think at that precise moment there was also a roadwork sign sticking out as all of a sudden there was a bump, a slice and a hiss.
While Mark changed the flat tire, Shae and Megan got chatting to a couple of people at The Old Thatch Bar & Restaurant, as it was their parking lot where we’d pulled in. Two helpful guys called a couple of local tire shops and one of them had the tire we needed.
We drove carefully for 10 minutes until we reached Trackside Tyres. Dean quickly replaced our spare tire, but then noticed that one of our front tires also seemed to be going flat.
Upon further investigation, he realized that it didn’t have a puncture, but that the rim was just a little bent out of shape from hitting the curb. Being the legend that he is, Dean quickly fixed that too at no extra charge.
With two tires as good as new, we were ready to hit the road. It was well past lunch time though, so we asked Dean for suggestions on somewhere close by to eat. His suggestion was Clancy’s Bar in Youghal (pronounced y’all), so off to Clancy’s we went.
There wasn’t a table in the restaurant section immediately available, so we had a drink at the bar while we waited. I got a beer brewed by Franciscan Well which was very good.
Eventually a table became available, so through we went. It was still the tail-end of lunchtime, so we were given the lunch menu to order from.
Although the Irish cheese of the month was on the dessert menu, Shae was able to order it as her starter. I have to say, this might be the most beautifully presented course that I’ve ever seen. I hate cheese but even I was tempted to eat it given how gorgeous it looked.
In case you’re concerned, Shae wasn’t snorting coke at the table. That white powder is actually dehydrated olive oil (I know – who knew?!)
For her main course, Shae ordered the West Cork mussels which came in a zesty sauce. I got to try a couple and the sauce had a nice kick to it.
I ordered two starters together for my main course – the soup of the day (roasted red pepper) and the smoked salmon platter. The generous serving of local Youghal salmon came with some kind of soft toast and horseradish mayo. The presentation of this was stunning too.
Mark ordered the fish and chips, while Megan got the Reuben sandwich.
All of our meals were delicious, so we were glad we took Dean’s recommendation to eat at Clancy’s Bar in Youghal.
The only downside was that it took quite a while for our courses to arrive, so we didn’t leave Clancy’s until 2.5 hours after we arrived. Still, it did mean I got to watch Liverpool beat Palace.
Seeing as we’d already been delayed by the flat tires and an extended lunch, we drove straight through to Wicklow, only stopping to fill up with gas.
Wicklow was home to the final part of Shae’s birthday surprise. She loves tiny homes, so I’d booked all four of us to stay overnight in a tiny horse caravan. You can check out the full review of our night at Clissmann Horse Caravans here.
Ireland Road Trip
Here’s everything else that we got up to in Ireland:
- Introduction: Non-Surprise Ireland Road Trip
- 24 Hours In Athlone, Ireland: Where To Stay, Eat, Drink, Shop & Visit
- Luck Of The Irish At Kilmacduagh Monastery
- Returning To The Cliffs Of Moher
- Quin Abbey In 30 Photos
- Feasting Like Royalty At The Bunratty Castle Medieval Banquet
- Day 3: Desmond, Dingle, Dolphin, Driving And Dining
- Puckering Up At Blarney Castle
- Day 4: Kissing Stones, Flat Tires, Stunning Food & Tiny Homes
- 4 Friends + 1 Tiny Home = 1 Fun Night In Ireland
- Breakfast Serendipity At The Conservatory, Laragh
- Glendalough Monastic Site In 25 Photos
- Shot Through The Heart At The Irish Whiskey Museum
- Dublin’s Best Breakfast At Stage Door Cafe
- What To Do (And What Not To Do) In Dublin, Ireland
- Travelling With The Peppers: Saga Holiday Adventures
- Don’t Make These 10 Mistakes When Visiting Ireland
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