P.S I love you Ireland; my whirlwind trip to Dublin and Galway with Radisson

It’s a tale of two cities.. Dublin and Galway in 48 Hours.

By the time I hit the massage table at the spa at Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Dublin , I’d been in Ireland just under two hours, but was wishing I’d got there sooner.

It had been a 4:30am alarm to get to Manchester Airport for the flight, but my bleary-eyed-ness and the hustle and bustle of the airport melted away as my therapist Showmiya got to work on my back… I swear she had magic hands!

This was the perfect start to my mission. 48 hours, two cities, two Radisson hotels and a very important pint to pull in between. I think you can tell where I’m going with this, I am in Ireland after all!

Day One: Dublin Delights and Dancing Feet

As soon as I met my up with my fellow holidaymakers at the arrivals hall at Dublin Airport, I knew this was going to be a fun trip. Hugs all round and excited chatter as we boarded the minibus for the drive to Dublin city centre.

It was when the driver started talking, I KNEW I was in Ireland, that unmistakeable accent, telling us the history of Dublin, along with explaining how it had become a mecca for tech companies. He pointed out the European headquarters of Google, TikTok, Facebook, Microsoft, and many more, before our final stop at the hotel. I have been to Dublin before, back then I stayed in a hostel near the famous Temple Bar. Nothing wrong with hostels and I had an absolute ball, but stepping into the Radisson Blu was very different. You know when a place feels expensive, but in a good way? That. Big comfy chairs, lovely stone floor, plants, but not too many, and smiley staff. Fancy, but not in an ‘ooh, I’d better not touch anything’ kind of way.

My room wasn’t quite ready to check in, but as we were going to the spa, I’d grabbed my swimming cossie out of my case, ready. After my magic massage, I floated to the relaxation lounge with its subdued lighting, herbal tea on tap, a cocktail glass full of fruit, and a comfy lounger. But it didn’t end there. My new travel buddy Cat and I went down to the thermal suite. A room full of steam and heat with a bright blue hydrotherapy pool, so we were straight in the water. Bliss, but sadly was short lived, we knew we had to grab lunch, so it was quick blast in the steam room and sauna, before getting dressed (over my swimming cossie) and hot footing it to the new restaurant.

Velvaere Spa Thermal Suite | Radisson

Highlight here was, obviously, the food, but also an ingenuous app the hotel has created which you download and point at spots in the hotel courtyard, and it recreates what it used to be like. With a scan of a QR code, I was walking behind a Viking, seeing old church walls, and an old Irish police station, before, fed and watered, I got to check into my room.

What a treat.. huge comfy bed, stylish and contemporary, with the lovely touch of the Celia Aherne book ‘P.S. I Love You’ as a welcome gift (can you believe it’s 17 years since the film came out?), but no time to read it, just a couple of hours to relax, before we were being taken out, to breathe Dublin in.

The Radisson Blu is a hop, skip and a jump from Temple Bar, but this was not our venue for the night. Instead, a short taxi ride away was The Lansdowne Hotel, where we were served Beef Stew, cooked in Guinness. Traditional, hearty and delicious, and down my neck in no time. We were all then ushered downstairs to what seemed like a secret underground theatre, for ‘The Irish House Party’.

Reception at Radisson Blu, Dublin | Radisson

This was brilliant, four unbelievably talented musicians on a small round wooden stage, one of them a dancer who’d toured with Michael Flatley, with the fastest feet I’ve ever seen, but despite all this talent, they didn’t take themselves seriously at all. Cracking jokes, taking the mickey out of us all, getting us women to sing like men, the men to sing like women, and then came a really poignant section. A history lesson about why Irish women used to dance with brooms. Years ago, women there weren’t allowed to go out dancing, so they’d dance at home with a broom, swirling around it like it was a dance partner. This stuck with me, both funny and really moving. The perfect night in Dublin, a blend of culture and craic, and a little bit like a mad Irish wedding, I went to bed with sore cheeks from laughing.

Day 2 -The Road to Galway, with a pit stop for the perfect pint

The next morning it was destination Galway, a drive of between 2 and 2.5 hours from Dublin, but with a very important stop to make on the way.

Sean’s Bar in Athlone, which is officially the oldest pub in Ireland, maybe the world. It was everything you’d expect an Irish pub to be, sawdust on the floor, rich earthy smell, and people at the bar looking on in shock when we walked in with our cameras and waited our turn to be shown how to pull the perfect pint of Guinness.

I’ll be honest, I’d never been a fan of Guinness until my first trip to Dublin, and now I enjoy it, (with a splash of Vimto, something to horrify the Guinness purists), but home poured, from a can, so I was mega excited to be given a lesson in pouring from the experts. The barman handed me a pint glass, then gave me the rundown: 45 degree angle until the Guinness reaches just past the letters, let it settle, then top it off. Proud to say, I nailed it, got the nod of approval from the barman, who presented me a certificate with my name on it, confirming I had ‘crafted the perfect pint of Guinness.’ I’ve never felt as proud.

Just over an hour after leaving Athlone we arrived at Radisson RED Galway, a hotel with a completely different vibe to Blu. Blu was classy and calming, but as soon as you step into RED, it hit you with fun. A bright red grand piano in reception, edgy art, and a funky bar. Even checking into my room, I noticed a difference with the toiletries. The packaging for the shower cap bore the words “Do not wear in front of the mirror”, so yep, of course, as anyone would, I did.

Claire Hannah at Sean's Bar | Claire Hannah

Galway is a party city, and RED is placed about a ten-minute drive from the hustle and bustle, but given a couple of hours to explore, I hopped into an Uber to check out what the city had to offer. This is a city buzzing with energy and fun, pubs spilling out onto the pavement, colourful streets, and buskers everywhere (it’s where Ed Sheeran started out, but more on that later). It’s also home to beautiful shoreline if you head up the prom to Salthill. I love the sea, so this is where I went, and really felt like I’d stepped into a seaside postcard. Gorgeous crystal blue water, with a golden sandy beach, with some brave souls swimming. Unfortunately, I’d forgotten my swimming cossie, so had to give that a miss, but glad I didn’t miss Salthill.

For our last night we were invited to the rooftop restaurant at the hotel, Lena’s. The hotel is eight storeys high, so we were treated to stunning views over Galway Bay, and an even more stunning sunset from the outdoor terrace. A much more chilled night than Dublin, but equally as enjoyable. I was with quite a few content creators, so when the food and cocktails arrived, no-one was allowed to eat or drink anything until they’d taken a picture or video. “STOP EATING THE FOOD!” became our new catchphrase.

After breakfast in the morning, we were treated to a whistlestop walking tour of Galway (just about fit into our 48-hour deadline), and while I know ‘walking tour’ might not scream excitement, it was worth it. Our guide was part story teller, part historian and part comedian, filling us in on why water is no longer part of a water feature in Eyre Square (pranksters used to pour washing up liquid into it, filling the square with bubbles), the history of Vikings in Galway, showing us the original city walls, and telling us how when Ed Sheeran was a teenager, he used to busk on the streets of The Latin Quarter, and we all know what happened with him! And with that, my time on the Emerald Isle was over… time to board the minibus for the drive to the airport and the flight home.

The verdict

Two cities, a perfect pint, culture, lots of laughing, and wonderful Irish music and dancing. If 48 hours is all you have in Ireland, this is how to do it. I might be back in England now but my certificate is framed on my wall. I came, I poured, I nailed it!

P.S Ireland, I love you.

We stayed at:

Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Dublin. Rooms from £151 per night. (NB the Velvaere Spa costs extra and is strictly over 18s, enquire at the hotel). Hotels in Dublin City Centre | Radisson Blu Royal Hotel Dublin

Radisson RED Galway. Rooms from £103 per night. Welcome to Radisson RED Galway | Radisson Hotels

More details here on the Irish House Party https://theirishhouseparty.com/

Sean’s Bar, Athlone: https://www.seansbar.ie/

Galway walking tour: https://www.getyourguide.com/en-gb/galway-l804/galway-city-guided-15-hour-walking-tour-t397101/