My sister married an Irishman. We visited them nearly 10 years ago and stayed at their beautiful 100 acre farm. By virtue of our family connections we got to know locals and visited in their homes. We found the Irish generally reserved but always willing to help or give their earnest opinion on things.

Apart from driving their narrow but charming roads through unbelievably gorgeous countryside, we got to play an afternoon of Gaelic football. Our kids who were teenagers enjoyed hanging out and learning the slang with my brother in law’s nieces and nephews.

The Airbnb’s are so charming, like in the movie Leap Year. One hostess even went so far as to bring in a piano for our son to play (we just casually asked if they had one and they transferred it from their home) and had a delicious seafood cataplana waiting for us when we got in late.

We did go to Dublin but only for a couple of hours before spending the rest of our trip driving all around the island.

I still rank our stay there as one of the funnest trips we have ever taken together as a family.