Food and drink has made Ireland famous and it is possible to base your holiday around such entertainment. You can take a tour of the many renowned breweries and distilleries like the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin or the Old Middleton Distillery in Cork and the Old Jameson Distillery in Dublin to name but a few. The tours show traditional methods of production against today’s modern technology and there are plenty of opportunities for tasting as well as purchasing Ireland’s wide range of world famous alcohol. Ireland has acquired such a good reputation for its food, that there are now many cookery courses, food festivals and food tours aimed at tourists; the most renowned are the oyster festivals in Clarenbridge or Hillsborough. County Cork is the capital of Ireland’s gastronomic cuisine and has many good restaurants and cookery schools like the Ballymaloe School in Kinsale.

Ireland also offers many opportunities for outdoor pursuits such as hang-gliding, paragliding, rock climbing, scuba diving, surfing and water skiing. Caving is also popular and Ireland has some exciting caves to explore like the Burren in County Clare, the Mitchelstown Caves in County Cork and Crag Cave at Castleisland in County Kerry. There are also many lush golf courses, but the sport for which Ireland is most renowned is horse racing, with County Kildare being renowned as the Thoroughbred County. The racing season runs from Easter through to December and is packed with exciting race meetings like the Irish National Hunt Festival at Punchestown, the Budweiser Irish Derby Festival at the Curragh and the Easter Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse Racecourse.

Ireland has many traditional and colourful festivals across the year, but the most famous is the St Patrick’s Festival held in every town in the country around St Patrick’s Day, March 17th. People dress in fancy green costumes and festivities include massive street parades, Irish music and street theatre. The celebration is particularly vibrant in Downpatrick, where the Saint is buried and in the capital where there is a spectacular firework display. Other noteworthy festivals are the harp festivals in Roscommon, the Waterford International Festival of Light Opera or the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival.

Ireland also has many parks and amusements to suit families. Dublin Zoo is set in a huge park and contains a vast array of different species including a tiger, which sits behind a giant sheet of glass making the impression as if it could step out to greet you. There are also some interesting talks by the zoo keepers and a great safari called Nakuru. Ireland also has lots of amusement parks offering a wide variety of rides and fun attractions. The Tranmore-Waterford Park covers 20 hectares of land and has a miniature train ride, a boating lake and many other thrilling attractions.