David Condon Finds

Ireland is not always easy to explain from the outside. Some parts are obvious: the scenery, the music, the history, the pubs, the weather, the humour and the endless ability to turn a simple conversation into a story. Other parts are harder to pin down. Why do Irish people ask “what’s the craic?” as if that is a completely normal thing to say? Why did so many of us spend years learning Irish in school and still feel awkward trying to speak it? Why does the 1990s still feel like such a special time in modern Irish memory? And what does it actually mean to be Irish today, when the country has changed so much but still holds on to so many older habits, jokes, contradictions and traditions? This page gathers together some of my Irish posts in one place. Some are light-hearted. Some are nostalgic. Some are more reflective. All of them come from my own experience of living in Ireland and looking at the small things that shape Irish life. A generated image but it gets my points across. Irela...

  A Local’s Thoughts on Visiting the Kingdom If you’re planning a trip to Ireland, there’s a very good chance County Kerry will appear somewhere in your research. Travel guides and postcards love the place, and for good reason. But Kerry isn’t just another scenic stop on the Wild Atlantic Way. It’s a county with a strong personality, dramatic landscapes, and weather that can change its mind several times before lunchtime. So the real question isn’t “Is Kerry beautiful?” It absolutely is. The better question might be: Is Kerry the right destination for your kind of trip? As someone living in the county, here’s my honest take. What Makes Kerry So Special? Kerry has a combination of landscapes that are difficult to find anywhere else in Ireland. Within a short drive you can go from Atlantic coastline to mountain passes, quiet villages to lively towns, and peaceful countryside to packed tourist hotspots. Some of the highlights people travel here for include: ● The Ring of K...

Tralee is one of those towns that can be surprisingly easy to underestimate. For some people, it is a shopping town. For others, it is a base for exploring Kerry. Some people pass through on the way to Dingle, Killarney, North Kerry or West Kerry, while others come for the Rose of Tralee, a weekend away, a family visit, a night out, or a few days of slower exploring. But Tralee is also a real working town. People live here, work here, eat here, shop here, socialise here and make a life here. That is why I think local guides can be useful. Not the polished tourist-board version of a place, but the practical version. Where to eat. What to do when it rains. Where to go for a pint. Where to find a thoughtful gift. Where to grab lunch. What to do when you are tired, hungry, or trying to fill a few hours. Illustration inspired by Tralee, created for this local guide to things to do, places to eat, pubs and gift ideas. AI-generated. Over time, I have written several Tralee-focused posts on ...

Buying a gift always sounds simple… until you actually have to do it. You end up wandering around a strange town, half-looking into shop windows, hoping something jumps out at you. Most of the time, it doesn’t. And before you know it, you’re either rushing a decision or settling for something safe that doesn’t really mean much. Buying gifts or souvenirs in any town is normally the last thing you think about, but that’s exactly why it helps to have a rough idea beforehand. It takes the pressure off and lets you actually enjoy your time in Tralee instead of scrambling at the last minute.

Every year on March 17th, Ireland celebrates St Patrick’s Day. It has become something quite remarkable. Cities across the world turn green, Irish flags appear in places you wouldn’t expect, and people with only the faintest connection to Ireland suddenly feel a little bit Irish for the day. In many ways it’s something special. Very few countries have a national day that the entire world seems happy to celebrate with them.

Introduction – A Changing Country Ireland has changed an awful lot in a very short space of time. Anyone who grew up here in the 1980s or 1990s can see it clearly. The country feels different, the towns feel different, and in many ways the sense of national identity that once felt obvious has become harder to define. That doesn’t necessarily mean change is always bad. Countries evolve, societies move forward and new people arrive with new ideas and experiences. Ireland itself has a long history of people leaving and settling in other parts of the world, building lives far from the island where they were born. Many, never to return again.  In fact, that global Irish identity is something I reflected on recently in my post  Did St Patrick Change Ireland Forever? , where I looked at how Ireland’s past helped shape the sense of Irishness that still echoes around the world each St Patrick’s Day.

Ireland — and County Kerry in particular — is one of the most beautiful places in the world when the sun shines. But thanks to our spot on the edge of Europe, right out in the wild Atlantic, we also get more than our fair share of rain and famously unpredictable weather. If you happen to be visiting in August, you might enjoy my post Puck Fair in Killorglin – Ireland’s Oldest Festival , which gives a look at what makes this famous Kerry event so special (even when it rains!). We’d love nothing more than to guarantee you perfect blue skies to match the stunning scenery — but that’s not something even the Irish can promise. As the Irish comedian Pat Shortt once joked: “ It would be a lovely little country if you could only roof it. ” The good news is that rainy days don’t have to ruin your plans. Kerry is packed with great indoor activities, hidden gems, and local experiences that make the most of a drizzly day. Whether you're looking for things to do in Tralee when it rains, ...

My connection to Killorglin runs deep. Both sides of my family come from this vibrant Kerry town, and I spent a lot of my early years there. I remember the fairs, the markets, and the hum of local life that filled every corner, a real sense of community and tradition that stays with you. Every August, Killorglin’s streets fill once again with music, markets, cattle, horses and sheep. A fair like no other in the world. For centuries, locals have gathered to crown a wild mountain goat as King Puck. Strange? Yes. Wonderful? Absolutely. And it’s that mix of the unusual and the traditional that makes Puck Fair so memorable. A Kerry Tradition Older Than Most Puck Fair has run, in some form, for over 400 years. It began as a cattle fair and grew into something much bigger, part trading event, part carnival, part reunion for families scattered across Ireland and beyond. You’ll find: • Livestock trading • Street music • Market stalls • The travelling amusements of William Bird & S...