Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
sandpipers. Together, they all make a delightfully deafening racket.
A visitor center is open daily 10:15am to 4:30pm.
FISHING
The greater Dublin area offers a wide range of opportu-
nities for freshwater angling on local rivers, reservoirs, and fisheries. A
day's catch might include perch, rudd, pike, salmon, sea trout, brown
trout, or freshwater eel. The
Irish Tourist Board
operates a good
website dedicated to fishing (
www.angling.travel.ie
); just run the
search engine for County Dublin and out will pop possibilities rang-
ing from angling for brown trout with the River Dodder Anglers'
Club (
&
01/298-2112
) in southwest County Dublin to sea fishing
on Charles Weston's 11m (35-ft.) ketch (
&
01/843-6239
) off the
shores of Malahide, just north of the city. In addition, the
Dublin
Angling Initiative,
Balnagowan, Mobhi Boreen, Glasnevin, Dublin
9 (
&
01/837-9209
), offers a guide—the
Dublin Freshwater Angling
Guide,
available for
€
2 ($2.40)—to tell you everything you'll need to
know about local fishing.
GOLF
Dublin is one of the world's great golfing capitals. A quar-
ter of Ireland's courses—including 5 of the top 10—lie within an
hour's drive of the city. Visitors are welcome, but be sure to phone
ahead and make a reservation. The following four courses—two
parkland and two links—are among the best 18-hole courses in the
Dublin area.
Elm Park Golf Club
, Nutley Lane, Donnybrook, Dublin 4
(
&
01/269-3438
), is in the residential, privileged south side of
Dublin. The beautifully manicured parkland par-69 course is espe-
cially popular with visitors because it is within 5.6km (3
1
⁄
2
miles) of
the city center and close to the Jurys, Berkeley Court, and Four Sea-
sons hotels. Greens fees are
€
€
80 ($96) on weekdays,
100 ($120)
on weekends.
Portmarnock Golf Club
, Portmarnock, County Dublin
(
&
01/846-2968;
www.portmarnockgolfclub.ie), is one of the
finest links courses in Europe, not to mention Ireland. The course is
located 16km (10 miles) from the city center on Dublin's north side,
on a spit of land between the Irish Sea and a tidal inlet. Opened in
1894, the par-72 championship course has been the scene of lead-
ing tournaments, including the Dunlop Masters (1959, 1965),
Canada Cup (1960), Alcan (1970), St. Andrews Trophy (1968), and
many an Irish Open. Greens fees are
€
165 ($199) on weekdays,
€
190 ($229) on weekends.
Royal Dublin Golf Club
, Bull Island, Dollymount, Dublin
3 (
&
01/833-6346;
www.theroyaldublingolfclub.com), is often
