On St. Patrick’s Day, the saying goes, there’s a ‘little bit of Irish’ in us all. For some of us, it’s true all year round. Today, Ireland has about 5 million people. But there are over 30 million Americans (10% of the entire population, the second-highest European ancestry in the USA!) and an even higher percentage of Canadians – nearly 15% of the population – who claim Irish roots.
No wonder so many North Americans feel drawn to visit the Emerald Isle on St. Patrick’s Day and throughout the year.
Many people fly into Dublin, have a grand time, and leave.
But to really get a feel for the country – and the people you may have an ancestral connection with – you need to get out of the capital – and into the countryside.
Of course, if you know the county where you may have family roots, you’ll want to start there.
And here are 5 more of the best places and experiences beyond Dublin to connect with the Irish people. So you can get a real sense, like I did when I first set foot in the Irish countryside, that “These people are my people.”
County Clare: Doolin & the Cliffs of Moher
The Cliffs of Moher may draw you west, but it’s the village of Doolin that keeps you there.
After standing at the cliff’s edge, Atlantic wind in your hair, step into a low-ceilinged pub where the music begins almost casually — a fiddle tuning, a bodhrán tapped into rhythm. No stage. No spotlight. Just musicians playing because that’s what you do on a Tuesday night in County Clare.
Locals will ask where you’re from. Someone’s cousin likely lives there. By the end of the evening, you’re clapping along, perhaps attempting a chorus you don’t quite know.
Meet the people: Some tours connect you with a local farmer-guide in the nearby Burren who explains how his family has worked this limestone land for generations. The geology – and the family stories - are fascinating.
County Galway: Galway & Connemara
Galway feels like Ireland’s creative pulse. Buskers line the cobbled streets, poets argue amiably over pints, and Irish (Gaeilge) floats through the air as naturally as a sea breeze.
Head into Connemara National Park and you’ll find a different rhythm — sheep farmers leaning on gates, artisans weaving wool, guides who can trace their lineage back through the valleys.
At Kylemore Abbey, Benedictine nuns still maintain the Victorian walled gardens. The abbey’s romantic silhouette may be what you photograph, but it’s the quiet devotion of those who care for it that lingers.
Meet the people: On a food tour in Galway led by a local who introduces you not just to oysters and farmhouse cheeses, you’ll meet the producers themselves — people whose pride in place is as rich as the flavors.
County Kerry: Killarney & the Ring of Kerry
County Kerry’s scenery is showstopping — lakes and mountains in Killarney National Park, Atlantic views along the Ring of Kerry — but Kerry people have a reputation for storytelling that rivals the views.
Take a jaunting car ride through the park, and your driver won’t simply point out landmarks; he’ll recount legends, local scandals, and family lore with theatrical timing.
Tour Muckross House with a guide who makes 19th-century aristocratic life feel immediate and human rather than distant and grand.
Meet the people: Stop in a rural pub off the main Ring route. The best conversations often happen where there’s no Wi-Fi and no rush.
County Tipperary: Cashel & Ireland’s Ancient East
The Rock of Cashel rises dramatically above County Tipperary, but it comes alive through the voices that interpret it.
Irish guides have a gift: history becomes theatre. St. Patrick, high kings, Viking raids — they’re delivered with humour and a twinkle that keeps things human.
Wander down to Hore Abbey, where you may find sheep grazing among the ruins and perhaps a local photographer happy to share the best angle for your shot.
Meet the people: On a private heritage walk with a local historian, you don’t just see ruins — you meet the descendants of those who built their stories around them.
County Antrim and County Down: Belfast & the Causeway Coast
In Northern Ireland, landscapes are dramatic, but conversations can be even more so.
At Titanic Belfast in Belfast, you’ll meet guides proud of their shipbuilding heritage — honest about history, resilient about the future.
Along the coast, at the Giant's Causeway, local storytellers still recount the legend of Finn McCool as if it might be true. At the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, you’ll likely find yourself laughing nervously alongside strangers as the bridge sways.
Meet the people: Take a black cab tour in Belfast with a driver who shares personal perspectives on the city’s recent history — complex, candid, and deeply human.
Ireland’s landscapes are spectacular. But it’s the Irish people — their renowned easy humour, gift for storytelling, the sense that you’re not quite a stranger — that turns a trip into something lasting.
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