Follow Our Ireland Road Trip - Day 9

Join us as we explore Dunmanway, hike Galley Head Lighthouse, hang out in colorful coastal Kinsale!

Feb 1, 2026

12 Days in August 2024

Day 9

Hey, y’all! We are reliving the memories from our trip just over a year ago. If you’re finding this article, we highly recommend you read Follow Our Ireland Road Trip blog through Day 8 first to get caught up. 

Breakfast was served! It was absolutely amazing-so much so that we went back on Day 10 to enjoy it again before leaving the area :)

Day 9 overview:

•  Explore Dunmanway
•  Hike with a surprise at Galley Head Lighthouse
•  Explore colorful coastal town of Kinsale
•  Excellent lunch at The White House

OK, let’s dive in!

Dunmanway

This town was picturesque and a bit quiet on the two mornings we were there. This town was founded in 1750 and has a population of 1,655 according to the Dunmanway website. There are over 50 local businesses and the town hosts 12 annual events. As you can see, it is beautiful, colorful, clean and a wonderful town to visit.

Reference: Dunmanway.ie- Official Community Portal | Chamber of Commerce, Historical Society, RFC,
Family Resource Centre, Tar Isteach, Community Council
  
 

Galley Head Lighthouse

We were excited to get in a view of a local lighthouse while in Ireland and planned to do that here. Unfortunately, we learned a bit too late that it is not open to the public. It is actually gated off and is an Air B&B.

The good news is we did get to ooh and aah over amazing views of the cliffs in this area: 

We said hi to very happy cows:

And, we saw some beautiful flowers:

PS-We did go back and review some sources and saw later that not all sites agreed as to the current “business” of the lighthouse. Parking was very minimal, but it was a beautiful area and we enjoyed it so much! (Even if MO had a few scared moments of Mikey taking in views.)

PPS-Joy made a bonus video to enjoy of the area :) CHECK IT OUT ON YOUTUBE! MO decided to join in on the fun and made a bonus video on Instagram!

Kinsale

Kinsale is a vibrant coastal town that we enjoyed exploring. Not long after arriving, we shared a honeycomb ice cream (so we could get Euro coins from the bills acquired at the local bank to pay the parking meter). The town has lots of colorful shops and restaurants to explore.

Kinsale was granted its Royale Charter in 1333 and has a rich history associated with it. It was originally a medieval fishing port and is twinned with Newport, Rhode Island, Antibes, South of France and Mumbles, Wales.

Reference: About Kinsale | Kinsale's History & Information | Kinsale.ie

The White House

Our friend Patrick at the Wild Garlic in Dunmanway recommended that we eat lunch here. We are sharing his good advice and passing the word along!

Alex and Mikey had the seafood spaghetti; Joy and MO had the seafood chowder.

We all shared an apple cinnamon crème brulee and a diplomatic pudding (an amaretto small cake with honeycomb ice cream).

Remember that cider that Joy talked MO into trying back in Adare at Pat Collins Bar? Well, they had it here and MO had round 2 :)



We can see why Kinsale is hailed as one of Ireland’s most beautiful towns. We are happy to say it certainly lives up to the hype!

PS-MO took many pictures of flowers in Kinsale, so check out the bonus video on Instagram for all fellow flower lovers :)