Hi McBloggers

Well, it's getting close to Ireland Trip/McCabes & Cosgroves 2008 for the McBlogs, McCabes, Cosgroves, and anyone else that is able to join in. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone coming from the U.S. as well as meeting and seeing our family in Ireland and/or England. I know we all have different itineraries but I hope we get to cross paths at least once during the trip. If not, we'll catch you next time around! So, everyone, have a great time!

Thanks to all for sharing your info and to you, Kate, for getting this blog out there.

Getting closer to post time

Hey everyone,
my plans have changed but here they are. I'm leaving from Newark on 7/26 and arriving in Dublin on 7/27 and taking a bus tour around Dublin that day/evening. Staying in Dublin that night and starting a land tour of western Ireland (Ring of Kerry, Cliffs of Moher) on 7/27 similar to Ginny and John's. I end in Shannon airport on 8/1 and meet Kate and Chris. We have reservations at the Longford Arms on Friday and Saturday and I think Sunday. Then heading to Donegal for a day or two and driving back to Dublin by Tuesday or Wednesday. Probably staying in Dublin till I leave on Friday morning, 08/08/08. Kate and Chris are staying till Sunday. I'm looking at car rentals now so if anyone has any good info or tips regarding what to get or not get, email me if you see this in the next few days. Is anyone going to be using their cellphone in Ireland? If you are, would you let us know your phone number? I ordered a SIMS Passport card but haven't gotten it yet. When I do I'll post the number. See you in a couple of weeks.

Update on our plans

Kathleen and I (along with Dan and Gretchen) just booked a couple of rooms in Longford, also at the Longford Arms for Aug 2 - Aug 4.
It would be great to get a day in at the Galway races before we head out to Longford- it's going to be tight but I think we can get a few races in. We'll be stopping in Galway on Sat. Aug 2nd coming from the Aran Islands. The first race on that day is at 2:15PM, general admission is 20 euros per adult (I thought the 1$ admission to the Aqueduct out in Queens was a little steep). I believe the last bus out of Galway to Longford departs at 4:25PM (based on the June timetable). That means we have 3 or 4 races to win our admission fees back.
Sounds like a decent plan to me.

Hi all
Well John and I are firming up our Ireland plans.. We're leaving on July 27 returning on August 6th. So far we're planning on doing a land tour (someone else driving us around, carrying our bags, getting us to where we want to go without getting lost in the least amount of time is our goal!!) from Dublin then on August 2 on to Longford staying at the Longford Arms, and from there we're going to try to get to Donnegal August 4-5 then back to Dublin August 5th evening for morning of August 6th flight back home.
Gretchen told us about the horse racing in Galway which I would very much like to go to too so that could be a possibility if we could coordinate with whoever can go and we can squeeze it in
We would be interested in hiring a car to take us from Dublin to Longford, Longford to Donnegal and Donnegal back to Dublin. Does anyone have any info about this kind of transportation?
Looking forward to seeing you all in Ireland!!
Ginny

so where is the mass on august 3?

great to hear from everyone. i'm confused, however, about where the mass is on august 3 - derryadd or longford?

xoxo
katy

Beautiful job, Katy-- Thanks!

Dear Family,
This is Aunt Pat and Uncle Tony logging on for the first time in my life!
I am delighted that so many of us will be in Ireland and getting together in Derryadd and maybe Donegal as well this summer. Tony and I, and Carol, Richard, Gayle and her son Chris will be starting our trip in London with the Cosgroves who live in England now and meeting my son Bob and his family there on July 27th. We will spend a few days in England and then go on to Dublin and Derryadd for the Mass. We will meet Jack Murtagh, his wife Sheila, daughter Kerry and husband Anthony and son John and girlfriend Sarah there. The week of August 4th we hope to meet some McCabes in Port Laois and plan to go to Donegal fom there, but none of that is settled yet. Thanks to all of you for letting us know your plans. Tony wants to go to see the horses race on the beach in Galway with Tom and Danny, but I don't know how! Pat and Tony

Hi to all the family. Thanks for getting this out there, Kate. My plans are coming together but no ticket yet. I'm thinking of starting in England around July 27 or 28 and seeing a few relatives there, going for a few days to Scotland, and then to Ireland by Saturday, Aug. 2nd to be there for the mass on Sunday. I think after a couple of days in and around Longford, we're going up to Donegal as a group. I'm planning on taking two weeks and when I look for tickets, that will help me decide from when to when.

Hey all - Katy, this is great, thanks for setting it up. Tom and I bought our tickets and we'll be in Ireland from July 29-August 11. We're planning on hanging out on the West Coast (Co. Clare, Aran Islands) for a few days with Dan and Gretchen before heading to Longford on August 2. We haven't made plans for the second week and are definitely open to suggestions. We're hoping to head up to Donegal if that's in the works and would love to coordinate with anyone that'll be around.
Talk soon,
Kathleen

Welcome to McBlog!

hello family,
can't wait to see you all in ireland this summer! a few folks have expressed some desire to see what everyone's travel plans are, so here is a central repository for that info. i'll get things rolling - i'm planning on arriving probably in edinburgh sometime around july 24-26, rambling around scotland for a week or so, then landing at the cosgrove ranch in longford around august 1-2. of course, nothing is set in stone.

what about all-a-yous?

katy