825 First Timer's Ireland; At Home in Ireland
Travel with Rick Steves
Rick Steves
4.5 • 2.5K Ratings
🗓️ 14 March 2026
⏱️ 51 minutes
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Summary
Tour guides from the north and south of Ireland let us in on their picks for sights and experiences that will make a first trip to the Emerald Isle a memorable one. Plus, an Irish American singer explains the importance of music to the Irish and how the island's history is found in its folk ballads and songs.
For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Whether it's your first trip or you're planning a repeat visit, |
| 0:03.8 | there are plenty of amazing things you can count on seeing and doing in Ireland. |
| 0:08.5 | Try offering your hand at a demonstration of the ancient sport of falconry. |
| 0:12.2 | Suddenly it will swoop down very, very casually and land back on your arm. It's magical. |
| 0:17.1 | Join the crowd at a stadium to watch a uniquely Irish sports match. |
| 0:20.7 | My top three, I'd say, would be our unique sports, Gaelic football, hurling, games that you're not going to see around the globe too much. It says the fastest game on the ground. It's a wooden stick, and the little ball. There's a leather ball. It's called the Schleather. And be sure to stop in a pub when a music session's going on. You won't regret it when the dancing starts up. |
| 0:40.0 | Just get up and join. |
| 0:42.1 | You will have the best time, and you will have friends made before the night is over. |
| 0:47.1 | You can learn a little Irish history from the songs they're singing, too. |
| 0:50.4 | Almost every single historical event is copper-fastened in a song. |
| 0:54.7 | So come along. It's Travel with Rick Steves. |
| 1:00.7 | It's no surprise that Ireland holds a sentimental place in the hearts of so many of its cousins in the U.S. and Canada. |
| 1:08.3 | There are seven times as many Americans with Irish ancestry as there are |
| 1:12.4 | people living in Ireland today. Coming up, we'll help you turn dreams of seeing where the |
| 1:17.5 | ancestors came from into a chance to make new friends as you explore the Emerald Isle. In just a bit, |
| 1:23.9 | singer Kathy Ryan tells us how the power of Irish music drew her to return to live |
| 1:28.1 | in the land of her parents and grandparents. |
| 1:30.8 | Let's start the hour with Irish Tour Guide friends joining us at the Travel with Rick |
| 1:34.2 | Steve's table to help with your travel plans for Ireland. |
| 1:37.9 | Dera Herlihy comes to us from a musical family in Dingle, which is my favorite Irish-speaking |
| 1:42.9 | area on the rugged west of Ireland. Stephen McPhilemy owns a guesthouse on the Dingle, which is my favorite Irish-speaking area on the rugged west of Ireland. |
| 1:45.7 | Stephen McPhilemy owns a guesthouse on the Dingell Harbor and hails from Derry up in the north. |
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