Ardal O'Hanlon's Ireland - Bonus Destination Special
The Travel Diaries
Holly Rubenstein
4.6 • 758 Ratings
🗓️ 10 June 2025
⏱️ 46 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On today’s bonus Destination Special we’re heading to Ireland, one of my favourite places in the world. Ireland has this special kind of magic. It asks you to slow down, to dig beneath the surface, to chat to the people behind the bar and to take your time - to walk, to wander, to just sit and soak it all up.
Joining me is someone who knows the country inside and out - the brilliant comedian and actor, Ardal O’Hanlon. You’ll know Ardal, of course, from TV's Father Ted, where he stole the show as the endlessly lovable Father Dougal - and from the extremely popular BBC series Death in Paradise, where he swapped windswept clifftops for tropical crime-solving in the Caribbean. He’s also an incredible writer, stand-up, and most recently, travel presenter, in The Emerald Isles, his BBC series which explored Ireland’s lesser-known islands, uncovering their culture, music, and wild beauty.
In this episode, Ardal shares the places in Ireland that have stayed with him, from childhood summers in Galway and Donegal to his all time favourite destination, a lunar landscape in County Clare, and my favourite part of the episode, his hidden gems, which really bring to life some of the wild islands off the mainland that he visited while making his TV series - a lot to add to your bucket list. We talk about the joy of slowness, the quirks of island life, and his new tour - Not Himself - which he’ll be taking across the UK and Ireland soon.
So whether you’re planning a trip to Ireland, dreaming about one, or you’re just here for the stories - settle in and enjoy!
Destination Recap:
- Crockwell, Galway, Co. Galway
- Connemara National Park, Co. Galway
- Magheragallan Beach, Gweedore, Co. Donegal
- Errigal Mountain, Co. Donegal
- The Burren, Co. Clare
- Skellig Michael, Co. Kerry
- Great Blasket, Co. Kerry
- Tory Island, Co. Donegal
- Rathlin, Co. Antrim
- Sligo, Co. Sligo
- Saltee Islands, Co. Wexford
Visit Ireland.com for more inspiration planning your trip.
Ardal is heading back on tour this autumn with his brand new stand-up show, Not Himself. You can find all the tour dates and ticket info at ardalohandlon.com.
Thanks so much for listening today. I’ll be back with a brand new season - Season 15 - in a couple of weeks! In the meantime, come and follow me on Instagram - I’m @hollyrubenstein - and you’ll also find me on TikTok.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Today's episode is sponsored by Ingram's Walking, where you walk the Inam's Way on a stay-and-walk holiday in Europe. |
| 0:06.9 | If you love to explore on foot but still want all the comforts of a relaxing holiday, |
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| 0:18.1 | so no moving hotels every night or lugging bags from one stop to the next. |
| 0:22.8 | Just settle into one beautiful base and discover the surrounding landscapes at your own pace. |
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| 0:45.5 | 2025. And it's entirely up to you how much or how little you want to walk. Go self-guided with |
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| 1:00.1 | all taking care of, this is walking with none of the faf, just beautiful views, local culture |
| 1:06.6 | and the freedom to do things your way. Find out more at ingams.co.com. |
| 1:11.1 | UK forward slash walking. |
| 1:13.3 | Thank you to Ingrams Walking. |
| 1:19.1 | Hello and welcome back to the Travel Diaries podcast. |
| 1:26.7 | I'm your host, Holly Rub Rubinstein and on today's |
| 1:29.9 | bonus destination special episode we're heading to Ireland one of my favorite places in the world. |
| 1:36.0 | Ireland has this special kind of magic that keeps me coming back. It asks me to take a breath, |
| 1:42.9 | to slow down, to have that chat with the people |
| 1:45.9 | behind the bar, and to walk, to wander, just sit and soak it all up. Joining me today is someone |
... |
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