An Ireland & Scotland Journey

By: Samie

Travel Dates: May 28th, 2026
Country: Ireland

Day 3

(Caherconnel Sheepdog Demonstration, Evening in Galway)

We awoke on the morning of our third day in Ireland in our cute little Airbnb by the Cliffs of Moher. We were fortunate enough to the opportunity for a slower morning because our first obligation wasn’t until 11:10, and it was only about a 40 minute drive.

This meant that we got to sleep in a little bit, which was much appreciated after being on the go nearly nonstop since arriving. We got to enjoy a cup of tea while soaking in the stunning views from our bedroom window. Even with it starting out as a cloudy day, a reprieve from the heat wave we’d been enduring and more in line with the weather we had been expecting and packed for, the landscape was breathtaking. The stark contrast of the swirling gray sky against the lush rolling green was a sight to behold. If we didn’t already have something we were looking forward to planned, I would have been content to be posted up in the window for hours.

However, just before 10:00, we started getting ready and packing up to hit the road once again and continue our exploration of this country that we had been enjoying thoroughly already. In the light of day, we got to see the toll our hiking and facing the wind and rain at the cliffs had taken on our boots! They were much dirtier than we realized, and the dust and dirt acted as a medium that the rain and wind speckled and smeared as an all-natural design.

Fortunately, we had specifically purchased boots meant to hold up to the work and elements of a destination known for roller coasters of rain and shine, so a quick wipe down had them looking as good as new!

Just after 10:00, we were loading up into Murph (you’ll need to check out our other posts if you don’t know who Murph is), saying goodbye to our lovely little home for the night, plugging in our next destination, and hitting the left side of the road once again!

We didn’t have to very far to drive for our first pit stop of the day. We popped over to Moher Cottage, which offered gifts, coffees, and a view. While our main objective was obviously the coffee, we weren’t about to say nay to gifts and views.

They had just opened at 10:00, so we were some of the first customers through the door. We wanted to start with coffees, so walked toward the counter on the right side and put our blinders up on the gift shop side off to the left for the time being.

There were so many tasty options, but we settled on two different coffees, an Americano for Luke and Cappuccino for me, as well as a slice of peach almond tart. We found a table outside so that we could enjoy the view part properly. Not only were we offered great views of the landscape, but there were also some cows lounging in the grass in front of us, so we enjoyed hanging out with them as well.

After fully enjoying the coffee and views part, it was officially time to make the most of the gifts part! It was finally time to make our way through the gift shop side of the store. It was so cool seeing all the locally made crafts, goods, and art. While we enjoyed carefully perusing and looking through every shelf and section, we ultimately didn’t find something that stood out to us to bring home. Plus, it was time to start making our way to the booked adventure of the day, and similar to the Seaside Alpaca excursion, was something we had been looking forward to since purchasing our tickets. We were heading to the Caherconnell Fort and Sheepdog Demonstration!

We were looking forward in particular to the sheepdog demonstration part because we had our very own Border Collie, Jedha, at home, and not only did we love absolutely love her, but we were looking forward to seeing some of her distant relatives at work in a different country!

However, as we made the drive to the destination we had plugged into our phones, we ran into our first big destination blunder. Not to any fault of the GPS. On the bottom of the digital tickets was part of the Eircode. In case you are unfamiliar, Eircodes are the official postcode system used in Ireland. Very rarely is an address what is shared or given. Instead, they provide the Eircode, which is an amazing system and probably a big part of the reason we got everywhere so flawlessly!

However, the system only works when used correctly, which we did not in this particular case. As mentioned, we were using the tickets sent to us and pulled the Eircode to plug into our GPS to get where we needed to be. However, only the first 3 characters of the code were provided. The first 3 characters only identify the general geographic region or postal area. The following 4 characters are the important part that belong exclusively to one specific property.

At this point, we had plugged in several Eircodes, so we definitely recognized that only 3 characters was different, but when we plugged it into our phones, it took us to the area that appeared to match what we had looked at when looking into booking the demonstration. Plus, if it was specifically included in the ticket, it had to be right!

As we drew closer to what our phones were telling us was the designated destination, we started to feel like something wasn’t quite right. There were no signs directing us toward or mentioning the Caherconnell Stone Fort or Sheepdog Demonstrations. According to our devices, we had arrived, but there was nothing around. It was about 10 minutes until our scheduled demonstration time, so we weren’t too concerned. We always make sure we have a little time padded for just such occasions.

I pulled up the website on my phone and copied the full Eircode to plug into my phone. My heart dropped. While we were in fact in the general area, our actual destination was almost 30 minutes away. We were going to be late and possibly miss, depending on their policy, one of the things we were most looking forward to.

The only thing we could was drive and try to get there as soon as we could. As expected, we got there almost 20 minutes late. We rushed up the walkway and into the main building to talk to the employee at the counter. We said we were there for the 11:10 demonstration but had gotten lost. They were extremely nice and said they were just getting started, got our tickets scanned real quick, and guided us to where we needed to be to still catch the demonstration and Border Collies at work!

We walked up to a covered area split into two levels; one slightly higher and one closer to ground level. Both areas had sets of bleachers, but since we were late, the bleachers were full, so we stood next to the bleachers, along with a few people on each side there hadn’t been sitting room for either or that had simply opted to stand. The demonstrator did, in fact, seem to just be getting started.

He was extremely good at his job. He was a great mix of funny and knowledgeable. He began by giving us a rundown of the dogs. We learned that they only use the females for herding due to their smaller size and because the male dogs tend to be a little lazy. They also keep the working females very fit and compact, maintaining a certain weight. Both size and weight allow for best performance in agility, speed, livestock safety, and stamina.

Then it was time for demonstration part. He asked the audience how many sheep we wanted them to take out of the bunch, and it was decided that the demonstrator would skillfully command the dogs to separate three sheep from the group and gather in front of him.

It was amazing to watch both the demonstrator and the dogs at work. The demonstrator used different whistles and commands to instruct the dogs what he wanted them to do. And the dogs, impressively, understood what he was asking of them. They worked to keep the sheep from running too far off, keeping them huddled, and then using different herding and stalking techniques to get one sheep at a time to pull out of the group and toward where the demonstrator was standing. The three dogs we got to see at work were Jade, Rose (the sweet old lady of the group), and Sally (the rebellious trouble-making teenager of the group).

After the demonstration and three sheep successfully herded out of the group, the demonstrator moved himself and the dogs behind us, into an open field for the next part of the demonstration. We all turned, and the people sitting at the bleachers stood and moved so that they were facing the correct way.

For the next part, the demonstrator went through the different purposes and types of sheep, all while the dogs kept the sheep contained with minimal instructions from the demonstrator.

We learned the most common sheep in Ireland is the Suffolk sheep, large hornless sheep with black faces, long floppy black ears, four black legs, and white wool. These sheep are mainly used for their meat. If you want a sheep further up in the mountains, you’d want the Irish Mountain Ram. The males have outward curling horns, and the females have shorter, chopped horns. If farmers want to switch it up a little bit, they might get a Zwartble sheep. These sheep are browny black-gray with a white stroke on their faces and are good diary sheep.

When it comes to sheep, we were surprised at the most common uses/where the most money was for sheep. We thought wool would be at the top, but actually, the most money is in the meat, then the milk, and wool is down at the bottom. The demonstrator said “wool is absolutely worthless.” It apparently costs way more to sheer the sheep than the fleece of wool.

For the last part of the demonstration, the demonstrator grabbed a couple of the baby lambs and popped them over the fence into someone’s arms and said to pass them around and get the chance to hold a baby lamb if you wanted. I, an avid animal lover, was not about to pass up this opportunity. I waited patiently for my turn to hold both of the baby lambs, and, you can see in my face, was absolutely glowing! I will never look happier than when I am holding, petting, or interacting with an animal.

Then finally, we got to pet the dogs. As working dogs, they aren’t overly friendly and seeking attention and human affection. They were content to lay there and accept pets and pats, but were definitely not actively seeking it like our Velcro pups at home. The two younger dogs, in particular, seemed almost to not notice or care when they were receiving pets, but they didn’t shy away from them either. However, Rose, the nine-year-old gal, was extremely sweet and happy getting scratches and pets. She smiled and leaned into it, and it was amazing.

After the demonstration concluded, we reentered the main building to peruse the gift shop. They had lots of great items to choose from, including hats, shirts, pet bandanas, scarves, jackets, and stuffed Border Collies.

We were missing our Jedha and wanted our own little portable version to honor her, so we grabbed one of the stuffed dogs as our Caherconnell souvenir. We made our way back outside to stand in front of the demonstration shelter, which also had the Caherconnell logo on it, pulled up a picture of Jedha, and snapped a picture of Jedha in one hand, and our Irish Border Collie stuffy in the other. She couldn’t be with us in person, but she was always with us in spirit and was the main inspiration behind our desire to visit this particular attraction.

After acquiring our Jedha souvenir and getting our picture, it was just after noon, and there was a cafe in the main building as well, so we decided to grab some lunch!

Since it was finally a nice, mildly chilly day, we decided to get the Soup of the Day, which happened to be a delicious, creamy, vegetable soup. The Soup of the Day was also served with brown soda bread, which was also perfectly tasty and made even better by being dipped into the soup or slathered with some Irish butter.

They’d also had a counter full of baked goods, and one item in particular had caught my eye. It was labeled Battenberg, with the description underneath that said almond flavor cake. It had a red and yellow checker pattern inside and wrapped with what appeared to be yellow fondant around the border of the cake. It was saran wrapped, so even if I didn’t eat it now, it would be easy to take with us for later. And there was only one left, so I snatched that right up!

We found a little two-person table toward the back and sat to enjoy our lunch and some rest after the adrenalin-filled drive we’d taken to get here after realizing we were in the wrong place and going to be late. It was only about an hour drive to where we would be staying for the night, and we had no other timed items on our schedule, so we got to simply sit and enjoy at our own pace.

(And no, that isn’t a model I’m sitting with for lunch. That is in fact my very handsome husband!)

Around 12:30, we hopped back into Murph and set course for Galway, our next destination and also where we would be spending the night!

Galway is the 4th largest city in the Republic of Ireland, with a population of about 85,910. It is a very vibrant seaside city on the west coast of Ireland and is known for its lively arts scene, medieval history, and traditional music. It is often called Ireland’s most musical city, so of course, it was a city added to our must-visit list! I also had something I was after here, but I will get to that in a minute!

When we first arrived, we went from the very slow and quiet roads we’d gotten accustomed to into bustling city streets and traffic. We were able to make our way close enough to where we wanted to start and pulled into a lot to park. We would just hoof it the rest of the way!

The first place we wanted to hit in Galway was the Latin Quarter, which also happened to be where I needed to go to secure my personal souvenir treasure as well. The Latin Quarter is a cobblestoned stretch of road that houses many popular and well-known shops, pubs, and restaurants, along with historic buildings. It’s located in a pedestrian-only center and stretches from the Spanish Arch and Quay Street up to High Street, Cross Street, and Middle Street.

In order to get into the square, you have to make your way through alleys or closes to reach the busy and bustling quarter! As soon as you step onto the cobblestone street, you are immediately transported into two different worlds!

First, there is the world of all the medieval history you are surrounded by and walking on. You can feel the agedness of the streets and area. The unevenness of the stone road and the structures and architecture of the buildings immerses you in a sense of bygone eras, lore, rustic heritage, timelessness, and untold stories.

On the other hand, there is also a sense of modernism, life, and youth. The vitality and spirit that is carried in on the feet of all the passing tourists and locals. The energy is electric and buzzing with no intent of losing steam or slowing down, despite the centuries of life already lived.

While many buildings called to us and were drawing us in, we had one destination that we had to start with. This is where I would be collecting my sought after purchase. We made our way to Thomas Dillon, the original makers of the Claddagh Ring.

The Claddagh design has deep roots in Galway. It takes its name from the old fishing village of Claddagh, which sat just outside the city walls along Galway Bay. The ring itself is instantly recognizable: two hands holding a heart topped with a crown. The hands represent friendship, the heart represents love, and the crown represents loyalty. It is often summed up by the phrase, “Let Love and Friendship Reign.”

There are several stories surrounding the ring’s origins, which honestly makes its history even more fun. One legend tells of Margaret Joyce, a Galway woman who used her inherited wealth to build bridges throughout Connacht. According to the story, an eagle later dropped a gold ring into her lap as a reward for her generosity.

The more historically grounded story centers around Richard Joyce, a Galway goldsmith in the 17th century. Joyce was captured by Algerian corsairs while traveling to the West Indies and was sold into slavery to a Moorish goldsmith, who taught him the craft of goldsmithing. When he was eventually released in 1689, he returned to Galway rather than remaining abroad and established himself as a goldsmith. The Claddagh design is traditionally attributed to him.

Over time, the ring became popular far beyond the Claddagh itself. Its popularity grew even more when it became associated with the British royal family, with Claddagh rings being worn by Queen Victoria and later Queen Alexandra and King Edward VII. The rings were supplied by Dillon of Galway, who had been granted the Royal Patent.

And that brings me to why I was so determined to get mine from Thomas Dillon.

There are plenty of places where you can buy a Claddagh ring in Ireland, and plenty of jewelers make their own versions of the design. But Thomas Dillon has been making Claddagh rings in Galway since 1750, and is the only surviving maker continuing the original tradition. Their shop is part of the story, not just a place selling souvenirs.

So when I finally walked into Thomas Dillon and chose my ring, it felt like I was buying a little piece of Galway’s history rather than simply buying a piece of jewelry.

There is even a traditional way to wear a Claddagh. If you wear it on your right hand with the heart pointing outward/away from your body, it shows your heart is open and signifies that you are single. If you wear it on your right hand with the heart pointing inward/toward your body, it shows your heart is taken and signifies that you are in a relationship. If you wear it on your left hand with the heart pointing outward/away from your body, it shows a promise of marriage and signifies that you are engaged. Finally, if you wear it on your left hand with the heart pointing inward/toward your body, it shows eternal love and commitment and signifies that you are married. In order to not risking losing our wedding rings, we’d opted to leave them at home, so for the remainder of the trip, the ring would be adorning my left hand and the heart facing inward. However, once I returned back home, I’d be popping my wedding ring back on its rightful finger and switching the Claddagh over to my right hand, with the heart still facing in because it still showed that my heart was taken.

The crown, hands, and heart make the ring beautiful on their own, but knowing the meaning behind them makes it feel even more special. Of all the souvenirs I could have brought home from Ireland, this one felt particularly meaningful. It carries centuries of stories, a little bit of Galway history, and a tradition that is still being carried on today.

And now, I get to carry a tiny piece of that history home with me to wear every day!

We did a little more walking and exploring and getting a feel for the area. However, when enough time had passed that we were able to get checked into our room, we made our way back to Murph and planning on coming back after relaxing and getting settled into our hostel and home for the evening.

We ended up making our way back to the Latin Quarter around 7:00. We had found a place to park Murph on the same street as our hostel, and the Latin Quarter was easily walking distance, especially considering how time-consuming it would likely be to find parking. So, we instead made the 15-20 minute walk back over to continue our enjoyment and exploration.

Part of that exploration was finding somewhere to eat! Every eatery in the Latin Quarter seemed to be hopping and busy, so that wouldn’t influence our decision. It was a difficult one, but we decided we would be having supper at M. Fitzgerald’s Bar, formerly known as 1520 Bar. Fortunately, we were actually able to get a table pretty quickly and didn’t have to do much waiting around.

We, of course, started with drinks. We were in a pub/bar in Ireland after all! Luke started with a drink called The Statesman, Tullamore D.E.W whiskey & honey, fresh lime, Poachers Irish ginger bee, and spiced foam. I decided to move away from Guinness for now, and instead go with a classic Irish Coffee. Because I hadn’t had food in a while, I was going to wait to until I had something in my stomach before enjoying absolutely gorgeous drink. (Seriously, the foam art on top was a masterpiece. The waitress saw me taking a picture and made a point to stop to say she was glad I was snapping a photo because the bartender had been practically giddy with how it had turned out). Before our food came out, Luke had finished his drink and went on to order his pint of Guinness, which would become a regular drink for him during our time in Ireland.

After putting in our order and waiting for food, we got to enjoy the decor and live music around us. There was a musician just on the other side of the wall to the area we were sitting. Steps lead us up to a slightly elevated section toward the back and further from the door. Fortunately, there was a big arched window, so the sound of the music carried in, and we didn’t have to strain to listen and enjoy it.

It was also easy to pass the time taking in all the decorations in the pub. Everywhere you looked, there was something new to see. The item that caught us the most off guard when we spotted it was a life-sized taxidermized bison hanging down vertically from the wall, up in a rising nook that lead to a skylight on the right side of the bar (left for me because of the way I was facing). We were equal parts impressed and shocked.

The plates carrying our meals finally landed on our table. And they looked absolutely scrumptious. After hearing the specials, I’d ordered their Catch of the Day, and Luke went with the very solid choice of their Fish and Chips. The Catch of the Day happened to be a smoked salmon with garlic butter and was served with carrots and mashed potatoes. It was awesome. Even after I began filling up, I ate every last morsel off that plate. I successfully ate more than Luke, who got close but wasn’t quite able to finish his meal. I would brag about this the rest of the trip.

With swelling bellies and smiles plastered on our flushed faces, we headed back out into the Latin Quarter to do some more exploring. We wanted to walk through a few more shops and, of course, swing into a few other pubs as well.

It was about 8:00 by the time we’d made our way back out into the Quarter. Many stores had started to close for the evening. We didn’t have to worry about missing anything because we would have time to come back and explore some more the next day. So we spent most of the time just walking all the way up and back down so that we had a good idea of everything there was and make note of any place that had closed that we would want to revisit tomorrow.

There was another bar that featured a large, award-winning heated beer garden out back with outdoor bars and weekend live music that Luke had found during his research called O’Connell’s Bar. We swung in and discovered the place was absolutely packed. It was a Thursday night, so we shouldn’t have been surprised that people were out enjoying their evening, being so close to the weekend.

We weighed our options and ultimately decided it wasn’t worth elbowing through the crowds of people standing in the beer garden to try and enjoy it. As we made our way back through the doors that brought us into the front room of the pub, a table had opened up, so we slid into the bench and ordered our drinks here instead.

Luke already knew he was going to order another Guinness, but I wasn’t sure what I was going to order. That was, until we noticed the bar coasters on the table. They were advertising a refreshing apple cider drink, so I decided to give it a try. Best decision I could’ve possibly made! Not only was it delicious, but it became my go-to drink during our time in Ireland, and I ordered it every chance I got because it isn’t imported and sold back in the U.S..

We got to spend some time sitting, drinking, and enjoying each other’s company in an Irish pub. It was everything we’d come to expect and hope for when thinking about and planning our trip. We would’ve been content with this being our best pub experience but, spoiler alert, there was the world’s most perfect Irish pub experience still yet to come!

It was almost 9:30 by the time our drinks were gone, and we were heading back into the streets of Galway. We knew most places, other than the bars and pubs, would be closing for the evening. We’d absolutely adored our pub experiences but were also looking forward to a relaxing evening with showers and a restful night of sleep, so instead of bar hopping, we decided to hit up one last spot.

Before we could call it a night, we had to swing into Murphy’s for some ice cream. Murphy’s Ice Cream is an artisanal ice cream shop founded in Dingle, County Kerry, Ireland. It was founded in 2000 by brothers Sean and Kieran Murphy. What makes it special? They use real ingredients and avoid artificial colorings, flavorings, and powdered milk. They, instead, use fresh farm milk, local cream, organic sugar, and free-range eggs. They use milk from rare, indigenous Kerry cattle. They harvest their own sea salt directly from Dingle seawater. And they have unique signature flavors, with options such as Dingle Sea Salt, Irish Brown Bread, and Chocolate Whiskey.

Before even entering the shop, we were greeted by a young man standing outside the store, taking time to make conversation with customers while we waited in line. As the line moved into the store, a few workers were wandering the floor offering samples of anything we wanted to try from the menu and continuing pleasant conversation along the way.

It was a smooth, friendly, and flawless system, so that everyone was happy and knew what they wanted to order by the time they reached the register counter. It was definitely a difficult decision, but I went with a scoop of Kieran’s Cookies and a scoop of Chocolate Whiskey. Luke went with a killer combination of Dingle Sea Salt and Honeycomb Caramel. It was the perfect way to end an amazing day, and conclude our night in Galway.

A little note about this day:
When we visited the sheepdogs, we were especially excited because we had our own Border Collie waiting for us at home. We watched the dogs work, talked about Jedha, and took a few pictures to bring home with us. At the time, we had no idea this day would hold a different kind of meaning later just months later.

Jedha is no longer waiting for us at home, but I find myself returning to these pictures with a grateful heart. We went to the sheepdog demonstration because we loved her. Now, looking back, I realize that in some small way, this day has become another part of her story and another way to remember the incredible dog who made us love Border Collies in the first place.

She was with us in Ireland in a way we didn’t yet realize. And now, she’ll always be a part of the story we brought home.

Jedha Bergjord
February 2017-June 2026