In April we traveled to Ireland, where my twelve year old daughter competed in the World Irish Dance Championships in Dublin. It was a huge accomplishment for her to qualify! She earned the spot by placing 13th out of 110 girls at Regionals. We are super proud of her, and continually amazed that we have a child who is in the top 1% of her sport, competing at the World level!

We were able to see some of the sights of Dublin and do a bit out touring after the competition, and I was able to check the Cliffs of Moher off my bucket list. Here are some highlights of the trip:

The kids actually chose to visit the Cliffs of Moher, a.k.a the Cliffs of Insanity from their favorite movie The Princess Bride. Since we didn't have a car (even though we lived in Scotland for two years, my husband doubted his ability to remember how to drive on the left side of the road), this day trip involved a long bus tour from Dublin to the Cliffs. Fortunately it didn't rain, and everyone enjoyed the trip!

Touring around Dublin included a visit to Christchurch Cathedral (I love medieval buildings)...

and the creepy but vastly interesting Kilmainham Gaol where we learned a lot of Irish history.

Our eight year old chose to visit the Book of Kells exhibit at Trinity College because she had read about it. The exhibit included the beautiful library. I really wanted to climb this staircase!

And of course, one can't be in Ireland without...

Did you know that? 

One afternoon we took the train to the fishing town of Howth. We walked around the harbor and up to a small ruined abbey.

For our last full day in Ireland we boarded another bus and this time headed to the Boyne valley, to see some of the Neolithic sites. First stop was the Hill of Tara. A little rain didn't stop the kids from jumping, nor rolling down the hills.

The sun came out and the sky was glorious when we arrived at Newgrange. This Stone Age passage tomb and temple is similar to Maes Howe in Orkney, Scotland. On the day of the winter solstice, a beam of light shines through an opening along the passage, into the tomb and illuminates the center.  

Beautiful views!

Photo by Feis Photos

Finally here's my daughter on the World Stage We aren't allowed to photograph competitions but at majors such as Worlds, there is a photographer and thankfully I could purchase some photos. Photo credit: Feis Photos. Dress by Open Wings.