This week saw the release of the 12th edition of Lonely Planet’s Ireland Guide. In the latest version of the guide is very positive on how far the country has come since the beginning of the eventful new millennium.
In the coveted guide, Cork received a special mention as the “foodie capital of Ireland” and Dublin is “sultry rather than sexy”. It also claimed how the county of Leitrim is a “well-kept secret” and Donegal is Ireland’s “wild child”, according to the latest reboot of the influential publisher’s Ireland guide.
Not everywhere unfortunately received such high praise as the guide’s writers claim that Bundoran “has the feel of a tacky beach town” while no attempt is made to gloss over Killarney’s “manufactured tweeness”.
Killarney’s neighbour Kenmare however by contrast, was hailed in the guide as the “thinking man’s Killarney… lacking the coach-tour crowds and “calculated Oirishness” of its neighbour.
“As the nation continues to shed its conservative skin, it is growing increasingly comfortable with its multicultural, more socially liberated identity and its progressive presence on the global stage,” its writers state.