Poor drummergirl,

Hope you're not too bewildered by the fact that alison, GUEST Ireland and GUEST blank are all in agreement with each other, in spite of initial appearances to the contrary. But that's at least as much due to the way messages on a web forum can be misunderstood as it is to the particular character of the Northern Ireland Sitchyation. If you have about thirty-six hours to spare, you could try reading all the Campsite at Drumcree threads, and then you'd be seriously disoriented.

I was In Washington DC recently and went for an evening walk near Arlington cemetery. The route which I planned to take back turned out to be for motor traffic only, and I had to detour through an area without having the remotest idea if I was entering a ghetto warzone or not. I was only moderately spooked, and I think I was perfectly safe anyway, but these things do cross your mind when you're in a strange city. As you can see, I survived.

Don't let me stop you from visiting Belfast, but frankly I just think it would mean too much travel. I'm a Dubliner myself, and would like you recommend my own home town to you, but frankly I think you'll get a lot more out of the holiday if you don't try to do too much. Much better to get the most of Clare, Limerick city (aka "stab city", but that only involves locals ;) ), the River Shannon and Galway city and environs, maybe cross over to Kerry when you've got the measure of the roads, and save the rest of the country for your next visit.

On one of the other similar threads I posted details of a book by Terry Eagleton which is a good read. It won't suggest where to go, but it gives great insights into modern Ireland with ladlefuls of humour. Can't remember if I posted it as APC or as GUEST Roger O'K.

Enjoy the trip, and do let us know how you got on.