Program 518: First Timer's Ireland; Alan Doyle's Newfoundland

Three tour guides from Ireland share their recommendations for the sights and experiences travelers shouldn’t miss on a first-time visit to their home turf — from fun things to see and do in busy Dublin, to tips for exploring the windswept byways of the Kerry coast. And musician and actor Alan Doyle helps us to understand his native Newfoundland by discussing how his perspective continues to be shaped by his Irish Catholic childhood in a small fishing town.

• Irish tour guides Susie Millar, Stephen McPhilemy, and Dara Herlihy
• Singer Alan Doyle. author of "Where I Belong" (Anchor Canada) and "A Newfoundlander in Canada" (Doubleday Canada)

• Epic Ireland, in Dublin, is an interactive exhibit on the contributions of the Irish around the world.  It's located across from the Jeanie Johnston replica famine ship.
• Stephen points out that the National Leprechaun Museum is among the most visited attractions in Ireland.   
• Stephen cautions that you need to reserve a boat ride well in advance to the historic site of Skellig Michael, off the coast in County Kerry, and now popularized as a setting in the recent Star Wars movies.
• Rick recommends the manuscripts and Islamic Art collection, as well as the cafeteria, at the free Chester Beatty Library in Dublin.
• Susie Millar conducts tours of Belfast, including sites associated with the doomed ship Titanic. 
• Dara Herlihy recently bought a pub on Main Street in Dingle. Neligan's bar promises live music nightly.   
• Stephen McPhilemy operates the Milltown House bed and breakfast on the Dingle Harbour.     
• Alan Doyle includes video productions of the songs from his latest album, "A Week at the Warehouse," on his AlanDoyle.ca website. 
• Alan's latest book, "A Newfoundlander in Canada: Always Going Somewhere, Always Coming Home," describes what he learned about Canada in his early days as a traveling musician.  His 2015 memoir, 'Where I Belong," became a bestseller in Canada.