When we learned that Iowa State was playing football in Dublin, we knew we HAD to go. We took a couple days of vacation and hopped on a plane for a weekend of friends, family, football and fun – Irish style!

We stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel – walking distance to the stadium, really nice hotel.

Let’s gooooooo!
This welcomed us at the Dublin airport – so cool.
We found Staci!!!
And Riley!!!!
And the Merrill’s!!!!
Jay had some fun (but fuzzy) memories of his college days at the Temple Bar. The place apparently hasn’t changed much.
I can understand why this place has stuck around for so long. It’s nearly impossible to recreate that atmosphere. The stories those walls could tell…
The Guinness tour was pretty good. Mike and Ash had an unexpected surprise.
My little emu
This girl. Something about being around her brings out the silly in me. We see each other for the first time in several years and are giggling within minutes. Find yourself a friend like Ashley. She’s good for my soul.
Game day baby!!!! I think Ty was a little excited.
If Coach Campbell needs someone to help out on the field, this chic looks pretty tough.
This was a good sign. Jay and his Sis.
We walked to the stadium in the rain. It’s Ireland…. Thankfully our seats were under cover and it only took about a half to dry out. 🙂
Pregame warmups
Ash and Brooks found their seats
Right underneath the multi-level cup snake. They were soooo close to reaching another balcony before the stadium security ruined all the fun.
Lily loves Riley
And Aunt Staci
Celebrating the big win in a pub. ISU 24. K State 21. Woot woot!
We toured the Kilmainham Gaol (jail). Reminded me of Alcatraz. Pretty tough living conditions. The Irish political history is something I haven’t read much about so I’m not a great source of information. Lots of political prisoners called this place home.
Ty was ready to go to the next place. I spy Ty…
Such a fun group
Wait. WHEN was that pub established???? We couldn’t get inside – way too packed.
We toured the Trinity College library. It was undergoing major book cleaning, so this was the only section that had books in it.
She’s got the whole world in her hands

We also saw the Book of Kells – a 1200 year old Bible with intricate and beautiful illustrations. We couldn’t take pictures.

On our way back to the hotel we saw a sign for a Virtual Reality club. Why not?! The boys did some zombie killer game. The girls did a Squid Game type game. Lots of squealing and laughter. I sucked.
Some random door for. Choir from the 1400s

I did zero research before arriving in Dublin. A long weekend in the city was plenty. I wish we would have had time to explore outside of the city. So much to see, so little vacation time.

I loved all the different colored doors throughout the city.

The taxi drivers were awesome. Super friendly and helpful. Fares were reasonable.

I’m scratching Ireland off of our map, but I sort of feel like it’s cheating. The Iowa State and Kansas State fans turned Dublin into a European Midwest.

Great fans. Great family. Great friends. And a Cyclone WIN!