Southern Ireland

We have lived in Scotland for almost 30 years and the picture of the Cosy Cottage in Moville takes me back to happy memories. We have photos of our daughters outside that cafe at various ages as they grew up, taken over the years while passing through on holiday. The only years we haven’t been to Donegal were during lockdown and I can’t wait to get back this summer.

If you carry on north from Moville there are lots of beautiful, golden sandy beaches.
 
We have lived in Scotland for almost 30 years and the picture of the Cosy Cottage in Moville takes me back to happy memories. We have photos of our daughters outside that cafe at various ages as they grew up, taken over the years while passing through on holiday. The only years we haven’t been to Donegal were during lockdown and I can’t wait to get back this summer.

If you carry on north from Moville there are lots of beautiful, golden sandy beaches.
Yes kinnego is good but the we road down to it puts folk of.
kennego.png
road down .jpg
armada b.jpg
:eek:
 
What can I say, three attempts now and still haven’t seen it all. The people though - all good craic.
 
Would it be straight forward taking the dog (and the wife if I have to). Would I need a dog passport as France and other EU countries or are there special concessions? I would love to see Antrim, Donegal, Newgrange and Wexford, where my family came from. But going to France seems such a fag with dog be passports etc.
 
Would it be straight forward taking the dog (and the wife if I have to). Would I need a dog passport as France and other EU countries or are there special concessions? I would love to see Antrim, Donegal, Newgrange and Wexford, where my family came from. But going to France seems such a fag with dog be passports etc.
There is ment to be but no one cares or checks, remember its an open border and sheep dogs don't know north from south as farmers have land either side, not sure about dogs coming off the boat, others may help, I have never heard of problems.
The wife may be a different problem, has she bitten anyone in the last few days. LOL. 😂
 
Yes kinnego is good but the we road down to it puts folk of. View attachment 109123View attachment 109125View attachment 109126:eek:
Kinnego Bay is my favourite beach in the world (when the weather is kind!) but you’re right about the road down to it. I doubt I would be able to get our Motorhome round the hairpin bends but if I did manage it, there is no way we would get our 5 ton van back up that steep hill. But don’t let that put anyone off; it is accessible by smaller vans, by car or on foot.

There is another of our favourites, a beautiful, golden sand beach a few miles from Kinnego Bay on the way back towards Greencastle called Shroove. If anyone is in that part of Donegal, both beaches are well worth a visit.

In fact, when the weather is good the beaches in Donegal would rival beaches in much more exotic locations around the world.
 
Killybegs is worth a visit, I was very impressed with the large trawlers berthed within harbour. I shudder to think the running cost for one trip out.
 
Would it be straight forward taking the dog (and the wife if I have to). Would I need a dog passport as France and other EU countries or are there special concessions? I would love to see Antrim, Donegal, Newgrange and Wexford, where my family came from. But going to France seems such a fag with dog be passports etc.

Travelling to the Irish Republic is different to travelling to any other EU country. EU stipulations like Pet Passports and 90 day stay limits etc are not applicable as the CTA - Common Travel Area - agreement, which is now 100 years old in fact and a lot older than the EU (or EC, EEC or EFTA) is still in force.
Officially & legally, if a UK citizen, you don't even need a passport for yourself to go to the Republic (and I think that is borne out by seeing how many NI residents carry their passport when they nip across the border in their campers).
 
Would it be straight forward taking the dog (and the wife if I have to). Would I need a dog passport as France and other EU countries or are there special concessions? I would love to see Antrim, Donegal, Newgrange and Wexford, where my family came from. But going to France seems such a fag with dog be passports etc.
I understood it's very similar to going to any other EU country.


It's not too hard though. Your dog should be chipped anyway, if he hasn't already got a current rabies vaccination you can get one done and can't travel in the first three weeks. Within the 10 day period before you go, get an Animal Health Certificate from your vet - shop around, prices vary enormously.

If you are going to Ireland, to save a vet trip you might want to get it in the 4 days that fall before your arrival date minus one, because you will also need the vet to sign it saying your dog has been wormed - so if you were arriving on a Saturday morning at 11 am, you would get the worming treatment done anytime between 11 am on the Tuesday to 10.59 am on the Friday. That’s because a worming tablet isn’t fully effective for the first 24 hours but effectiveness starts to wear off after 5 days.

Coming back, you don't need to have your dog wormed again, but you would if you were going to France, so in terms of faff, that's the only difference as far as I can see.

 
Last edited:
Further on dog health certificates. AIUI, you need one of these for each trip -- and that can get expensive. The Slaws did a YouTube video (see below) on this and say they saved considerably by going over to NI and getting EU pet passports for their two dogs. We no longer have a dog and so I didn't really pay much attention, but their info could be very useful for anyone planning to go elsewhere in EU later.

 
going over to NI and getting EU pet passports
Absolutely - if you can get a passport in the EU it does make it a lot cheaper. I recently paid €48 for a three year rabies booster and pet passport.

A few things to think about - most vets want to re-do the rabies vaccine. So, even if your dog already has a current one, you may need another. Some dogs used to fail the titre test (which used to be required after a rabies vaccine to check the levels of antibodies) and would need the vaccine repeated so having two within a short timescale isn’t a major concern BUT I AM NOT A VET, CHECK WITH YOURS BEFORE DOING THIS.

If you get the rabies vaccine re-done, the date of vaccinating mustn’t be recorded in the new passport earlier than the ‘chip read’ date, otherwise it doesn’t prove the vaccine was administered to this dog.

Some vets use an annual vaccine rather than a three year one.

Any future rabies vaccines can’t be done and recorded by UK vets, as that would invalidate the passport.

If you decided to go to France for the pet passport because it isn’t that much harder than going to Ireland, French vets are supposed to make sure the dog‘s chip is registered on the I-CAD (Identification des Carnivores Domestiques) system and for that, you need a French address and the dog needs to be in France for more than three months - which is unlikely, given the 90/180 day rule. There are a few vets who are still issuing passports without that check, but they are becoming rarer. It might be worth a trip over into Belgium if you were doing that.
 
Last edited:
What about a booster for me, yelp. 😂 dogs are in cars every day here crossing back and forth, never seen anyone blink an eye as yet.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dee
Right that’s it Trev lock up your barmaids. I’m on my way. Ferry booked for Saturday 7.30am ferry from cairnryan to larne. Only got 10 days so gonna go round top to Donegal would like to visit Galway but might not have enough time.
 
Galway is troublesome for parking, I would stay up in Donegal as so much to see and easy to wild camp, buy the way the Dunlewey center is now closed, but do the run from the national park up past Errigal and west, main thing is to relax and have a good trip.
 

Users who viewed this discussion (Total:0)

Back
Top