Spinners on Castle Street

Rehearsal Dinner

Gloster House

Wedding Day

Wedding

Reception

Our Wedding

Our Story

Details

Wedding Party

Photos

Q + A

Registry

Gloster house is centrally located in the Republic of Ireland. Either airport (Dublin or Shannon) can be used for travel arrangements. The venue is approximately 1.5 driving hours away from Shannon and 2 driving hours away from Dublin. We highly recommend using google maps on your phone. If you have Verizon, for $10 a day you can use your phone just the same as when you are home (see tips and hints for more details on phone usage during your trip). The phone is more accurate than the rental car's GPS and will not lose signal near as much either. We rented a GPS with our rental car for $45 a day during our trip and could only use it for part of the time and it lost signal constantly. We did not have any trouble using our phone. The directions below are relatively accurate. However, as you get closer to the venue and deeper into the country, some streets do not have street signs or names. But if you are using some sort of GPS it will alert you where the turn is (just don't rely solely on the directions below). Also, paying attention to the km driven (as given below) will also help. Directions from Shannon Airport (Lismacleane, Co. Clare) to Gloster House, Offaly: 108 km- 1 hour 19 min (WILL HAVE TOLLS)Follow N19 and N18 to E20 in Limerick 22 min (26.9 km)1. Head east -600 m2. t the roundabout, take the 1st exit onto N19 -2.2 km3. At Drumgeely Roundabout, take the 2nd exit and stay on N19 -1.3 km4. At Shannon Town Roundabout, take the 2nd exit and stay on N19 -1.5 km5. At the roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto the N18 ramp to Limerick/Bunratty -800 m6. Merge onto N18 (Partial toll road) -20.5 kmFollow M7 to R445 in North Tipperary. Take exit 23 from M7 32 min (58.2 km)7. Keep right to continue on E20 -1.1 km8. Continue onto E20/M7 -56.9 km9. At junction 23, take the R445 exit to Moneygall/Cloghjordan -200 mContinue on R445 to your destination in Offaly 26 min (23.2 km)10. Turn left onto R445 -6 km11. At the roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Limerick Rd - 800 m12. Continue onto Limerick St - 290 m13. Continue onto Castle St -67 m14. Slight left onto Main St/R421 (Continue to follow R421) -300 m15. Turn left onto The Crescent/N62 (Continue to follow N62) -4.9 km16. Turn right (no street name)- 3.6 km17. Turn left (no street name) -1.4 km 18. Turn left onto N62 -120 m19. Turn left (no street name and you might see signs for restricted usage road as it is private property). You will see a stone wall/gate to the left. Enter through and the destination will be on the left; Gloster House -300 m

Gloster House and Gardens

We have blocked all the rooms at Spinners for two nights, 4/24/17 and 4/25/17, with options to book more days. When booking, please give them our names (Anna Kunst and Chris Deschenes) since we have reserved the whole place for those two nights. Otherwise they will not let you book! It is very close to the venue but we are arranging a transportation service to/from the hotel to the venue on 4/25/17! <a href="http://www.spinnersbirr.com/">http://www.spinnersbirr.com/</a>

Dublin Airport Co. Dublin, Ireland to Gloster House, Offaly, Ireland - (153 km - 1 hr 49 min) WILL HAVE TOLLS Get on M1 -7 min - 3.0 km1.Head northwest -1.3 km 2.Use the middle 2 lanes to keep left -150 m3.Keep right -100 m4.At the roundabout, take the 1st exit -800 m5.At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto the M1 ramp to City Centre/M50 -600 m6.Keep right at the fork, follow signs for City Centre/Dublin Port and merge onto M1 -97 mTake M50 to R110 in Dublin. Take exit 9 from M50 -13 min (19.9 km)7.Merge onto M1 -1.0 km8.Keep left at the fork to continue on E01, follow signs for Southbound/Port/M50 -1.2 km9.Continue onto E01/M50 Partial toll road -16.8 km10.At junction 9, Use the left 3 lanes to take the N7 exit to Limerick/Cork/Waterford/N8/N9 -800 mContinue to Kildare -13 min (20.8 km)11.Merge onto R110 -160 m12.Continue onto N7 -20.6 kmFollow M7 to R435 in Laois. Take exit 21 from M7 -47 min (85.3 km)13.Continue onto M7 (signs for Limerick/Cork/Waterford/M8/M9) -11.2 km14.Keep right at the fork to stay on M7, follow signs for Limerick/Cork/Newbridge/M8(Partial toll road) -63.0 km15.Keep right at the fork to stay on M7, follow signs for Limerick/Borris-in-Ossory(Toll road) -10.7 km16.At junction 21, take the R435 exit to Borris-in-Ossory/Rathdowney Toll road -400 mContinue on R435 to your destination in Offaly -27 min (23.8 km)17.At the roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto R435 -230 m18.At the roundabout, take the 1st exit and stay on R435 -2.3 km19.At the roundabout, take the 1st exit onto R445 -9.4 km20.At the roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto Dublin Rd -210 m21.Turn left to stay on Dublin Rd -1.1 km22.Turn right onto Lourdes Rd/N62 Continue to follow N62 -5.2 km23.Turn right (no street name)-3.6 km24.Turn left (no street name) -1.4 km25.Turn left onto N62 -120 m26.Turn left (no street name but may see signs that say restricted usage road) -Destination will be on the left -300 m

Dublin Airport to Gloster House

Travel

The Cliffs of Moher is one of nature's greatest attractions and is well worth it! There are guided cliff top tours (not able to walk alone and must be on a tour) and cruise tours...or the option of both in one day! Located on the west coast in Co. Clare, it is around a 2 hour drive away from the venue. However, Shannon airport is only 1 driving hour from the cliffs and the drive is amazing in itself! The link below is the cruise tour that Chris and Anna took during their trip in April, 2016. Worth every bit of the 30 euros per person and the crew was incredibly nice and accommodating! Take a look at their pictures!<a href="http://www.cliffs-of-moher-cruises.com/cliffs-of-moher/">http://www.cliffs-of-moher-cruises.com/cliffs-of-m...</a>

Cliffs of Moher

The most haunted Irish Castle (really!) is only an 11 minute drive from the venue!

Leap Castle, The Leap, Ireland

Hiking trails and views just 30 minutes from the venue.

Slieve Bloom Mountains

The extensive ruins include a cathedral, castle, round tower, numerous churches, two important high crosses, and a large collection of early Christian grave slabs. It is about a 50 minute drive from the venue.

Clonmacnoise

Things to Do

Driving tips

This website below briefly offers some tips for driving in Ireland. Although the article mentions renting a manual car, you can request an automatic for a slightly higher rental fee (if not really experienced with a stick shift, this is recommended). It is also recommended to get full coverage...better safe than sorry on the narrow roads!<a href="http://goireland.about.com/od/touringireland/tp/top10driving.htm">http://goireland.about.com/od/touringireland/tp/to...</a> Stay on the left side! Only drive clockwise through a roundabout!Watch out for crossing animals if driving in the countryside (not kidding!) There are also some videos on youtube that may be useful as well. It helps to see a car in action! There are no "cops" that will pull you over for speeding but there are "speed vans" parked along the roadways occasionally that take a picture of your license plate if speeding (similar to a camera at a red light in the US). Fines are typically low when compared to speeding tickets in the US but it is best to avoid them! Have some change handy incase you end up on a toll road (probably a necessity at some point in your travels). Most have barriers where you stop and pay but not on the M50 (you just drive right through but must pay online). If you end up on the M50, go to this website by 8 pm the following day to pay your toll. It is simple to do but easy to forget. <a href="https://www.eflow.ie/i-want-to/pay-a-toll/">https://www.eflow.ie/i-want-to/pay-a-toll/</a>

Currency

The currency for the Republic of Ireland is the Euro (Northern Ireland is the pound but you most likely won't be there!)You can exchange your current money for Euros at the airports, Ireland banks and local ATM machines. It is much cheaper to do so in the US before you leave (exchange rate has a lower percentage). Try to estimate how much you might need to avoiding having to pay the fee all over again once you get back and need to convert what you did not use. While the Dublin area is reasonably well served with ATMs, the same can't be said for smaller towns and villages where there may be at most one ATM in the locality. Acceptance of Visa and MasterCard is almost universal for retailing and most services, including supermarkets, accommodation, railways, restaurants, gas stations, department stores, payment of parking tickets, airport parking charges, etc. American Express and Diners Club cards are also accepted by some service establishments. Very few if any establishments accept the Discover Card.If interested in the dollar to euro conversion, you can use this website.<a href="http://www.xe.com/pca/input.php?FromSelect=USD&amp;ToSelect=EUR">http://www.xe.com/pca/input.php?FromSelect=USD&amp;ToS...</a>

Power adapters/converters

Be sure to bring an adapter (to charge your cell phone) and possibly a converter for other items (some hairdryers, electric razors, etc.) Below are some helpful hints to help you decide what you need (adapter vs. converter) to bring. The electrical supply in Ireland is 230v 50hz. The plugs and sockets are different from the USA involving a three-pronged formation, the same as those used in the United Kingdom. If your appliances operate on a different current (such as those from North America) you will need a power converter and plug adapter.A plug adaptor does not change the electricity supplied to the appliance, only allows it to be plugged into a different type of wall socket. If the appliance you are using supports dual voltage and dual frequency then a plate/tag will be located on the item stating "120/240v, 50/60Hz".Most laptop computer and battery chargers are dual voltage, so all you will need to use them with a different supply is a plug adaptor.Power converters step down the voltage from 240v to 120v, allowing equipment which is not dual voltage to operate at the voltage for which it was designed. Converters do not alter the frequency at which electicity is delivered and should be used a maximum of 1-2 hours at a time.Converters can be purchased at travel stores, some discount stores, office supply stores, and electronics stores. Make sure that you select a converter that will accommodate the wattage of the appliances you wish to operate. Some laptop computers, electric razors and hair dryers have built-in power converters. However, an adapter plug will be required.Here is another website that may also help:<a href="https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/world-electricity-guide.html">https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/world-electricity-guide.html</a>

Jet lag

<a href="http://www.tripstodiscover.com/how-to-fight-jet-lag-like-a-pro/">Tips on how to fight jet lag</a>