Day 2 in Ireland began with a fully accessible tour of the Guinness factory. We did an accessible tour which included learning how to pour our own Guinness from a wheelchair height tap!
We then went on to the famous Café on Seinne. We had a reserved table in the courtyard, and this was our first opportunity for the traditional fish and chips. To be honest, the cocktails stole the show, so we highlight recommend you check out their famous cocktail menu. There is a fully accessible bathroom on the second floor and this is where we started our historic tour of Grafton Street and the Temple Bar district.
We took a ride back to the hotel so everyone could rest and get ready for the most spectacular evening watching a River Dance show at the Gaiety Theatre. The two hour show, with a 15 minute intermission and a fully accessible bar, was truly one of the most powerful and invigorating performances our guests had ever seen.
After the show, we came upon a beautifully historic hotel that had put in a lovely stair lift, so we had to take advantage of this hospitality for disabled travelers. It did not disappoint. We topped off our evening at the Sherrill Brook hotel with elegant service and beautiful accommodations (they even had a vegan menu with vegan dessert). This relaxing and posh hotel is a must-see for anybody on wheels.
The highlight of Day 3 was a visit to the Powerscourt Estate in Enniskerry, County Wicklow, Ireland. This is a large, 19 hectares (47 acres), country estate which is noted for its beautiful house and bountiful, landscaped gardens. The house, originally a 13th-century castle, was extensively altered during the 18th century.
800 Years of History at Powerscourt
The first Viscount of Powerscourt was keen to make his mark and assert his position as one of importance in society, so he set about transforming the medieval castle at Powerscourt into a grand mansion. In 1730 he commissioned the German-born architect Richard Castle to build Powerscourt House, a 68 room mansion which was completed in 1741. The mansion was designed around the medieval castle in the style of Palladian architecture and featured baroque dome-roofed towers on either side, giving it in the words of one architectural historian, “The massive dignity of a great Italian Renaissance villa.”
The North front was adapted to present a grand entrance in the Palladian manner, while the South front faced the gardens and was initially only two stories in height. An extra storey was added in 1787 and further major alterations were made in the late 19th century. The house contained some of the finest 18th century interiors in Ireland and was one of the country’s most beautiful mansions. In 1961, the Slazenger family purchased the Estate from the 9th Viscount Powerscourt.