When people hear “Ireland,” they usually think of its two main cities: Dublin and Belfast.

Fun fact for those that don’t know: These cities are in completely different countries. Belfast is in Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK across the Irish Sea. Dublin is in the Republic of Ireland, which is the dominant country in terms of area and familiarity.

We’re not here to discuss the differences between the Irish countries, though. We’re here to discuss what to do with five hours in Dublin.

As soon as I had the opportunity to go on a solo press trip to Ireland, I told Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland that a visit to Trim Castle was an absolute must. Fans of the movie Braveheart may think that’s my main inspiration for my visit, but I haven’t seen the film. Instead, I wanted to come here for a more personal reason:

Because my ancestors built it.

When I got my itinerary for Ireland, I panicked when I saw that I’d have to pick up a rental car from Hertz at the Shannon Airport that I had to use to make my way across the country to Dublin.

I spent a year in New Zealand and never drove once because it was on the opposite side of the road, and it freaked me out. Being on a sponsored press trip through Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland didn’t leave me much of a choice in the matter, especially if I wanted to see all the places I wanted to, like Galway and Trim.

It didn’t end well.

I never thought I’d wind up with an opportunity to visit Ireland, especially not on a solo press trip sponsored by Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland. A younger version of myself who was also afraid to come out of the closet would have also been shocked that the main point of the trip was to visit a queer matchmaking festival called The Outing Festival.

The Outing Festival, now hosted at The Inn at Dromoland, began twelve years ago at a now-closed place called The Matchmaker Bar in Lisdoonvarna. What started in a bar has turned into a full-on hotel takeover in County Clare, which has a storied history with matchmaking that influences the weekend’s events and activities.

When I went to Puerto Vallarta a few years ago, I knew there was a lot more to Mexico than what I experienced there. I loved Puerto Vallarta, especially with its LGBTQ+ focus, but I had a long list of other places I wanted to visit that I hoped I got to one day.

Among those was the country’s capital, Mexico City. In Spanish, it’s called Ciudad de Mexico and is often abbreviated as CDMX.