Take guitar to Ireland?

[Acousticado]

Originally Posted by pax238

At the risk of piling on, a trip to Emerald would certainly be on my list.

If you're going to be there at the end of May, you'd be able to celebrate their 20th anniversary at the same time.

Hey, that’s right! Alistair had recently posted about it in the CF subforum. It seems they have lots of cool things planned. That’d be really fun to attend. What a way to experience the culture there!

[BFD]

So a Travelite guitar case isn't compact(bad), but it is light(good). If you end up having to check it.....it *might* be OK...I don't know if many seasoned guitar travelers would bet on it. The guitar is certainly more rugged than a wood one.

Planning to be sedentary or more on the move? Would you plan to connect with other musicians? I don't travel with a guitar and don't relish the idea. I might take a mando; or a fiddle. Or a pennywhistle...

[Methos1979]

It depends on a few factors, such as what part of Ireland you're going to, what you're doing, how long you're going to be there and what you think you might be doing with the guitar.

We went to Ireland two years ago almost to the day today! Our daughter was living and working there at the time so it was a dual purpose of visiting her and of course checking out Ireland. I did not bring a guitar. I did not have my Journey OF660 at the time. If I had it, I might have brought it with us. Knowing what I know now, I probably would not bring it.

We went to Dublin, where my daughter was living/working. We spent the entire week there except for one day when we day-tripped by bus to Galway. We had a built-in tour guide since she'd been there for several months and knew Dublin inside and out. So we didn't struggle with finding things. There was just so much to do and see that every day was packed full with sightseeing during the day and eating/drinking/pubbing at night. By the end of those days we were exhausted.

There are pubs on every corner and usually ten in between. The pubs with live music had established acts playing, much like here. I did not see any that looked like 'drop-ins' were encouraged or invited. There were plenty of buskers on the busy market streets in both Dublin (Grafton Street) and Galway (Quay Street). Again, it didn't look like it was any sort of open jam.

So I would say that if you don't mind schlepping the extra piece of luggage and you envision a relaxing, relatively slow-paced vacation and you just want to have the guitar to play in your hotel room or inn at night to relax then yes, bring it. Especially if you plan on staying in many of the smaller, slower-paced countryside towns. I know they offer these types of vacations over there to people that don't like or want to go to the busy, historic places.

But if you plan to try to pack in a ton of sightseeing/eating/drinking/pubbing and you think you might be able to do some drop-in jamming with a busker or band at a pub then I think you might find that you won't use it much and it was not worth dragging it along.

I recently spent a week on the road for business and took my Journey thinking I'd enjoy playing it. I did but I did not play much (a few minutes in the hotel room in the evening or mornings) and by the end I knew that I'd never bring it along on a work trip again. If I was going to someplace like a beach resort where the whole stay was going to be just basking in the sun on the beach and eating and drinking with just a relaxed pace then I'd likely bring it on that type of vacation.

[jim1960]

You're in Ireland to see Ireland. A guitar is just going to be in your way.

[Silly Moustache]

As your guitar is composite you shoudn't have issues at customs but take your receipt with you.

There is a tradition in Ireland called "the Craic". That means that there are ots of folk jams in pubs. A guitar wuold be a good thing to have to join in with the throng.

Buying a guitar in the EU means you will need to get it through US customs upon your return and all the CITES issues apply.

[devellis]

Originally Posted by Methos1979

...

There are pubs on every corner and usually ten in between. The pubs with live music had established acts playing, much like here. I did not see any that looked like 'drop-ins' were encouraged or invited.
...

While that would tend to be true in cities like Dublin and Galway, the small towns will have sessions that are more like social gatherings of locals. At those, it's a less formal gathering and the regulars will be glad to learn more about you, including what and how you play. Unlike a lot of US Irish music sessions, they'll probably welcome your playing non-Irish music and, if you start off playing some Irish stuff, may well ask you to play something from where you're from.

I suppose things may have changed since I've been there -- it's been several years now. But I bet the flavor of sessions in the small towns is still pretty much the same. And frankly, that's the music I enjoyed the most. Yes, it was fun to go into a big hotel in Dublin and hear "big name" Irish traditional musicians play what was more a show than a session, but I most enjoyed hearing local guys (regrettably, no gals, as I recall) play their favorites, tell stories, try to learn about the visitors, and just enjoy themselves.

[KenL]

Having been there too, I agree with devellis. A guitar would just be something to worry about when you should be having a nice time visiting one of the best places there is to visit.

Leave it at home, have a great trip. Take lots of photos, and talk to the locals, they are a hoot, generally, and they like Americans. Enjoy the scenery, the little towns, the food, and the culture.

You can play when you get home while you're sitting on your porch wishing you were back in Ireland.

[AZLiberty]

Originally Posted by Jeff Sherman

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Jeff

Go to Ireland.
Go to Donegal
Visit Emerald
Acquire new Emerald Guitar

Bring back Emerald Guitar as a memento of your trip.

[Long Jon]

Much as I love having one available at all times, I would not want to haul a guitar around with me on holiday,,,,
unless I was in a car or staying in just one place.

Also, you have not said whether or not your wife shares your enthusiasm for “the craic” ...

As an Emerald owner and convert, I know where I’d want to go ....



If you take four harmonicas, maybe C, G, A and either E or D, you’ll pretty much have Irish jammin’ covered.. .

[pukematrix]

How long will you be in Ireland? The reason I ask is my wife and I spent a week or so in Dublin for our honeymoon back in 2012. We stayed at the Westbury hotel in City Centre and took day trips via train or bus all over. I will tell you that we had so much that we wanted to do and see that I don't know that I would have had much time to play. If I were going for two weeks, and could bake in a "down day" or two, I'd consider bringing one. I did have the good fortune to play a lovely Lowden in Dublin and a McIlroy in Galway - that scratched the itch.

Enjoy your trip. I've been twice and am confident that you will love it!

Austin

[Yrksman]

Originally Posted by Silly Moustache

As your guitar is composite you shoudn't have issues at customs but take your receipt with you.

There is a tradition in Ireland called "the Craic". That means that there are ots of folk jams in pubs. A guitar wuold be a good thing to have to join in with the throng.

Buying a guitar in the EU means you will need to get it through US customs upon your return and all the CITES issues apply.

CITES issues for an individual only apply to Brazilian Rosewood. I’m on my way to Austin again next week and I’ll be taking either a Cocobolo Bown or an EIR Kinscherff, just as I have four times since the new CITES regs came into force.

[Jeff Scott]

Originally Posted by zmf

I'm pretty sure that married couples exchange something made of wood for their 35th. (or not -- who cares) Guitars are made of wood. There are at least three excellent luthiers in Ireland. The solution is so obvious.

What's the OP getting for his wife?

My guess would be something like a 100 year old English Arts & Crafts sideboard for the dining room.

In our case, it was a Yamamoto Talus VS-12 and a 1912 Gustav Stickley sideboard, so I am speaking from experience.

[Eamon]

Originally Posted by Long Jon

Much as I love having one available at all times, I would not want to haul a guitar around with me on holiday,,,,
unless I was in a car or staying in just one place.

Also, you have not said whether or not your wife shares your enthusiasm for “the craic” ...

As an Emerald owner and convert, I know where I’d want to go ....



If you take four harmonicas, maybe C, G, A and either E or D, you’ll pretty much have Irish jammin’ covered.. .

Their rendition of the Cottagers Reply was really terrific. For a second there I was almost feeling compassion for an Englishman.

[Steadfastly]

Originally Posted by Jeff Mc

We did a two week trip to Scotland and Ireland just about exactly a year ago. I toyed with taking a guitar. I am really glad that I did not. It would have just been one more thing to schlepp around. I had thought that it would be nice to sit around outside and play and we stayed at some places that it may have been nice to do that, but the weather was pretty cool/cold and Scotland was kind of drizzly most of the time. The weather in Ireland was beautiful every day with highs in the 50s, but that is highly unusual. If you are looking to play along in pubs, not sure how that would work. You might google Johnsmith who is a singer/songwriter who also does trips to Ireland. He and other musicians lead quite a few and most get booked pretty quickly. Even if you don't want to do one of his trips, he may offer some advice if you email him.

That was my thought too. It could end up being more burden than it's worth. If you really get a hankering to play a guitar, you can always visit a music store and play one of their demos for a bit.

[mtcross]

The music was great, but that VW Bus was stunning...