Dublin to Shannon

Paula and I have done this before, traveling from Dublin to Shannon Airport by train and bus.  Trains for Limerick or Cork leave Dublin every hour on the hour, but do not run to Shannon or the airport.  To get between Shannon and any other city therefore requires some combination. Years ago, Shannon was the official and only entry point for any transatlantic flight to Ireland, but since Dublin is now a destination, perhaps due to facilities or competition, traffic to and from Shannon has fallen off, although it still serves the Continent and some transatlantic traffic.  In all those years, though, no rail connection from Shannon city or airport developed, so the best you can do is either bus to Shannon and to the airport from Dublin, or as we have done, train to Limerick, and change to bus to Shannon airport.  

Even this is complicated, in that the regular trains from Dublin with the exception of only a few, don’t stop at Limerick, but go on to Cork, so you have to change at Limerick Junction, a matter of crossing the platform with your luggage, from the inter-city train to a more local and older version to get into Limerick.  But then the bus ticket office is right inside the station, and the side parking area features several bus docks for buses to various places.  It’s a pleasant trip, and the bus drops us aat the airport, just a short walk across the parking lot to the Park Inn where our tour companions are gathering.

Shannon is mostly a commercial and industrial city, with minimal historical or touristy attractions other than Bunratty Castle nearby, so killing time in Shannon is not nearly as rewarding as in other cities, which is why we prefer flying into Dublin.  The Park Inn at the airport is a cut or two below other airport hotels, with unpredictable hot water, small rooms, badly regulated room heat, minimal electrification, peeling paint, ceiling mold in places, and a general air of tiredness as far as physical facilities go.  Signs claim affiliation with the Radisson chain, but the general aspect would suggest that the Radisson standards and maintenance division prefers flying in and out of Dublin as well. 

On the other hand, immediately next door is a school of hotel management, so the service staff tend to be excellent, as does the food, and The Boys have developed an excellent rapport with the managers, so it’s a little like Radisson service in a facility approaching Fawlty Towers.