Just about 30 minutes from Shannon Airport lies a civilized breakfast that will tempt and overcome even the staunchest dieter's will. Set on an 840-acre estate and sporting a golf course designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr., Adare Manor has been named one of Europe's top resorts. Like most fine establishments in Ireland, the hotel serves a lavish buffet with a full Irish breakfast, also known as a fry, featuring almost everything that can be fried and eaten, from tomatoes to rashers.

Ireland is justly famous for its natural beauty, and few spots in the country are as picturesque as the Dingle Peninsula. The narrow shoelace of a road that crosses the peninsula's Connor Pass is one of the reasons cars are so small in Ireland. When you drink in the spectacular view of the quilted green valley below and sparkling Atlantic Ocean beyond, you will be grateful for having squeezed in.

Although Blarney is more famous for its castle and stone, the town is also home to one of the most enjoyable places in the country for shopping. Housed in an authentic old factory with 30,000 square feet of retail space, the flagship store of Blarney Woollen Mills features an enormous selection of Waterford crystal, Belleek china, classic Aran sweaters and a great deal more. Be sure to ask for the forms that will allow you to get your VAT back at the airport.

On sheer cliffs that drop hundreds of feet straight into the Atlantic Ocean lies one of the most spectacular golf courses anywhere: the Old Head Golf Links. The Old Head of Kinsale is a dramatic peninsula that juts out into the sea just a few miles from the wreck of the RMS Lusitania, and the course atop it is 7,200 yards long with a par of 72 and green fees beginning at $375. Tiger Woods has been known to prepare for the British Open with a round on these links.

Ireland is filled with ancient citadels that add a touch of class to the landscape, and none is more luxurious than Dromoland Castle. President Bush stayed at this castle during his visit to Ireland in 2004. Guests can go fishing or boating on Lough Dromoland or hunting on the estate's ample grounds.

Situated in a manor built on top of a 400-year-old Norman castle, Ballymaloe House is just 5 minutes away from Ireland's most famous cooking school and its internationally renowned chef, Darina Allen. Meals there are a luxurious affair beginning with aperitifs enjoyed on plush furniture in the Yeats Room, and concluding many hours later in front of a heavily stocked dessert trolley.

Guinness is one of Ireland's most celebrated exports and is said to taste better the nearer one is to the source. No place is closer than Gravity, the pub situated atop the brewery itself, where you can enjoy a complimentary pint of the black stuff after touring the grounds of St. James' Gate in Dublin. Gravity features what may be the best views of Dublin through its 360-degree panoramic windows.

A slightly less alcoholic but no less powerful beverage in Ireland is tea, and the Irish drink more of it per capita than anyone else in the world. Enjoy a cuppa in style -- along with delicious scones, desserts and finger sandwiches -- in the sumptuously appointed Lord Mayor's Lounge at the recently renovated Shelbourne Hotel in the heart of Dublin's most fashionable neighborhood.

For a country of its size, Ireland has produced an astonishing number of Nobel laureates in literature, including William Butler Yeats, George Bernard Shaw, Samuel Beckett and Seamus Heaney. Pay homage to the earliest and physically most beautiful work of Irish literature by visiting the Book of Kells, the illuminated gospels written by monks around the year 800 A.D. and housed in the library of Trinity College.

For a frightening but authentic glimpse into the history of Celtic warriors, be sure to attend a hurling match while you are in Ireland. Played almost nowhere else in the world, this sport makes ice hockey look genteel and cerebral. Each player is armed with a stick made of ash, secured with metal bands at the tip, and the ball flies about the pitch with enthralling speed and accuracy. Helmets and teeth are for the weak.