General wedding info (travel/accommodation info)

In order to help those of you who will be travelling to book your travel and accommodation in good time we’re sending this information out ahead of our invitations.

We strongly suggest making your bookings as soon as possible! This page and the next contain some important facts you’ll need to know so please read them carefully:

Location, location…

• Our wedding day is Friday 1^st August 2008 (we picked Friday so those who are traveling won’t have to travel back immediately the next day if they don’t want to)
• The wedding ceremony will be at 1pm in Angela’s home town (village) of Stradbally, Co. Laois (approx 1hr from Dublin by car)
• The wedding reception is at Ballykealey Manor, just outside the village of Ballon in Co. Carlow
• Ballykealey Manor is a further 50 minutes drive, south of Stradbally on the N80, approximately 10 minutes beyond Carlow city (which is by-passed by the N80)
• If traveling, you’ll need to arrive on Thursday 31^st July at the latest

Accommodation…

• Accommodation is available at Ballykealey Manor for the wedding night (12 hotel rooms and 15 self-contained lodges beside the hotel, each sleeping 5)
• Ballykealey will book up quickly so if you’re keen to stay at Ballykealey you must book through us as soon as possible
• There is another wedding at Ballykealey on the Thursday and also on the Saturday so if you do wish to stay there before or after the wedding, only the lodges will be available and you’ll need to book them before the other weddings do so. Also be aware that there will be a wedding going on each night
• We're happy to help guests club together to book lodges
• The rest of the accommodation listed here (B&B’s, Hotels, Self-Catering) is a short drive to Stradbally (ceremony) and Ballykealey (reception) and driving times to each have been provided
• Ballykealey can arrange babysitters
• Ballykealey do not allow pets, but we can recommend a kennel etc. if required

Short stopover or longer stay?...

• If you’re only planning on a quick visit, we suggest staying either at Ballykealey Manor or in any of the accommodation close to Ballykealey or Carlow
• If you plan to be around before or after the wedding then stay closer to Stradbally, where we’ll be based either side of the wedding
• If you don’t wish to stay at Ballykealey either side of the wedding then perhaps staying fairly close by is a better option
• If you plan to have a holiday before or after the wedding, note that weekly holiday rentals are Saturday to Saturday. We recommend Killarney as a good base for seeing the beautiful south west of Ireland

Either side of the wedding day…

• We’ll be around for a few days either side of the wedding (1 week in total)
• The Stradbally Steam Rally (http://www.irishsteam.ie/Steam_Rally/Rally_intro.htm) is on the Sunday and Monday (Irish Bank Holiday) after the wedding (now the second-biggest event in town, recently superceded by the Electric Picnic music festival), the Steam Rally is a great day out for families

Travel (by air)…

• If flying to Ireland, we suggest hiring cars at Dublin airport (those who know each other can club together to share cars, otherwise we can suggest other guests who might want to share car hire). Enterprise car rental are one of the cheapest.

• Easyjet, Ryanair, Aer Lingus, BMI, and Flybe offer direct cheap flights to Dublin from many UK airports but many services are only on certain days of the week
• Flights can be bought in advance from as little as 50p plus taxes so booking very early is advised to get these prices
• Some international flights call into Dublin either before or after their UK stop http://www.dublinairport.com/flight-information/destinations-and-airlines/

Travel (by sea)…

• Ferries Mid-week travel by ferry is cheaper than weekend days. Taking your car by ferry is still slightly cheaper than flights + car hire (unless you can share the car hire with other guests)

• Ferries to Dublin leave from Holyhead and Liverpool (Irish ferries offer the best departure times from Holyhead) http://www.directferries.co.uk/ferry_to_dublin.htm

• Ferries to Rosslare leave from Pembroke (Stena Lines) or Fishguard (Irish ferries). Fishguard offers the best departure times http://www.directferries.co.uk/rosslare_ferry.htm

• Ferries to Dun Laoghaire leave from Holyhead (Irish ferries) this route has good departure times and is cheaper and quicker than both of the above routes http://www.directferries.co.uk/dun_laoghaire_ferry.htm

• All of the above Irish ferry ports are equidistant to Stradbally, although the road from Dublin is the fastest. Dun Laoghaire allows you to miss out the Dublin traffic but still use the faster roads