Kinsale's night life centers on pubs and restaurants. Pubs post announcements in their windows a few days before traditional music evenings. Our favorite was the unassuming Tap, just off Higher O'Connell Street near St. Multose Church. On the walls hung aging photos of champion hurling teams, and from the ceiling dangled triangular banners advertising Murphy's Stout. An enormous, coal-black cat liked to doze on a stool, while standing patrons eyed it but lacked the nerve to make it move.
Traffic is light and distances short.
A first stop west from Kinsale should be the majestic ruins of Timoleague Friary, which you initially spot from across a broad estuary. With a little effort, a person can picture how this Franciscan abbey looked hundreds of years ago when it still had its roof, when the asphalt road circling it was a dirt path with carriages and horseback riders, and when robed monks tended the roses. Farther west, Clonakilty is a busy village of flower boxes and narrow streets, its homes and shops painted the bright colors favored by third-graders. This is where local people come to shop and do business. Stop at the cozy An Sugan Pub on Wolfe Tone Street for a stout or lunch.