Ireland Whiskey Trail

O’Brien’s Tower is perched along the Cliffs of Moher in Clare County. The cliffs, rising more than 300 feet out of the Atlantic Ocean, are southwest of the Burren, rugged terrain in the nation’s western region.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

Giant’s Causeway, right, is a major tourist attraction in Ireland. Its hexagonal columns of basalt were formed as molten lava cooled.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

The St. John Gogarty Bar in Dublin’s energetic Temple Bar area has live Irish music.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

The Ha’penny Bridge, which crosses the Liffey River, was opened in 1816.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

In Dublin, the Gaiety Theatre features opera, musicals, drama, dance and more.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

The Temple Bar serves Guinness, naturally.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

In the mood for pub food in Sligo? Fiddlers Creek can be accommodating. It even has a vegetarian menu.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

Dublin’s Arlington Hotel has live music and dancing.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

Pedestrians cross the Liffey River, an important element in the works of native son James Joyce.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

Derry in Northern Ireland is a historic walled city with a tumultuous past.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

Youths hang out in Derry, near a mural depicting the flags of England, Scotland, Wales and Ulster. The “Troubles,” as the conflict between the Catholics and Protestants is often called, have finally been set aside, and the city is calm.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

In this area in Derry, civil rights protesters were wounded and killed by the British military in 1972. The incident is called Bloody Sunday.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

The streets of Derry, which has emerged as one of the area’s most progressive cities.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

A local man sits in the company of statues on a bench in the center of Galway, Ireland.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)