We have had a lovely time during the past two days Dublin is great. Thanks for all your help who offered hints and tips!
The flight was with Thomson Fly from Doncaster airport, and they were 99p each way (plus taxes), which came to about £25 return all in.
We stayed at Hardings Hotel on Fishamble Street, Dublin 2. It was great value. We booked it through Octopus Travel. It was approx £130 for the room, B&B for 2 nights. It was very easily within walking distance of the city centre - 5 to 10 minutes, about 10 minutes of the Jamesons Brewery, and of the Guiness place. About 2 minutes from the river. The hotel was in such a great location, and the rooms were big, clean and comfortable. I would definitely recommend it.
Guiness centre was good too. The actual tour is self directed, with a fair bit of reading. TBH we prefer guided tours, but it was worth visiting. The restaurant there was lovely. And the final bar, where you get your freebie drink, right at the top with 360 degree views of Dublin, was fantastic.
We also went on a guided tour of the Jameson distillery. FIL was selected to do the big tasting session at the end. It was about 11am, and he had to sample 6 different whiskeys, and then he got another glass of his favourite. I'm not so keen on the stuff, neither was MIL - so DH got to have 4 glasses too! Needless to say they were quite cheery that afternoon
During the second morning we went ont he Viking tour - like a duck tour in London, on the bus/boat thingy. Was great fun. DD enjoyed pretending to be a Viking and roaring at unsuspecting passerbys. The rest of us enjoyed hearing and seeing more of Dublin.
I have to say I have never been anywhere where there are so many bars and restaurants. It's amazing!
All in all a fab time.
Oh, and MIL was so pleased with her birthday suprise; she couldn't believe no one had let it slip.