[matt303]

Background:

After a trip over to Ireland in July I was kicking myself for taking the diesel so upon returning home a return trip was quickly planned for the Zoe. The plan being to spend a few days over on the Co Galway coast before heading up to the in-laws in Co Armagh.

Car used:

Renault Zoe Dynamique (R240 so 22kW max charge rate)

Drive 1 Derbyshire to Dunboyne Castle Hotel and Spa outside Dublin:

We set off early to allow for any problems and after stopping for 30 mins at Nantwich (engenie) and 30 mins at Kinmel Park Westbound (EH) we got to the port 90 mins eairler than we do in the diesel.

Upon getting to Dublin port we used a 22kW AC post at the Topaz services at the port which gave the traffic time to die down a little before making our way to the Hotel.

Drive 2 Dublin to Rossroe Lodge B&B Connemara:

We were looking foward to our first full day of EV driving in Ireland and had even selected charging posts in towns rather than just sticking to the motorway rapids.

First stop was Conolly's Folly which is a spot on the Irish EV owners photo rally.

Then followed the drive across Ireland with stops at an Applegreen services to charge, then a 22kW post in Kilbeggan which has a distillery and a chocolate shop to visit while charging.

Final two charges of the day were at Ballinasloe and Galway, both 22kW AC posts, followed by another stop for a photo rally picture.

Wild Atlantic Way Days:

We spent a 3 nights as the Rossroe Lodge B&B which not only let us charge but also give people visiting in EVs a 10% discount. Charging at the B&B gave us more than enough range for each days driving.

Drive 3 Coast to Co Armagh:

Another day of 22kW posts at Westport, ToberCurry and Enniskillen allowing us to wander around and get something to eat or drink.

Drive 4 Co Armagh to Home:

A simple drive down the A1/M1 to Dublin port with a couple of top ups at service stations and then a charge to 99% at the 22kW post we used on the trip out. We then back tracked our UK route but used Singling Kettle and not Kinmel Park.

Totals and ESB charge network:

We applied for an ESB card before going, this is currently free. Charge locations tended to be either a 2 socket 22kW AC post or tripple headed rapids, there are still some sites that are massive old DC only chargers with a 22kW AC post but these seem to being upgraded to tripple over time.

I'm not sure I'd have attempted this trip in anything other than the Zoe, it would have at least meant a much more limited choice of routes without the high power AC charging.

 

[Neilew]

Hi @matt303 Can I be cheeky and ask how much it all cost (the ferry and B&Bs). I'd love to go to Ireland, bought always thought it might be expensive. Do you need a passport?

You must have had a wonderful time. It looks so romantic

 

[matt303]

Ferry was £329, 3 nights at B&B was £140ish once converted from Euros, and the one night in the 4 star Hotel/Spa was around £100 (£5 cheaper than nearby Premier Inn).

I believe you don't need a passport as long as you have an approved form of photo ID with you.

I should point out that the west coast did live up to it's wild reputation with occasional gales and heavy rain at this time of year.

Pub food is around €12 to €17 for a main, restaurants seem to be around €25 a main or more.

 

[Neilew]

Ferry was £329, 3 nights at B&B was £140ish once converted from Euros, and the one night in the 4 star Hotel/Spa was around £100 (£5 cheaper than nearby Premier Inn).

I believe you don't need a passport as long as you have an approved form of photo ID with you.

I should point out that the west coast did live up to it's wild reputation with occasional gales and heavy rain at this time of year.

Pub food is around €12 to €17 for a main, restaurants seem to be around €25 a main or more.

Thanks for that Matt. Looks like a good choice for next years holiday.

 

[King Ming]

Brilliant write-up @matt303 !

I once went Yorkshire - Liverpool - Belfast - Dublin - Waterford - Dublin - Holyhead - Yorkshire in my Leaf. Will be going back to Ireland soon in the Zoe. I still have my ESB RFID card. I thought they had started charging, no?

Just a small bit of trivia regarding passport/ID. Irish and British citizens are free to travel between Britain and Ireland without the need to carry a passport or any ID at all. That said, implementation of the Common Travel Area agreement is inconsistent and so some form of ID might be handy, just in case.

 

[dpeilow]

You see a lot of comments on social media that the ESB parts are often out of service or ICEd. Any problems while you were there? I had very few issues when I visited two years ago, just the one dead post.

 

[matt303]

The only post that I saw ICE'd was the one in Clifden which had no markings in the spaces, all the points we used were marked spaces and empty even in quite busy locations. I understand it can vary between authority if the spaces are marked as EV points, the Irish EV Owners Association have been raising this and it is improving.

 

[Tooks]

Looks like a fantastic trip!

I went on a driving holiday to Ireland nearly 20 years back (a bit of business too), but alas I was in a Ford Firsta 1.6D...

A great country, full of great people and places to see. For once, the tourist board gubbins was mostly true!

 

[Sandy]

So 4.4mpkwh average... That's near 100miles per 22kWh... Impossible. You must have driven everywhere at 18mph. Lol


Glad you had a good time!

 

[matt303]

Here's the full stats from the car

 

[King Ming]

Just under 1000 miles.. that's got to be, what, £150-£200 of fuel in an ICE?

 

[matt303]

Probably about £110 in my Fiesta, cost £12 in the Zoe for two 30 minute EH charges.

 

[King Ming]

Probably about £110 in my Fiesta, cost £12 in the Zoe for two 30 minute EH charges.

Damn Ecotricity!

 

[EV Rider]

Pla

Brilliant write-up @matt303 !

I once went Yorkshire - Liverpool - Belfast - Dublin - Waterford - Dublin - Holyhead - Yorkshire in my Leaf. Will be going back to Ireland soon in the Zoe. I still have my ESB RFID card. I thought they had started charging, no?

Just a small bit of trivia regarding passport/ID. Irish and British citizens are free to travel between Britain and Ireland without the need to carry a passport or any ID at all. That said, implementation of the Common Travel Area agreement is inconsistent and so some form of ID might be handy, just in case.

Plans were floated for paying for charging last year,but an oversight study had to be completed first,and then a change of government put the plan on the. Back boiler...so,for now,still free all over Ireland..next year,who knows?

 

[King Ming]

Pla

Plans were floated for paying for charging last year,but an oversight study had to be completed first,and then a change of government put the plan on the. Back boiler...so,for now,still free all over Ireland..next year,who knows?

Good to know man!

 

[matt303]

In some ways ESB have been caught out by being very early to roll out a lot of chargers and the relatively slow uptake of EVs in Ireland.