Honeymooning in Ireland
- sarahwilk24
- Feb 18
- 8 min read
Updated: Sep 1
Pack Your Bags
99 pieces | ZDEL Blocks: DL-50374
Assembled by Sarah Wilkinson, Hunter Williams; February 2025
Interaction Rating: 4 / 5 (interaction with the set is encouraged, but use extra care)
In 2026, Sarah and Hunter hope to travel to Ireland for their honeymoon. They decided to wait to go on their honeymoon for many reasons, but mainly because they didn't want to try to plan international travel while also planning the wedding (and Hunter is out of PTO for the year). The couple has chosen Ireland because it was one of the first things they connected about when they met. Sarah studied abroad in Dublin during college, giving Ireland a special place in her heart. Hunter has always been fascinated by Irish history, music, and culture. Sarah can't wait to show Hunter some of the places she discovered during her time there. Hunter can't wait to take his first international trip—with Sarah!
Sightseeing
384 pieces | LEGO: 60407
Assembled by Andrew Deese, January 2025
Interaction Rating: 5 / 5 (interaction with the set is encouraged)
The couple has not planned an itinerary for their trip, but they thought a sightseeing bus was an appropriate way to represent their hope to see as many sights as possible. Riding on the second story of a double-decker bus is a rite of passage for visiting Ireland or the United Kingdom, and you never know what might happen when you're on one. One of Sarah's favorite memories from her time in Ireland occurred on the second story of a bus, when a group of high school rugby players spontaneously broke out into a rendition of Amy Winehouse's "Valerie."
St. Patrick's Cathedral
3,221 pieces | Reobrix: 66023
Assembled by Mike Alfare, December 2024
Interaction Rating: 3 / 5 (interaction with the set is okay, but only with help from an adult)
Among the sights they hope to see are the beautiful, historically significant buildings and ruins, including churches, cemeteries, and castles that are nearly everywhere you look in Ireland. When Sarah lived in Dublin, she would walk past St. Patrick's Cathedral on her way to her college's education building on Leeson Street. The bell could be heard tolling the hour across much of the city. People have lived in Ireland for at least 33,000 years, much earlier than most estimates of the first people to arrive in what would become the United States. Some structures, such as the Newgrange Passage Tomb, date back to approximately 3200 BCE. St. Patrick's Cathedral was established in the 1100s. There's so much history to see!
Wherever You Go Around the World, You'll Find an Irish Pub
98 pieces | MOOXI: B10-74
Assembled by Sarah Wilkinson, May 2025
Interaction Rating: 4 / 5 (interaction with the set is encouraged, but use extra care)
That truism, from a song by The High Kings, is even more true if you're actually in Ireland. The couple's honeymoon wouldn't be complete without Hunter having at least a few pints of Guinness, his favorite beer. They may not spend a ton of time in pubs, since Sarah can't indulge, but they'll definitely visit a few and hopefully catch some live music. They may even see the Guinness Factory in Dublin, which Sarah lived very close to while studying abroad, but never visited. Hunter deserves to know what the freshest Guinness possible tastes like, and the view from the Guinness Storehouse is enough to keep Sarah occupied for as many beers as Hunter's heart desires.
Kissing the Blarney Stone
166 pieces | MOC: 75349
Assembled by Sarah Wilkinson, January 2025
Interaction Rating: 4 / 5 (interaction with the set is encouraged, but use extra care)
One thing Sarah didn't do when she was in Ireland was kiss the Blarney Stone at Blarney Castle in Cork. It's an old castle dating back to 1446, featuring a famous stone that people bend backward over to kiss. The legend of the Blarney Stone is that it grants whoever kisses it the "gift of the gab," or the ability to be charismatic and eloquent. The couple doesn't know if Blarney Castle will make the final itinerary, but they hope to travel to different counties around Ireland and meet some locals. Sarah remembers people being quite friendly, especially in rural areas (despite their hatred for American politics and influence).
Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge
31 pieces | Unbranded: MM2486
Assembled by Mike Alfare, January 2025
Interaction Rating: 3 / 5 (interaction with the set is okay, but only with help from an adult)
No trip to Ireland is complete without a stop in Northern Ireland, which is a separate country within Ireland that's part of the UK. It stems back to the long and storied history of England's colonization of Ireland, which continues to the present day. Hunter is fascinated by The Troubles, a war that pitted Catholics in Ireland against Protestants in Northern Ireland beginning in the late 1960s and ending in 1998. The couple has even listened to an audiobook about it together (Patrick Radden Keefe's Say Nothing). Belfast is a must-see destination for the couple due to its rich history, but they also hope to explore other places in Northern Ireland. Sarah crossed the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, first erected in 1755, which is suspended over the ocean to reach Carrickarede Island, on a trip during college. It would be fun to do it again with Hunter, but first, Sarah will have to convince him to overcome his fear of heights!
Ballintoy Harbour
86 pieces | MOC: 18100
Assembled by Hunter Williams, January 2025
Interaction Rating: 5 / 5 (interaction with the set is encouraged)
Very close to the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge is Ballintoy Harbour in County Antrim. It's a stunning harbour where the water slams against the rocks, creating huge plumes of water and mist that catch the light and shimmer as they fall. It was one of several places in Northern Ireland where scenes from Game of Thrones were filmed, hence the Iron Throne set chosen to represent it. Another famous spot from the show is The Dark Hedges, a stand of beech trees that form a beautiful but foreboding archway over the road near Armoy. Ballintoy isn't far from the Giant's Causeway, an incredible natural formation of salt columns that you can climb out on. Of course, as the legend goes, they weren't formed naturally at all, but built by giant Finn McCool to reach his giant Scottish rival, Benandonner, who destroyed the causeway in his haste to retreat from the battle.
Dunluce Castle
3,995 pieces | LEGO Brinklink: 910029 (retired)
Assembled by Hunter Williams, September 2025
Interaction Rating: 3 / 5 (interaction with the set is okay, but only with help from an adult)
While in Northern Ireland, the couple may stop to see one of the most incredible castles on the island, Dunluce Castle. It's a ruined medieval castle located on the edge of a basalt outcropping with extremely steep drops on either side. The main structure was first built in the 13th century and was subsequently restored and expanded over the centuries until it fell into ruin. It was the site of many bloody feuds between Clan McQuillan, the original owners of the castle, and Clan McDonnell, who seized it in the mid-1500s. Legend has it that a severe storm in 1639 caused the castle's kitchen to collapse into the sea below, leaving only one corner intact, where the kitchen boy stood. Sarah explored the ruins during her college trip and knows Hunter would be charmed by standing in the middle of a medieval castle ruin.
Ewe Wanna See Some Sheep?
70 pieces | Unbranded
Assembled by Mike Alfare, June 2025
Interaction Rating: 4 / 5 (interaction with the set is encouraged, but use extra care)
The West of Ireland is also a gorgeous part of the island that the couple wants to see. Beautiful, expansive hills meet rolling bogs, a land where sheep roam, producing the wool for which Ireland is famous. The bogs are themselves a worthy sight to behold, featuring a unique topography not often found in the United States. Bogs are incredible at preservation, and people in Ireland have pulled some fascinating things from them, including a stick of butter preserved after 2,300 years and bodies, the oldest of which dates back to 800 BCE. Many of these remains can be seen at the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin, which is likely to be included in the final itinerary. Especially because the museum also has an extensive collection of Bronze Age weaponry, Hunter's favorite.
International Cat Friends
77 pieces | LEGO: 30701
Assembled by Sarah Wilkinson, March 2025
Interaction Rating: 4 / 5 (interaction with the set is encouraged, but use extra care)
While visiting the West of Ireland, the couple hopes to make some international cat friends, just as Sarah did when she was visiting Inis Oirr, one of the Aran Islands, in college. The island she visited was primitive in many ways. The small community had electricity and indoor plumbing, but the main form of transit was a horse-drawn buggy, and the local cafe's milk came from the cow hitched up in the backyard. The island was teeming with friendly cats that belonged to the entire community, which added to its charm. If the couple visits, they will be sure to visit the Plassey Shipwreck, the rusting hulk of which has rested on rocks near the shore for sixty years. If they're lucky, they may even see dolphins jumping near the ferry harbor. Sarah will have to remember to take Dramamine this time so she can enjoy the view of the Cliffs of Moher on the way back to the mainland.
The One that Got Away
1,044 pieces | Funwhole: F9005 (retired)
Assembled by someone in Europe, probably
You may notice that there's a cheeky "wanted" poster displayed as part of this exhibit. That's because the couple couldn't obtain this set, which was what they initially wanted to use to represent Dunluce Castle, despite making many attempts. Due to logistical limitations with the company that manufactures the set, it can only be shipped to people living in select European countries. After attempting to buy it on the third-party market a whopping six times and having the order get canceled each time because the item was "out of stock," Sarah tried to contact the company directly for help. When they couldn't help, Sarah even tried to contact someone she knew (through a friend) living in France. Alas, she was not able to help at that time. They even won a storytelling competition hosted by Funwhole on Reddit, which granted them the ability to choose any set they wanted for free; however, even then, Castle on the Cliffs was still out of reach. So the couple made the "wanted" poster and began to accept that this would be "the one that got away." They were only able to obtain the retired Bricklink Mountain Fortress to represent Dunluce Castle because LEGO quietly sold some additional stock they had on hand, which Sarah only discovered because she is apparently a true LEGO Insider now. She was able to get this set, now worth over $550 on the secondary market, for its original retail price, and managed to place her order before the set sold out (which happened within a minute of them going on sale). It is the rarest set they have on display in their museum.
Photos from Sarah's time abroad in 2016, featuring many of the places the couple hopes to visit together on their honeymoon.
The couple with their friends Mike and Vanessa at Richmond's Irish Festival in March 2025. Never too early to get excited for their trip to Ireland in 2026!