Romantic Ireland’s not dead and gone, it’s ready and waiting to be explored

Sarah Gill talks to a selection of romantics for whom Ireland will always hold a special place in their heart

The happy couple: Vicky and Michael Brabin say Ireland has been a very special backdrop to their love story.

In 1913, W.B. Yeats penned his well-known refrain lamenting the loss of romantic Ireland, noting that it is, in fact, “with O’Leary in the grave.” 

Now, more than a century later, we continue to muse on this same point: is romantic Ireland really dead and gone, having vanished as cultural monuments are erased and our young people emigrate, or does it linger on in that ineffable Irish spirit that can be felt across the entirety of this little island of ours?