Day 1: Dublin City
(12km)
Welcome to Dublin.
After you pick up your
car at the Hertz desk, transfer to your city centre hotel. In the
afternoon you can explore this capital city with its many historic
buildings, Georgian streets and colourful gardens. Take the opportunity
to visit some of its many attractions such as the GAA Museum and Croke
Park. A visit to the GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association) Museum is a must
for those interested in Irish history and culture and in the
development of Ireland’s national games of hurling and football. You
can also visit one of the other famous Irish institutions, the Guinness
Storehouse, where a tour will be followed by the opportunity to sample
the world famous stout in the Gravity Bar, which overlooks Dublin City.
This evening why not
join the Traditional
Irish Musical Pub Crawl is led by two professional musicians who
perform tunes and songs while telling the story of Irish Music and its
influences on contemporary world music.
Ovenight in a Hotel
(Mount Herbert Hotel or similar).
Day 2: Galway City
& Ennis (285km)
This morning, you
travel west from Dublin
City and across the central plains of Ireland to Galway, called the
“City of the Tribes” after the fourteen most prominent families in this
area. En-route to Galway and before you cross the River Shannon,
Ireland’s longest river you can visit Clonmacnoise a 6th
century Christian site. Arrive into Galway, which has long traded with
Spain and the Spanish influences are many in the city. Galway long
traded with Spain and the Spanish influences are many in the city. Of
note is Spanish Arch, a gateway in the old city walls and the Spanish
Parade, where wealthy merchants and their families enjoyed a stroll
along the promenade. Following time to explore some of the many pubs
and restaurants this University City has to offer, continue on to
Ennis, in County Clare which many feel is the home of traditional Irish
music.
Many pubs, such as
Brogan’s Bar in Ennis offer night time Irish Music entertainment, so
the choice is endless.
Overnight: Queens
Hotel, Abbey Street, Ennis, Co. Clare or similar
Day 3: Bunratty Folk
Park & Glór –The Irish Music Centre (100km)
Today you will have
an opportunity to
tour County Clare. In Ennis you can visit Glór –The Irish Music Centre,
the national centre of excellence for the performance of Irish music.
The state-of-the-art centre provides a forum for musicians and artists
to showcase their work to audiences in an environment, which respects
and supports the traditions and evolution of Irish music. You can also
visit the nearby Bunratty Castle & Folk Park and explore the
beautifully restored Castle rooms, the traditional thatched cottages in
the Folk Park and reconstruction of a typical turn of the century
village, complete with schoolhouse, hotel and pub, potters, millers,
weavers, print shop, post office, portrait studio, doctors house, and
confectioners.
This evening why not
return to Bunratty
to attend “Style” - Stories of Irish Dance at the Corn Barn Venue. This
is an evening entertainment with a difference, nowhere else can you
experience the fun of what the Irish do best;
enjoy themselves! This
highly acclaimed show features a spectacular fusion of traditional and
contemporary Irish Dance. The show interprets the story of Irish Dance
from earliest times to the present day modern dance phenomenon. The
dance sequences are interspersed with music and song including a
specially commissioned piece - "Style". Enjoy delicious home cooked
food with wine and join in the song and dance!
Overnight: Queens
Hotel, Abbey Street, Ennis, Co. Clare or similar.
Day 4: The Aran
Islands – Wednesday (85km)
Today, why not visit
Inishmore, the
largest of the three Aran Islands. The Island is accessible by ferry
from Doolin in the heart of Clare and is still largely Gaelic speaking,
and maintain much of the traditional Irish Island customs, which
reflect the harshness of the island life. See some local ladies hand
knit the traditional Aran sweater. Take your time to explore the island
either on foot, by bicycle or by mini-coach. Visit the mystic fort of
Dun Aengus, a 2000-year-old fort with its imposing
position
overlooking the Atlantic. Return to Doolin and time permitting visit
the Cliffs of Moher an impressive range of cliffs which rise to a
height of 700 feet above the sea and stretch for a distance of about 5
miles along the coast. Return to Ennis for overnight.
This evening you can
relax and enjoy some of the many nightly Irish music sessions Ennis has
to offer.
Overnight: Queens
Hotel, Abbey Street, Ennis, Co. Clare or similar
Day 5: County Kerry
(150km)
Depart Ennis and
continue south into
County Kerry. En route, you could stop in the medieval city of Limerick
and perhaps visit King John’s Castle which was built between 1200 and
1210 and has been at the centre of Limerick’s turbulent history.
Leaving Limerick, you can head into north Kerry and visit the Foynes
Flying Boat Museum which tells the story of the port of Foynes and its
association with flying boats during the period from 1939-1945. You can
also sample an Irish coffee where Chef Joe Sheridan made the first
Irish Coffee to warm up some damp miserable passengers in 1942.
Continue on to
Tralee, the principal town
of Kerry and perhaps visit “Kerry the Kingdom”. This includes a
photographic exhibition, a collection of artefacts of Kerry origin and
“Geraldine Tralee” which tells the story of Tralee and the Kerry area.
This evening you can
attend a performance
at Siamsa Tire – the national Folk Theatre of Ireland for a performance
featuring Irish music, dance and folklore.
Overnight in Bed
& Breakfast (member of Town & Country Homes
Association) Accommodation – in Tralee/Dingle area.
Day 6: Dingle
Peninsula (125km)
Today you can set off
to tour the Dingle
Peninsula with its dramatic scenery, including Dunquin, on the
westernmost tip of the peninsula, to visit the Blasket Centre. Here you
will discover what life was like on the remote Blasket Islands. This
living history museum explores all the dimensions of island-living,
from the land, the sea, and the language, to the weather and the
seasons, as well as the distinctive character of the Blasket Islanders.
Return to Dingle where a visit to the Celtic Garden Café is a must.
Here (and subject to availability) Benny O’Carroll, the well known
Irish musician who has travelled extensively with his “Sessions from
the Hearth” group performs a lunchtime concert.
This evening you can
relax and enjoy some of the many nightly Irish music sessions Tralee or
Ennis has to offer.
Overnight in Bed
& Breakfast (member of Town & Country Homes
Association) Accommodation – in Tralee/Dingle area.
Day 7: Kerry Dublin
(350km)
This morning, we
depart Tralee and head
towards Dublin. En-route, why not visit the Rock of Cashel, which rises
dramatically from the flat countryside. This site has the best set of
varied monuments in any Irish site. The rock is crowned by a group of
buildings, both ecclesiastical and royal, including a round tower, a 13th
century Romanesque chapel and the beautifully restored Hall of the
Vicar Choral. At the foot of the Rock of Cashel is Bru Boru, a cultural
village and home to the study and celebration of native Irish music,
song, dance, theatre and Celtic Studies. “Sounds of History” recounts
the stout of Ireland’s history.
Continue on to Dublin
and to your hotel located in Killiney in the suburbs of Dublin and
overlooking Dublin Bay.
This evening, why not
take in the dinner
and Irish music show at Taylors Three Rock Pub. Entertainment is by
Dublin’s top ballad group, the Merry Ploughboys and the Taylors Three
Rock dancers.
Overnight in a Castle
(Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel or similar).
Day 8: Depart from
Dublin Airport (50km)