Brian Sullivan of Emerald Rose - Ireland 2010 Tour
Jun 25 – Jul 4, 2010
Itinerary
Fri, Jun 25 |
UNITED STATES TO SHANNON Depart BOS and take an overnight flight across the Atlantic. Enjoy in-flight entertainment and meal service as you travel to start your vacation. |
Sat, Jun 26 |
SHANNON ARRIVAL & DINGLE After landing at Shannon Airport, complete customs and immigration formalities. Then your CIE Tours driver/guide will welcome you to Ireland and escort you and your luggage to the motorcoach. Drive through Limerick and into the mountainous country of Kerry via Tralee. Continue into Dingle where you check into your hotel and the rest of the afternoon is spent at leisure so you can relax after your transatlantic flight before dinner in the hotel restaurant. DINNER & OVERNIGHT: DINGLE SKELLIG HOTEL, DINGLE |
Sun, Jun 27 |
DINGLE PENINSULA Motor south along the peninsula to the tranquil setting of Dún Chaoin and v isit Dunbeg P romontory Fort , which gives you an insight on this triangular fort that defended the landward side by a massive, restored dry-stone wall with elaborate entrance and internal terraces and to seaward by high, eroded cliffs. As you travel, you will see that the Dingle Peninsula has the largest collection of Ogham stones which may have been used as landmarks, or could also have been linked in with land ownership. One of the one of the finest ogham stones, overlooks the Blasket Islands on the summit of Dún Mór (the big fortress). After visiting the fort, continue to the very tip of the peninsula and visit the Blasket Centre in Dunquin to learn about the Blasket Islands, inhabited until 1953 by hardy families who eked out a living by farming and fishing. Next, visit the primitive stone “beehive” huts of the early monks and the Gallarus Oratory, built in the 6 th century of unmortared stone and watertight after 14 centuries. Then stop at the Well of Finn McCool given to him by the 3 Sisters. Return to Dingle and enjoy the balance of the day for independent activities and dining. OVERNIGHT: DINGLE SKELLIG HOTEL, DINGLE |
Mon, Jun 28 |
GREAT BLASKET ISLANDS FERRY
After breakfast, drive to Dún Chaoin to appreciate the beauty of the Dingle Penninsula by ferry to the magical Great Blasket Islands. As you cruise to the magical islands, relax and enjoy the wonderful nature, unique landscape, and stunning seascapes. View the spectacular standing stones and ring & faery forts before returning to Dingle for dinner on your own. OVERNIGHT: DINGLE SKELLIG HOTEL, DINGLE |
Tue, Jun 29 |
Clonmacnoise & Ballinasloe Today travel from Dingle to the center of Ireland to visit Clonmacnoise. This monastic settlement was founded in 545 AD by St. Ciaran and is delightfully set on the banks of the River Shannon. Learn about the history of the site through an audiovisual presentation and take a walk around to see the ancient monuments and the entire area. Stopping at a Faery Fort before motoring to Ballinsloe and checking into your hotel. Enjoy the balance of the afternoon at leisure for independent activities. OVERNIGHT: GULLANES HOTEL, BALLINASLOE |
Wed, Jun 30 |
CARROWKEEL & KNOCKNAREA Head out of Ballinsloe and motor west to visit Carrowmore, the largest cemetery of megalithic tombs in Ireland, and the second largest in Europe. About 60 tombs, a variety of dolmens, stone circles, and passage graves dot the site, spread over an area roughly half a mile wide and one and a half miles long, from north to south. Many consist of a stone burial chamber, which contained cremated remains topped by a roof cap and surrounded by a circle of large stones. Radiocarbon tests on samples from one tomb date it to around 4000 BC. Drive north through County Mayo and Sligo to south of Donegal along the Atlantic shoreline to v isit Carrowkeel passage tombs. Set high on in the Bricklieve Mountains of County Sligo and projecting from the jagged edges of the hillside gorges. Most of the graves are round, built from limestone, and date from 2500 to 2000BC. Cairn K, in the center of the group, has a cross-shaped tomb with a sloping stone roof, and seems to have been designed as a kind of solar calendar, because it catches the rays of the rising sun on the longest day of the year. Travel south to visit Knocknarea mountain, t he 327 meter (1014-foot) high limestone mountain is visually striking, as it is monolithic in appearance and stands in a prominent position on the Cúil Irra peninsula between the bays of Sligo and Ballysadare. After your visit, motor into Donegal and check into your hotel before dining in the hotel restaurant. DINNER & OVERNIGHT: MILL PARK HOTEL, DONEGAL |
Thu, Jul 1 |
SLIEVE LEAGUE & GLENCOLMCILLE FOLK PARK On the way to Glencolumbkille see the slopes of Slieve League. Visit the sea cliffs of this famous mountain where the highest point reaches 1,972 feet, making them the highest in Europe. This mountain forms cliffs on the seaward side with a drop of 900 feet straight down into the wild, Atlantic waves below. Continue through craggy scenery to visit Glencolumbcille Folk Village. Visit traditional cottages showing period furnishings and farming equipment to get a flavor of country life in past centuries. Drive a short distance to Malinbeg, located in the unspoiled beauty facing the Atlantic Ocean and Rathlin O'Byrne Island, it offers spectacular views of the rugged Donegal landscape. Return to Donegal and enjoy a free evening to explore and dine on your own. OVERNIGHT: MILL PARK HOTEL, DONEGAL |
Fri, Jul 2 |
INISHOWEN PENINSULA
Depart your hotel this morning and drive to the Inishowen Peninsula and travel the 100-mile route, which mainly follows the coastline and provides wonderful views. Stop in Buncrana, the peninsula's largest town which sits on Lough Swilly, a deep inlet of the sea. Drive to t he ruined 14th century Greencastle, overlooking Lough Foyle and was built by Richard de Burgo as an English stronghold from which to fight the Irish Chieftains, the O'Donnells and the O'Dohertys. However, the O'Dohertys took the castle. Next, stop at Culdaff to visit the Temple of Deen, a fine and well preserved megalithic monument, sometimes call the Laraghill Cairn which lies on the opposite side of the road to the Bocan stone circle atop the Hill of Deen. There are twenty large stones remaining at the forecourt and the first chambers are well preserved. Then travel south along the western shores of Lough Foyle to the Grianan of Aileach which is one of Ireland's greatest circular ring forts. Archaeologists say that the fort itself dates from 500 BC or earlier, but the circular ramparts may go back as far as 5,000 years ago. Visit the Grianan of Aileach Visitor Center, housed in a former 150-year-old stone church, situated at the foot of the monument. Various exhibits and interactive multi-media displays provide background on the fort ranging from its history and mythology, to the flora and fauna of the area. Return to Donegal and spend the rest of day free to relax before dinner on your own. OVERNIGHT: MILL PARK HOTEL, DONEGAL |
Sat, Jul 3 |
ENNIS Follow the Atlantic shoreline of Donegal Bay through County Sligo and into County Mayo continuing your drive south around Galway Bay to your hotel in Ennis where you check in. There we will have a walking tour of this medieval town. Here we'll hear how nagging women were dealt with & where Biddy Early was tried for witchcraft but those who were to give testimony remained strangely silent. The case was dismissed for lack of evidence. Not to mention tales of murder, rebellions and riots, mingled with myths and legends will keep us entertained until we end our stroll in the most excellent Fawls Pub. In the evening enjoy traditional Irish music in various pubs as we celebrate our last night in Ireland. OVERNIGHT: Old Ground Hotel, ENNIS |
Sun, Jul 4 |
RETURN TO THE UNITED STATES Sadly, today your Irish vacation has come to its final day. Transfer to Shannon Airport in good time to check in for your flight. You may do some last minute shopping at the duty free stores. Then clear U.S. Immigration before boarding your aircraft and flying across the Atlantic Ocean back to the United States. |