Day 1 – Saturday, September 9th, 2023 ~ We will meet at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Perry Hall where we will board our coach for Philadelphia. We will fly overnight to Ireland. Or if you are flying from another airport and booked your own airfare we will meet you in Ireland. See the Zoom info on the next page!
Day 2 - Sunday, September, 10th 2022 ~ Our flight will arrive at approximately 8:55 am. After collecting our luggage, we will head to our luxury coach for a short coach ride and we’ll be in the to the charming, seacoast town of Malahide. Malahide had its beginnings about 795 as a Viking settlement on the Irish sea. The real reason to visit Malahide is to experience Malahide Castle and Gardens. We are booked for a private, guided tour of the very impressive 12th-century ‘Malahide Castle’. The castle had been in the Talbot family for almost eight hundred years from 1185 until it was sold in 1976! You will have time to stretch your legs and stroll among the famous gardens, we will allow enough time to see the ‘Walled Gardens'. The stone stables have been converted into a large and nicely done visitor center which is full service for lunch and shopping. After our guided tour of Malahide Castle, Our driver will take us to The Bunratty Castle and Folk Park. We get to stretch our legs in Bunratty Folk Park and explore the 26-acre site, as well as the Medieval Castle before checking into the George Hotel, in Limerick. Tonight, we’ll enjoy dinner at Durty Nellies at 6 pm., is the bright yellow pub in the shadow of the the15th century castle; Nellie’s dates from 1620. Their motto is, “Eat, Drink and Enjoy.” It has been described as and in fact, is the quintessential Irish pub. Although tourists find their way to Nellies, it remains “the local” for the area residents and has that feel about it. Features live Irish music.
Day 3 – Monday, September 11, 2022, After a Full Irish Breakfast at the George Hotel, we set off for the iconic Cliffs of Moher at the Atlantic ocean’s edge.. The highest sea cliffs in Europe. You will view the splendor of nature from your 700-foot-high view of the Atlantic. The Cliffs, have over a million visitors a year not counting the dolphins, whales, and scores of migratory and nesting birds with visitors. It will leave us excited and humbled. Tonight we dine with the Lords and Ladies of Bunratty Castle at a feast of food and entertainment in the style of a Medieval Banquet.
Day 4 ~ Tuesday, September 12, 2022, After a Full Irish Breakfast at the George Hotel, we leave Limerick to travel Northwest with a brief stop in the pedestrian-friendly “City of the Tribes”, Galway. You will be given a short list of suggested places to visit all of which are free. In Galway, we will be free to roam and explore things like the Galway City Museum, and the King’s Head Pub if you wish your guide "Anne'' will suggest places you can have lunch.
Our next stop on our way to Westport is Kylemore Abbey and Walled Gardens. Kylemore Abbey is a community of Benedictine nuns: women committed to witnessing the Gospel of Jesus through the monastic life of prayer, work, and community according to the Rule of St. Benedict at Kylemore Abbey in the heart of Connemara.
Since arriving in Kylemore on 4 December 1920, their community has been anchored in the spiritual, social, educational, and cultural life of Connemara and Ireland. They established a boarding school for the education of the daughters of some of Europe’s most aristocratic families, as well as the daughters of the local, working-class Irish families.
For over three hundred years the community expressed its outreach of hospitality primarily in the education of Catholic girls in Ypres and later in Kylemore. The closure of their school in 2010 gave us the opportunity to explore our understanding of their mission. Today, they are engaged in developing a mission of Benedictine hospitality at Kylemore for the future. A visit to Kylemore is more than an enjoyable outing. It is an encounter with a unique place that invites the visitor to relax and attend to both body and soul. We will check in and enjoy dinner tonight at 'The Westport Plaza Hotel'.
Day 5 Wednesday, September 13, 2022, After a full Irish breakfast at the Westport Plaza Hotel, will have free time to visit and shop in typical, Irish shops. Relax and leisurely explore the award-winning, picture-perfect town of Westport. We will meet at our hotel in the late afternoon, we will board our coach, and set off for the Atlantic Coast road along the edge of the Atlantic Ocean on the haunting. We’ll stop for photo ops. We’ll learn about the island’s ecology and historic characters like the 16th-century pirate Queen, Grace O’Malley, and her infamous life and times. On our way back to Westport, we’ll stop for dinner at the family-owned, Nevins Newfield Inn for dinner.
Patrick's Custom Tours reserves the right to substitute visits, entertainment, hotels and other features when they cannot be visited for reasons beyond our control.
Cost:
$2,844 LAND PACKAGE
$3,593 Full Package with Airfare
$636 Single Supplement
Day 6 Thursday, September 14, 2022, After our full Irish breakfast, we leave lovely Westport and head Northeast to Sligo Town. After a short ride, we visit The National Museum of Country Life, at Turlough Park. The museum showcases rural Irish life from mid-nineteenth-19th to mid-20th century (the famine period from 1840 to approximately 1950. The modern museum building contrasts with the grand, Gothic Manor house built in 1865, and each is a reflection of the times they represent. At its largest, it was an 8500-acre estate granted to the Anglo-Irish, Fitzgerald family by the Cromwellian land settlement in the mid-1600s. The estate and village get their name from the Irish, Turlach which means a lake that dries up in the summer. Tonight we stay in the heart of Sligo Town at 'The Glasshouse Hotel'.
Day 7 Friday, September 15, 2022 After our full Irish Breakfast at the Glasshouse Hotel, we head Northeast and cross just over the border into Enniskillen, Northern Ireland which is still part of Great Britain. Our first stop will be at the Belleek Pottery Factory, which has been known for 160 years for distinctive, basket-weave designs in fine, porcelain china.
On the way back to Sligo town, we'll stop in the tiny village of Cliffony and have a pint at O'Donnell's Pub! When we leave ODonnell's we will have a short break in Drumcliff to pay our respects at the grave site of Ireland’s favorite poet, William Butler Yeats. He rests in the shadow of the mystic mountain known as Ben Bulbin, at the church where his great-grandfather was rector 150 years before. Dinner tonight will be at Fiddler’s Creek Restaurant and Pub on the Garavogue River.
Day 8 Saturday, September 16, 2022, After our full Irish breakfast at The Glasshouse Hotel, it’s off to Donegal Town, Donegal sits at the mouth of the Eske river and Donegal Bay with the Blue Stack Mountains and the highest sea cliffs in Europe, Slieve League. We’ll stop at the Abbey ruins at the foot of Donegal town, where a statue of the famous Red Hugh O’Donnell stands an eternal watch over the clans' lands. Donegal is the ancient home of the Tir Connaill kingdom controlled by the O’Donnell clan. O'Donnell's Bar, Donegal Town is on the diamond in Donegal.
We’ll have a guided tour of Donegal Castle built in the 15th century by O’Donnell chieftains. We’ll learn of the historic connection between the American Choctaw Indians and Donegal. Weather permitting, we’ll enjoy a boat ride on Donegal Bay to catch a glimpse of seals sunning themselves on the rocks.
We will check in to 'The Mill Park Hotel'. Dinner tonight will be at the hotel dining room in Donegal.
Day 9 Sunday, September 17, 2022, After a full Irish breakfast at The Mill Park Hotel, we will visit Derry, in Northern Ireland. Derry is on the Foyle river. Derry is the only, complete, medieval walled city in Europe. The walls are 20’ high and 20’ wide. They have never been breached which is why Derry is also known as the “Maiden City”. Derry’s history both past and present has been extremely complex and we will have a local guide join us on our coach to guide us through the sights and events of that history. We will continue the tour atop the Medieval wall with an impressive view of the surrounding landscape. We return to Donegal for dinner at The Salmon Inn, a short drive from town.
Day 10 Monday, September 18, 2022, After a full, Irish breakfast, at The Mill Park Hotel we check out and head to our last and final destination, 'The Clayton Hotel', Dublin. We will stop in Cavan at Smith’s Diner for a break and for those who might want lunch. We will continue on to The Clayton Hotel, Dublin. Our farewell dinner tonight is at Taylor’s three Rock and includes professional Irish musicians and dancers in a lively performance of Irish songs and dance.
All local taxes and Gratuities are included.
Your Driver's and Guide's Gratuity are not included and are left to your individual discretion.
If you still have questions call Patrick from 6:00 am to 11:00 pm 7 days a week
at 443-742-9021 or click the box below to see, the cost, terms, deadlines, etc.
This Tour Includes;
* Transportation by Luxury coach from Baltimore County to the Philadelphia Airport.
* Round trip Airfare to Ireland (If the Full Package is selected).
* Thomas, a professional Irish coach driver who will stay with you until you leave Ireland!
* Anne a professional Ireland Tour Guide,
Anne will share her views of ancient and current Ireland's history.
* 9 Evening Meals.
* 10 Full Irish Breakfasts.
* A private guided tour of Malahide Castle.
* 2 Nights by Shannon in Limerick at 'The George Hotel'.
* Admission to Bunratty Folk Park and Castle.
* Admission and meal at 'The Bunratty Medieval Banquet'.
* A dinner at the world-famous 'Durty Nellies Pub'.
* Admission to 'The Cliffs of Moher'.
* Admission and Tour of 'Kylemore Abbey'.
* 2 Nights at 'The Westport Plaza Hotel' County Mayo.
* A coach tour and Photo Opportunity on Achill Island.
* Visit 'The Holy Shrine of Knock'
* Tour 'The Museum of Country Life' in Turlough.
* A free Pint at Pat's family's Pub in Swinford.
* 2 Nights in Sligo at The Glass House Hotel.
* We will have a photo op at the foot of 'Benbulbin'.
* Stop at *Yeats Grave.
* A private tour and Shopping at 'Belleek'.
* Dinner at *'Fiddlers Creek' in Sligo.
* 2 Nights in Donegal at 'The Mill Park Hotel'.
* Admission to *Tour Donegal Bay by the 'Bay Water Taxi'.
* Admission and a guided 'Tour of Donegal Castle'.
* A day trip to 'Derry' in Northern Ireland.
* Admission to a 'Guided walking tour of *The Wall of Derry'.
*1 night at 'The Clayton Hotel' in Dublin!
* Farewell dinner and Ireland show at ‘Taylors 3 Rocks’.
* Transportation to the Dublin airport to catch our flight home.
* In Philadelphia we will meet our private bus and we will be taken back to
Baltimore County where we were picked up on Sept. 9th.
Our Itinerary;
OUR BEST TOUR
"The West is Best Tour of Ireland"
aka The search for more O'Donnell's
Day 11 Tuesday, September 19, 2022, After a full Irish breakfast at the Clayton Hotel, we will check out and head to the airport. We will leave Dublin for the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave! In Philadelphia, we will meet the same coach that picked us up on Saturday, September 9th.
Saturday September 9th to Tuesday September 19th, 2023