Land Package Includes:

·          Transport by deluxe motorcoach with a professional Irish driver/guide                                        

·          Hotel accommodations for 7 nights

·          Full Irish Breakfast Daily (except day of arrival)

·          Grandstand tickets for St. Patrick's Day Parade in Dublin

·          Admission into:  Guinness Storehouse, Belvedere House, Cliffs of Moher

·          Hotel tips and taxes throughout.  (Except tips to your personal Driver/Guide)

·          Hotel porterage of one suitcase per person

·          2 Private shows by the legendary Chad Mitchell Trio

·          2 dinners in your hotel before the concerts

·          Medieval Banquet

Itinerary

Day One – 3/15/12 - Thursday             Depart US

Tonight we begin our Irish journey as we board our jet bound for the Emerald Isle.  Enjoy getting to know our group as we make our way from New York to Dublin, Ireland!

Day Three – 3/17/12 - Saturday      ♣ St. Patrick’s Day! ♣

Today is a very special day – St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin!  After breakfast we are transferred to the Parade Route to our reserved Grandstand Seats to see this world famous event. The rest of the day you are free to enjoy. This is among the best St. Patrick Day celebrations in Ireland! As it is a national holiday, all businesses and major stores are closed, but there will be a lot going on. The atmosphere will be one of high spirits and great fun.

Day Four – 3/18/12 - Sunday    Dublin - Anthone - Galway

After breakfast we depart Dublin and head towards the Midlands.  We stop in Mullingar.  Mullingar was a borough by 1210 and a parish by 1205.  In 1227 an Augustinian Friary was established in Mullingar and a Dominican Friary was founded in 1237.  There was also a building called the Frank House which belonged to the Knights Hospitalliers Order.  We enjoy a stop at Belvedere House.  Throughout the gardens there are acres of beautifully kept greenery, lakeshores and woodlands.  The house is an 18^th century hunting/fishing lodge.  There are tours available to show you all around the house while telling you its history.  We continue to Athlone in the center of Ireland.  In 1120 the Connaught king built the first of six successive wicker or wooden bridges, and in 1129 a castle to defend it.  Bridge and castle were destroyed on behalf of the Meath kingdom and rebuilt by the Connaught kings successively over the next forty years.  In 1168 the Annals of the Four Masters record a residence in Athlone for the King of Connaught.  The Cluniac priory was founded on the west bank in 1150.  We continue to youthful bustling Galway City.  In the 1400s there began in Galway the rule of the Tribes, as the leading fourteen families were called.  Their names were:  Athy, Blake, Bodkin, Browne, Darcy, Deane, Font, French, Joyce, Kirwan, Lynch, Martin, Morris, and Skerritt.  Time today to browse “Shop Street” as well as the lively pubs that dot the city.  Overnight in Galway, with dinner on your own.

                                  Galway

Day Five - 3/19/12 - Monday      Connemara

Today you take in the magnificent views of the Connemara region, Ireland’s treasure of wild, natural beauty.  You then visit Kylemore Abbey, monastic home of the Benedictine Nuns.  Today’s journey also includes a visit to Cong for “The Quiet Man Tour”, where John Wayne filmed his famous movie that made Maureen O’Hara famous.  You might even be able to play a part in a scene from that movie!  Later, we will stop for a visit to The Connemara Marble Factory where you will enjoy a tour.  On the way back to Galway we will stop at Staunton’s, filled with traditional Irish woolens,               Quiet Man Cottage

 jewelry and everything Irish!  Tonight, after dinner with the group, we will enjoy a performance at our hotel by the Chad Mitchell Trio!

Day Six-3/20/12 - Tuesday       Galway-Limerick-Killarney

After a full Irish Breakfast we depart Galway.  We continue through Limerick, Ireland’s 3rd largest city and home to author Frank McCourt, who wrote Angela’s Ashes.  Limerick is an area steeped in history.  The origin of Limerick city dates back to the 9^th century, a site settled by the Vikings.  Limerick City is known as “City of the Broken Treaty”, due to the treaty which was signed surrendering the city to William.  The terms of the treaty, which included respect for the rights of Catholics, were immediately breached.  The treaty was signed on the Treaty Stone, which can still be seen today.  King John’s Castle is a fortified 13^th century Castle on “King’s Island” in the heart of medieval Limerick.  The castle, overlooking the river Shannon, opens an exciting window on the lives and stories of the people through political upheaval, war and famine.  Archaeological excavations open to the public roll back the mists of time to pre-Norman houses which predate the castle by 100 years, as well as siege mines, garrison and soldiers quarters and sallyport all found under the level of the present courtyard.  The castle itself features an imaginative exhibition spanning the castle’s history.  We continue to Killarney.  Sites of interest in the town reflect its strong religious and educational history.  Killarney was a monastic settlement from the 5^th or 6^th century and house settlement began here from around 1500.  Explore colorful laneways, a fine cathedral and experience the ambience of busy streets in the town centre.  Nestled amidst deep, lake filled valleys with astounding sights such as the famous Ladies’ View (Named after Queen Victoria’s Ladies’ in Waiting) and the MacGillicuddy Reeks – Ireland’s largest mountain range, home of Carrauntoohil, the country’s largest peak.  Killarney itself is a lively hub of activity.  We will overnight here.  Dinner is on your own.

Day Seven-3/21/12 - Wednesday             Dingle

After breakfast we depart Killarney for the Dingle Peninsula, first stopping at Macken’s of Ireland where you will enjoy a free Irish coffee!  The journey begins with some of the most magnificent scenery in all of Ireland.  The little town of Dingle is straight out of a storybook.  The fishing boats in the harbor and tiny brightly painted pubs portray a time that has continued to stand still.  The population of 1500 people and only 52 pubs are ready to welcome you this afternoon.  Worth the wait is the native seafood chowder served up at lunch time with freshly baked brown bread.  We continue on to Slea Head.  Along the way, we will see bee hive style huts, originally inhabited by 12^th century monks, which overlook the rugged Blasket Islands.  The awe inspiring beauty of this particular area is unmatched.    There is no other landscape in Western Europe with the density and variety of archaeological monuments as found on the Dingle Peninsula.  Tonight, after dinner with the group, we will enjoy another performance at our hotel by the Chad Mitchell Trio!

Day Eight-3/22/12 - Thursday         Killarney-Adare-Cliffs of Moher-Bunratty-Ennis

Morning departure from Killarney has us heading north through Castle-Isle to picturesque Adare.  Once voted as the “Prettiest Town” in all of Ireland, Adare still houses authentic “Thatched Roof Cottages” still in use today.  We continue to view the majestic Cliffs of Moher.  The Cliffs rise 700 feet and stretch out along the very rugged Atlantic Coastline for five miles.  Our journey makes its way to Bunratty with its 600 year old Bunratty Castle and adjacent folk park.  Be sure to visit “Durty Nellie’s Pub” which has been serving up the locals for over 300 years.  We continue on to Ennis, where we will spend the night.  This evening we enjoy a special Medieval Farewell Banquet at Bunratty with entertainment!

             Cliffs of Moher

Day Nine-3/23/12 - Friday            Ennis-Shannon Airport - USA

Sadly, today our Irish vacation has come to its final day.  We will transfer to the Shannon Airport in good time to check in for our flight.  In the true Irish tradition, Ireland wishes you a “Safe Home”.  We will arrive home the same day.