St. Patrick Tours: Itinerary
DAY 1: GOING TO IRELAND
Begin your voyage to Ireland.
DAY 2: DUBLIN
Meals: Three Star Ashling Hotel, Dublin
Accommodation: Three Star Ashling Hotel, Dublin
Arrive Dublin Airport where our Tour Manager will be waiting to greet you and to escort you onto our luxury coach which is yours for the entire duration of the trip. Take a half day city tour of Dublin, with its mixture of history and industry, including a visit to St. Patrick's Cathedral. Afternoon check-in at our three star hotel beside Phoenix Park, home to both the US Ambassador and the President of Ireland.
DAY 3: TARA— SEAT OF THE HIGH KINGS
Meals: Three Star Armagh City Hotel
Accommodation: Three Star Armagh City Hotel
Depart Dublin after breakfast and head north on the N3 to Tara, seat of the ancient High Kings. When you climb the hill, you will see why Patrick had to confront his pagan opponents at this site— it controls the trade routes through the now lost "fifth province" of Midh— the middle of the country. From here we approach the hills and bogs which shielded the northern part of Ireland (the province of Ulster) until the coming of the Anglo-Normans in 1175. Crossing through a gap in the hills, we reach the city of Armagh, still the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland and seat to both the Roman Catholic and Anglican (Episcopalian) Primates.
DAY 4: ARMAGH
Meals: Three Star Armagh City Hotel
Accommodation: Three Star Armagh City Hotel
Morning drive to the town of Downpatrick, site of the saint's grave and of the wonderful St. Patrick Centre. Afternoon return to Armagh to see both cathedrals and the ancient Celtic fort of Emain Macha, recently re-opened to the public.
DAY 5: BELFAST
Meals: Three Star Hotel on the North Coast
Accommodation: Three Star Hotel on the North Coast
A 45 minute drive brings you to the city of Belfast, where thankfully, the St. Patrick's Day parade is no longer the preserve of one community or the other. A two hour city tour will show you the highlights of this former factory to the world and although the shipyard is still and the heavy industry has long since gone, you can still see where the Titanic was built and launched: a very eerie and evocative place. Follow this up by a drive to Slemish, an old volcanic plug and now a "green hill far away" where St. Patrick once tended sheep. Off the tourist trail, you are likely to have no-one but sheep for company as you stand on a quiet Irish hillside.
DAY 6: DERRY AND BEYOND
Meals: Three Star Carlton Hotel
Accommodation: Three Star Carlton Hotel
After breakfast, gear up for the drive via Coleraine and Limavady to the city of Derry, Londonderry or just Stroke City— you choose. Derry, founded by St. Columb in the sixth century, is a fascinating place as it is the cradle of much of the turbulent history of the north of Ireland. Whatever your persuasions, Derry is at the core of Irish history and the clash of two cultures.
Afterwards, a drive south along the River Foyle through counties Tyrone and Fermanagh and the town of Enniskillen (the only town to raise two regiments for the British Army) to the village of Belleek, home to the famous pottery. The tour here is great fun and the staff in the visitor centre are an absolute delight. They will ship any purchases you might make— and they replace breakages without complaint! Your overnight hotel is just across the street— the three star Carlton for dinner, bed and breakfast. For an evening of "craic agus ceol", try the Black Cat pub up the street.
DAY 7: DERRY
Meals: Three Star Carlton Hotel
Accommodation: Three Star Carlton Hotel
Morning drive along the north shore of Lower Lough Erne via Boa Island and Kesh to Enniskillen for a boat excursion to the ancient monastic site of Devenish with its splendid round tower. Although there is little to see on the island, it will give you a sense of the peace and isolation which so appealed to the first monks, guardians of the faith in troubled times. Afternoon free in Enniskillen.
DAY 8: WESTERN ADVENTURE
Meals: Three Star Castlecourt Hotel in Westport Town Centre
Accommodation: Three Star Castlecourt Hotel in Westport Town Centre
After breakfast, depart for Westport and Croagh Patrick. En route, stop to see Yeats' grave at Drumlciff, a former monastery founded by St. Solumba in 574 AD. Then we climb the spectacular hill of Knocknarea (Hill of the Kings) just outside Sligo to see the Carrowmore megalithic cemetery with its spectacular tombs and view over the Bay. After lunch, steady progress through the west of Ireland until we arrive in Westport for your overnight stop.
DAY 9: CROAGH PATRICK AND LEENAUN
Meals: Renvyle House
Accommodation: Renvyle House
Weather permitting (not always the case!), a short drive on the coast road to Croagh Patrick for a tour of the informative visitor centre. This is the holy mountain where the saint fasted for 40 days in 441 AD and it is still a special place of pilgrimage for many Irish people. After Croagh Patrick, we will take the scenic route to Louisburgh and then over the spectacular Doo Lough Pass to Leenaun, where "The Field" was filmed. Leenaun is unusual in that it is at the head of Ireland's only fjord— Killary Harbour— and the boat trip is spectacular.
Thence to one of the last of the great Irish country house hotels: Renvyle House (www.renvyle.com). Words cannot do justice to what Ronnie Counihan and his brigade have created at the end of the world— just enjoy. Dinner, bed and breakfast at Renvyle, with its peat fire in the entrance and its wonderful ambience are just out of this world.
DAY 10: GALWAY AND BUNRATTY
Meals: Bunratty Castle Banquet
Accommodation: Bed and breakfast in a Bunratty guest house
Leaving Renvyle is always a wrench but we head west and south on our last full day. First stop is the madcap city of Galway, growing at an explosive rate. After a stop here, we turn south and head for the village of Bunratty with its intact castle and folk park. Tacky as it may sound, the Bunratty banquet is great fun and provides a splendid send-off at the end of your trip.
DAY 13: DEPARTURE
Morning short transfer from Bunratty to Shannon airport for your trip home.
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