Day 1

Arrive Dublin Airport where you will be met by your guide. Transfer from the airport to a private suite at your city centre hotel.  If you are young, arty and trendy then The Clarence will be the place that you will want to stay.  A little less idiosyncratic is The Fitzwilliam.  The more conservative will prefer The Merrion and for the finest rooms (albeit lacking in any specifically Irish character) The Four Seasons is outstanding.  Outside Dublin The K Club offers the finest 5* experience.  

Overview familiarization tour of Dublin on the way into your hotel.  To relax from the flight a luxury picnic on a private estate in the Wicklow Mountains can be arranged.   This evening you might enjoy a welcome Irish whiskey tasting reception where you will sample 3 different Irish Whiskeys against Scotch and Bourbon, discover the history of Irish Whiskey and the differences between each whisk(e)y, and end your session with a glass of Irish Whiskey, a Whiskey Cocktail or an Irish Coffee, as well as receiving your Whiskey Tasting Certificate.  Followed by dinner.

A tour of the centre of ancient Dublin, visiting the Georgian Squares, St Patrick's Cathedral, Trinity College, with the famous Book of Kells, the pre-historic gold at the National Museum, and finishing in the pedestrianised shopping area of the city centre. Pub lunch.

18^th century dinner in a private home, built in 1772, in the heart of Georgian Dublin, where Oscar Wilde's tutor lived.  Travel from your hotel by horse drawn carriage.

Full breakfast at the hotel.

Leave Dublin for Powerscourt, one of the World's Great Gardens. It is a sublime blend of formal gardens, sweeping terraces, statuary and ornamental lakes together with secret hollows, rambling walks and over 200 varieties of trees and shrubs. The 18th Century Palladian House now incorporates an innovative shopping experience, terrace cafe and house exhibition. Facilities include specialty shops, interiors gallery, & garden pavilion.  On to Glendalough. This early Christian monastic site was founded by St. Kevin in the 6th century. Set in a glaciated valley with two lakes, the monastic remains include a superb round tower, stone churches and decorated crosses. 

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Along the valley of the River Nore to the village of Inistioge, where the movie based on Maeve Binchey's novel Circle of Friends was filmed.  On to lunch at Berkeley Forest  the private home of the Countess Berntorf,  has a museum of 18th and 19th Century toys, costumes, toy carriages, embroidered textiles and rare dolls - many of them from Irish families. The property is named for the uncle of  the philosopher Bishop George Berkeley, in whose honour the University of California is named.  The walled garden of 1780, now part Italian garden, part fernery, part bonsai, part knot garden overlooked by a fairytale thatched summerhouse, is very attractive. 

 An afternoon VIP visit to Waterford Crystal.  The company of Waterford was first established in 1783 on land adjacent to Merchants' Quay in the heart of the Irish harbor town of Waterford. Its founders were two brothers, William and George Penrose, who were important developers and principal exporters in the city. Their vision was to "create the finest quality crystal for drinking vessels and objects of beauty for the home." More than two hundred years later, the reputation they established for creating glass of unsurpassed beauty and quality has transcended the intervening centuries.

Today, Waterford's principal manufacturing plant stands on a 40-acre site on the outskirts of the city made famous by its glittering product. Return to Mount Juliet for dinner..

Time for shopping as you explore the medieval city of Kilkenny with its narrow streets and quaint shops.  The impressive castle, the medieval merchants houses and the ancient cathedral make Kilkenny a memorable place to visit.  Alice Kytler, a local witch, was a famous resident of the city in the 14th Century and your walking tour will dwell on some of the supernatural legends of ghosts that are still popular in the city.  Your journey will take you through the foothills of Slieve na Mon, the mystical mountain of women, and across the Knockmealdown Mountains to Lismore, visiting a most unusual still inhabited medieval castle on the way.  Overnight at the Castle Hyde Hotel in Fermoy.

Full breakfast followed by departure for Cork with a tour of Blarney Castle on the way. Blarney is set in beautiful wooded countryside, & steeped in history and magical charm.  For many of the visitors to Blarney, their first priority is to kiss the famous Blarney Stone high up on the Castle battlements. Tradition holds that those who kiss the Blarney Stone will be endowed with the gift of eloquence - "the gift of the gab", as the locals call it.  Lunch in the fishing port of Kinsale.  A private tour of the new Gluckmann gallery in Cork.  Developed over three years at a cost of €12m, the Lewis Glucksman Gallery  hosts major exhibitions of international art.   Return to Fermoy by way of a private stud farm - the Georgian mansion at the heart of the farm is one of the finest houses  in Ireland.

Follow the valley of the River Blackwater to Killarney.  Lunch in a private Georgian mansion on the River Laune.  An opportunity to try out digging for turf and some time spent with a shepherd who will demonstrate the art of working a sheep dog.  Tea with one of Irelands foremost patrons of the arts in Ireland at her private house in a stunning setting over the Atlantic.  Follow the Ring of Kerry, one of the most beautiful roads in Ireland, to Kenmare. Overnight in the Park Hotel.

If you like spa treatments at all then it would be a waste to be at the Park and not to use there Spa, one of the top 20 worldwide.  Other activities for the day might include a sea safari,  or a ride across the mountains.  Today should be very much a day to relax.   Kenmare is a town with a wealth of interesting shops - antiques, lace makers,  crafts, music, and lots of pubs!

Morning coffee at Glin Castle, home of the 27th Knight of Glin whose family have lived here since the 14th century.   Lunch in the village of  Adare followed by a private curator tour of the Hunt Museum in Limerick.  Spend your last night in the Palladian inspired home of Conor O'Brien, Lord Inchiquin, chieftain of the O'Brien Clan  and direct descendant of Brian Boru, the High King of Ireland

Depart from Shannon Airport.