An Irish Literary Tour

visiting sites associated with James Joyce, W.B.Yeats. George Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde, Olive Goldsmith & a host of other literary greats.  This special tour created by Adams & Butler includes visits to houses & collections to which the public does not normally have access.

Day 1

Arrival transfer; Familiarization tour of the city. Lunch in Chapter One, a literary restaurant, with a visit to The Writer's Museum upstairs.

At the Writers Museum at 18 Parnell Square on the north side near the Abbey and Gate theaters, the lively and knowledgeable guide told us that "Irish writers take a story and embellish it to make it magical." The museum houses copies of the magical works of most of the great Irish story tellers: Bram Stoker and George Bernard Shaw are among the many famous name represented within the museum

Check into Brooks Hotel. Afternoon tour of the Dublin Bookshops, finishing at the National Library of Ireland. Literary Pub Crawl (where storytellers re-enact Irish literary gems).

Day 2

Sandycove and Joyce's Tower; walk up Killiney Hill; A reading in The Exchange Book Shop in Dalkey with coffee & biscuits. Past the home of Maeve Binchy and one of Bernard Shaw's childhood homes to Killiney Hill for a brisk walk to the summit. Return to the city centre to see The National Gallery on Merrion Square, Greenes Bookshop & Oscar Wilde's old home on Merrion Square Pub supper and then Abbey Theatre; Brooks Hotel

 

 

 

Day 3

St Patrick's Cathedral, home of Dean Swift & Marsh's Library where Sherian LeFanu worked; Christchurch Cathedral, Fishamble St, Site of 1st production of Handel's Messiah in 1742; Lunch at the Brazen Head (oldest pub in Dublin founded in the 12th century); George Bernard Shaw's home. Trinity College Library & the Book of Kells, an 8th Century manuscript. Tea at The Joyce Centre in North Great Georges Street. Dinner at The House of The Dead.  It is because James Joyce set the short story The Dead  in No. 15 Usher's Island that it can claim the building to have one of the greatest literary addresses in the world. The literary pedigree is hard to beat. Most of the characters are based on people Joyce would have met there while visiting his aunts. It  merits a further mention in Ulysses (Circe Chapter). And John Huston topped it all off with his own masterpiece and swansong.  Brooks Hotel

Day 4

Depart Dublin for Sligo. Visit   home of The Pakenham family (Lord Longford, founder of the Gate Theatre, Antonia Fraser, etc) Lunch at Carriglass Manor, home of the Lefroy family (Judge Lefroy was the inspiration for Mr Darcy in Pride & Prejudice). A visit to the Oliver Goldsmith Library in Longford.

Overnight at the Riverside Hotel. This newly opened Hotel features 66 luxury bedrooms, bar and restaurant with large conservatory overlooking the river which serves an exciting and varied menu. Many of the bedrooms also offer views of the river below. There is leisure centre and conference rooms also.

 

Or The Lough Allen Spa

In the Northwest region of Ireland Lough Allen Hotel and Spa nestles on the shores of Lough Allen between the Arigna MountainAnd Sliabh and Iarann. The region is Ireland's hidden gem. There are lakes in abundance, waterways and canals and a country that dose more than justice to Ireland's 'Emerald Isle' reputation! It is the ideal base to discover and explore the surrounding Counties, coastlines, historic sites, heritage sites, lakes for fishing and picturesque towns and villages.

Day 5

Tour of Yeats' grave, Lissadell house, where the Gore Booth sisters lived, Yeats' inspiration, Lough Gill & The Lake Isle of Inishfree and Ben Bulben Mountain. Scriobh Literary Festival Reading this evening.

Day 6

Walking tour of Sligo followed by lunch in a private house with a Yeatsian expert. An afternoon exploration of the pre-historic site of Carrowmore.  Carrowmore is the largest cemetery of megalithic tombs in Ireland. The tombs are spread out over 3.8 sq km (1.5sq mi) in the shadow of the Knocknarea to the east, over a number of fields and townlands, most of them situated near the road. Carrowmore's placement on a low-lying gravel ridge contrasts to the hilltop situation of other cemeteries; each mounment stands on its own little eminence.

Day 7

Through John Healy's Charlestown and George a Birmingham's Westport (with a visit to a private antiquarian book dealer on the way). Lunch at leisure in Westport and then through North Connemara to Galway. Overnight Brennans Yard Hotel or similar in Galway's city centre

Day 8

Walking Literary tour of Galway visiting Nora Joyce's house; the Druid Theatre; visit to Kenny's and Charlie Byrne's bookshops; Walk the prom to Salthill;. Afternoon visit to Ross Castle, the home of Violet Martin, co-author of the Somerville & Ross novels. Evening visit to theatre (if available).

Day 9

To Thor Ballylee, Yeats' tower. On to the Irish Literary Centre at Coole Park for lunch. Explore the Burren, visiting the ruins of Tyrone house, celebrated by John Betamin and Somerville & Ross. Banquet at Kinvara Castle.

Day 10

The Blind Poet's Graveyard and the Turlough. Medieval Athenry. Richard Murphy's Tuam. Cong. Return to Galway.

Day 11

Depart Galway. Visit Clonmacnoise.  The ancient monastic site of Clonmacnoise is situated at the crossroads of Ireland in County Offaly and dates back almost 1,500 years. St. Ciaran, the son of an Ulsterman who had settled in Connaught, chose the site in 545 AD because of its ideal location at the junction of river and road travel in Celtic Ireland. The location borders the three provinces of Connaught, Munster and Leinster. The monastery is on the east side of the River Shannon, in what was then the Kingdom of Meath, but occupying a position so central it was the burial-place of many of the kings of Connaught as well as those of Tara.

Lunch in Goldsmith's Glasson. On to Dublin. Check into hotel. Pre-theatre supper. Gate Theatre.

Day 12

Tour of North Dublin visiting Malahide Castle (where Bowell's papers were found). On to Newgrange and the prehistoric monuments of the Boyne Valley. The poet Francis Ledwidge's cottage. Dunsany Castle, home of Lord Dunsany. Return to Dublin

Day 13: Departure transfer