Ireland is nothing if not a mix of fact and fancy. The Irish have woven tales forever, creating in the process the myths and martyrs for which its people are so well loved. Stories have poured forth from the Emerald Island as freely and as easily as stout flows from her innumerable pubs. Remember, James Joyce was an Irishman. Ireland is a thing of beauty too, a place where orchids, of all things, grow beside thorny, fragrant pines, and where the furious Atlantic beats up against stony black cliffs with an anger that sends seabirds flying. And Ireland is full of contrasts. Sleepy hamlets lie tucked into velvety valleys where folk live a life unchanged for centuries. Meanwhile, twentysomethings fill the theaters in Galway , and designer wear sells in swank shops along Grafton Street in Dublin .

 

April 3rd

Arrive Shannon where your driver guide will be awaiting you.  Depending on time of arrival start by visiting Bunratty Castle and Folk Park

     

Bunratty Castle  was built in 1425 by the MacNamaras and then passed to the O'Briens who were Earls of Thomond. The Castle is furnished with mainly 15th and 16th century furnishings.  Bunratty Folk Park recreates rural and urban life in the 19th century Ireland . Visitors can for example view farmhouses of various economic backgrounds, a watermill, church and village street. The Walled Garden at 19th Bunratty House has been sensitively restored and is a must-see for all garden enthusiasts

Stop for coffee at Dromoland Castle

Visit Thoor Ballylee, a 16th Century tower house owned by the poet, W.B. Yeats, who wrote many works here stimulated by his surroundings and visit Coole Park, home to Lady Gregory who founded Dublin's Abbey Theatre.

Yeats' Tower Coole Park

Ross Erril Friary is one of the biggest medieval monastic ruins in Ireland, and after passing that you soon come to Cong, where Ashford Castle will be your home

Ross Friary The Pigeon Hole At Cong Abbey

At Ashford visit the Falconry school - that should be arranged in advance, which we can do - it is not open to the public without appointment.

The Neale Cong Stone Circle Killary Harbour

Apr 4 Explore Connemara - maybe take a cruise on Killary Fjord as part of the trip. Overnight Ashford. 

Ashford Cruise Killary Cruise

Apr 5 From Ashford  take a huge leap down to Killarney and stay at The Killarney Park - It is a full day. On the way  cross the Burren and have lunch near The Cliffs of Moher

The Cliffs

The Jail at Tarbert

Crossing The Shannon

April 6 There is a lot to do around Killarney - everything from a day's touring around the Ring of Kerry, 125 miles of a scenic loop, to being taken by horse drawn carriage through the mountains and then coming back up the lakes in a row boat, to climbing the mountains, to just exploring the town.

Scenes around Kerry

April 7th

Blarney Cahir Cashel

First to Blarney, just over 1 hr from Killarney. Leave Blarney by 12.00 and aim to eat maybe in Fermoy - there is a nice coffee shop that rejoices in the name Munchies or O'Callaghan's Delicatessen & Bakery in Michelstown, the next town - both have good food from local producers. Stop in either Cahir to see the largest castle in Ireland or Cashel, with its romantic ruins on top of the Rock. From Cashel to Dublin will be another 2.5 hour drive, so arrival in Dublin would be around 5.00 pm (try and beat the rush hour traffic in Dublin - it is terrible!!) I would suggest that the Merrion would be the best choice followed by the Four Seasons.

April 8th

Dublin - again it depends on the ages of the children, but amongst other things a Viking Splash Tour in a World War II amphibious landing craft, a DUK, might be fun. If they are not too impressionable, a ghost tour in the evening is also a possibility. The city has lots of other attractions - galleries, museums, beaches, gardens, ...

A Tour of Dublin's Fair City

Bank of Ireland , College Green
The prestigious offices of Ireland 's national bank began life as the first purpose-built parliament house in Europe . Completed in 1739 it served as Ireland 's Parliament until the Act Of Union in 1801  
Trinity College
Founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth. Among many famous students to attend the college were playwrights Oliver Goldsmith and Samuel Beckett. Trinity's lawns and cobbled quads provide a pleasant haven in the hearth of the city. The major attractions are the Old Library and the Book of Kells, housed in the Treasury. Exit form the front of the Trinity complex and walk from College Green to Dame St and Continue west passing:
The Olympia Theatre - Dating back to the 1800s, this Victorian music hall-style theatre has a capacity of 1,300. It presents an eclectic schedule of variety shows, musicals, operettas, concerts, ballet, comedy, and drama. As a variation, for the late-night crowd, live bands are often featured after regular programs.  A brief diversion here will bring you into the trendy Temple Bar area. Across the Street is  
City Hall 
Erected between 1769 and 1779, and formerly the Royal Exchange. It is a square building in Corinthian style, with three fronts of Portland stone. Since 1852, however it has been the centre of the municipal government. The interior is designed as a circle within a square, with fluted columns supporting a dome shaped roof over the central hall. The building contains many items of interest, including 102 royal charters and the mace and sword of the city. Adjacent to City Hall is:
Dublin Castle
Built between 1208 and 1220, this complex represents some of the oldest surviving architecture in the city, and was the centre of English power in Ireland for over seven centuries until it was taken of by the Irish Free State in 1922. Highlights include the 13th-century record tower, the largest visible fragment of the original Norman castle and the State Apartments, once the residence of English viceroys and now the focal point for government ceremonial functions, including the inauguration of Ireland 's presidents. At this point Dame St takes on the name Lord Edward St , and leads to  
St. Patrick's Cathedral
 Ireland 's largest church was founded beside a sacred well where St. Patrick is said to have baptised converts around 450A.D. A stone slab bearing a Celtic cross and covering the well was un-earthed at the turn of the century(20th). It is now preserved in the west end of the cathedral's nave. The original building was just a wooden chapel and remained so until 1192 when Archbishop John Comyn rebuilt the cathedral in stone. Much of the present building dates back to work completed between 1254 and 1270.  Cut back to  
Powerscourt Town House Centre
The townhouse of a famous Georgian family. Today the building houses one of the cities nicest shopping centres. In the 1960's major restoration turned it into a centre of specialist galleries, antique shops, jewellery stalls, cafés and other shop units. Carry on to Grafton Street down the narrow Johnson Court Alley  

 
In the afternoon explore the Great Georgian Squares and Doorways.;  Visit the famous Phoenix Park, Home of our President Mary McAllesse;  See the delights of the city of Roddy Doyle, James Joyce, Brendan Behan, Sean O' Casey, Oscar Wilde and Nobel Prize winners W.B Yeats, George B. Shaw and Samuel Beckett.; See Guinness Brewery, O' Connell Street;  The U2 Wall, The National Museum & Gallery

 

 

 And of course Molly Malone herself

"In Dublins fair city, where the girls are so pretty, I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone
As she wheeled her wheel-barrow, through streets broad and narrow, Crying cockles and mussels,
alive, alive o!"

April 9th

Depart Dublin