Dear Friends--
I am delighted to announce our next tour to Ireland. My itinerary for this trip is now available, the flyers are printed and our plans are being finalized. The flyer is available for download below this message.
It’s a new adventure this time; we are going to discover the wonders, the beauty and the history of the North of Ireland. We will spend much of our time in the “Six Counties” that are still under British rule today. We will actually drive in and out of the United Kingdom and visit the areas, particularly in Belfast and Derry, where the communities of Protestant and Roman Catholic are still divided. As all of you know, it’s been a bloody history of devastation and mayhem over the past forty plus years; though still a challenge, both communities have come a very long way towards an understanding, a tolerance and eventually, please God, a peace.
We will fly into Dublin and be met by our favourite driver John Costello, who will give us a brief tour of the city before we check into our hotel around lunchtime. We are free for the afternoon and only a stone’s throw from some of Dublin’s finest shopping streets: Grafton St, Nassau St and St. Stephen’s Green. I will answer any questions you might have about the neighborhood, which has some fine museums, art galleries, Trinity College and, of course, some of our best pubs.
The following morning will be an early start, and a day of historical touring in the Boyne valley about thirty miles from Dublin. We will visit the Neolithic tomb at Newgrange, dating to 3200 BC, older than the Egyptian Pyramids. Truly a wonder of the world, this place was a must for me to show you. You will stand where ancient pre-Celtic people believed that this “passage tomb”, where they laid the charred bones of their fellows, sent the spirits off to the “other world”. We will travel on through the area where the famous Battle of the Boyne was fought in 1689 to decide the fate of the English Crown: the Catholic King James of Scotland or his son-in-law, the Protestant King William of the Orange House of Holland. The Protestants won the day and the history of Ireland was, once again, thrown into chaos.
We will drive to Mellifont Abbey, the 12th Century Cistercian abbey, then on to the Hill of Tara, home to the High Kings of Ireland. It is an amazing place with ruins, passages and the feeling of our fascinating history.
Our third day will see us heading north to the ancient monastic settlement of Monasterboice, dating to 923AD. On through Dundalk, once known as Ireland’s “El Paso” during the “troubles”, and into Belfast for a quick tour on our bus and then the rest of the day to shop; make sure you have Sterling cash as Euros are not accepted in the UK. They will, however, love your plastic like anywhere else! We are in the famous Europa Hotel for both nights, known as the most “bombed hotel in the world” and is aptly named.
Our second day in Belfast will have us on local transportation, with a local guide giving us a complete tour of the city. We will visit the Loyalist Protestant and Nationalist Catholic neighborhoods, hear the stories of this great city’s past and what is happening at present towards reconciliation. Time permitting, we will visit the new Titanic Museum which opens this April 15th, exactly one hundred years after it disappeared below the North Atlantic.
Our next day, we will again drive north into the spectacular Glens of Antrim. We will pass through the village of Carrickfergus, the title and home of my favourite Irish song. We will visit the Giants Causeway, the legendary stone path built by our ancient hero Finn MacCool, to his beloved, twenty miles away in Scotland, which can be seen on a good day. It is truly a wonder of the world with its hexagonal stone column formations…quite breathtaking. Perhaps a quick nip of the hard stuff when we visit Bushmill’s Distillery might be just the remedy if it’s a chilly day. Hopefully we might make it to Dunluce Castle before heading west to Derry.
Derry will be new for me, as I have not been there since I was pre-teen. Our driver John will be at the helm for this one as we again see and hear about this North of Ireland’s second city. Following our overnight in Derry, we will head in to the Republic of Ireland for a visit to one of Donegal’s most famous weavers, before turning back again into the UK and a visit to Enniskillen, capitol of the beautiful Co. Fermanagh, and just beyond to the Beleek factory, home to Ireland’s most famous fine china. A gift or two here should not be missed. Traveling back into the Republic, we will overnight in Sligo town.
Upon arising the next morning, our journey takes us into Yeats Country in Sligo and a visit to his grave in Drumcliffe Churchyard. The countryside at this point in our tour embodies the beauty of the West of Ireland. We’ll see the famous Benbulben, a table mountain, where it is believed the Fianna, ancient Celtic warriors lived and the mythical resting place of the lovers Diarmuid and Grainne. We next travel southwest into Mayo and the island of Achill. One of my favourite places, it is the largest island off the coast of Ireland and is connected by a bridge. The Atlantic drive is breathtaking. We will overnight in my father’s hometown of Westport, the first ever architecturally designed town in the west of Ireland. My family is very connected here and two of my sisters have homes here.
After a fond farewell to Westport we will travel east, straight across Ireland to arrive back in Dublin shortly after lunch, leaving time for that last minute shopping spree in the city and a chance to see more of her great buildings and landmarks. We will enjoy dinner together that evening and a performance by yours truly, most likely joined on stage by my brothers Arthur and Raymond. I will be arranging several concerts along the way on this spectacular tour, these to be booked by me as time permits.
I’m looking forward to seeing some of you who are my fellow travelers on previous visits to Ireland and also delighted to introduce my beautiful country to new friends. We are limiting space to one luxury tour coach, so make reservations as soon as possible to ensure your passage to the history, the mystery and the soul of Ireland and its people.
May the road rise to meet us on another journey of laughter, music and terrific friends..
Slainte agus saol agaibh . . . Ken
