* Spring Time Tour of Ireland / May 10 – 19, 2016 * Visiting Dingle and - Ireland’s Two Treasures The Irish Cultural Center’s Rose Baker & Pat Baker to Host the Trip! Please Join Us!

Tour the wild and beautiful West Coast of Ireland! Embrace two of Ireland’s treasures, Dingle & Galway, on a leisurely paced springtime tour through gorgeous countryside, charming towns, and bustling cities. Multiple night stays in Dingle & Galway allow you to immerse yourself in the beauty, hospitality and culture of Ireland’s Historic West Coast Towns. ***** Total Cost: $2,425 per person / double room occupancy; $2,750 single room occupancy (limited availability)

What You Need To Do! Deposits, Payments and Application • Initial Deposit: $1,000 to reserve your seat on the trip. (See forms of payment on reverse side). Tour is limited (46 passengers) and will be filled on a first come, first serve basis. • Application: Your Initial Deposit must be accompanied with a completed reservation application and copy of your passport. • Final Payment Due: March 11, 2016. Balance due amount: $1,425 per person / double room occupancy; $1,750 single room. • Travel Insurance: Information available upon request.

The Irish Cultural Center Tour Includes: • Round trip bus coach transportation from Elms College to New York’s JFK Airport, including driver’s tip • Round trip airfare from New York to Shannon, Ireland via Delta Air Lines • Eight (8) Nights Top Rated Hotel Accommodations o Dingle Skellig Hotel: www.dingleskellig.com and the Hotel: www.galwaybayhotel.net • Full Breakfast and Dinner Meals included o Full Irish breakfast daily, except day of arrival o Tea, coffee and soup/sandwich at Meadowlands Hotel in Tralee on day of arrival o Eight dinners o Two (2) lunches: South County Pub in Douglas, Co. Cork and Gus O’Connor’s Pub in Doolin, Co. Clare • Admission to: Blarney Castle, Blasket Centre, Cliffs of Moher, Gallarus Oratory, Dingle Brewing Company • Optional day trips: day trip to Blarney, Slea Head Drive tour of Dingle Peninsula; Gallarus Oratory, Kilmalkedar Church, trip to Spiddal and for shopping at Standun’s, Celtic Crystal and Marble • Deluxe touring motor coach for all transportation and sightseeing with the services of a professional Irish driver/guide throughout • Porterage of one (1) suitcase per person • Tips & taxes while in Ireland (Note: Gratuity to the driver/guide in Ireland is included in tour cost) The Irish Cultural Center reserves the right to make changes to the itinerary as needed, due to weather or other circumstances.

Trip Details and Itinerary Day 1: Depart by coach from Elms College by bus to New York’s JFK Airport. Leave JFK at 11:30 p.m. aboard Tuesday, May 10 Delta Flight DL 406.

Day 2: Arrive at Shannon Airport at 11:05 a.m. local Irish time. Board bus coach for land transportation. Stop at Wednesday, May 11 Meadowlands Hotel in Tralee, Co. Kerry for tour sponsored coffee, tea, and sandwiches/soup around 2:00 p.m. Arrive at Dingle Skellig Hotel around 4:30 p.m. Unpack and relax, or freshen up before a welcome get- together drink in the Blasket Pub at 6:30 p.m. followed by dinner at 7:30 p.m. in the Skellig Hotel restaurant at 7:30 p.m. Day 3: After Skellig Hotel breakfast, the day is free to relax or explore Dingle and the surrounding area. Tour hosts Thursday, May 12 will provide suggestions to make sure you experience the best of Dingle. You can take a harbor tour to see Dingle’s most famous resident, Fungi the Dolphin. Stroll around town and enjoy one or more of Dingle’s 52 pubs. If you are interested in jewelry or crystal, go to Brian De Staic’s workshop and store on the Bay Road past the piers and Sean Daly’s crystal store across from St. Mary’s Church on Green Street. Sean is a former Waterford Master Cutter who does beautiful work. Your choices are many as you savor your time in this colorful and charming harbor town. You will have a choice for dinner this evening. You may have dinner at the Dingle Skellig Hotel or John Benny Moriarty’s Pub – you decide!

Day 4: After Skellig Hotel breakfast, bus leaves at 9:30 a.m. for an optional day trip to Blarney Castle. We will drive Friday, May 13 through the rich farming county of Cork. At Blarney, stop to climb to the battlements of Blarney Castle to kiss the famous “Stone of Eloquence.” Also visit the Blarney Woolen Mills, which has an excellent range of Irish products of all types. You will also have time to browse around the village, charmingly set around a large village green. After our visit to Blarney, we will stop for a tour sponsored lunch at the South County Pub in Douglas, Co. Cork. Returning to Dingle for dinner at the Skellig Hotel for 8:00 p.m.

Day 5: After Skellig Hotel breakfast, bus leaves at 10:00 a.m. for a stop at Brian De Staic’s workshop and store in Saturday, May 14 Dingle. Brian de Staic has been designing and handcrafting jewelry for 40 years, with one of the largest workshops in Ireland. Treat yourself or that special someone to a piece of jewelry made on the Peninsula. Afterwards, we will make our way to the Dingle Brewing Company, nestled at the base of the majestic Conor Pass in the historic former Dingle Creamery building, which dates back to 1888 and was at the heart of Dingle commercial life until the 1970s. During our visit, you will learn about the brewing process, in which the use of the site’s own pure spring water is crucial, and the history of the Creamery itself. At the conclusion of our tour, you will be able to savor a pint of their finely crafted Tom Crean’s Lager (named in honor of the local Antarctic hero from Annascaul). Return to Dingle Town and the remainder of the afternoon is free for you to discover the many charms that this town has to offer. Dinner at the Skellig Hotel at 6:00 p.m. *Catholic Mass is held at St. Mary’s Church on Green Street at 8:00 p.m.

Day 6: After Skellig Hotel breakfast, depart at 9:30 a.m. for an optional tour around the scenic Dingle Peninsula. We Sunday, May 15 will drive past little harbors and wide stretches of sandy beaches, leading southward to Slea Head. This is the most westerly point in Europe, “Next Parish America” and off this coast many an Armanda was lost. The awe-inspiring beauty of this particular area is unmatched. Enjoy a visit to the Blasket Centre where you will learn about life on the Blasket Islands, inhabited until 1953, and about the families who immigrated directly to Springfield, MA. You are on your own for lunch at the Blasket Centre. We will also visit Kilmalkedar Church, a spectacular early-Christian and medieval ecclesiastical site and the Gallarus Oratory, more than 1,000 years old and one of Ireland’s oldest religious structures, built of stone without mortar. Dinner at the Dingle Skellig hotel at 7:30 p.m. *Catholic Mass is held at St. Mary’s Church on Green Street at 11:30 a.m.

Day 7: After Skellig Hotel breakfast, depart Dingle for Galway at 8:30 a.m. We travel to Tarbert in Co. Kerry to Monday, May 16 board a ferry (weather permitting) for the short ride across the River Shannon Estuary to Killimer, Co. Clare. We will make our way to Gus O’Connor’s Pub in Doolin for a tour sponsored lunch. After lunch, weather permitting, we will continue to the amazing Cliffs of Moher which rise some 700 feet above the unforgiving Atlantic coastline. We then continue on to the Galway Bay Hotel in , Co. Galway. Dinner at the Galway Bay Hotel at 8:00 p.m.

Day 8: After Galway Bay Hotel breakfast, leave at 10:00 a.m. for an optional shopping trip to Standun’s (excellent Tuesday, May 17 prices and great quality) in Spiddal, then to Moycullen to visit Celtic Crystal and Connemara Marble. Celtic is the only maker of colored crystal in Ireland. Back to Galway City Center to drop off those who want to enjoy the European Union’s fastest growing city. Those dropped off will be picked up in the late afternoon. Dinner at the Galway Bay Hotel at 6:00 p.m.

Day 9: After Galway Bay Hotel breakfast, enjoy a free day in Galway City Center to shop and independently Wednesday, May 18 explore the “City of the Tribes.” The bus will drop off those who want to enjoy and explore Galway City with pick-up later in the day. Dinner at the Galway Bay Hotel at 7:00 p.m.

Day 10: After Galway Bay Hotel breakfast Depart at 8:00 a.m. for Shannon Airport. Enjoy last minute shopping at Thursday, May 19 Shannon’s Duty Free Shop. Our Delta Flight DL 223 departs at 12:45 p.m., arriving in New York’s JFK Airport at 2:49 p.m. local time. We will arrive by coach back at Elms College in Chicopee around 7:00 p.m. Forms of Payment • Check, made payable to the Irish Cultural Center or Cash. Mail payment and Reservation Application to ICC President, Sean Cahillane at 46 Thornton Street, Springfield, MA 01104-1527 • Credit Card, payable on our website through PayPal. Fees will be added for processing. See Reservation Application for details. • Members in good standing with the ICC are entitled to a refund of €30 to be provided by the tour hosts upon arrival in Ireland.

For more information or reservations: Visit the ICC website at www.ElmsIrishCenter.org or contact: Rose Baker at 413-519-2135 or [email protected] - - Pat Baker at 413-348-3263 or [email protected] - - the ICC at 413-265-2537 or [email protected]