Pilgrimage Tour of

Day One Arrive into Dublin Airport, where you will be met by your private taxi for the transfer into central Dublin. Check-in at your accommodation and this will be your base for the next 2 nights. The remainder of the day is at leisure to relax after your flight.

Day Two Today take an Open Top Bus Tour of Dublin, taking in the main sights and an opportunity to hop on and hop off and visit the various sights, to include a visit to 16th century Trinity College, founded by Elizabeth I and now home to the famous illuminated manuscript, the Book of Kells. This will be followed by a visit to St Patrick’s Cathedral and traditionally the place where the Cathedral lies today, was the place where St Patrick baptized the pagans to Christianity in the 5th century and there has been a church there since. Overnight Dublin.

Day Three Depart Dublin for the drive to to visit the Pilgrimage sights and before St Brigid founded her religious complex on the Hill of Kildare (Cathedral site), the oak-covered hill was a centre of pagan religious worship. Priestesses met there, lit their ritual fire and, encircling it, petitioned the pagan goddess, Brigid, for good crops and herds. St Brigid took over the custom of this fire and set up a rota of nuns to maintain it, saying Christian prayers. This fire was kept alight in the Fire Temple there, day and night, until the 16th century when Henry VIII expelled the nuns and demolished the convent and Fire Temple after a thousand years of existence. The foundations of the Fire Temple survived and they have been restored and an explanatory plaque has been put in place and there will be an opportunity to view this. A visit will also be included to St. Brigid’s Cathedral and the present restored Norman Cathedral most likely occupies the site of the original pagan shrine to the Goddess Brigid and the later early Christian foundation and Church of St Brigid. As the 8th century document states, St Brigid was born into a Christian family in 453AD. The present Cathedral was built by the Norman Ralph of Bristol in 1223 and continued to serve the people of Kildare through centuries, though after the reformation it gradually fell into disrepair and by 1641 it was totally ruined. It was restored to its present glory in the 19th century and has in recent year’s undergone further restoration. There will also be an opportunity to climb the Round Tower. You will also stop at Brigid’s two holy wells, which were focal points, for prayer in Celtic pagan theology. Priestesses gathered around them and prayed to Brigid, the goddess. Such wells were widespread in the Celtic world of Ireland, Wales and Scotland. St Brigid moved in on some wells near her and Christianised them. Ultimately all such wells, however distant, became associated with Brigid the Saint, and attracted pilgrims. Check-in at your accommodation in Kildare and this will be your base for the next 2 nights.

Day Four After breakfast depart for drive to Glendalough in the valley of two lakes and site of the 6th century monastic settlement of St. Kevin. On arrival visit Glendalough Visitor Centre for a video on “Ireland of Monasteries” and a visit the museum. This will be followed by a Pilgrimage walk to St Kevin’s Monastic City to see St Kevin’s Church, Kevin’s Well, the 10th Century Round Tower, St Kevin’s Cross and St Mary’s Church. There will be time for some personal meditation and retreat before returning to your accommodation in Kildare for overnight.

1

Day Five Depart your hotel for a visit to Castletown House, Ireland's largest and earliest Palladian style house, built between 1722 and 1729 for William Conolly, speaker of the Irish House of Commons and the wealthiest commoner in Ireland. The façade was almost certainly designed by the Italian architect, Alessandro Galilei, while the Irish architect Sir Edward Lovett Pearce added the wings. The house remained in the hands of the Speaker's descendants until 1965, when the house was purchased by a property developer Major Wilson. Fortunately the house was saved in 1967, when along with 120 acres of the demesne lands it was purchased by the Hon. Desmond Guinness, founder of the Irish Georgian Society for £93,000. The house was opened to the public in the same year and restoration work began, funded by the Irish Georgian Society and private benefactors. In 1979 care of the house passed to the Castletown Foundation, a charitable trust which was established to own, maintain and to continue the restoration of the house. In 1994 the house with the exception of the contents, was transferred to State care and it is now managed by the Office of Public Works. The transfer to State ownership has paved the way for a major programme of restoration and conservation work of the house and demesne lands. Through restoration, conservation, acquisition of parkland and development of visitor facilities, the long term objective is to preserve for future generations one of the most important houses in Ireland and one of significance in terms of European architectural heritage. This will be followed by a visit to the Rock of Cashel, one of the most visited sites in Ireland. This is a spectacular group of medieval buildings set on an outcrop of limestone in the Golden Vale including the 12th century round tower, High Cross and Romanesque Chapel, 13th century Gothic cathedral, 15th century castle and the restored Hall of the Vicars. There is an audio visual show entitled "Strongholds of Faith". Take the drive to Killarney, to check-in at your accommodation and this will be your base for the next 2 nights.

Day Six Today you will take the Ring of Kerry tour, a journey through some of the country’s most outstanding scenery around the Iveragh Peninsula. Stunning mountain and coastal scenery combined with colourful towns and villages will make this one of the highlights of your tour. Your journey will include the attractive village of Sneem and a pause at Moll’s Gap for a panoramic view of the three Lakes of Killarney. Following the peninsula drive, you then arrive at Muckross House for a visit to this magnificent Victorian mansion, completed in 1843 for Henry Arthur Herbert. The location of the house is spectacular, close to the eastern shore of Muckross Lake and set beneath the impressive backdrop of Torc and Mangerton Mountains. Return to your accommodation in Killarney for overnight.

Day Seven Depart Killarney and take the drive to Tarbert for the car ferry to Killimer and then the drive to The Cliffs of Moher, one of the most outstanding coastal features of Ireland and they ascend to over 700 feet (213 metres) stretching south for nearly five miles (8km) to Hags Head. On arrival enjoy a visit to the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience, which is set into the hillside. The centre is a unique cave like structure which minimizes the visual impact on this fabulous scenic location and uses a range of energy saving and eco-friendly features including geo-thermal, solar energy and water recycling. Continue to Doolin, now renowned world-wide as the traditional music capital of Ireland and rumour has it, that it was Doolin that J.R.R. Tolkien got his inspiration for ‘The Lord of the Rings”. Check-in at your accommodation and the evening is at leisure to spend time in one of the music pubs, which are McDermott’s, McGann’s and O’Connors. Overnight in Doolin.

Day Eight Depart Doolin for the drive to Galway, known as the City of Tribes for some time to explore before driving along the coast road to Spiddal and to view the splendour of Galway Bay. You will then take a tour of the beautiful Connemara region, just west of Galway, situated on the most western seaboard of Europe and this unspoilt region boasts breath taking scenery. The characteristic features of Connemara include its rugged, unpolluted coastline, dramatic mountains, numerous lakes and rivers and woodlands and the renowned Connemara National Park. The drive will take you through Maam Cross, the Connemara "crossroads", there is a replica of the cottage used in the 1950's John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara film "The Quiet Man" filmed locally.

2

This will be followed by a visit to Ballintubber Abbey and stretching out to Croagh Patrick is Tóchar Phádraigm the ancient Pilgrim path. Originally it was the chariot road that went from Rathcruachan, the seat of the Kings and Queens of Connacth, to Aughagower and Cruachan Aille, as Croagh Patrick was called in Pre-Christian times. After St Patrick's time pilgrims began to traverse that same road to the holy mountain and over time it became known as Tóchar Phádraig or St Patrick's Causeway. After the pilgrimages to Jerusalem ceased in the 13th century, due to the taking over of the Holy Places by the Saracens, the pilgrimages to Croagh Patrick became even more important. When Ballintubber Abbey was built in 1216 a hostel was also put in place to cater for the many pilgrims. This hostel, the remains of which can be seen today in the grounds, incorporated a place for both ritual washing and actual cleansing. It is called Danchara or the 'Bath of the righteous'. After 1588 it went into decline as a public road and in Penal times it ceased to be used as a pilgrim path. In 1987 it was restored and every year hundreds of pilgrims walk Tóchar Phádraig on pilgrimage - a distance of 22 miles. Check-in at your accommodation in the area for overnight.

Day Nine Depart for the drive to Leenane, which overlooks magnificent Killary Harbour, Ireland’s only fjord. You will then take the scenic drive to Westport, and the route will take you past Doo Lough, a long sheet of water with mountains rising steeply on all sides, you will then experience a succession of magnificent landscapes as you pass by Glencullin Lough, before the drive through the Mweelrea Mountains and Sheefry Hills to Louisburgh, (the name in Irish, Cluain Cearban, means The Meadow of the Buttercups), and it was renamed after the uncle of the Marquis of who, in 1758, helped capture the French fortress of Louisburgh in Nove Scotia. Continue to Murrisk, before passing the National Famine Monument, unveiled by President Mary Robinson in 1997, which commemorates all those who died in the Great Famine of 1845 – 49. Finally enjoy the breath-taking views of Clew Bay with its numerous islands (tops of submerged drumlins). This will be followed by a visit to Croagh Patrick, this is Ireland's holy mountain and a centre of pilgrimage. It rises to a height of 2,500 feet. The Celts called it Eagle’s Peak and it was sacred to their goddess of fertility. During lent of the year 441, retreated to this mountain and spent forty days and nights in solitude, fasting and praying. On arrival in Westport, check-in at your accommodation for overnight.

Day Ten Depart for a morning visit to Carrowkeel, a beautifully situated megalithic hill top passage tomb cemetery, consisting of 14 passage cairns identified with letters, most of the cairns are round in shape except cairn E, which is a long oval shape and consists of a Court tomb forecourt and cruciform passage grave. If you climb up from the top car-park the first tomb you will see is Cairn G and this is a classic Irish passage tomb, consisting of a short passage leading to a central chamber with three equally spaced side chambers. The most interesting feature of this tomb is the roofbox situated above the entrance the only other known roofbox is the one at Newgrange, but unlike Newgrange this one is aligned to the midsummer sunset. This will be followed by a visit to Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery, the largest cemetery of megalithic tombs in Ireland and among one of the oldest in the country. Take the journey to Sligo, for a late afternoon visit to Sligo Abbey, this Dominican Friary was founded in the mid-13th century by Maurice Fitzgerald and the site contains a great wealth of carvings including Gothic and Renaissance tomb sculpture, well preserved cloister and the only sculptured 15th century high altar to survive in any Irish monastic church. Check-in at your accommodation and this will be your base for the next 2 nights.

Day Eleven Depart your hotel for the journey in time for visit to Lough Derg, the site of Patrick’s Purgatory and the legend of Saint Patrick says that he visited this island, probably because it was a special place for the ancient Celtic people. While in a cave on the island he had a vision of the afterlife, hearing the voices of dead souls coming from the underworld. He believed that he had discovered the entrance to purgatory, the place where those who have died can be cleansed from their sins and grew into the fullness of God’s love. Return to your accommodation in Sligo for overnight.

3

Day Twelve Take the drive to Armagh, the Christian Capital of Ireland and is significant both for its pre-historic monuments and for its association with Saint Patrick, starting with a visit to the remains of Franciscan Friary, founded by Archbishop Patrick O’ Scannail in 1263/64. It had prominent patrons in the city and the Franciscans played an important part in the city’s religious life until the Friary was suppressed in 1542, with the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII. Some religious life continued, but the buildings were involved in welfare later in the 16th Century and were ruined by 1600. Two empty graves and two tomb recesses near the east end are reminders of the important patrons buried in the Friary Church, including Gormlaith O’Donnell, wife of Domhnail O’Neill in 1353 and it is the longest monastery in Ireland. On then for a visit to Saint Patrick’s Trian, for a step back in time visit to historic Armagh, from massive stone monuments of pre history, with its myths and legends, to the coming of Saint Patrick and Celtic Christianity. There will be an opportunity to visit the exhibition on the Book of Armagh, one of the greatest treasures to survive from Early Christian Ireland. The book, written in the year 807 by the scribe Ferdomnach, is one of Ireland's most precious historic records because of what it tells us about Saint Patrick. In the new exhibition you can find out about the Book, its links with Saint Patrick, and Armagh, the Christian Capital of Ireland. Time for an independent lunch before a visit to the Cathedral Church of St. Patrick (Catholic), built on a hill with its ornate facade and twin towers. It begun on St Patrick's Day 1840 and was built in unconnected stages and the plans were revised halfway through, and only in 1904 was the cathedral finally finished. While the exterior is splendid, the interior is simply stupefying with Italian marble, grandiose mosaics, detailed paintings and stained glass imported from Germany, making this the most spectacular church in Ireland. This will be followed by a visit to Cathedral Church of St. Patrick () and is the older and more historic of them. Legend tells us that in 445 Patrick himself built a church and founded a monastery here, elevating Armagh to "prime church of Ireland" in 447. A has been resident in Armagh since Patrick's time in 1106 the title was elevated to archbishop. High King Brian Boru is said to be buried in the cathedral grounds. Patrick's church however survived neither the Viking raiders nor the turbulent middle ages. The present cathedral was built between 1834 and 1837 - officially "restored". Built of red sandstone it incorporates older elements and has other artifacts on display inside. The visually striking stained glass windows are worth the steep climb alone. Check-in at your accommodation in Armagh for overnight.

Day Thirteen Today take the drive to Downpatrick, where Saint Patrick visited the area many times, preaching at Saul. A stop will be made at Saul Church, two miles outside Downpatrick and this church was built in 1932, to commemorate Saint Patrick's first church in Ireland. Close by, on the crest of Slieve Patrick is a huge statue of the saint. Bronze panels illustrate scenes from the life of Ireland's patron saint. Continue for a brief stop at Struell Wells, a popular place of Pilgrimage from the sixteenth century until the 1840’s. The wells were once pagan places of worship but are now strongly associated with Saint Patrick. This will be followed by a visit to the Down County Museum, a former goal and military barracks, where the famous United Irishman Thomas Russell (the man from God Knows Where) was hanged in 1803. Time for an independent lunch before a visit to the Saint Patrick Centre, which is one of Northern Ireland’s major Millennium Projects and is the first permanent exhibition to tell the story of Ireland’s Patron Saint, using life-size exhibits and multi-media. Finally a late afternoon visit to , in whose churchyard St. Patrick is reputed to be buried in the graveyard that had been built on the ancient hill of Down in 1183, by John de Courcy for Benedictine Monks from Chester. Check-in at your accommodation in Downpatrick for overnight.

Day Fourteen Today you will take the drive to Kells for a visit to St Columcille’s House, dating from the 10th century. This will be followed by a visit St Columba's Church and Grounds, which mark the original site of the Monastery of Kells. St. Columba's Church stands on one of the most important Church sites in Co. Meath. According to the 'Book of Lismore', King Diarmait or Dermot, High King of Ireland granted to Columba the Dun or Fort of Kells to establish a Religious Community. The 'Annals of Ulster' for the year 804CE show that the Columban community on the Island of Iona transferred to Kells, which then became the principal Irish Columban monastery. In 918, the monastery was plundered and the church destroyed. In 1117, the and Community were killed in a raid by Aedh Ua Ruairc.

4

The famous Book of Kells was written and illustrated in the Abbey. There will be an opportunity to view the High Crosses located in the church grounds before a visit to the Town Hall to view the ultimate copy of the Book of Kells and an audio visual. You will then depart Kells for a visit to the Hill of Slane, which is the site of St Patrick’s legendary encounter with the Druids of Tara. On then for a visit to The Hill of Tara, the seat of the early Irish Kings and great open-air assemblies in the early centuries just before and after the birth of Christ. Your final evening will be spent in a castle, located near Dublin.

Day Fifthteen Depart for the journey to Dublin Airport, in time for your return flight home.

5