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16 DAY ITINERARY ALL AROUND IRELAND DAY 1 - USA DEPARTURE Depart on the overnight flight to “the Island of Saints and Scholars – IRELAND” DAY 2 - SHANNON/ ADARE/ KILLARNEY Welcome to the Emerald Isle! After Passport Control, we’re greeted by our Driver/Guide who takes us south to one of Ireland’s most picturesque villages, Adare. We’ll celebrate Mass and stop for lunch before continuing to Killarney to check into the Hotel. DAY 3 - RING OF KERRY/ KILLARNEY After a full Irish breakfast, enjoy a leisurely drive around the renowned scenic tour of the Ring of Kerry. See pristine lakes and majestic mountains and stop along the way to celebrate Mass and have lunch before returning to relax in Killarney. DAY 4 - BLARNEY/ COBH/ WATERFORD After breakfast, depart for Cobh, we’ll celebrate Mass in St. Colman’s, an imposing Gothic Revival cathedral which dominates the seafront of one of the world’s largest natural harbors. See the museum which houses information on the Titanic who set sail on its fateful voyage from here. We continue to Blarney and visit the famous Castle and Woolen Mills before going on to our Hotel in Waterford. DAY 5 - WATERFORD/KILKENNY/DUBLIN After another full Irish breakfast, we’ll tour the Waterford Crystal Factory and see how each piece is handcrafted into a work of art. On our way to Dublin, we’ll stop the beautiful town of Kilkenny, along the River Nore to celebrate Mass. You might enjoy lunch in one of the 80 local pubs! Continue to Dublin and check into our Hotel. DAY 6 - DUBLIN After our Irish breakfast, we’ll celebrate Mass at St. Theresa’s Church and then have a tour of Dublin, to include Trinity College Library, with the famous Books of Kells. Enjoy a FREE AFTERNOON, shopping or exploring Dublin on your own. DAY 7 - DUBLIN/ WICKLOW/ DUBLIN Drive south to the Wicklow Mountains and visit Glendalough. This center of Celtic Spirituality. founded by St. Kevin holds many treasures of early Christianity in Ireland, including a restored round tower and carved high crosses. Celebrate Mass in the Pilgrim Church at Roundwood. Stop for lunch in the veil of Avoca and see the lovely handcrafts of the area before returning to Dublin . DAY 8 - DUBLIN/ NEWRY/ ARMAGH After our full Irish breakfast, depart Dublin going north and visit the Hill of Tara, legendary burial place of Celtic kings. Continue to Armagh, Northern Ireland and visit St. Patrick’s, to celebrate Mass in the magnificent Armagh Cathedral. Have time to wander through the town shops before dinner and overnight. DAY 9 - ARMAGH/ LONDONDERRY After our English breakfast, continue north to Londonderry. Walk on the ramparts and look into The Bog Area during an orientation tour before Mass. Check into the Hotel for dinner and overnight. DAY 10 - LETTERKENNY/ GLENVEAGH /DERRY English breakfast before our departure for an excursion to Letterkenny and Glenveagh National Park. We’ll visit Glenveagh Castle and celebrate Mass at St. Eunan’s Cathedral before a lovely drive along the Atlantic Drive and returning to Derry. DAY 11 - DERRY/ SLIGO/ WESTPORT After breakfast, drive south to Donegal to celebrate Mass. Then stop to see the Diamond (a market square in the center with an obelisk which commemorates the Franciscans who wrote Annals of the Four Masters in 1640) and the remains of Donegal Abbey. Continue to Sligo and see the bronze statue of WB Yeats who was born here. Visit the the Sligo Abbey founded in 1253 with its delicate lancet windows in the choir. Stop at Tobernalt, a holy site of Celtic times which became a Christian pilgrimage site. Continue to Westport and check in at the Hotel. DAY 12 - KNOCK A very special day of celebration Mass at the Shrine at Knock, where Mary and St. John the Evangelist appeared on the gable of the church. Have time for personal prayer and reflection and then return to Westport. DAY 13 - KNOCK-CROAGH PATRICK-GALWAY After breakfast, visit Ireland’s holy mountain, where St.Patrick spent 40 days in prayer: Croagh Patrick. We’ll celebrate Mass at nearby Ballintubber Abbey which is dedicated to St.Patrick. Continue through the bogs and moorlands of Connemara National Park to Kylemore Abbey, 19th century Benedictine abbey and the Collegiate Church of St. Nicholas, with its famous Spanish Arch where Columbus prayed before sailing to America by the slopes of the Twelve Bens. After a tour, have free time to wander on the beautiful grounds or visit the craft shop before we continue to the Hotel in Galway. DAY 14 - GALWAY/ ARAN ISLANDS After our Irish breakfast, we take the ferryboat across Galway Bay to the Aran Island where we’ll board mini buses for a tour of thus austere landscape that has several large prehistoric stone forts. See the Seven Churches monastic settlement dedicated to St. Brecan and Clochan na Carraige, a large, well-preserved beehive hut built by early Christians. Celebrate Mass in a local church before returning to Galway for a Free Afternoon. DAY 15 - GALWAY/ BUNRATTY Another wonderful Irish breakfast starts the day. Celebrate Mass in Galway Cathedral before our drive southwest to see the Cliffs of Moher rising 700 feet above the sea, and the moonlike landscape of the Burren on our way to Ennis to see the ruins of Quin Franciscan Friary and Clare Abbey. Continue to Bunratty to check into our hotel and then enjoy a farewell medieval banquet at Bunratty Castle. DAY 16 - SHANNON-USA After our final full Irish breakfast, we’ll celebrate Mass and have time to shop in the famous Woolen Mills and pick up those souvenirs for friends and family before bidding a fond farewell to the Emerald Isle. Head home with memories to Give Thanks and Remember.
--------------------------------- Price is determined by time of year, length of tour, class of hotel and number of pilgrims. Call to plan an itinerary which fits yours needs.
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