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DAY
1 DEPARTURE FROM NORTH AMERICA
Enjoy full meal service on your scheduled wide-bodied flight
to Ireland.
DAY
2 ARRIVE SHANNON - KILLARNEY AREA (2 NIGHTS)
You will be met at the airport by your tour manager/guide
board your own private coach and get an immediate introduction
to the splendors of Ireland when we visit Bunratty Castle,
a formidable castle built in the 15th century, which has been
preserved just as it would have looked in the 1500s. We will
take a tour through the castle, including the Great Hall,
the Main Guard and the South Solar, before visiting the adjoining
Folk Park, which is an authentic re-creation of life in Ireland
at the turn of the 20th century. We will continue to Killarney
in its spectacular location amidst mountains, glens and lakes
and visit Muckross House. This imposing Victorian mansion
is built in the Elizabethan style, and its elegant rooms are
decorated with period furnishings. Our visit will also include
the Museum of Kerry Life, with displays on the history of
southwest Ireland, and a craft center with numerous workshops.
We then continue onto our hotel for the night.
DAY
3 THE RING OF KERRY
Today we will enjoy a leisurely tour around the famed Ring
of Kerry, a beautiful drive around the Iveragh Peninsula.
We will enjoy a splendid variety of outstanding coastal
panoramas and magnificent mountain views. During the course
of our tour, we will have the opportunity to stop and explore
many small towns and villages on the peninsula, including
Killorglin, Glenbeigh and Caherciveen
· Your First Concert Performance will
be today
DAY
4 KILLARNEY - CLIFFS OF MOHER - GALWAY
AREA (1 NIGHT)
We will leave Killarney and
drive to the most dramatic scenery that Ireland has to offer.
The Cliffs of Moher are a dramatic sheer rock face
rising 700 feet from the Atlantic Ocean and stretching for
five miles. We will climb to O'Brien's Tower, perched at the
very top of these, the highest cliffs in Europe. Later this
afternoon we travel to Galway, the largest city in Western
Ireland. For centuries it traded with Spain, and traces of
Iberian influence can still be seen in the architecture of
the city. On our Walking Tour, we will see the famous
Spanish Arch and the Church of St. Nicholas
where tradition holds that Columbus prayed before sailing
to the New World. "
· Your Second Concert Performance
will be today
DAY
5 GALWAY
- CROAGH PATRICK - KNOCK - SLIGO AREA
(1 NIGHT)
Leaving Galway this morning we travel into a sregion known
for its associations with William Butler Yeats and for the
unspoiled scenery of its countryside and coastline.
We will travel past Croagh Patrick, the peak that dominates
the south shore of Clew Bay. It is believed that all the snakes
in Ireland plunged to their deaths when St. Patrick rang a
bell from the south precipice. Pilgrims climb barefoot to
the summit on Garland Sunday, the last Sunday in July. Then
we journey to Knock, to visit the Basilica of Our Lady,
Queen of Ireland where an apparition was seen of the Virgin
Mary in 1879. We then continue on to our hotel in the
area for the night
DAY
6 SLIGO - CLONMACNOIS - DUBLIN (3 NIGHTS)
We travel this morning to Dublin. Founded by the Vikings,
Dublin is the vibrant modern capital of Ireland, but it still
retains the aura of old world Europe. After time to relax,
your guide will take you on an introductory Walking Tour of
Southeast Dublin. We begin outside the Bank of Ireland,
one of Dublin’s most treasured landmarks, before strolling
along Grafton Street, the spine of Dublin’s most
popular and stylish shopping district. After viewing the
Molly Malone statue, we continue to St. Stephen’s
Green, a beautiful 22-acre park in the heart of
Dublin, which is filled with beautifully landscaped
flowerbeds, fountains, a lake and memorials to important
Dubliners. Our walking tour concludes with a walk around
Merrion Square, a marvel of Georgian architecture
known for its colorful doors and the famous literary figures
that once lived here, including Yeats and Wilde
DAY
7 DUBLIN
We leave early this morning to travel down the southern coast
of Ireland to Glendalough, one of the most important
historical sites in Ireland. Founded by St. Kevin in the 6th
century, Glendalough grew to be one of the most powerful
monasteries of the Irish Middle Ages. We stop at the Visitors’
Center, which illuminates the history of Glendalough, and will
explore the cathedral, chapels, churches and round towers that
remain on the banks of Glendalough’s two lovely lakes before
continuing on to Clonmacnois another of Ireland’s most
important early monastic settlements. Founded in 6th
Century, the surviving structures date from the 9th century
and include a cathedral, round tower, and
several tiny churches. After ample time to explore we
return to Dublin for the night
· Your Third Concert Performance will
be today
DAY
8 DAY TRIP TO GLENDALOUGH
Our morning begins with a visit to St. Patrick’s Cathedral,
the national cathedral of the Church of Ireland. It is said
that St. Patrick baptized converts on this site, and
consequently a church has stood here since A.D. 450, making it
the oldest Christian site in Dublin. St. Patrick's is closely
associated with Jonathan Swift, who was dean from 1713 to 1745
and whose tomb lies in the south aisle. Our day continues
with a visit to Trinity College, the oldest university
in Ireland, with cobbled squares, beautiful gardens, a
picturesque quadrangle, and buildings dating from the 17th to
the 20th centuries. The college is also home to the
Book of Kells, an 8th-century version of the four
Gospels with elaborate scripting and illumination. The
remainder of the afternoon is yours to spend at leisure prior
to your last performance
DAY
9 DEPARTURE FROM DUBLIN
Your enjoyable and rewarding tour will come to an end as your
tour manager/guide accompanies you to the airport for the return flight
home.
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