SHRINES & SAINTS OF IRELAND

ITINERARY

Day 1. Monday, June 30: Transatlantic flight

Board your flight to Dublin, Ireland.

Day 2.  Tuesday, July 1: Dublin – Kildare

Welcome to Ireland! Begin your sightseeing of Dublin with a visit to Trinity College, founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I on the site of an Augustinian monastery. The major attractions are the Old Library and the Book of Kells, housed in the Treasury. Next, visit the National Museum of Ireland to see the bell of St. Patrick, the ancient Ardagh Chalice, and other antiquities of the Catholic Faith and Irish history. Then, drive to Kildare to visit St. Brigid’s Cathedral, round tower, and well. Also visit St. Conleth’s Church in Newbridge. Sts. Conleth and Brigid are the patron saints of Kildare. Tonight, enjoy a welcome dinner and overnight at your hotel in Kildare Town/Newbridge. (WD)

Day 3. Wednesday, July 2: Kildare – Glendalough – Cashel – Waterford

Leave Kildare and head to Glendalough, Ireland’s most atmospheric monastic site, founded by St. Kevin in the 6th century. Take a walk around the site, which is located between two peaceful lakes in a deep valley; see a well-preserved round tower and the ruins of some of the many churches. After lunch on your own, continue on to Cashel to visit the Rock of Cashel, where St. Patrick baptized King Aenghus, and where the seat of both civil and ecclesiastical authority remained for centuries after that. This impressive collection of ecclesiastical ruins dates mostly from the 12th and 13th centuries. Cormac’s Chapel is one of the earliest and best-preserved examples of early Irish Romanesque architecture. Afterwards, head to your hotel near Waterford for dinner and overnight. (BB, D)

Day 4. Thursday, July 3: Waterford – Cork – Killarney

After breakfast at your hotel, drive past the stunning Lismore Castle in Waterford, arguably one of the most impressive castles in Ireland built in 1185. Continue to Cork and visit Blarney Castle, where you can climb to the battlements and kiss the famous "Stone of Eloquence". Take a little time to look around the Blarney Woollen Mills that have an excellent selection of Irish made goods and have lunch on your own. Visit Little Nellie’s grave and memorabilia and then drive through Cork and past the gentle slopes of the Galtee Mountains. Afterwards, visit Gougane Barra in County Cork to see the hallowed shrine of St. Finbarr dating back to the 6th century.  He was the first bishop and founder of the church and city of Cork. Drive to Killarney for dinner and overnight. (BB, D)

Day 5. Friday, July 4: Killarney - Dingle Peninsula

Spend the day touring the breathtaking Dingle Peninsula, rich in spectacular seacoast vistas and mountain passes with views of the cliffs of Dun Chaoin Pier, Slea Head, and Ceann Streatha. See Dunbeg Fort, a promontory fort built in the Iron Age on the edge of a cliff near the village of Ventry, and the Beehive huts, a group of beehive-like huts made of dry stone dating back to Ireland’s first Christians. Then, stop at various beautiful viewpoints including Radharc na mBlascaoidi, also called Blasket's View, where on a clear day, you can see all the way to the Blasket Islands off Ireland's west coast. After a visit and lunch at the Blasket Center, follow the coast to Minard Castle, one of only three of the mid-16th century Fitzgerald castles built on Dingle Peninsula with substantial remains. Continue driving around Dingle Peninsula and visit Gallarus Oratory, the best-preserved early Christian church in Ireland, and the early medieval monastic site of Riasc dating back to the 6th century. Head back to your hotel in Killarney. Have dinner on your own and overnight in Killarney. (BB, L) 

Day 6. Saturday, July 5: Killarney

Begin the day with a visit to Killarney National Park, Ireland's first national park established in 1932, and there enjoy a jaunting car ride. Then, take a boat ride to beautiful Inisfallen Island, just one mile from Ross Castle in the heart of Killarney National Park. This enchanting island was once home to a monastery dating back to 640 AD founded by St. Finian the Leper. The island was a place of solitude for the monks to reflect and pray. Continue to visit St. Mary’s Cathedral, the cathedral church of the Diocese of Kerry and home to the tallest spire on a church in all of Ireland. It was consecrated in 1855. Have Afternoon Tea at the Great Southern Killarney Hotel complemented by a glass of Presecco. Afterwards, enjoy some free time in Killarney with dinner on your own. Overnight in Killarney. (BB, L)

Day 7. Sunday, July 6: Killeedy – Holy Island – Cliffs of Moher – Doolin

Head towards Killeedy in County Limerick and make a stop at St. Ita’s Monastery founded in 546. See St. Ita’s church and cemetery/well and Gortnaclohy Mass Rock nearby. Drive on to Mountshannon and take a boat ride out to Inis Cealtra, also known as Holy Island, one of Ireland's most famous monastic sites. Located in the beautiful Lough Derg, this historic site has been a place of religious importance since the mid-6th century when St. Caiman founded a monastery here. Hear Mass on the Island and enjoy a packed lunch. In the afternoon, visit the famous Cliffs of Moher. This impressive wall of rock rises to almost 700 feet, and on a clear day, you can see the Aran Islands. Continue to Doolin for dinner and overnight. (BB, L, D)

Day 8. Monday, July 7: Aran Islands

This morning, take a boat excursion to the Aran Islands. In the 5th century, St. Enda brought Christianity to these islands which are now a bastion of traditional Irish culture, famous for their distinctive knitwear and for the traditional Aran costume which is still worn. The currach, a low rowing boat, is still in use and has been their main form of transportation for centuries. See Dun Aenghus Fort, the largest of the prehistoric stone forts of the Aran Islands, and the Seven Churches, a complex of medieval religious buildings that were once a major pilgrimage site. The Seven Churches date back to the 7th or 8th century. They were founded there after St. Brecan, a 5th-century missionary, converted many people to Christianity on the islands. The site was a monastic community and a popular destination for pilgrims from Ireland and abroad. Only two churches still stand today. Return by ferry and overnight on the mainland after dinner on your own. (BB)     

Day 9. Tuesday, July 8: Croagh Patrick – Knock – Athlone

Today, if time, visit Croagh Patrick, Ireland’s holy mountain with beautiful panoramic views of Clew Bay, on which St. Patrick spent 40 days and nights fasting and praying for the Irish before continuing to Murrisk Abbey, dedicated to St. Patrick, which was established in 1457 by the Augustinian Order on lands granted to them by a local chieftain, and the National Famine Monument, commemorating the millions who perished in the Great Famine of 1845 -1852 in Ireland. Continue to visit Knock Shrine, where Our Lady appeared with St. Joseph and St. John the Evangelist in 1879 to fifteen villagers. Along with Lourdes, Our Lady of Knock shrine is one of the most important places of pilgrimage in the world for the sick and handicapped. Drive on to Ogulla Well, where tradition has it that St. Patrick baptized Sts. Eithne and Fidelma, the two daughters of Laoghaire, High King of Ireland. Head to your hotel near Athlone for dinner and overnight. (BB, D)

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Day 10. Wednesday, July 9: Boyle Abbey – Cloone – Enniskillen Castle – Catsby Cave – Donegal Town

Start your day with a visit to Boyle Abbey, a ruined Cistercian friary founded by St. Malachy in the 12th century. Then make a quick visit to the small village of Cloone in County Leitrim, where an abbey was founded about the year 570 by St. Fraech. Stop at Enniskillen Castle, situated beside the River Erne in County Fermanagh and built almost 600 years ago by Gaelic Maguires. Take a tour of Belleek Factory boasting over 160 years of craftsmanship and producing more than 100,000 pieces of pottery annually. Drive on to Catsby Cave, where Holy Mass was said during Penal Times when it was forbidden for Catholics to practice their religion, and there also visit the Holy Well of St. Patrick, where you can see the pagan site Christianized by St. Patrick, including two wells, baths, and ancient church ruins. Arrive in Donegal Town area for dinner and overnight. (BB, D)

Day 11. Thursday, July 10: Slieve League – Glencolmcille – Armagh

Take a drive to Slieve League, Europe's highest sea cliffs, rising almost 2,000 feet from the Atlantic Ocean, they offer one of the most magnificent views in Ireland. There, have the opportunity to walk the Pilgrim’s Path. At the top of Slieve League lies an early Christian monastic site a church, bee-hive monk’s stone dwellings, an ancient graveyard and a holy well dating to the times of St. Colmcille (6th century). After lunch at the Ti Linn Cafe, visit the stunning seaside village of Glencolmcille boasting a Folk Village depicting how people lived in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. St. Colmcille is one of Ireland’s three patron saints, the other two being Sts. Patrick and Brigid, and he is credited with founding a monastic site at Iona in Scotland in the 6th century. The church ruins in Glencolmcille today are medieval; however, the ecclesiastical site may date in origin to early Medieval times (c. 400 to late 12th century). Continue to Armagh for an independent dinner and overnight. (BB, L)

Day 12. Friday, July 11: Armagh – Downpatrick – Struell – Dublin

Spend the morning in Armagh, Ireland’s center of Christianity. St. Patrick founded his first bishopric here in 444 AD. View the cathedrals dating from the Middle Ages belonging to the Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland. Also visit St. Patrick’s Trian, a heritage center telling the story of the city. Travel to Downpatrick and visit sites related to the saint: Down Cathedral, his burial place; Slieve Patrick, a giant statue of St. Patrick erected in 1932 to commemorate the 1500th anniversary of his landing in Ireland, and today a place of pilgrimage; and Saul, site of the first church in Ireland, where in 432 A.D., the local chieftain was converted by St. Patrick and gave him a barn for holding services. St. Patrick died in Saul on March 17, 461 and the modern “Saint Patrick's Memorial Church” is built on the reputed spot of this building. Visit St. Patrick’s Wells at Struell, which were visited by pilgrims from all over Europe. Tradition says that the wells sprung when St. Patrick converted the local chieftain and turned blood from his foot to water. The ruins of the women’s bath house are medieval and the men’s bath house later. Also visit Down County Museum. Finally, arrive in Dublin for dinner and overnight. (BB, D)

Day 13. Saturday, July 12: Homebound flight

 Transfer to Dublin airport for your flight home.

Buffet Breakfast (BB); Lunch (L); Dinner (D); Welcome Dinner (WD); Farewell Dinner (FD)

* In case of unforeseen events, this itinerary is subject to change.