Ireland Tour Blog July 20 - 29, 2008

To Shannon Airport - and Home!

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 15:38:48 -0400

Our group of 40 people (pictured above) is heading home today from Shannon Airport after a relaxing final morning at the Bunratty Castle Hotel. We also shared fond memories of our previous night (at a medieval banquet at Bunratty Castle). Photos below show Tom Byrne of Wappingers Falls, NY who was thrown into the dungeon and had to sing his way to freedom, as well as Anna May Fitzpatrick of Poughkeepsie NY wishing a Happy 30th Birthday to Heather Crispell of Olivebridge, NY.
Our final photo shows John & Pat Preston, Msgr. Charlie Coen and Tadhg Murphy, our CIE Tours driver/guide.
May the road rise to meet you
And the wind be ever at your back
May the sun shine warm upon your face
And the rain fall softly on your fields
And until we meet again,
May the good Lord hold you in the palm of his hand.
An Irish blessing to all!

The Cliffs of Moher & Bunratty

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:14:37 -0400

Just to prove that it does rain in Ireland, our morning did bring showers and heavy rain as we made our way up along the coast via Tralee, Listowel, Tarbert, the Shannon Ferry, and then to the Cliffs of Moher. Photo above shows some of our group (Ann Clark and Connie & Ellie Keane of Staten Island; Kathleen & Michael Maurer of Kingston, NY; Steven Byrne of Poughkeepsie, NY; Kathy Corrado of Kingston, NY and Tom Byrne of Wappingers Falls, NY) at the Cliffs of Moher visitor centre - not the best weather to view the Cliffs, but everyone still had fun, and finally got to use our umbrellas and rain gear.
We picked up a displaced passenger (Allison McKelvey from Dallas, TX) from another CIE tour who missed her connection at the Shannon Ferry and she traveled with us for the day. Photo below shows Allison with Denis Keane of Staten Island at the Great Hunger Memorial near Ennistymon; and our driver/guide Tadhg Murphy with other members of the group (Dot Frost and Colleen Cox of MA, Louise Crispell of Olivebridge, NY, and Kathy Maurer of Kingston, NY) and Msgr. Charlie at the memorial.

By 3 p.m., we arrived at Bunratty, the sun came out, and we spread out in different directions for the afternoon. Photos below show Cindy Jamieson of Ellicott City, MD relaxing at Kathleen’s Bar outside of the Bunratty Castle Hotel; also outdoors at Kathleen’s Bar are Ruth Mesuda of Staatsburg, NY and Pat O’Halloran of Kingston.

Meantime, Durty Nellys Pub drew other tour members as shown below: Connie & Ellie Keane, Tim, Brendan & Denis Keane, all of Staten Island except Brendan from Massapequa Park, NY; and the Maurer family of Kingston, NY

The remainder of our group explored the Bunratty Folk Park including: Linda Roche of MA, Dorothy Bahret of Rhinebeck NY and Jason Bahret of CA at a Bunratty Village shop; Colleen Cox of MA sampling a Guinness outside of Mac’s Pub; Rob & Linda Warner of CT at a village cottage; and Anna May Fitzpatrick of Poughkeepsie, NY with Heather and Louise Crispell of Olivebridge NY as Heather celebrates her 30th birthday today.

Lastly, I couldn’t resist sharing with you a few of the summer flowers blooming at Bunratty Folk Park:

Tonight, we are off to Bunratty Castle for a medieval banquet!

The Dingle Peninsula

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 15:24:55 -0400

Our day started off cloudy with a few drops of rain, as 30 of us (10 stayed in Killarney for the day) headed from Killarney to the Dingle Penisula - but we soon saw a rainbow and knew that the sunshine was on the way. Our photos begin with a visit to Inch Strand (above, left) where 12 of us headed to the sea’s edge - and then took photos or got our feet wet - including (top row) Susan Skronski of Holmdel, NJ; (second row) Msgr. Charlie; Mary Ellen Byrne of Poughkeepsie, NY and Tom Byrne of Wappingers Falls, NY; and Dot Frost and Linda Roche, both of MA.
We stopped several times for photos in the sunshine as we drove around the peninsula, as the photos below show:

Then we reached the Blasket Centre at Dunquin and all 30 of our Dingle day trip members posed for a photo:

The rest of our photos show more stops in scenic places and a stop for Murphy’s Ice Cream in Dingle Town.

Ring of Kerry

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 11:08:19 -0400

Sunshine followed us around the Ring of Kerry today, Ireland’s most scenic drive. Our pictures tell the story. Photos above show a quick visit to the scenic Prince of Peace Church overlooking the Killarney Lakes, with Steven Byrne of Poughkeepsie NY, Anna May Fitzpatrick of Poughkeepsie, NY and Colleen Cox of Newburyport, MA. The next two photos show an enterprising family on the roadside posing with donkey and dog with Marge and Tom Harney of Tinley Park, IL, and Sue Skronski of Holmdel, NJ. The final photo above shows the Maurer Family of Kingston, NY (Kathy Mauer, Kathleen Mauer, Betty Corrado, and Michael Mauer) with Dingle Bay in the background.
Photos below show various tour members posing along the Ring of Kerry route: Rob & Linda Warner of Torrington, CT; Ruth Mesuda of Staatsburg, NY; and Pat.

We then visited Brendan Ferris’ sheep farm at Kells and watched as Brendan introduced us to his sheep and put the sheep dogs through their paces. Photos include Brendan, the shepherd; Penny Van Kleeck of Kingston and MaryEllen Byrne of Poughkeepsie, NY meeting a sheep, and our group watching the demonstration.

We continued on to the Skellig Heritage Centre on Valentia Island - photo below shows Heather and Louise Crispell of Olivebridge, NY on Valentia Island, and our fihnal photo of the day shows a photo stop to take a picture of the piles of turf cut from the bog. Tonight we are off to Kate Kearney’s Cottage for dinner and traditional music.

Kinsale to Killarney

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 15:30:52 -0400

Incredibly good weather followed us again from Kinsale, through Clonakilty, Skibbereen, and West Cork, over the Caha Mountains to Kenmare and Killarney. The photo above shows our group standing in the sunshine on the front steps of The Malton Hotel, after arriving and enjoying a welcome drink in honor of Msgr. Charlie’s 75th birthday, hosted by Conor Hennigan, General Manager of the Malton. Earlier in the day, we stopped at Bantry House - photos below show Tom Byrne of Wappingers Falls, NY and Ruth Mesuda of Staatsburg, NY in front of Bantry House; and the Maurer family of Kingston, NY in Bantry House Gardens.

Later we stopped at Bantry Bay for a photo (photo lower left)and the toured Muckross House in Killarney National Park (lower right):

We then boarded jaunting cars (Killarney’s traditional mode of transport) and rode beside the lakes into Killarney Town. Photos below show some of us on our jaunting car rides:

After arriving in Killarney, our hotel’s General Manager, Conor Hennigan hosted a reception to honor Msgr. Charlie on his 75th birthday and 40th anniversary as a priest. Photos below show Conor congratulating Msgr. Charlie and our tour members enjoying the party:

Later, after dinner, the hotel also prepared a cake to celebrate Msgr. Charlie’s 75th birthday - and we all enjoyed it, as shown in the photos below. To crown this happy evening, our driver/guide, Tadhg Murphy also welcomed his wife Jan to join us at the hotel (final photo):

Blarney & Kinsale

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 16:01:28 -0400

We were blessed with a beautiful summer’s day - a bit of morning cloud, a few drops of rain, and then continuous sunshine all day through the evening. We started the day with a visit to Blarney Castle (above, left). Photo right above shows four of our tour members at Blarney Castle - Eileen DeKoskie of Kingston, NY, Pat & Sally McLoughlin of Shokan, NY, and Ann Clark of Staten Island, NY. Almost all of our tour members kissed the famous stone and then everyone went shopping at Blarney Woollen MIlls. Photos below show some Blarney shopping scenes - Ann Clark of Staten Island; Anna May Fitzpatrick of Poughkeepsie, NY; Arch Jamieson of Ellicott City, MD; Marge Harney of Tinley Park, IL; Louise Crispell of Olivebridge NY modeling a sweater; and a group of shoppers boarding our bus.

After our shopping spree, we returned to Kinsale and took an afternoon cruise on board the “Spirit of Kinsale.” Photos below show all of us on board the boat:

Photos below show Pat and John on the boat; and Ann Clark of Staten Island and Susan Skronski of Holmdel, NJ, on board the cruise in Kinsale Harbour - and sending a few messages home.

Finally, we share with you a photo of our hotel - The Trident - as seen from our boat cruise, and a photo of Kinsale, our “home” for the past two nights:

Wexford to Kinsale

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 16:00:26 -0400

The weather was kind to us today - although misty at first, then it was cloudy with sun and warm. It was perfect for our drive from Wexford via New Ross and Waterford to Dungarvan, Midleton and then to Kinsale. We ended the day with a walking tour of Kinsale, and a beautiful dinner overlooking the harbour at the Trident Hotel. Our pictures re-cap it all. The photo above shows many of our group at the Dunbrody Famine Ship at New Ross; and Pat at the new JFK Statue at New Ross on the harbour.
Photos below show: Our Waterford Crystal Tour; Penny Van Kleeck of Kingston,NY watching the glassblowing at Waterford; and Steven Byrne of Poughkeepsie inspecting the master cutter’s work at Waterford.

Lunch with music followed at the Marine Bar at Dungarvan, Co. Waterford, a pub run by musician Christy O’Neill and wife Helen Kealy O’Neill. Photos show: Christy entertaining our group; Pat O’Halloran of Kingston, NY enjoying the music; Msgr Charlie joining Christy in the music; and the Keane Family of Staten Island gathered at the pub.

We also stopped for photos in the sunshine at Youghal harbour; followed by a quick visit to the old Jameson Distillery, a stop particularly enjoyed by the Jamieson family of Ellicott City, MD - Cindy, Natalie and Arch Jamieson.

We finished our day by checking into the Trident Hotel, Kinsale. Photos below show Kinsale Harbour in front of our hotel, as well as our tour members embarking on a walking tour of Kinsale with local guide, Barry Mahoney (left).

Sunny Southeast - Wexford & Wicklow

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:11:33 -0400

Glorious sunshine greeted us today and stayed with us through our touring of Counties Wexford and Wicklow. Our pictures tell the story: (photos above) scenes from our visit to Glendalough - guided tour of the cathedral; Louse & Heather Crispell of Olivebridge, NY at the round tower; Msgr. Charlie with Dorothy Bahret of Rhinebeck, NY looking the ancient grave stones and St. Kevin’s Cross; Jason Bahret of Long Beach, CA getting a photo of the stones. Betty Corrado of Kingston, NY takes a photo of her sisters at the Vale of Avoca.
Photos below are: Steven, MaryEllen and Tom Byrne of Poughkeepsie and Wappingers Falls, NY at the Vale of Avoca; Sally & Pat McLoughlin of Shokan, NY at the Vale with Tadhg Murphy, our driver guide; Ruth Mesuda admires the colorful roses at Avoca; Kathleen Mauer of Kingston, NY at the Avoca Handweavers; John Preston catches up with the Irish Times news on a bench at Avoca; Colleen Cox, Jean Callahan and Dorothy Frost, all of MA, share a drink at Fitzgerald’s Bar, Avoca (Ballykissangel); an unexpected stop for fresh strawberries and raspberries along the Wexford road; and a birthday celebration for Ann Clark of Staten Island, along with Susan Skronski of Holmdel, NJ, and Colleen Cox of MA.

Tour Arrival Day

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Our tour members all arrived at Shannon Airport on this day, and we now start our daily Blog - describing all of our travels in words and pictures. Now that we are rolling, our family, friends and web site viewers at home can view each day’s happenings and also write “Comments” and add them to this Blog. We’ll pass on your messages to everyone on the tour, too. So, it’s better than a post card to get the news to and from home. Our pictures show a sampling of our first day’s events. Photos above are: Cindy, Arch and Natalie Jamieson, Ellicott City, MD at King John’s Castle, Limerick City; Susan Skronski of Holmdel, NJ and Ann Clark of Staten Island, NY at the Treaty Stone, Limerick; the Maurer family of Kingston, NY at King John’s Castle; and Msgr Charlie and our driver guide, Tadhg Murphy of CIE Tours.
Photos below show: Cahir Castle, Co. Tipperary - Pat O’Halloran of Kingston, NY, Anna May Fitzpatrick of Poughkeepsie, NY, with Marge & Tom Harney of Tinley Park, IL; and Louise & Heather Crispell of Olivebridge, NY.
The Lord Mayor of Wexford, Ted Howlin (center, with his mayoral chains) greeted our entire group and especially tour members from Staten Island - which is twinned with Wexford (Susan Skronsky, Ann Clark, and the Keane family - Connie & Ellie, Brendan, Denis, Tim and Mary; Linda & Ron Warner of Torrington, CT enjoy the Welcome Reception hosted by CIE Tours; and Jean Callahan’s 80th birthday was celebrated at dinner with her nieces Linda Roche, Colleen Cox and Dorothy Frost, all of MA. As you can see from our photos, the weather is sunny and warm.....