"When Irish eyes are smiling" 8 Day Tour

DAY 1

Céad míle fáilte go hÉirinn

Arrival to Dublin Airport from your transatlantic flight

Meet with your Tour Escort & Driver/Guides and begin your Irish adventure, first enjoy a panoramic Dublin City Tour including a visit to Trinity College.

Visit Trinity College

Welcome to the Old Library and the Book of Kells Exhibition – a “must see” on the itinerary of all visitors to Dublin. Located in the heart of Dublin City, a walk through the cobbled stones of Trinity College Dublin will bring visitors back to the 18th century, when the magnificent Old Library building was constructed. Inside is housed the Book of Kells – a 9th-century gospel manuscript which is world famous.

Some free time and lunch under own arrangements in Dublin.

Continue to your hotel and check in.

Dinner, Bed & Breakfast at your hotel in Dublin

DAY 2

Option 1: Causey Farm

Depart your hotel after breakfast for Navan, Co. Meath, be sure to pack old clothes for this day!!!

Over a three hour period the group will take part in a number of Irish Farm Activities such as:-

• Cutting turf
• Making a Sugan Rope
• Milking a cow
• Sheepdog demonstration
• Baking brown Bread

Or – Irish Cultural Activities such as:-

• Dancing a jig
• Playing a bodhran (Irish Drum)
• Enjoy a Traditional Irish ceili
• Play hurling

Light Lunch of soup & brown bread will be served on-site

Option 2: Belfast

This morning depart the hotel bound for Northern Ireland.  Our first stop of the day will be in Belfast where you will enjoy a Black Cab Tour of Belfast.

The local guides will tailor your tour, giving you the option of where you would like to visit most and of course will supply commentary featuring local stories and wit. Start your tour in the City Centre, then move through the Shipyards and see where HMS Titanic was built and launched from. See the political districts which have bore the brunt of conflict over the last thirty years before seeing the elegant University Quarter and Museum district.

After your Black Cab Tour, enjoy your lunch under own arrangements before a visit to the much talked about Titanic Belfast.

Visit Titanic Belfast

Titanic Belfast® extends over nine galleries, with multiple dimensions to the exhibition, drawing together special effects, dark rides, full-scale reconstructions and innovative interactive features to explore the Titanic story in a fresh and insightful way. Explore the shipyard, travel to the depths of the ocean and uncover the true legend of Titanic, in the city where it all began.

Return to your hotel in Dublin

Dinner, Bed & Breakfast at your hotel in Dublin.

DAY 3

The Band will have the opportunity to perform at the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Dublin today.

Optional participation in a local parade in Celbridge or Leixlip or free time

Return to your hotel after the Parade to freshen up.

Dinner & Entertainment at Taylors Three Rock or similar  

Taylors Irish Night involves a rip roaring evening of traditional Irish song and dance accompanied by a great selection of quality Irish food to delight your pallet.

Return to the hotel.

Bed & Breakfast at your hotel in Dublin.

DAY 4

After breakfast we depart our hotel for Limerick via Kilkenny & Cashel

Your first stop today will be in Kilkenny.

Enjoy a guided tour at Kilkenny Castle followed by a performance in the grounds of

the castle.

Kilkenny Castle has been an important site since Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, commonly known as Strongbow constructed the first castle, probably a wooden structure, in the 12th century. The Anglo-Normans had established a castle in 1173, possibly on the site of an earlier residence of the Mac Giolla Phádraig Kings of Osraighe. Kilkenny formed part of the lordship of Leinster, which was granted to Strongbow. Strongbow’s daughter and heiress, Isabel married William Marshall in 1189. The Earl Marshall owned large estates in Ireland, England, Wales and France and managed them effectively. He appointed Geoffrey Fitz Robert as seneschal of Leinster and so began a major phase of development in Kilkenny, including the construction of Kilkenny Castle and the agreement of rents and privileges with burgesses or citizens of the borough. The first stone castle on the site was completed in 1213. This was a square-shaped castle with towers at each corner; three of these original four towers survive to this day.

Lunch under own arrangements, with some free time in Kilkenny City.

Continue to Cashel

Enjoy a Self-guided Tour of the Rock of Cashel

The 4th century Rock of Cashel once the seat of the High King of Munster is one of the most enduring images of Ireland, with its amazing collection of ancient walls, towers and halls, and an excellent multilingual audio visual presentation – a site not to be missed.

We then proceed to our hotel in Limerick to check in.

Dinner, Bed & Breakfast at your hotel in Limerick.

DAY 5

Today the Band will perform in the 2016 International Band Competition in Limerick (subject to confirmation from competition organisers).  A large conference room will be reserved for the group at their hotel for the group on this morning from 08h30 – 11h00 to facilitate rehearsals etc. A packed lunch (including sandwich, bottle of water, piece of fruit and bag of crisps) will also be arranged for the group to enjoy en route to Galway.

En route we will enjoy a visit to the Cliffs of Moher

Visit the Cliffs of Moher

The Cliffs of Moher are one of Ireland’s top visitor sites. Looming over Country Clare’s west coast, the cliffs stretch foe 8 kilometres and 214 meters over the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Unchanged for millennia, the landscapes of the cliffs have for centuries welcomed visitors, who come to marvel at their splendour and be at one with nature. The cliffs are the largest mainland colony for nesting seabirds in Ireland. Visitors can see puffins, kittiwakes, fulmar and many others. The new visitor centre is covered by the grass hillside. It features a virtual reality cliff face adventure, the ledge that provides a WOW factor for visitors and is a must for all ages, together with the coffee shop, tourist information desk and retail shop.

Continue to your hotel and check in.

Dinner, Bed & Full Irish Breakfast at your hotel in Galway  

DAY 6

Today we will enjoy a panoramic City Tour of Galway including the famous sites such as the Spanish Arch, the Salmon Weir, St. Nicholas Collegiate church, Galway Cathedral etc. followed by a visit to the Galway Museum.

Visit Galway Museum

Situated behind the famous Spanish Arch, Galway City Museum houses exhibitions which explore aspects of the history and heritage of Galway City, focusing on the medieval town, the Claddagh village & Galway, 1800-1950. In addition, the Museum mounts temporary exhibitions & hosts a variety of exhibits from other museums, galleries & special interest groups. The building itself affords spectacular views of the Claddagh, the Spanish Arch, the River Corrib & Galway Bay.

Lunch, afternoon and dinner under own arrangements to explore Eyre Square and Galway City Centre.

Bed & Breakfast at your hotel in Galway.

DAY 7

After a final breakfast in Galway we continue to Athlone where we will enjoy a final performance with the Raven’s Marching Band Athlone.

Lunch & some free time for shopping in Athlone under own arrangements

Dinner, Bed & Breakfast at your hotel in Athlone.

DAY 8

After a final breakfast this morning we depart for Dublin Airport where we say a final farewell to the Emerald Isle before our return transatlantic flight.