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Planned Afternoon Excursions - Wednesday 27 July 05
All tours are subject to a minimum of 40 people. If less than this number book on any particular tour, then the right is reserved to cancel the tour and allocate placement on your second choice.
Tour A - Literary Tour of Dublin - 12:30 - 17:30
This tour will offer participants an opportunity to acquaint themselves with literary Dublin.
The tour begins with a visit to the Dublin Writers Museum, where we have our lunch. This museum, which is housed in a restored eighteenth century building, is an essential visit for anyone who wants to discover, explore or just enjoy Dublin's rich literary heritage. The permanent displays illustrate, by means of letters, photographs, first editions and memorabilia, the history of Irish literature from earliest times to the twentieth century.
The tour continues via Merrion Square, whose famous past residents include Wilde, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu and William Butler Yeats.
We finish with a visit to St Patrick's Cathedral, associated with Dean Jonathan Swift where, in 1726, he wrote his famous satire Gulliver's Travels.
FULL Tour B - Boyne Valley Tour - 12:30 - 18:00
Boyne Valley is Ireland's most historic valley and site of the ancient burial place of the Kings of Ireland. After a stop for lunch en route, we visit Bru na Boinne Visitor Centre, which interprets the Neolithic monuments of the Boyne Valley. Included is a visit to Knowth for a walk around this spectacular passage tomb complex.
Knowth's two burial chambers have the richest and largest collection of megalithic art in Europe. The great mound of this spectacular site is outlined by 127 massive kerbstones. Also sited in the Boyne Valley is the seventh century monastic site of Monasterboice, with its famous high cross, which we will visit, time permitting.
FULL Tour C - Hill of Tara Tour - 12:30 - 18:00
At the Hill of Tara, Irish myth, legends and history are one - this magical site has been home to gods an dgoddesses, to druids an dwarriors, and to Ireland's High Kings. Though best known as the seat of the High Kings of Ireland, the Hill of Tara has been an important site since the late Stone Age, when a passage-tomb was constructed there. Tara was at the height of its power as a political and religious centre in the early centuries after Christ.
We continue to Trim Castle, which is the largest remaining Anglo-Norman castle in Europe. Its unique keep provides the most spectacular evidence of late twelveth and early thirteenth century Anglo-Norman domination in Ireland.
Lunch is included en route.
FULL Tour D - Tour of Glendalough - 12:30 - 17:30
Just south of Dublin is the county of Wicklow, wonderland of mountains, lakes and valleys that is justly named the 'Garden of Ireland'. We stop for lunch en route. We continue with our tour of Glendalough, once the site of a monastic city and centre of European learning in the Dark Ages (c. 500 A.D.), and include a visit to the Glendalough Display Centre. The monastic site remains include a superb round tower, stone churches and decorated crosses.
Tour E - Tour of Wicklow & Powerscourt - 12:30 - 17:30
Just south of Dublin is the county of Wicklow, wonderland of mountains, lakes and valleys that is justly named the 'Garden of Ireland'. After lunch we continue to Powerscourt for a visit to this seventeenth century house, whose specialty shops include knitwear, Waterford crystal, soft furnishings and home accessories. After which we take a stroll around Powerscourt's magnificant gardens, which includes Italian and Japanese Gardens, as well as a pet cemetery.
Tour F - A Taste of the Black Stuff & A Taste of Dublin's History - 12:30 - 17:00
Our tour starts with a visit to the Guinness Storehouse for a light lunch, followed by a tour of the Guinness Storehouse, which was founded in 1759. A combination of film, audio-visual and theatrical effects depicts the brewing process. A taste of the 'black stuff' is included. We then have a short panoramic tour of Dublin City, giving us an overview of Dublin's Georgian streets and squares.
Our next stop is Christ Church Cathedral where we visit Dublinia - a 'Bridge to Medieval Dublin'. Dublinia is a stimulating journey through time, which by means of audiovisual aids and exhibits, traces Dublin's history from the arrival of the Anglo-Normans in 1170 to the closure of the monasteries in 1540.
FULL Optional Evening Tour - Monday 25 July & Friday 29 July
Literary Pub Crawl - 19:30 - 21.45 - € 10 per person
A humorous and irreverent look at the work of Dublin's finest scribes. This two and a half hour public tour features professional actors performing the works of Dublin's great writers, while guiding you around the city's most famous literary haunts. The fact that some of these famous literary haunts are also famous Dublin pubs is purely coincidental! The evening combines street theatre with the 'craic' that makes Dublin pubs the liveliest in Europe. (Drinks are not included and are entirely at your own discretion. This tour is not suitable for anybody under 18).