Join an escorted tour of Western Ireland in 2006 - Full Details, Rising Road Irish Tours

Into the West

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The American imagination is filled with images of Ireland from history, literature, song and film. Connemara, Galway Bay, the Aran Islands, the Burren, Padraig Pearse, James Joyce, W. B. Yeats, Oscar Wilde, John Wayne. JOHN WAYNE??? Remember "The Quiet Man?" All these and many more names and images are associated with Counties Clare and Galway on Ireland's West Coast.

Rising Road Tours will base farmhouses in the Burren and Connemara for our ten-day excursions exploring the vivid history, geology, music, crafts, and culture that abound in these two western counties.

Optional three-day excursions to Dublin and environs can be added to any of our 2007 scheduled tours. Please contact us for details.

Our journey Into the West begins when host and guide, Sam Couch, meets the group at the Shannon Airport early in the morning. We will take time to get some eye-opening coffee and to get acquainted following the long flight from the U.S. There is even a shower at Shannon Airport for those hardy souls who need an extra boost in the morning. After we collect our luggage and are properly fortified, we will head down the road for our first stop at the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare. These spectacular sea cliffs provide nesting grounds for many Atlantic sea birds. The August tour may stay at Lakeside Country Lodge near historic Ennis in County Clare.

From the cliffs, our journey will take us across the Burren, a remarkable karstic (limestone) landscape that is known the world over for its microflora. We will encounter this geologic and botanical wonder many times during the ensuing days. We will find Galway Bay on the horizon as we travel northward toward Galway City. We'll learn the fascinating details of how the limestone sea floor that formed the Burren later metamorphosed into the famous Connemara marble of the mountains across the bay.

Our goal for the first night is Wellfield House in Oughterard, County Galway. Our hosts at this pleasant venue located at the southern end of Lough Corrib are Mary and Pat Rattigan who run a successful, family-owned, Hereford beef operation. After a long day's drive, we will be pleased to sit by the parlor fire and enjoy a welcoming snack of tea and biscuits.

Trips across the Burren will take us to the Lisdoonvarna Salmon Smoke Shop, the abbey ruins and high crosses at Kilfenora, and the wedge tomb at Poulnabrone. A literary jaunt will take us to Thoor Ballylee, home to the poet William Butler Yeats. We also will visit Coole Park near Gort and the grounds where Yeats' patron Lady Augusta Gregory offered the poet haven during his early years. Lady Gregory's home was often visited by social and literary luminaries during the late 19th century. In addition to Yeats, guests included Oscar Wilde, J. M. Synge, Aubrey Beardsley, and other people associated with the Irish Literary Revival. Yeats and Lady Gregory co-founded the Irish National Theatre, housed at the Abbey in Dublin. Lady Gregory also captured in the local Kiltartan dialect the ancient heroic tales in two books, Gods and Fighting Men and Cuchulain of Muirthemne. Hiking trails through The Seven Woods are a highlight of this stop.

Other points of interest include the five church and monastic ruin at Kilmacduagh. Journeys across the Burren offer the opportunity to examine the phenomenal microflora associated with the karstic (limestone) environment. There are several species of endangered plants that exist only in this region. Another landscape that strongly resembles the Burren is the landscape of the famous Aran Islands. If the weather cooperates, we will ferry out to Inishmore, the largest of the three islands. Here we will be charmed by transport in donkey carts and amazed by the wonder of the ancient cliff fort at Dun Aenghus.

Kylemore Abbey, The Connemara In the Connemara, we will see many sites including Kylemore Abbey, Aughnanure Castle, and the charming seaside village of Clifden. Near Clifden we will find history and culture represented at the interesting and educational Connemara Heritage Park and History Centre. In addition, we can gather Connemara marble at an abandoned quarry near the picturesque mountains known as the Twelve Bens. It was in this region that the famous film, "The Quiet Man" was filmed.

If we are rested and adventurous, we can take a journey northward into Mayo to visit Croagh Patrick, the mountain where pilgrims climb barefoot to the top in honor of St. Patrick. We may visit the Ceide Fields in County Mayo, a Stone Age farming complex that is a World Heritage Site. On the journey northward, we will stop for a rest at Leenane, filming site for "The Field."

For those needing a "city fix" after a good deal of time in the rural countryside, we can take an excursion into Galway City. From this city, Columbus is said to have taken one of his westward voyages. Sites of interest include the Galway Cathedral; the Spanish Gate, numerous gourmet restaurants and shops, the National Aquarium in Salthill, and Lynch's Wall.

Early on the morning of our last day in Connemara, we will, as Yeats would say, "arise and go," bid farewell Ireland's west coast and journey back to Shannon for the homeward flight to the U.S.

These itineraries are based on our experiences, but Sam is quite flexible and we try to keep our tours relaxed and stress-free. If group members wish to make reasonable changes to our plans or can suggest more appropriate alternatives for our visits, we will consider all suggestions. Some days (not travel days, of course), participants may wish to stay in the farmhouse B&Bs and relax; anyone who wants or needs to rest is encouraged to do so.

Please remember that tour itineraries may be changed based on weather conditions, accommodation availability, and/or venue opening times. If changes are made based on these factors, Rising Road Tours makes every effort to reschedule events or to replace them with experiences of equal or greater interest.

Our goal is to offer our guests an experience of Ireland that is relaxed and pleasant. If this looks like the tour for you, contact us today.

Rising Road Tours
828-648-8893 (Tel) ~ 888-648-8893 (Toll-free) ~ 828-648-8895 (Fax)
sam@risingroadtours.com

28 Newfound Street, Canton, North Carolina 28716 USA