In Summary:- Day 1 Arrive Ireland and transfer to Ashford Castle.

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1 In Summary:- Day 1 Arrive Transfer to Ashford Castle Day 2 Explore Connemara Ashford Castle Day 3 Explore Cliffs of Moher and Burren Adare Manor Day 4 Explore Killarney and Ring of Kerry Sheen Falls Day 5 Tour Bantry and Garnish Island Sheen Falls Day 6 Cahir Castle and Rock of Cashel The Merrion Day 7 Explore Dublin The Merrion Day 8 Depart Dublin Airport Day 1 Arrive Ireland and transfer to Ashford Castle. Your driver will be awaiting you as you come out of the Customs Hall into the Arrivals Hall with a sign, Visit the ruins of Cong Abbey which was built in After visiting the ruins, take a short stroll through the wooded area behind it and you will arrive at a river. Here you will see the Monk's Fishing Hut. A lot of the scenery may be familiar from the classic movie The Quiet Man, which was filmed here. Explore the Village of Cong a short walk from the Castle. Dinner at the informal Cullens Restaurant on the Castle grounds. The Dungeon Bar would be an alternative place to eat for an informal supper

2 Day 2 Ashford Castle Travel Clonbur to Lough Nafooey. The Maam Turk Mountains give way to a spectacular fjord as you come to the friendly village of Leenane. Carry on towards Letterfrack, passing Kylemore Abbey on the right. Explore The Connemara Loop and Streamstown Bay, meander along the Sky Road to Clifden, Connemara's capital, passing thatched cottages and a ruined castle. From Clifden take the road to Roundstone, a hideaway for the likes of Sting and various member of U2. Follow the road back through the Maam Valley to Ashford. The castle estate hosts the Falconry Centre of Ireland where you can see a wide range of birds of prey being flown, and a superb - 2 -

3 stable with excellent horses if you would like to ride around the estate, as well as skeet shooting. Dine in restaurant, the George V or in the Village of Cong

4 Day 3 To Adare Manor Travel by way of the Burrren and Cliffs of Moher natural ramparts against the might of the Atlantic, the cliffs of Moher rise in places to over 215m and stretch for almost 8km. O'Brien's Tower, constructed in the early 19th century as a viewing point for Victorian tourists, is located on Mohers highest cliff. From its vantage point you can view the Clare coastline, the Aran Islands and mountains as far apart as Kerry and Connemara Away from the tour buses at the Cliffs the internationally renowned karst limestone habitat of the Burren, with its orchids, gentians and ragged robin, prehistoric sites and tiny green lanes give one a feeling for the ancient Celtic landscape. The on to Bunratty Castle and the city of Limerick. Adare is a very pretty village of thatched cottages and overnight in Adare Manor. Dine in the hotel s fine dining restaurant, The Oak Room

5 Day 4 Sheen Falls The Ring of Kerry takes a full day of over 120 miles of stunning seaside with the mountains always beside you. Kerry is a land of contrasts - velvet green golf courses, empty golden beaches, rugged cliffs, exotic gardens, wild scenery, unchanged since the ice age, hidden communes of artists and writers, stone age monuments, and fish filled rivers and lakes. When going around the Ring of Kerry be sure to visit St Flanans Bay where the wild fuchsia carpets the countryside and the Skellig Chocolate Company for the best chocolate in the world. A very spiritual place is the shrine in the slate quarry on Valentia Island - take the car ferry from Caherciveen and rejoin the mainland by the bridge to Ballinskelligs. Through Sneem and on to Kenmare. Dine in the hotel s fine dining restaurant La Cascade - 5 -

6 Day 5 Sheen Falls Visit the beautiful Bantry Bay and Garnish Island, located in the sheltered harbour of Glengarriff in Bantry Bay. Garnish is world renowned for its gardens which are laid out in beautiful walks and it has some stunning specimen plants which are rare in this climate. Visit Bantry House, The house, with its "staircase to heaven" gardens is a wonderful example of a landlord's home and has a stunning collection put together by the 2nd Earl of Bantry who did well at Napoleon III's bargain basement sale at Versailles. Explore the village and choose a restaurant for yourselves. Bantry House Day 6 Merrion Hotel Head to Cashel, - once the seat of the Kings of Munster and capital of this southern province. The Rock, which rears above the plain, dominated the land routes southwards. Kings of Ireland as well as Munster came to this spot and St. Patrick is known to have preached on the rock and converted the local King, Aenghus, here in the 5th Century. Brian Boru was also crowned King of Ireland on this spot in the early 11th Century. King Cormac built his superb Royal Chapel in the 12th century. Visit Cashel town to experience and understand the historical relationship between the Rock and the town. The Cashel Palace Hotel was designed by the Edward Lovett Pearce whose cousin, Vannbrugh, designed Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard. It is also where the brewer Arthur Guinness s father worked for Archbishop Price

7 On the way there you could follow the back road from Cahir, through Golden, will bring you past the riverside ruins of Athassel Abbey and the legendary Motte of Knockgraffon. Cahir has a huge castle in a fine state of repair and a wonderful "Swiss Cottage" built as a folly in the Regency period. Your guide will discuss your preferences with you and recommend and book restaurants for you in Dublin. Day 7 Merrion Hotel A Tour of Dublin's Fair City is best done by a mixture of foot and car. The inner city is small, and pedestrianised. Start on Nassau Street at Trinity College. Founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth, among many famous students to attend the college were playwrights Oliver Goldsmith and Samuel Beckett. Trinity's lawns and cobbled quads provide a pleasant haven in the hearth of the city. The major attractions are the Old Library and the Book of Kells, housed in the Treasury. Exit from the front of the Trinity complex and walk from College Green to Dame St and continue west passing: Bank of Ireland, College Green the bank began life as the first purpose-built parliament house in Europe. Completed in 1739 it served as Ireland's Parliament until the Act Of Union in The Olympia Theatre - Dating back to the 1800s, this Victorian music hall-style theatre has a capacity of 1,300. It presents an eclectic schedule of variety shows, musicals, operettas, concerts, ballet, comedy, and drama. As a variation, for the late-night crowd, live bands are often featured after regular programs. A brief diversion here will bring you into the trendy Temple Bar area

8 Across the Street is City Hall. Erected between 1769 and 1779, and formerly the Royal Exchange. It is a square building in Corinthian style, with three fronts of Portland stone. Since 1852, however it has been the centre of the municipal government. The interior is designed as a circle within a square, with fluted columns supporting a dome shaped roof over the central hall. Adjacent to City Hall is Dublin Castle built between 1208 and 1220; this complex represents some of the oldest surviving architecture in the city, and was the centre of English power in Ireland for over seven centuries until it was taken of by the Irish Free State in Wander through the courtyards and visit what is for many the highlight of Dublin Castle - the Chester Beatty Library, hiding behind the castle. It is also an excellent place for lunch. At this point Dame St takes on the name Lord Edward St, and leads to Christchurch Cathedral Standing on high ground in the oldest part of the city, this cathedral is one of Dublin's finest historic buildings. It dates back to 1038 when Sitric, the then Danish king of Dublin, built the first wood here. In 1171 the original simple foundation was extended into a cruciform and rebuilt in stone by Strongbow, although the present structure dates mainly from 1871 to 1878 when a huge restoration was undertaken. Only the transepts, the crypt, and a few other portions date from the medieval times. Highlights of the interior include magnificent stonework and graceful pointed arches, with delicately chiselled supporting columns. Strongbow himself is among the historic figures buried in the church, as is Archbishop Browne, the first Protestant to occupy the church, during the reign of the English King Henry 8th. Carry on to St. Patrick's Cathedral Ireland s largest church was founded beside a sacred well where St. Patrick is said to have baptised converts around 450A.D. A stone slab bearing a Celtic cross and covering the well was un-earthed at the turn of the century (20th). It is now preserved in the west end of the cathedral's nave. The original building was just a wooden chapel and remained so until 1192 when Archbishop John Comyn rebuilt the cathedral in stone. Much of the present building dates back to work completed between 1254 and Cut back to through Stephen Street to Powerscourt Town House Centre is the townhouse of a famous Georgian family, today the building houses one of the cities nicest shopping centres. In the 1960's major restoration turned it into a centre of specialist galleries, antique shops, jewellery stalls, cafés and other shop units. Carry on to Grafton Street down the narrow Johnson Court Alley. If open St Anne s Church is a fascinating stop look for the remarkable charity of Lord Newtonbutler s bread shelf and Laetitia Pilkington s Memorial. Carry on to Leinster House where the prehistoric gold in the national Museum is quite stunning, and the Yeats Exhibition in the national Library is also outstanding. Finish in Merrion Square beside Oscar Wilde s old home at the National Gallery of Ireland. Some of the sites that might be of interest include:- The Guinness Storehouse is the home of Guinness. The exciting new Guinness Experience opened in December 2000 and is based in the heart of the Guinness brewery. In this restored 1904 building discover all there is to know about the world famous beer. It all began in 1759 when Arthur Guinness started brewing his famous 'Porter' which is now produced around the world at the rate of over 10 million glasses each day. No visit to Dublin is complete without enjoying a complimentary pint with the best view of the city! The Irish Museum of Modern Art at the RHK is Ireland's leading national institution for the collection and presentation of modern and contemporary art. The Museum presents a wideranging programme of exhibitions, which regularly include works from the Museum's own - 8 -

9 Collection, its award-winning Education and Community Department and the Studio and National programmes. The Museum is housed in the magnificent 17th century Royal Hospital building and grounds. Originally a major deer park, is now the largest urban park in Europe. Covering 1,750 acres, The Phoenix Park still contains a herd of wild deer and is the site of Dublin Zoo, the Peoples Gardens and Aras An Uachtaráin, the residence of the President of Ireland. The initial buildings at Collins Barracks were started in 1702 and were designed by Captain Thomas Burgh. The complex, which includes eighteenth and nineteenth century buildings, housed troops continually for over three centuries. Originally the complex was known as 'The Barracks' but changed in the early nineteenth century to the 'Royal Barracks'. In 1922 the whole complex was handed over to the troops of the Free State army and was immediately named Collins Barracks after Michael Collins, the first commander-in-chief of the Irish Free State. Collins Barracks is now home to the National Museum of Ireland-Decorative Arts and History. On display, you'll find fine examples of silver, ceramics, glassware, weaponry, furniture, folklife, clothing, & jewellery. The fascinating story of Irish Whiskey (from the Gaelic words 'Uisce Beatha' - 'Water of Life') can be discovered in the Old Jameson Distillery. Situated in the original distillery, founded in 1780, visitors are treated to a recreated scene, visiting the mashing, fermentation, distillation and maturing areas with the guided tour culminating in the Jameson Bar where all visitors are offered a glass of the world famous Jameson Whiskey. General Post Office was built in 1818 halfway along O'Connell Street (formerly Sackville street), & became a symbol of the 1916 Easter Rising. Members of the Irish Volunteers and Irish Citizen Army seized the building on Easter Monday and Patrick Pearse read out the Proclamation of the Irish Republic from its steps. Inside the building is a sculpture of the legendary Irish warrior Cuchulainn, dedicated to those who died for their part in the Easter Rising. The Writers Museum houses letters, books and other memorabilia of Ireland's greatest writers. Shaw, Yeats, Beckett, Swift, Wilde, Joyce & Behan are all here in this restored 18 th C. mansion. The Hugh Lane Art Gallery is located in Charlemont House on Parnell Square and is one of Dublin's major attractions. Charlemont House was designed by Sir William Chambers, who also designed the Casino at Marino. The gallery was founded by Sir Hugh Lane in 1908, who was an avid collector of impressionist art The Georgian House, Number Twenty Nine is a completely restored middle class house of the late 18th century. The owners, Electricity Supply Board and National Museum of Ireland, have sought to recapture the atmosphere and furnishings of a typical comfortable home of the period 1790 to From the basement right through to the attic is housed a unique collection of artefacts and works of art of the time -from the elegant living rooms on the ground and first floors to the family bedrooms, nursery and playroom above. The Casino Marino is considered to be one of the finest 18th century neo-classical buildings in Europe. Designed by Sir William Chambers as a pleasure house for James Caulfield, 1st Earl of Charlemont, The Casino, meaning 'small house', surprisingly contains 16 finely decorated rooms. The interior of the Casino is intricately and ornately decorated. Day 8 Transfer to Dublin Airport & bid farewell to the Emerald Isle - 9 -

10 Slán Abhaile - Safe Home