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Club Feis America Tour - Dublin, 2012
Dancing Championship, special tour for Irish Step Dancing Families in Ireland
Oireachtas Rince na h-Éireann 2012 - All Irelands
February, 2012 from Dublin
Oireachtas Rince na h-Éireann – The All-Ireland Irish Dancing Championships
2012: Dublin: The New Citywest Conference Centre, Citywest Hotel, Saggart, Co. Dublin
Special Group Tours is available to organize a private tour for your dance club or family, from just 2 guests and up, for friends of all ages around the Irish Dancing Championships.
Travel in the company of your personal driver/guide, a local who knows all of the best sites off the beaten track, someone who can take you to your ancestral places, sites of religious significance or simply the highlights of the best regions of the Emerald Isle. You tell us how much time you have to travel and how many guests, we can organize a trip specifically to suit you and for your group’s ages. What to go biking, horseback riding or another activity? We can assist you with all types of small group travel.
Here are 3 popular options for short discovery trips from Dublin. These suggestions are based on 5 days prior to the 2012 competitions. These itineraries can be modified to specifically suit your needs. Don’t see what you want here? Just ask, we are happy to help!
Contact us for further details: specialgrouptours@yahoo.com
OPTION 1: Cork
Sunday, Day 1
Arrival from the US. Arrival transfer from the airport and the rest of the day is free for you to recover from your flight and enjoy Dublin as you please. There’s the option of hop-on/hop-off tickets, a ‘duck’ tour or river cruise.
www.visitdublin.com Dublin is a great city to explore on foot. It's small enough to be easily walked and it's great fun to discover the alleyways of Tollbar and the magnificent shopping of Powerscourt. This city means so many things to many people: it is a city of writers, a city that is the symbol for Irish nationalism, a city of talkers, churches, of pubs, of music, of Georgian architecture. A city of shifting moods, often two at once: hustle and bustle in one street, quiet admiration and contemplation in another, and always there is talk of this and that. The River Liffey provides a convenient as well as historical axis along which to orientate one’s visit. It's a day to see The Book of Kells at Trinity, the Guinness Factory and other of the city's icons.
It's also great fun using Dublin's tram network and the more adventurous may wish to ride it, or the DART, a little further afield and discover some of the less visited neighbourhoods like Joyce's Sandycove. Spoilt for choice!
NIGHTSTOP: Dublin
Monday, Day 2
First, we travel to the medieval town of Kilkenny, one of the oldest and most interesting towns of Ireland. It is known for its legends of witchcraft, local craftwork and has been called 'the marble city' because of the limestone quarries in the area. Two of the most impressive local buildings are the ancient castle, dating back to 1192 and the magnificent Cathedral of St. Candice which is one of the finest un-ruined churches in the country.
Next, to the awe inspiring Cashel. This was the ancient capital of the Kings of Munster and long famous ecclesiastical centre. The Rock of Cashel, rising above the town, is crowned by the ruins of a cathedral, beside which shelters an outstanding example of Irish Romanesque architecture, Cormac's Chapel.
NIGHTSTOP: Cork
Tuesday, Day 3
Our day of discovery includes the city of Cork and the nearby Blarney. Yes, you'll 'kiss the Blarney stone'! The well preserved village square is also impressive.
A stone's throw away is Cobh, known historically as Queenstown. A ‘ship’ town, it was from here that many immigrants sailed to their new life across the sea. The ill fated Titanic and Lusitania also sailed from here and we can pay our respects to many of the passengers in the town’s country cemetery. Today, Cobh is a pleasant town, with streets that climb the steep slope of a hill, the top of which is crowned by St. Coleman's Cathedral.
Kinsale is a nearby pretty town, nestling between the hills and the shoreline, boasting a maze of narrow streets, none far from the water and little changed in many hundreds of years. Here, we can see Charles Fort and Desmond Castle, a place with a colourful history, from Spanish occupation in 1601 to use as a prison for captured American sailors during the American War of Independence.
NIGHTSTOP: Cork, as above
Wednesday, Day 4
Today's itinerary takes us across to the fabled west Cork where we find some of the most beautiful Atlantic seaboard scenery. We can follow the coast road to Skibbereen. This lively, cosmopolitan town is regarded as the hub of the tourism area that spreads out in many directions from it. It is noted for its shops, pubs and restaurants, as well as being home of the West Cork Arts Centre, where many artists who inhabit the area show their work.
Thence we can travel to Mizen Head, Ireland's most south-westerly point and home of some breathtaking scenery and an award winning Maritime Museum and Heritage Attraction. This authentic all-weather experience is a must-see with its spectacular location on high cliffs with swirling Atlantic Ocean tides. The Mizen is famous for its wildflowers and sightings of wildlife, dolphins, whales, seals, gannets, kittiwakes, choughs – the bird migration north-south flight path is just a mile off shore. Hopefully we’ll be lucky!
Famed Bantry Bay, our final feature of the day, is of legendary beauty. Bantry is located at the head of the bay, a busy market town and fishing port. Pending interest, we can visit Bantry House, spectacularly situated and exuberantly furnished. It is one of Ireland's most attractive Great Houses, full of treasures collected by various generations of Earls of Bantry.
NIGHTSTOP: Cork, as above
Thursday, Day 5
We take the scenic route (is there any other in Ireland?) through Wicklow to Glendalough. "The glen of the two lakes" is a truly spellbinding place - an ancient monastic settlement and two clear water lakes beneath the sheer cliffs of a deep valley which was carved out by glaciers during the Ice Age. Once the monastic capital of Europe, Glendalough features the ruins of no less than seven churches and the 6th century round tower. It owes its origin to St. Kevin, the hermit who founded the monastic city and who lived in a cave - St. Kevin's Bed - overlooking the Upper Lake. The famous Round Tower, about 34m high and 16m in circumference at the base, is still in near perfect condition even though it is almost 1,000 years old. The excellent Glendalough Visitor Centre provides regular exhibitions, informative guided tours of the monastic site as well as an audio-visual show about the rich heritage of the area.
NIGHTSTOP: Dublin
OPTION 2: Galway
Sunday, Day 1
Arrival from the US. Arrival transfer from the airport and the rest of the day is free for you to recover from your flight and enjoy Dublin as you please. There’s the option of hop-on/hop-off tickets, a ‘duck’ tour or river cruise.
www.visitdublin.com Dublin is a great city to explore on foot. It's small enough to be easily walked and it's great fun to discover the alleyways of Tollbar and the magnificent shopping of Powerscourt. This city means so many things to many people: it is a city of writers, a city that is the symbol for Irish nationalism, a city of talkers, churches, of pubs, of music, of Georgian architecture. A city of shifting moods, often two at once: hustle and bustle in one street, quiet admiration and contemplation in another, and always there is talk of this and that. The River Liffey provides a convenient as well as historical axis along which to orientate one’s visit. It's a day to see The Book of Kells at Trinity, the Guinness Factory and other of the city's icons.
It's also great fun using Dublin's tram network and the more adventurous may wish to ride it, or the DART, a little further afield and discover some of the less visited neighbourhoods like Joyce's Sandycove. Spoilt for choice!
NIGHTSTOP: Dublin
Monday, Day 2
Our route across the Ireland's midlands takes us past a range of interesting and historic sites including the Rock of Dunamase where an Iron age hillfort and remains of a mediaeval castle loom dramatically above the plains of Portaoise. We then drive across the dramatic landscape of the Slieve Bloom mountains.
Set in Ely O'Carrol country (ancestral home of any who bear the O'Carrol name), the town of Birr is not one normally found on tour itineraries which tend to neglect this region, yet it is one of Ireland's gems. The town boasts approaching 2000 years of inhabitation, and today its famed for its authentic Georgian street layout, traditional shop fronts and the 'Steffin Stone'. This is said to be the "Navel of Ireland", supposedly marking the centre of Ireland. What Birr is perhaps most famed for, however, is Birr Castle where, in magnificently landscaped gardens, we'll discover the famed Birr telescope.
Continuing our journey westward our next stop will be at the historic town of Athenry, one of Europe's walled towns. The heritage centre here maps out both the local and national history and is a fascinating visit.
Nightstop: Galway
Tuesday, Day 3
A very special day will be spent exploring the wilds of Connemara National Park, Kylemore Abbey and time permitting, the pretty habour town of Westport.
The wild, western side of Ireland is one of the major motivations for visiting the country and there are few better areas to experience it than here. Unlike much of the area further south around Killarney and the Dingle, this is relatively unspoilt and not swamped with huge tour coaches (though we may see some.) It is a region seemingly God-designed for back-roads touring in mini-vans! Here we can visit the Dan O’Hara heritage centre to enjoy a tour of a traditional homestead with the most charismatic of locals. Here, a chance to see some of the famed Connemara ponies and to dig peat if you choose.
This evening is a chance to enjoy the Galway City nightlife and the live music where sessions are not only possible, but likely. This compact, busy university city is an intriguing place with its narrow streets crammed with interesting sites, pubs and shopping opportunities. There is also the option to spend an evening at the local theatres for those that prefer.
Nightstop: Galway, as above
Wednesday, Day 4
Today, much of our day will be spent on the Aran Islands. J M Synge came here seeking recuperation from sickness and he loved it so much that he spent the next five summers on the islands, collecting stories, folklore and perfecting his Irish. His Playboy of the Western World evokes the islands as no other!
The three islands, which make up the Aran Isles, are renowned for a way of life that has changed little for generations. Irish is the traditional language and the islanders have a rich fund of stories and legends. Amongst today’s highlights are the 2000 year old Celtic fort of Dun Aonghus, the early Christian monastic remains of St. Enda, cliffs and sandy beaches and quiet walks to discover local birds, wild flowers and plants. (Please note: sailings can sometimes be disrupted by bad weather, in which case we can spend an iconic day featuring the Cliffs of Moher, the Burren or Galway Bay and Galway City itself.)
Tonight is another opportunity to enjoy some live music in Galway.
Nightstop: Galway, as above
Thursday, Day 5
Today, we return to Dublin via Clonmacnoise, where we can explore the impressive remains of a 6th century monastery. Many kings of Tara and Connaught are buried here and there was reputedly a direct chariot route to Tara. If we've time on this visit, we could maybe see the ancients at Fore Abbey - the largest group of Benedictine remains in Ireland and marvel at the Seven Wonders of Fore which include the Water That Flows Uphill, the Tree that won't burn and the Monastery Built in a Bog!
Nightstop: Dublin
OPTION 3: Wicklow & North
Sunday, Day 1
Arrival from the US. Arrival transfer from the airport and the rest of the day is free for you to recover from your flight and enjoy Dublin as you please. There’s the option of hop-on/hop-off tickets, a ‘duck’ tour or river cruise.
www.visitdublin.com Dublin is a great city to explore on foot. It's small enough to be easily walked and it's great fun to discover the alleyways of Tollbar and the magnificent shopping of Powerscourt. This city means so many things to many people: it is a city of writers, a city that is the symbol for Irish nationalism, a city of talkers, churches, of pubs, of music, of Georgian architecture. A city of shifting moods, often two at once: hustle and bustle in one street, quiet admiration and contemplation in another, and always there is talk of this and that. The River Liffey provides a convenient as well as historical axis along which to orientate one’s visit. It's a day to see The Book of Kells at Trinity, the Guinness Factory and other of the city's icons.
It's also great fun using Dublin's tram network and the more adventurous may wish to ride it, or the DART, a little further afield and discover some of the less visited neighbourhoods like Joyce's Sandycove. Spoilt for choice!
NIGHTSTOP: Dublin
Monday, Day 2
We embark from Dublin through Wicklow National Park to Glendalough. "The glen of the two lakes" is a truly spellbinding place - an ancient monastic settlement and two clear water lakes beneath the sheer cliffs of a deep valley which was carved out by glaciers during the Ice Age. Once the monastic capital of Europe, Glendalough features the ruins of no less than seven churches and the 6th century round tower. It owes its origin to St. Kevin, the hermit who founded the monastic city and who lived in a cave - St. Kevin's Bed - overlooking the Upper Lake. The famous Round Tower, about 34m high and 16m in circumference at the base, is still in near perfect condition even though it is almost 1,000 years old. Another option here is the stately estate of Powerscourt, a sublime blend of formal gardens, sweeping terraces, statuary and ornamental lakes.
Turning north, we will head to County Meath and overnight in or near Trim. Fans of the film ‘Braveheart’ may find Trim Castle a bit familiar as it was filmed here, not in Scotland! The area is also full of amazing gardens, in season.
NIGHTSTOP: Trim
Tuesday, Day 3
Our touring programme takes us first to the site of the Battle of the Boyne. This marks one of defining events in Ireland history. Next is the Hills of Tara, the foremost spiritual and political centre of Ireland for 1000 years and the seat of power until the coming of St Patrick. Thence to the amazing prehistoric site at Newgrange (entry to the tomb itself conditional on availability). Here we step back into the mists of time, to the time almost at the very start of history. These New Stone Age Passage Graves are regarded as among the most impressive prehistoric monuments in Europe. Newgrange is dated to around 3200 BC and predates Stonehenge, Mycenae and indeed the pyramids of Egypt.
As we progress northward, we'll enjoy an introduction to Armagh. Armagh was the seat of the High Kings of Ulster. Saint Patrick built his first stone church here and with its twin cathedrals the city is rich in cultural heritage graceful architecture and ancient legend.
NIGHTSTOP: Omagh
Wednesday, Day 4
Another day spoilt for choice - we can focus on the Northern Ireland coastline to Giant’s Causeway today. Perhaps first, you will choose to spend some time in Londonderry with a fascinating walk of the 'walls' hearing the story of how the shutting of this walled town's gates to a King of England led to over 300 years of 'Troubles'. Also possible are the iconic sites such as Bushmills, the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, Ballintrae narrow gauge railway.
We will certainly visit the major highlight in this area, the famed Giant's Causeway. The sheer strangeness of this place, and the bizarre regularity of its 37,000 basalt columns, has made it the subject of numerous legends. Finally, we can tour our way back to base through the amazing scenery of the Sperrin Mountains.
Thursday, Day 5
Our first visit today can be to the Ulster-American Folk Park. The Folk Park, probably the best of its kind in the world, examines why two million people left Ulster for America and Australia in the 18th and 19th centuries. It has more than 30 historic buildings, including a reconstructed emigrant ship and Pennsylvania farmstead brought alive by costumed guides.
Later, we will head south for Dublin, our two-hour touring drive taking us beside the Mountains of Mourne, Dundalk and to see the Monasterboice Tower and High Crosses. These historic ruins are of an early Christian settlement situated north of Drogheda. Founded in 520 AD by St.Buite, the ruins include the 35 metre high Round Tower (built for the monks as a safe haven against the attack of the Vikings) and, most famous, the three High Crosses. These crosses date back to the 10th Century.
NIGHTSTOP: Dublin
PLAN AHEAD! SGT can assist you with all of your touring needs around the Dancing Competitions:
Oireachtas Rince na h-Éireann – The All-Ireland Irish Dancing Championships
2012: Dublin: The New Citywest Conference Centre, Citywest Hotel, Saggart, Co. Dublin.
2013: Belfast: The Waterfront Hall and/or The Ulster Hall
Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne – The World Irish Dancing Championships
2012: Belfast: The Waterfront Hall and/or The Ulster Hall
2013: Boston: The Hynes Auditorium and adjacent facilities.
Get Active Ireland! In addition to escorted tours, there are options for walking, biking, fishing and golf packages in Ireland for individuals, couples, families and small groups of friends. Contact us to create your dream Ireland vacation: specialgrouptours@yahoo.com
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