Day 1 & 2 Monday/Tuesday, April 15 and 16 - Depart for Ireland > Dublin

We depart USA en route to Dublin, with complimentary meals and beverages served aloft. Upon our arrival in Dublin, we will be met by our tour escort and transferred into the city. Our sightseeing tour starts at St Patrick's Cathedral. Built in honour of Ireland’s patron saint, Saint Patrick’s Cathedral was founded beside a sacred well where St Patrick is said to have converted pagans to Christianity.  Our next stop is Christchurch Cathedral, originally a wooden church built by the Vikings in the 10th century, and then built from stone following the capture of Dublin city by the Anglo-Normans in the 12th century. The cathedral is home to the largest medieval in Ireland, and the earliest surviving structure in the city. After lunch on our own, we will celebrate Holy Mass at St Mary's Pro-Cathedral.  Our last stop is Trinity College to see the famous Book of Kells, a 9th century manuscript that documents the four Gospels of the life of Jesus Christ. The Book of Kells is Ireland’s greatest cultural treasure and the world’s most famous medieval manuscript. We return to hotel to relax before we enjoy our Welcome Dinner at Sophie's Rooftop Restaurant with its amazing views of Dublin.  The Iveagh Garden Hotel.  (B|D)

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Day 3 Wednesday, April 17 – Knock, Ballintubber & Westport

After breakfast we depart Dublin for Knock, visited each year by more than 1.5 million pilgrims. Upon arriving here as a pilgrim in the autumn of 1979, Pope John Paul II declared: ‘Now I am at the goal of my pilgrimage to Ireland!” We begin with Holy Mass at the Shrine, followed by lunch on our own.  After lunch, we will have a guided tour of the grounds.  We continue to Ballintubber Abbey, where Holy Mass has been celebrated daily for over 800 years. This was the traditional starting point for the annual pilgrimage to the Holy Mountain of Croagh Patrick. To the Castlecourt Hotel in Westport and evening on your own. (B)

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Day 4 Thursday, April 18 - Croagh Patrick, Kylemore Abbey & Galway

After breakfast we visit Murrisk Abbey which is ideally situated on the southern shore of Clew Bay below the sacred mountain Croagh Patrick. It was founded in c.1456 by a local chieftain Hugh O'Malley who granted the lands to the Augustinian friars. After, we make our way to Croagh Patrick, an isolated cone-shaped mountain rising 2,500 feet from the shore of Clew Bay. Here in the year 441 AD St. Patrick spent 40 days in prayer and fasting for the people of Ireland.  From there we travel to Kylemore Abbey in County Galway where we visit the convent of the Benedictine Nuns of Ypres, beautifully set on Lake Kylemore.  After we celebrate Holy Mass with Benedictine community, we will tour the Abbey.  Lunch on our own at the Abbey before continuing on to Galway via picturesque Connemara National Park.  Dinner at McSwiggan's and overnight in Galway at the The Connacht Hotel. (B|D)

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Day 5 Friday, April 19 – Galway, Cliffs of Moher & Ennis

Today we leave Galway and head south with our first stop at the Corcomroe Abbey.  The Abbey is an early 13th-century Cistercian monastery located in the north of the mesmerizing landscapes of The Burren region of County Clare, Ireland. It was once known as "St. Mary of the Fertile Rock", a reference to the Burren's fertile soil. From there we are off to scenic Doolin, where we will have lunch at Gus O'Connor's Pub before our visit to the Cliffs of Moher; sheer cliffs dropping 600 feet to the water below, one of the most impressive stretches of shoreline on the west coast of Ireland.  We then depart for the charming town of Ennis, and Holy Mass at St Joseph’s Church.  Dinner and overnight in Ennis at the Temple Gate Hotel. (B|L|D)     

 

Day 6 Saturday, April 20 - Adare & Killarney 

After Holy Mass at SS Peter and Paul Cathedral in Ennis, we travel to Glenstal Abbey, the Benedictine monastery, with its picturesque grounds include lakes, forests and an old walled, terraced garden which features a "bible garden." We continue to Adare (“The Most Beautiful Town in Ireland”).  After lunch on our own in Adare, we travel through County Kerry with some of the most beautiful views in all of Ireland. We arrive this afternoon in Killarney with dinner and overnight at the Randles Hotel. (B|D)

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Day 7 Sunday, April 21 - Killarney: The Ring of Kerry

Today we are off for a thrilling scenic ride (112 miles), a continuously changing landscape of dramatic cliffside views and breath-taking seascapes. Along the way, we will celebrate Holy Mass in Cahersiveen at The Daniel O’Connell Memorial Church of the Holy Cross. This is the only church in Ireland to be named after a layman. This church was built, and named with special papal permission, after the great statesman Daniel O’Connell, a lay person, neither a saint, nor a deity, but a man who worked tirelessly for Catholic emancipation by way of mass movement of people, in Ireland in the 17th and 18th century.  Upon our return to Killarney, we will have some free time, and those wishing to may take a ride on a horse-drawn carriage on their own to visit the Muckross House. Dinner on your own in Killarney. (B)  

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Day 8 Monday, April 22 - Blarney, Holycross Abbey, Cashel, & Kilkenny 

Today we have an early start as we depart for Blarney Castle, built 600 years ago, by one Ireland's greatest chieftains, Cormac MacCarthy, King of southern Ireland. Here you where you acquire the ‘gift of gab’ by kissing the Blarney Stone. Woollen Mills offers some great shopping and an opportunity for lunch on our own. Our next stop is the Rock of Cashel, one of Ireland’s most visited monuments. Here in 450 AD St. Patrick baptized King Aengus, and in the 10th century Brian Boru was crowned King of Ireland. We tour the ruins here, including the Cashel Cathedral, still in very good condition given its age. 

 

Our next stop is Holy Cross Abbey, home to one of the first relics of the True Cross to have reached Ireland. It was at one time one of the most famous places of pilgrimage in Ireland during the later Middle Ages. Through a special Act of Parliament, in 1975 reconstruction of the old monastic cloister began. Here we celebrate Mass. We arrive in Kilkenny for overnight and dinner at the River Court Hotel. (B|D)

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Day 9 Tuesday, April 23 - Glendalough & Dublin

This morning we are off to Glendalough – The Glen Between the Two Lakes. We will celebrate Holy Mass at at St. Kevin’s Church before our visit to Glendalough. According to legend, St. Kevin retired to this spot to be alone because his good looks made him a source of temptation. He had to drown one persistent lady who followed him; another became a nun. These sixth century ruins are from the monastic community he founded. In time, this community became a great center of learning, known as “Rome of the West.” We will then have lunch in the traditional Wicklow Heather restaurant.  We arrive in Dublin for our Farewell dinner at TP Smith's. Overnight at the Iveagh Garden Hotel. (B|L|D)

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Day 10 Wednesday, April 24 - Depart for Home 

We transfer to the Dublin airport for our return flight to home after a wonderful pilgrimage through Ireland.   (B)