HOLIDAYS in IRELAND

 Tour of west of Ireland special destinations, cliffs of Moher and Ashford Castle and Cong and Holy Shrine at Knock in County Mayo, with the Connors and Davis's.

This was a most enjoyable two day tour and our weather was beautiful, 

My two happy couples, the John and Jacki Connors on the left,and  Dave and Marie Davis on the right. pictured together in Knock, with the beautiful Knock Basilica in the background. Knock is a wonderful place to visit and, like Lourdes or Fatima, many miracles are known and have been proven to have happened here.

Our first day touring 

Pictured together with the Celtic cross, which was erected for Pope John, for his arrival in September 1979.

Another special picture of my group, inside the the apparition chapel in Knock, with the white marble statues of the apparition figures in the background on the left. They were of St John, Our lady in the centre, and St Joseph. 

The mosaic of the apparition depicting the 15 witnesses, and the apparition, on the gable end wall of the old Knock parish church, which is inside the basilica.

After spending time in Knock we continued on our way , after having some gorgeous sticky toffee pudding in the restaurant in Knock, and made our way to the town of Cong ade famous by the movie "The Quiet Man", which starred John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara.

Well the Connor family showed that they can do anything that John and Maureen  did and this is indeed a picture to remember as they posed together in front of the memorial statues of John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara in the center or Cong.

Later in the day we made our way back to Galway city where they were staying for a few days.

The Cliffs of Moher and the Burren 

Our day in County Clare was also a lovely day, and a most enjoyable one as we drove through the amazing landscape of the Burren, a land of rocky limestone mountains, ancient Abbey ruins and many derelict churches and castles and of course the famous Cliffs of Moher on the shores of the broad Atlantic. All of this mountainous region was once upon a time the ocean floor.

The Poulnabrone Dolmen is a famous ancient burial grave high in the mountains of the Burren of County Clare, and is at least five thousand years old.This terrain is amazing and how anybody lived here is truly just that. The Dolmen itself consists of two upright slabs of rock with a giant slab of rock laid at a slant on the top. Little is known about who is buried here, but these type of graves were special and would have only been designed for the more powerful people.There are mmany of them in this region and indeed in other areas in Ireland.

Then it was on to the Cliffs and here we have my lovely group pictured at the Cliffs in the beautiful sunshine. All of these areas were special to the Connor family as their O'Connor family were one of the  most famous families in this region and indeed in the province of Connacht where they were actually the ruling kings at this time.As we would say "Good onya John". The extra "O" in the O'Connor name just indicates "Son of" as it all Irish names with that "O".

My tour with this party ended a little too early for me as i really enjoyed spending time with these nice people. It ended up with a nice little "See Ya" , which is the way i like to finish all of my tours as i hate "Goodbyes"

I am open for all enquiries as the season continues into October , and even beyond if you are planning on a visit for any reason. I am also taking bookings for 2024 so plan early and avoid disappointment.

Finally

The latest addition to our family, getting to know her Grandad.

This is  Baby Kayla, an Irish name derived from the Irish names "Slim and Fair". There is also a Yiddish name but it is spelt with a "C" and it also means "Slim and Fair". 

One of the benefits of getting a little older. I just had to add her in today.