Tour Schedule  •   Terms & Conditions

June 16–26 , 2008

• 11 DAYS / 10 NIGHTS
• Historian Guide: Deirdre Burns
• Services of a professional tour director
• Welcome briefing
• Ten nights superior hotel accommodations with private bath
• Ten Irish breakfasts, one lunch, three tea & scones, and eight dinners
• Welcome and farewell drinks reception
• Luxury coach transportation
• Cliffs of Moher boat trip
• Black Taxi tour of Belfast
• All admissions to included features
• All taxes, baggage handling, and gratuities on included features
• Suggested reading list

To book this tour, call (800) 628-8542

  Overview

Kiss the Blarney Stone — and other tourist traps — goodbye when you travel with us to an Ireland most tourists rarely see. From the Stone Age to the present, this tour brings you a history that, when told, will weave dazzling images into a distinctive program that shines a light on the long-standing U.S.-Irish relationship. There always has been a special tie between Ireland and the New World. Irish roots in America run deep. Descendants of immigrants from the Emerald Isle have enriched American history perhaps more than those of any other single ancestry. In fact, 15 of our presidents, one in every three, have been of Irish lineage. Throughout our history, men and women of Irish descent have excelled and led — men such as Patrick Cleburne, “Stonewall of the West,” and Thomas Francis Meagher, general of the Irish Brigade and governor of Montana.

You also will pay respects to such famed Irish-Americans as Grace Kelly, John F. Kennedy, and Gregory Peck. While driving through Irish scenery of unparalleled beauty — mountains, moorlands, and sea cliffs — you will learn more of Ireland’s striking kinship with the United States. Both countries were born of revolution and both endured civil wars. See how the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s changed the U.S. when 450,000 Irishmen came in a great immigrant wave that figured large in the founding of the new nation. We are excited to be able to take you to Northern Ireland with its long and tumultuous history. Freed at last from the specter of the “Troubles” by cease-fires and political agreement, the country is now lively and in good spirits. This tour is unique to HistoryAmerica and is designed to show an aspect of the Emerald Isle like no other vacation. Leading the tour will be noted Irish Historian Guide Deirdre Burns. It was she who guided HistoryAmerica travelers on our first Ireland tour, and we are thrilled that she will do this new, expanded version of "The Ireland Never Seen."

Deirdre Burns

Deirdre Burns is a graduate of the National University of Ireland with a post graduate degree in Teacher Training. She taught history before becoming a National Irish Tourist Guide (Distinction) in 1966. She specializes in researching, guiding, and speaking for academic and special interest tours of Ireland.

  Day by Day

Day 1, Monday, June 16 Morning arrival in Dublin. A city tour includes the 12th-century St. Patrick’s Cathedral and other historic sites. Gather for a welcome briefing and dinner hosted by Deirdre Burns and HistoryAmerica at the Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel.

Day 2, Tuesday, June 17 The story of Ireland’s struggle for independence from England begins with a visit to Glasnevin Cemetery. Tour Kilmainham Gaol, the prison where many who were captured during the struggle for independence were executed. End the day with a guided tour of the National Museum of History.

Day 3, Wednesday, June 18 Depart for Bru na Boinne, Western Europe’s most prominent Neolithic site. Walk the battlefield of the Battle of the Boyne, where in 1690 King William fought his father-in-law, King James II of England. This evening in Belfast you will hear a talk on events leading up to the Troubles.

Day 4, Thursday, June 19 On a Black Taxi tour of Belfast hear commentary relevant to the Troubles; then tour Belfast Harbor to see where the Titanic was built. After lunch at the Crown Liquor Saloon, visit Carrickfergus’ 12th-century castle, the Andrew Jackson Cottage, and the U.S. Rangers Centre with its presidential links to Northern Ireland.

Day 5, Friday, June 20 Visit Bellaghy Bawn, a restored homestead built by the English during the Plantation of Ulster in the 1800s, and see Slemish Mountain where St. Patrick spent six years as a slave. Travel along the coast to the Giants Causeway, a spectacular natural formation of hexagonal basalt columns. End the day with a walking tour of Derry

Day 6, Saturday, June 21 A further look at the Ulster-U.S. connection shows us where John Dunlap, who printed the Declaration of Independence, apprenticed. Visit the homestead of Woodrow Wilson’s grandfather and the Ulster American Folk Park on the site of the Thomas Mellon family farm. Overnight in Derry after a talk by Dr. Patrick Fitzgerald from the Center of Migration Studies.

Day 7, Sunday, June 22 Travel to Ireland’s National Monument to the “Fighting 69th.” Later at the Strokestown Park Famine Museum, learn more about the Great Potato Famine. Overnight in the picturesque town of Westport, designed by the descendants of Grace O’Malley, famous woman pirate.

Day 8, Monday, June 23 Travel through fabled Connemary region, ancestral homeland of Grace Kelly and the setting for films such as “The Quiet Man” and “The Field.” Stop at the Coffin Ship, a famine memorial, and see Croagh Patrick, the mountain where St. Patrick reputedly spent 40 days in penance. After a walking tour of Galway see the Cliffs of Moher and overnight in Ennis.

Day 9, Tuesday, June 24 Drive through pastoral Limerick and Cork to Beal na Blath, site of the assassination of Michael Collins, Irish patriot and revolutionary. Continue to Ovens, home to Patrick Cleburne; then visit the Cobh Queenstown Story, last port of call of the Titanic. We stay at the Granville Hotel in Waterford, former home of Thomas Meagher.

Day 10, Wednesday, June 25 Visit the John F. Kennedy Arboretum and Memorial Park, then see the Dunbrody Famine Ship exhibition that reenacts life on board for the immigrants. The last stop is Leighlinbridge to pay respects to Myles Keogh who died with General Custer. Enjoy a farewell dinner this evening.

Day 11, Thursday, June 26 Departure after a hearty Irish breakfast.

  Cost ~ 11 days / 10 nights

$4,695 per person double occupancy
$5,595 per person single occupancy