Breakfast:
In the hotel dining room, we’ll have a full Irish breakfast buffet. Choices vary but will include a variety of eggs, breakfast meats, tomato, potatoes, cereals, fruit, toast, pastries and jams, plus juices, coffee, tea, water.
Morning:
We’ll board the motorcoach for a field trip to the port city of Galway, the cradle of Gaelic culture in the West. Galway is often referred to as the “city of tribes,” as it was once home to 14 famous merchant families. We’ll enjoy an expert-led walk around the city with a local historian, concluding at the Galway City Museum for some time to explore independently. Should you wish to explore the museum, entrance is free of charge and it houses a variety of permanent and temporary exhibitions dealing with archaeology, local history, arts and crafts.
Lunch:
This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to enjoy what you like. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions and give directions.
Afternoon:
This afternoon we’ll board the motorcoach to Coole Park where we will enjoy a guided visit. Together with the adjoining Garryland, is a Nature Reserve of breeding Deer at Coole Park and Gardens, Gort, Co. Galway, Ireland approximately 405 hectares (1000 acres). The seven woods celebrated by W.B. Yeats are part of the 6 kilometers of nature trails taking in woods, river, turlough, bare limestone and Coole lake. Coole Park was once the home of Lady Augusta Gregory, dramatist, folklorist and co-founder of the Abbey Theatre with Edward Martyn of Tullira Castle and Nobel prize-winning poet William Butler Yeats. Coole Park, in the early 20th century, was the center of the Irish Literary Revival. Yeats, George Bernard Shaw, John Millington Synge and Sean O' Casey all came to experience its magic. We will then return by motorcoach to the hotel.
Dinner:
Hotel plated meal.
Evening:
We’ll be joined at the hotel by members of a local family of musicians, who will regale us with a performance of traditional Irish music. Ennis is widely considered one of the most important heartlands of Irish folk music, and as we enjoy informal conversation with the performers, we’ll gain an understanding of its importance to community life.