THE
ARCHAEOLOGY OF IRELAND
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Ireland
is a country of striking contrasts. It is English speaking and yet
not English. It is Catholic, yet a strong residue of paganism lies
just beneath a thin veneer of Christianity. This country has the
greatest surviving concentration of field monuments to be seen anywhere
in Europe. And each megalithic tomb, early Christian site or medieval
castle has been invested by succeeding generations with a rich encrustation
of myth and folklore.
FAR
HORIZONS proudly presents a 15-day exploration of Ireland that offers
a rare chance to see historic and archaeological sites that few
visitors manage to find. We will visit prehistoric stone circles,
passage tombs and forts, explore the remains of lovely abbeys and
monasteries built hundreds of years ago, examine exquisite High
Crosses, and walk the battlements of castles where history was made.
ITINERARY:
Ireland Travel
(B)
breakfast, (L) lunch, (D) dinner
DAY
1: Depart the United States.
 DAY
2: Arrive Dublin. First founded as a port for the Vikings, this
beautiful city is located on the banks of the River Liffey. Our
afternoon city tour includes the Trinity College Library where we
will see the Book of Kells and the Book of Durrow, and the National
Museum with its prehistoric treasures. Following our welcome dinner
in a typical Irish pub, we overnight for two nights at the Albany
House, a lovely 18th-century Georgian bed-and-breakfast inn in the
heart of the city, less than one block from St. Stephen's Green.
(D)
DAY
3: We leave this morning for County Meath and the Valley of Boyne.
Our first stop is at Kells to view the Round Tower, High Crosses
and St. Colum’s House, an ancient oratory. We continue to Monasterboice
where a 900-year-old round tower measuring 110 feet shadows the
monastery. In the church cemetery are two of Ireland's finest High
Crosses dating from the 10th-century; one of them is
covered in magnificent reliefs depicting scenes from the Bible.
This afternoon we see the octagonal Lavabo at Mellifont Abbey, Ireland’s
first Cistercian 
monastery founded in 1142. We travel on to Newgrange, an outstanding
4500-year-old great passage tomb. (B/L)
DAY
4: Today’s journey will include a drive through counties Kildare,
Meath and Westmeath. On the banks of the River Shannon at Clonmacnoise,
a monastery was founded in 548 and quickly became the finest seat
of learning in Ireland. Within its encircling walls are two round
towers, the church buildings, and the cemetery containing a finely-carved
High Cross. Boyle was the home of Edward King whose death by drowning
inspired Milton’s Lycidas.
The King family burial-place was the village’s Cistercian abbey
founded in 1161 and completed in 1220. The well-preserved ruins
are beautifully located near the river and contain a nave notable
for its early Gothic arches with intricately decorated capitals.
Dinner and overnight for the next two nights at magnificent Markree,
Sligo's oldest inhabited castle. (B/D)
 DAY
5: This morning we drive to Céide Fields, a unique archaeological
discovery in an area mostly blanketed by peat bog. Underneath the
peat lies a prehistoric landscape of farms, settlements and tombs.
Little by little these features are being revealed as the peat is
cut for fuel, creating a sight unlike anything else in the world.
Return to see Creevykeel Court Cairn, one of the best preserved
of Ireland’s Neolithic court graves. (B/D)
DAY
6: Depart this morning via the scenic Western Way for Clifden, the
main town of Connemara. Along the way we will see Kylemore Abbey,
a handsome baronial castle dating from the last century and now
a girl’s school. We will have leisure time for lunch and shopping
in Clifden, famous for its wool tweeds before continuing to the
Galway area. Overnight for two nights in Galway. (B/D)
DAY
7: We travel by ferry to Inishmore, the largest of the three Aran
Islands off the coasts of counties Galway and Clare. Gaelic is still
commonly spoken in this most conservative of Ireland’s regions,
and some of the best examples of 
Iron Age ring forts are found here. We will explore Dun Ducathair,
the circular fortress of Dun Eoghanacht, and the huge fort of Dun
Aengus. Perched precariously
on the edge of a 200-ft. cliff, it is protected by two defensive
walls, a third outer wall enclosing eleven acres, and is surrounded
by chevaux-de-frise, still-standing, upright stone stakes to deter attack
by enemies. There are many other spectacular remains of former cultures,
and, time permitting, we will see NA SEACHT dTeampaill, a monastic
settlement dedicated to St. Brecan and dating from the 8th-century.
Dinner is free to dine in one of Galway’s fine restaurants. (B/L)
DAY
8: Today’s route to County Clare begins with a stop at the Turoe
Stone, considered the finest example in Europe of what may be ritual
stones decorated with Celtic ornamentation. We continue to Thoor
Ballylee, a fine tower house that was once the home of the poet
W. B. Yeats. Now in ruins, Kilmacdaugh Cathedral contains Flamboyant
windows in the south chapel and the O'Shaughnessy altar-tomb. Nearby
is a 112-foot Round Tower, leaning two feet out of perpendicular.
Overnight for two nights at the Falls Hotel, a charming 18th-century
country house in the picturesque village of Ennistymon located on
the edge of The Burren. (B/D)
DAY
9: We will spend the day exploring the curious Burren.
This rocky and forbidding area is filled with prehistoric
and ancient sites. We
will explore many of them including Poulnabrone Dolmen, Parknabinnia
Tombs (if the road is passable), and the church and Round Tower
at Dysert O'dea standing on the site of an Early Christian monastery.
Nearby are the Cathedral, crosses and museum at Kilfenora.
(B/D)
 DAY
10: Our journey takes us to Ennis and on to Craggaunowen to see
reconstructed crannogs (early lake dwellings) and ring forts. From
Limerick we follow the coast road through Askeaton and Listowel.
A short detour brings us to Ardfert, a most interesting group of
churches with a cathedral that dates back to the 12th-century
that contains a fine Romanesque doorway, triple lancet windows and
a remarkable Romanesque nave-and-chancel church. Overnight for two
nights at the Brenners Hotel in Dingle. (B/D)
DAY
11: The Dingle Peninsula was an inspiration to poets such as John
Millington Synge and is rich in scenery and antiquities. We will
see several primitive bee-hive
huts built by hermits and monks as an escape from the temporal world.
Gallarus Oratory is a drystone chapel used for private worship and
a unique survival of a method of building similar to that used in
the Bronze Age burial chamber at Newgrange. We will visit Kilmalkeda,
one of the most important ecclesiastical sites on the Dingle peninsula
containing a church, a Cross, Ogham Stone, Alphabet Stone and the
house of St. Brendan. Nearby is Reask, a beautifully incised Celtic
Stone. (B/D)
 DAY
12: This morning we will explore Cahir, one of Ireland’s most impressive
fortified castles located on an island in the River Suir. We continue
to the Rock of Cashel rising 300-feet from the surrounding plain.
First built in the 4th-century as the ancient fortress
of the Kings of Munster, it later became a famous monastic center.
Amid the ruins of the 13th-century cathedral is Cormac's
Chapel, a richly decorated Romanesque church built by the last great
king-bishop Cormac MacCarthy. Overnight for two nights in Kilkenny.
(B/D)
 DAY
13: Ireland's finest medieval city, Kilkenny is small and charming
with some rare Elizabethan architecture and ancient by-ways, known
as slips. The 12th-century Kilkenny Castle was remodeled in Victorian
times and is set in extensive parklands. Founded in the latter half
of the 12th-century, Jerpoint Abbey is an outstanding
example of Cistercian architecture. Dinner is free to enjoy one
of Kilkenny’s excellent restaurants. (B)
DAY
14: We drive through Counties Tipperary, Kilkenny and Kildare to
Dublin, arriving in the late morning. We will visit St. Patrick’s
Cathedral where we will see the tomb of Jonathan Swift, author of
Gulliver’s Travels and Dean of the cathedral from 1713 to 1745. The
remainder of the day is free for last minute shopping or to browse
in some of the many book stores and boutiques. Our farewell dinner
will be in one of Dublin’s many fine restaurants. (B/D)
 DAY
15: Transfer to Dublin airport for our return flight to USA. (B)
TRIP LEADER
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REGISTRATION INFORMATION:
Register
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TRIP
DATES: No
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LAND
COST OF TRIP:
SINGLE
SUPPLEMENT:
 NOT
INCLUDED: International roundtrip airfare into Dublin or Edinburgh,
and return from Inverness, passport fees, all lunches, dinners as
noted, beverages or food not on regular menus, airport departure
taxes, laundry, excess baggage charges and other items of a personal
nature.
RESERVATION:
A deposit of $500.00 required with your registration form. Final
payment is due 75 days before departure. Any cancellation received
in writing at least 75 days before the starting date will result
in a cancellation fee of $250.00. Cancellations received less than
75 days before departure will not receive a refund. If you should
be unable to complete the tour for any reason, Far Horizons will
not reimburse any fees. The
purchase of travel
protection
with both trip cancellation and emergency evaluation is strongly
recommended.
Upon
receipt of your deposit and completed registration form, you will
be sent a reading list and a clothing and equipment list. An information
book designed for this trip, including maps of archaeological sites
and articles of pertinent interest, will be sent upon receipt of
final payment.
LIMITED
TO 9 PARTICIPANTS
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