Hidden Heartlands

Arrive at Shannon Airport and travel through scenic areas of Munster Province to Athlone with a stop in a quaint charming historic Irish village or town along the way.

Athlone, Co Westmeath.

Athlone at Night

Welcome Orientation Reception and Dinner with Irish Traditional Music Entertainment

• Take a guided walking tour of old town Athlone
• Tour and explore Athlone Castle
• Cruise on the Shannon River 
• Visit whiskey distillery or craft beer brewery with tastings.

Old Town Athlone

Athlone Castle

• Visit and explore the Clonmacnoise Monastic Settlement site.
• Tour Birr Castle and Gardens
• View the famous Birr Castle Telescope

Birr’s stately Georgian buildings give it heritage status, but the star attraction is Birr Castle Gardens & Science Center. It’s the centuries-old residence of the Earls of Rosse, who were renowned astronomers, botanists, and engineers. On the grounds is the Great Telescope built in the 1840s that was the world’s largest for 70 years standing 40 feet high with a seven-foot-diameter tube that led to the discovery of the spiral nature of galaxies. The Science Center reveals the family’s pioneering discoveries.

• Visit and tour the Tullamore Dew Heritage Center with Tastings

Clonmacnoise

Birr Castle, County Offaly

The Great Telescope, Birr Castle

Tullamore Dew Heritage Center

• Free Day, On Your Own: A Leisure day to enjoy the food music and craic of Athlone and its environs, with the options of a day trip and shopping in Dublin.
• Individual tours may be scheduled through the hotel concierge. Reserve Spa appointments directly with the Spa.
• Relax at Spa or Saunter around town
• Group Dinner with Irish Music and Dancing

Old Town Athlone

• Visit, tour and explore Roscommon Castle

Roscommon Castle

• Visit, tour, and explore Strokestown Park House and National Famine Museum ~ A little north of Roscommon town enjoy an intimate guided tour of Strokestown Park House  a beautifully-preserved Georgian Palladian Mansion.  We hear stories of how the family lived as we wander through the rooms still decked out with the original furnishings and fabrics. We take some time to enjoy the beautiful historic gardens & woodlands. Not to be missed is the National Famine Museum, which draws on a combination of original documents and images from the Strokestown Park archive to explain the circumstances of the Great Irish Famine of the 1840s. This collection boasts an extensive range of papers including actual letters written by the tenants on the Strokestown Estate at the time of the famine.

Strokestown Park House

Strokestown Park House

• After lunch in the café at Strokestown Park, travel on to the medieval village of Tulsk and the Rathcroghan Visitor Centre.  The centre interprets the rich archaeology and mythology of a prehistoric royal site, which was home to the Iron Age Warrior Queen Medb (Maeve) and the nearby. Starting place for the epic Táin Bó Cuailnge (Cattle Raid of Cooley), the oldest vernacular epic in European Literature, Rathcroghan is also the site of entry to, and (one hopes!) exit from, the Otherworld. Take a guided tour from the Centre to uncover the hidden landscape of the Heartlands. Definitely a site not to be missed.
• Equally enthralling is the splendid Clonalis House in Castlerea, home to the family of the last High King of Ireland, Rory O’Conor for over 1,000 years.

Clonalis House

• Visit and explore the ancient Hill of Uisneach ~ The Mythological Centre of Ireland, this ancient ceremonial site is one of the most sacred and historical sanctuaries in the world. The burial site of the Earth Goddess Ériu, the founder of Ireland and the Sun God Lugh, this enigmatic hill became the seat of the High Kings of Ireland and the meeting point of the ancient provinces where laws were struck and divisions agreed.

  The ‘Catstone’, a huge weathered limestone boulder under which Ériu is buried, is the most famous of over forty surviving features on the hilltop.

  On Uisneach the first Great Fire of Ireland was lit to announce the dawn of summer and these ‘Bealtaine Fires’ and Druid Ceremonies are now celebrated with an annual festival in May. Passionate local tour guides at Uisneach will take you on a fascinating journey into the spiritual past of ancient Ireland.

• Visit and tour the Dún na Sí Amenity and Heritage Park ~  Set in a stunning 27 acre parkland nestling in the heart of Ireland, Dún na Sí Amenity and Heritage Park boasts an exciting range of recreational, educational, environmental, cultural and historical activities. 

  The park comprises of the Scéal Exhibition in the Comhaltas Teach Cheoil, Heritage Trail and Vintage Museum, Walking Trails, Native Irish Woodland, Turlough, and Tea Rooms. Trace your Ireland Roots in the Genealogy Centre. Explore reconstructed historical sites depicting life in Ancient Ireland in the Heritage Park.

Dun Na Si Amenity Heritage Park

• Visit and tour Kilbeggan Distillery with Tastings

• Visit and explore the Bunratty Castle and Folk Park
• Visit and explore the Cliffs of Moher

Departure for most from Shannon Airport to return home.