21 Day Tour of Ireland
SEPTEMBER – OCTOBER 2022
NOTE – WITH THE ONGOING UNCERTAINTY DUE TO COVID-19
THIS TOUR HAS NOW BEEN CALLED OFF
Unlock the Past is partnering with well known Irish experts, Dr Richard Reid and Dr Perry McIntyre, as well
as Albatross tours to plan and develop a 21 day family history research and history tour of Ireland.
Tour Overview
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Start In Belfast
Start out with four days in Belfast, tour around, attend our 1-day conference and have research time
Hosted By
The tour will be led by Dr Richard Reid and Dr Perry McIntyre, two of Australia’s leading Irish historians
Tour Ireland
Tour Ireland from bases in six regional towns/cities, with one to three nights stop overs in each
Finish In Dublin
Finish with four days in Dublin, including a one-day conference, touring and free research time
Travel Further…
Extend your time in the region with independent travel or attend a conference in the region
Proposed Details
ALL DETAILS TO BE CONFIRMED
Date
September – October 2022
(actual date to be finalised)
Group Size
The tour will need a minimum of 20 people to go ahead, but will be capped at maximum of 34.
Rough Cost
Expected to be between AU$10,000 and AU$12,000 per person. (twin share)
Bookings
If there is sufficient interest, firm bookings will open mid 2021.
Itinerary
September – October 2022
ALL DETAILS TO BE CONFIRMED
Day 1 – Sun - city tour - o/night Belfast
Meet Belfast – short city tour
Overnight Belfast
Day 2 – Mon - full day conference - o/night Belfast
Full-day conference with Irish experts – Public Record Office of Northern Ireland/Ulster Historical Foundation introduction to Irish family history and historical research using resources like PRONI and other major Irish repositories – stay next to PRONI in Titanic quarter hotel
Overnight Belfast
Day 3 – Tue - Titanic Exhibition and museum - o/night Belfast
Morning – Visit ‘Titanic, the Exhibition’.
Afternoon – Ulster Folk and Transport Museum: the sorts of original buildings the ancestors knew.
Overnight Belfast
Day 4 – Wed - touring north Antrim coast - o/night Belfast
Drive to the Giant’s Causeway, via the Antrim Coast road, one of the great scenic sights of Ireland; afternoon tea and exploration of a typical north Antrim church and churchyard.
Overnight Belfast
Day 5 – Thu - explore Derry - o/night Enniskillen
Morning – drive to Derry and explore the famous ‘Walls’ and Cathedral with all their significance for Irish history and emigrant memory.
Afternoon – Visit the Ulster/American Folk Park and the Mellon Centre for Migration Studies.
Overnight Enniskillen, County Fermanagh
Day 6 – Fri - explore country house and cruise - o/night Enniskillen
Morning – Visit one of Ireland’s great 18th century country houses and explore the story of the Fourth Earl of Belmore, Governor of NSW, 1868 to 1872.
Afternoon – a cruise to Devenish Island on Lough Erne providing a sense of early Christian Ireland.
Overnight Enniskillen, County Fermanagh
Day 7 – Sat - Irish Famine focus - o/night Carrick on Shannon
To be advised but will be a day focused on the Irish Famine emigration to Australia and the role of the infamous workhouses in that emigration. This will involve a visit to a surviving workhouse, and the site of a poignant Irish family emigration from this area to NSW over a period of 25 years in the mid 19th century.
Overnight Carrick on Shannon, County Leitrim
Day 8 – Sun - visit a house & a museum - o/night Ballyvaughan
Morning – Visit Strokestown Park House and Ireland’s Famine Museum
Overnight Ballyvaughan, County Clare
Day 9 – Mon - touring north Co. Clare - o/night Ballyvaughan
A day touring in the Burren region of north County Clare an area rich with Irish/Australian emigrant connection: this will include visits to Corcomroe Abbey, Ballyvaughan Catholic church (built with Australian emigrant money in the 1860s), the unique limestone pavement scenery of the Burren, Paul-na-Brone ancient dolmen and the Cliffs of Moher
Overnight Ballyvaughan, County Clare
Day 10 – Tue - touring & visiting places of interest - o/night Tullamore
Morning – Visit Stradbally Church of Ireland and burial site of Australia’s most influential Irish Governor, Sir Richard Bourke, 1832 to 1838
Afternoon – drive to Tullamore, County Offaly, with visit to Birr with its 18th century environment
Overnight Tullamore, County Offaly
Day 11 – Wed - researching in a rural area - o/night Tullamore
To be advised but focused on doing family and local history research in an Irish rural area as opposed to the big centres in Dublin.
Overnight Tullamore, County Offlay
Day 12 – Thu - touring & visiting places of interest - o/night Killarney
Touring to Killarney via Clonoulty and Rock of Cashel, Tipperary, with the story of Ned Ryan the emancipist known as the ‘King of Galong Castle’, NSW, and the fabled Rock of Cashel towering over the lowlands of south/central Tipperary.
Overnight Killarney, County Kerry
Day 13 – Fri - touring & visiting places of interest - o/night Killarney
Tour the Ring of Kerry visiting Derrynane House, ancestral home of the Liberator of Catholic Ireland, Daniel O’Connell, encompassing the story of the strong O’Connellite links with 19th century Australia
Overnight Killarney, County Kerry
Day 14 – Sat - touring & visiting places of interest - o/night Killarney
Day 14 – Saturday
A day of pure scenic pleasure and connection with old Gaelic speaking Ireland touring the Dingle Peninsula with its stunning views towards the Blasket Islands, ‘next parish America’: visit the Great Blasket Centre where the life of the Blasket islanders is told.
Overnight Killarney, County Kerry
Day 15 – Sun - touring & visiting places of interest - o/night Cobh
Day 15 – Sunday 26 September 2021
Visit the Nano Nagle Centre, with its intimate connections with mid-nineteenth Australia, and the story of the convict transportees and early assisted emigration from Cork to NSW featuring Cobh Harbour … ‘the last of Ireland’ … and the Cobh Heritage Museum
Overnight Cobh, County Cork
Day 16 – Mon - tour to Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford ... - o/night Glendalough
Day 16 – Monday 27 September 2021
Tour to Enniscorthy, County Wexford, to the site of the Battle of Vinegar Hill, 1798 after which many were transported to Sydney: visit Enniscorthy Castle Museum.
Overnight Glendalough, County Wicklow
Day 17 – Tue - visit places of interest - o/night Glendalough
Visits in Wicklow taking in the early Christian site of Glendalough, the Dwyer/ McAllister Cottage (with its links to Sydney’s 1798 Memorial at Waverley Cemetery), an Australian emigrant site at Trooperstown, ‘Avondale’ home of Home Rule leader Charles Stewart Parnell (a household name in Irish Australia) and the ‘Meeting of the Waters’ at Avoca, about which Thomas Moore wrote a song famous among Irish emigrant communities everywhere (statue of More in Ballarat, Victoria).
Overnight, Glendalough, County Wicklow
Day 18 – Wed - Battle of Boyne Centre and more - o/night Dublin
Tour to Battle of the Boyne Centre, County and site of Monasterboice High Cross, County Meath, both with important Australian historical connections.
Overnight Dublin
Day 19 – Thu - full day conference - o/night Dublin
full day conference – Introduction to Dublin repositories
Overnight Dublin
Day 20 – Fri - Dublin repositories research day - o/night Dublin
Dublin repositories research day
Overnight Dublin
Day 21 – Sat - touring Dublin or guided research - o/night Dublin
Tours of Dublin featuring Australian connections or further guided research if desired.
Overnight Dublin
Day 22 – Sun - end of tour
End of Tour