The FitzPatrick Family & Friends Tour of Ireland 2023 with Máirtín de Cógáin

Travel with Me

Máirtín your Guide

 

JEEPERS! A Tour of the South of Ireland with Máirtín de Cógáin!
*LAND ONLY

Travel the South of Ireland with Máirtín!
Only 10 seats available

April 28th – May 6th 2023

8 Days/8 Nights

3 nights in Tralee, Co. Kerry,
2 nights in Clonakilty, Co. Cork,
2 nights in Dungarvan Co. Waterford,
1 night in Dublin

Arranged through Máirtín Music, get your seat now by emailing travel@mairtinmusic.com

Your Tour Package Includes ALL of the following:

Please note all outdoor activities are subject to weather conditions and that time and circumstance may cause a change to our itinerary.

This Package includes all of the above, as well as:

  • DAY 1: The Rose Hotel Tralee, Co. Kerry 4* x 3 nights on 1 Dinner & 3 Breakfasts
  • Day 4: Clonakilty Park Hotel, Co. Cork 3* x 2 nights on 1 dinner & 2 Breakfasts
  • DAY 6: The Park Hotel Dungarvan, Co. Waterford 3* x 2 nights on 1 Dinner & 2 Breakfasts
  • DAY 8: Hilton Dublin Airport Hotel, Co. Dublin 4* x 1 night on 1 Dinner & 1 Breakfast
  • 5 star customer service from your host, guide and driver
  • Chauffeur driven Coach

Total Cost of Your Ultimate Tour Package:

$2,999.00 per person sharing*

 

*PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING CAREFULLY:

Price of $2,999.00 per person is based on double occupancy, either twin beds or full sized bed. 

Single room rates are available at additional costs. 

No triple or quadruple rooms are available for this tour.

The price of $2,999.00 per person DOES NOT include the following:

  • Airfare to and from Dublin.  You are responsible for arranging and payment of your air travel.  Please arrange your arrival at Dublin on or before Friday April 28th 2023 and be at the Dublin Airport Terminal 2 Friday April 28th BEFORE 10am Irish Time.  If you arrive after this date and time, you are responsible for your own transportation to meet with the group. You should arrange for your return flight to United States from Dublin on or after Saturday May 6th 2023
  • Gratuities for dining service and tour guides
  • Site fees, except for those explicitly detailed in this description
  • Travel insurance covering health issues, tour cancellation, tour interruption, and flight delays
  • Any and all expenses not explicitly expressed in this description

 

DEPOSITS AND PAYMENTS:

$800.00 deposit per person, a refundable deposit, is required to hold your spot are due to Máirtín Music before 3:00 pm PST, Friday January 27th 2023.  Balance of $2,199.00 per person is due to Máirtín Music before 3:00 pm PST, Friday February 17th 2023, cancellations after this time will incur cancellation charges.

IMPORTANT: We HIGHLY RECOMMEND the purchase of a comprehensive Travel Insurance policy, in the event that you must cancel or interrupt your trip.  In the event of a cancellation, Máirtín Music will attempt to refund a portion of payments made to them, but cannot guarantee any return, as these funds have already been guaranteed to other service providers (hotels, restaurants, transportation, attractions, and sites).

Any further questions, contact:
Máirtín de Cógáin
Máirtín Music
+1-310-447-4839 (anytime just be sure to leave a message)
Travel@mairtinmusic.com

Here it is, the tentative itinerary for YOUR Tour of the Southwest of Ireland with Máirtín! (subject to changes, with comparable and equitable substitutions)

Departure Day: Thursday April 27th 2023:  You will depart the United States airport of your choice for an overnight flight to Dublin Airport.  IMPORTANT: You are responsible for your own flight plans to and from Dublin Airport, the cost of which is not included in the Tour Package.  

 

DAY 1, Friday April 28th: Welcome to Ireland! The Irish National Stud, Adare Village & The Rose Hotel, Tralee. 

Our group will assemble in Terminal 2 at Dublin Airport by 10am on the Friday morning April 28th where you will be meet by your host Máirtín de Cógáin & driver with your luxury coach which will be waiting to whisk you off on a wonderful 8 day and 8 night adventure around Ireland.
As soon as we are all aboard we will skip down south the road to the Irish National Stud in Co. Kildare. Here you will get an insight into the world of Thorough Bread Irish Horses.

After a bit of lunch there we will keep going south and pop off the bus for a quick stroll around the thatched cottages and a cúpán tae in the quaint village of Adare, Co. Limerick.

 

We will then go on to the town of Tralee and our lodgings for the first three nights.  At The Rose Hotel, you are guaranteed a warm welcome, exceptional service, luxury accommodation and an experience that will bring you back for more. A 4-Star family owned hotel, The Rose Hotel is set against the magnificent backdrop of Kerry’s Slieve Mish Mountains with Tralee Bay sweeping in from the north, and positioned along the Wild Atlantic Way. You will be ideally situated for exploring everything the Kingdom has to offer, and conveniently located within walking distance of the town centre, perfect for sampling Tralee’s bustling mix of traditional music pubs, restaurants, cafés, and high street favourites.

After a group dinner at the hotel, you will be able to walk over with Máirtín to a mighty session  in town .

DAY 2, Saturday April 29th: Dingle, the Wild Atlantic Way

After breakfast we will board the coach and head west and drive over to the mythical Dingle Peninsula.

West Kerry’s stunning landscape and rich history offer visitors a wide range of scenic attractions, beauty spots and places of interest. Perfect for exploring, Dingle Peninsula always seems to have more places still to see on your next visit.

The Slea Head Drive is a 46 km loop beginning and ending in Dingle. It is part of the Wild Atlantic Way and one of the most spectacular routes you will drive in Ireland. Along the way we will stop off at Kennedy’s farm to see a Sheepdog Demonstration. You will find lunch at the Great Blasket Centre and look out to an island full of great authors. We might even take a small stroll to the most Westerly point of Europe! Before we get back to the hotel you will have some free time to take in the town of Dingle. Tonight you will have time on your own to explore Tralee and find a great place for dinner with music to follow.

DAY 3, Sunday April 30th: Killarney How Beautiful You Are! 

After a lovely breakfast the coach will be waiting to bring us to the town of Killarney where we see the grand Muckross House. If the weather is fine we will cruise across the Lakes coming back through the Gap of Dunloe. As time allows we will take in a bit of shopping about the town before heading back to Tralee for dinner on your own and a night of music.

*For those who are very excited about hiking may choose to leave the group for the day and take a guided 6 hour hike to the highest peak in Ireland up Carrauntoohil, 3400 feet high. This is optional extra for a small few and will incur a small extra cost. (Please let us know if this is something that you would like to do)

DAY 4, Monday May 1st: The Toy Soldier Factory, Kilmichael, Béal na Bláth

After a massive Irish Breakfast, we will find our driver waiting to take us on to County Cork. Have your bags packed as we will be leaving the Kingdom of Kerry behind us and venturing Eastward from here on. First stop of the day, The Toy Soldier Factory Visitor Centre. Here you will get a chance to make your own Toy Soldier or Fairy at one of the only places in the world to see Tin Soldiers being cast the same way that they have been since the 17th Century. A family owned hidden gem in the hills of West Cork.

From there we will see where England lost control of Ireland at Kilmichael. From there to where one of Ireland’s greatest visionaries and soldiers, Michael Collins, was ambush at Béal na Bláth before a stop at the Michael Collins Museum in Clonakilty where we will pitch our tent and stay for the next 2 nights at the Family owned Park Hotel just a step outside the town. A group dinner will be organized at the hotel with a night of entertainment.

DAY 5, Tuesday May 2nd: Skibbereen, Bantry and Gougane Barra

When we are ready for road we will take a short drive to the Skibbereen Heritage Centre and learn a bit about how you might find you are really from Cork! From there Bantry beckons and you can stroll the lovely seaside town and find lunch on your own before we journey over the mountain to hike around Gougane Barra to see how the River Lee begins and where St. Finbarr began his teachings. Back to Clonakilty for dinner on your own. That evening we will meet up at a session in town.

DAY 6, Wednesday May 3rd: Cobh, Cork Harbour, Midleton Cork Distillery

Pack your bags and be ready for a full day of adventures! Saying good bye to West Cork and the Wild Atlantic Way you will now head over to East Cork and Ireland’s Ancient East. First stop will be at the Cobh Heritage Centre with a walk through the history of immigration of Ireland and the last port of the Titanic. While at the waters edge we will jump on board a Rib and speed about the harbour taking in the splendor of the sea at speed over water on which some of the most famous ship have sailed.


You will have time to get your breath back as you find lunch and take in the town after which we will have a tour and a tasting at the Midleton Cork Distillery and come face to face with the world’s largest pot still on a memorable experience at the old distillery of Jameson Irish Whiskey.
That night we will have a group dinner at the family owned Park Hotel in Dungarvan. In the evening Donnchadh Gough of Danú will have a welcome for us at The Local Bar and night full of music.

DAY 7, Thursday May 4th: Waterford City, Waterford Cystal

Today we will go where many started their time in Ireland, Waterford City the oldest City in Ireland. Our guide will be waiting to walk us around the town. Find out where the Tricolor was first raised, why the Vikings set up camp here and why the Normans took the south first before storming Dublin. You will have time to take in the city as you find lunch on your own. We will then have the opportunity to take in the House of Waterford Crystal.


That evening after you have found back in Dungarvan your dinner we will have a night of music.

DAY 8, Friday May 5th

With your bags back on the bus we will head north to Jerpoint Abbey, Co. Kilkenny. Founded in the 12th century, Jerpoint Abbey is one of the best examples of a medieval Cistercian Abbey in Ireland. Jerpoint is renowned for its detailed stone sculptures found throughout the monastery. Dating from the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries these include mensa tombs from the O’Tunney school, an exquisite incised depiction of two 13th century knights, the decorated cloister arcades along with other effigies and memorials.

From here we will venture onto Glendalough where you can wander off on your own and take in the wilderness. For thousands of years people have been drawn to ‘the valley of the two lakes‘ for its spectacular scenery, rich history, archaeology and abundant wildlife. Glendalough is a remarkable place that will still your mind, inspire your heart and fill your soul

.

We will then say goodbye to our driver and check in to the Hilton Dublin Airport Hotel, Co. Dublin for our last night together. That evening we will have the last supper together and a farewell singsong led by your host, Máirtín de Cógáin.

DEPARTURE DAY, Saturday May 6th:

After Breakfast and check out, you can avail of the hotel’s free transfer to Dublin Airport or rental car desk.

—————————————

About Máirtín –  Máirtín is a singing, dancing, story-telling bodhrán player who also is a noted playwright and actor.  He performs in his native Ireland and all over the U.S…. and between and beyond, too!

An infectious personality, Máirtín pleasantly commands the attention of any collection of people, from a concert hall to an intimate porch.  Descended from a long line of storytellers and with two CCÉ All-Ireland’s for Storytelling under his belt, Máirtín gets no more joy out of life than the telling of stories.

When touring the globe with The Máirtín de Cógáin Project, The Fuchsia Band, & Gailfean, Máirtín is also a true promoter of the Ballad.  He is searching ever for those forgotten songs of old to give them new life, and also writes some of his own.  Máirtín learnt from many famous Irish singers such as Danni Maichi Ua Súilleabháin, Séamus Mac Mathúna, and Ciarán Dwyer. A fluent speaker of Irish, his love of the ‘Teanga na Gael‘ stems from his parents, who brought him up in a bilingual house and sent him to primary & secondary schools taught in the medium of Irish.  Máirtín then earned a Degree in the Irish language from University College Cork.

If not on stage singing, storytelling, dancing, or playing the bodhrán, Máirtín is threading the boards as an actor, most notably in the film The Wind that Shakes the Barley.  He has co-written many productions with the Be Your Own Banana Theatre Company, recently playing De Bogman off-broadway in NY.  

Máirtín has been playing the bodhrán for a long many moons, learning first from Eric Cunningham (The New De Danann) and later from Colm Murphy (The Old De Danann).

Growing up in a house full of dancing, Máirtín could not but help teach the steps at the family run Céilís from an early age, and a gifted teacher of Cork’s folk dances he is.  Máirtín makes friends wherever he goes.  In a very short time, Máirtín, the Fuchsia Band, and the “Project” have made themselves regulars at some of the most prestigious Irish festivals in the U.S. While now living in San Diego, he has taken up Sanke Charming & Bird Watching while not on the road and hopes one day for A Big Year!

And now, Máirtín is proud to offer this special tour of Ireland!  We hope you are able to join us for what is sure to be a grand event!

 

ONLY 18 SPOTS ON THIS TOUR!

FIRST COME, FIRST RESERVED!  HOW TO BOOK YOUR SPOT:

1.    Contact Máirtín by email at travel@mairtinmusic.com – This only PROVISIONALLY holds your spot.  Spots will be provisionally held in the order in which they are received by emails to Máirtín.

2.    Once you have paid your deposit by check or credit card, your reservation(s) is (are) at that time CONFIRMED and will be held for you pending your balance payment on Friday, Feb. 17th 2023.

3.    After your deposit is received by Máirtín Music, you will receive an email from Máirtín welcoming you to the group.

Note: All Payments are to be made to:
Máirtín Music
PO BOX 1811
Poway, CA 92074

Deposit payments and payments on balance are non-refundable upon cancellation, unless another person can be found to buy your tour package.

IMPORTANT: We at Máirtín Music HIGHLY RECOMMEND the purchase of a comprehensive Travel Insurance policy through a travel agency or insurance carrier of your choosing, in the event that you must cancel or interrupt your trip. In the event of a cancellation, Máirtín Music will attempt to refund a portion of payments made to them, but cannot guarantee any return, as these funds have already been guaranteed to other service providers (hotels, restaurants, transportation, attractions, and sites).

Price of $2,999.00 per person is based on double occupancy, either twin beds or full sized bed. 

Single room rates are available at additional costs.

 

Any further questions, contact:
Máirtín de Cógáin
Máirtín Music
+1-310-447-4839 (anytime just be sure to leave a message)
Travel@mairtinmusic.com
www.MairtinMusic.com