Stonehill College Alumni Travel

  This morning we departed the Trinity City Hotel for a driving tour with our local guide, Niamh.  In addition to providing a historical account of the economic, political, and artistic influences on the city, the tour included stops to see the Oscar Wilde memorial statue, St. Patrick's Cathedral , the Children of Lir sculpture, which commemorates the freedom fighters, and the Famine statue . Our driving tour ended with a stop to visit EPIC , the Irish Emigration Museum.  This interactive, self-guided museum tells the stories of Irish emigrants who became scientists, politicians, poets, artists, and even outlaws all over the world. Our last stop of the day was a visit to the award-winning Pearse Lyons Distillery for a guided tour and tasting of their Irish Whiskey. Built in the old St. James Church in the Liberties district, the distillery opened its doors in 2017 after a 24-million-dollar historical restoration of the old church structure.   At the conclusi...

After breakfast this morning, we reluctantly bid farewell to Kilronan Castle Estate and Spa to start our drive into Carrick-on-Shannon.  Here we enjoyed a one-hour private cruise of the River Shannon aboard the Moon River , complete with live music and refreshments, all while taking in the beautiful scenery, including a picture-perfect rainbow! After disembarking the Moon River, we made a brief stop in downtown Carrick-on-Shannon to visit the Costello Memorial Chapel , which is the smallest Chapel in Europe and the second smallest Chapel in the world. Sixteen feet long by twelve foot wide, the Chapel was built by Edward Costello in 1877 as a devotion to his wife, Mary Josephine, who died that year at age 47. Both Edward and Mary Josephine are interred in the Chapel on either side of the altar. After departing Carrick-on-Shannon, we continued our journey into Dublin, where we were treated to a very special tour.  The Deerfield Residence is the home of U.S. Ambassador to ...

This morning after breakfast, we checked out of the lovely Armada Hotel and departed Spanish Point to journey into Westport to visit Westport House . An 18th century mansion with magnificent views of Clew Bay which leads to the Atlantic Ocean, the house is the focal point of a 400 acrre estate. Built in 1730 by the Browne family, the house lies on ruins of a castle dating back to the 1500's which was home to Grace O'Malley, the infamous Pirate Queen.  Colonel John Browne came to Westport in in the mid-1600s and married Grace O'Malley's great-great granddaughter, Maud Bourke.  It was their grandson, John Browne, 1st Earl of Altamont who build the first phase of the house in 1730.  All that remains of Grace O'Malley's original castle are the dungeons. We were given a wonderful account of the history of Westport House and the Browne family by our tour guide, John, and then were free to explore the remainder of the house on our own, including the dungeon, the wine c...

  We enjoyed breakfast this morning in the main dining room of the Armada Hotel with sweeping views of Spanish Point.  After breakfast, we departed for the hour and a half drive to Galway.  At the advice of our driver, Sean, we stopped along the way to enjoy some tea and scones and stretch our legs a bit.   Upon our arrival in Galway, we were met by our local guide (and consummate comedian), Brian. The original plan was for us to embark on a walking tour of the town, but the weather had other plans this morning, so Brian boarded our bus and gave us a fantastic driving tour of Galway.  With this new plan of action, we were able to make a few stops that were not originally on our tour including Brian's alma mater, the University of Galway and the Galway Cathedral. Officially named the Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed into Heavan and St. Nicholas, this impressive Cathedral was opened in 1965. Brian shared the story of John F. Kennedy's 1963 visit to Ireland...

  After another lovely breakfast at the Brehon Hotel, we once again boarded the bus and traveled north through Tralee, the capital of Kerry County.  Tralee takes its name from the river Lee which flows into the Atlantic Ocean at Tralee Bay, home to the annual Rose of Tralee International Festival, a celebration of Irish culture and heritage held every year during the month of August. This five-day festival culminates in the crowning of the Rose of Tralee, a tradition inspired by the ballad by the same name written by William Pembroke Mulchinock about his forbidden love, his maid Mary O'Connor. We made our way to the town of Listowel.  Described by some as the "Literary Capital of Ireland", a number of internationally known playwrights and authors have lived there, including Bryan MacMahon and John B. Keane.   The highlight or our morning was a stop at John B. Keane's Bar for tea and scones and a lovely visit with John B. Keane's son Billy Keane.  Billy...

  Much like day two, day three began with a lovely breakfast at the Brehon Hotel.  Unlike day two, we were greeted with beautiful blue skies and sunshine, and it could not have come on a better day!  Our guide Sean was joined today Pádraig, our bus driver for the day.  Typically, Sean would serve as both our bus driver and tour guide but there are laws in place that cap the number of consecutive days that a driver can operate a tour bus to six so we had Pádraig driving us today and Sean will take over for the remainder of our trip.  After boarding the bus, we set off for the Dingle Peninsula.  Once described by the National Geographic Traveler as the most beautiful place on earth, and it certainly did not disappoint.  The Peninsula stretches 30 miles into the Atlantic Ocean on the south-west coast on Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way and is dominated by the range of mountains that form its spine, running from the Slieve Mish range to the Conor Pas...

  Day two began with a wonderful breakfast after which the group departed from the Kingsley Hotel and continued our journey to the quaint town of Blarney. Central to our trip to Blarney was a visit to the John Lynch '77  Blarney Castle and Gardens .   A medieval stronghold, the Blarney Castle dates back to 1446.  At the top of the Castle lies the famous Stone of Eloquence, better known as the Blarney Stone. There are several versions of the origin story of the Stone but kissing it is said to give one the gift of eloquence.  While many of us climbed to the top of the Blarney Castle, only a few of us braved the elements to hang upside down and kiss the Stone.  We rounded out our stop with a visit to the  Blarney Woolen Mills .  Dubbed as the "largest Irish gift shop in the world", the three-story market is housed in one of Ireland's oldest and most authentic woollen mills. After wrapping up our morning visit to Blarney, we traveled into Killarn...

  Treacy's Bar & Restaurant   In typical Alumni Travel Program fashion, we were off to a running start to a very long and productive day. Just landing at Dublin Airport, we met our C.I.E. Tours bus driver/tour guide, Sean McGovern. After boarding the motor coach, we took a scenic 90-minute ride from Dublin to Portlaoise, where we stopped for a traditional Irish breakfast at Treacy's Bar & Restaurant. The Rock of Cashel After breakfast, we travel into County Tipperary for a visit to the Rock of Cashel  where we toured the majestic church ruins that are clustered high on a limestone outcrop overlooking the surrounding countryside. Granny's Kitchen The skies opened up a bit just as we were disembarking the coach to tour the grounds but that didn't damper the spirits of our travelers, some of whom capped off the visit with a nice warm beverage from Granny's Kitchen just down a quaint little street from the ruins. The port of Kinsale After wrapping up our visit, ...

  After a three-year break due to Covid, the program is Ireland-bound for an eight-day trip as of September 22, with 41 alumni and family members participating. “We are so happy to have this program, which has always been popular with our alums, up and running again,”  said Jennifer Silva ’93, senior associate director with the Office of Alumni Engagement, who is travelling with the group. Silva is joined by  Stonehill’s  former  d irector of Communications Martin McGovern who was born in Ireland and previously served as the  d irector of the  College’s  Semester in Irish Studies program. A trip to Ireland launched the Alumni Travel Program in 2007 and, on that visit, the late Richard B. Finnegan, professor of political science, served as a guide on Irish history, culture and politics to 48 alums. The program returned to Ireland in 2014 with 46 alums travelling and Professor Finnegan serving as the guide again.  This current tour rep...