16/07/2021
SLIGO AND YEATS COUNTRY
10 – 14 OCTOBER 2021
Sunday 10 October 2021
We will pick you up at your designated pick-up point and travel west towards Sligo. Our first stop will be in Longford where we will stop for some free time to have lunch and visit St Mel’s Cathedral. The historic Saint Mel’s Cathedral was destroyed by fire in 2009 leaving only the exterior walls, portico and campanile standing. The restoration project, headed by Bishop Colm O’Reilly, has been the biggest in Europe over the past 5 years and the finished building is an awe-inspiring display of craftsmanship, dedication and love. After some free time in Longford we will board the coach and continue on to Sligo and our hotel to check in for the first of 4 nights with dinner. (D,B&B)
Monday 11 October 2021
After breakfast today, we will board the coach and make our way to Parke’s Castle where you will board the Isle of Innisfree for a cruise on Lough Gill. You will sail around the Isle of Innisfree, which inspired W.B. Yeats to write Ireland’s most popular poem. You will have a little time to explore the Castle and then you will be returned to Sligo and the remainder of the day will be spent at your leisure with dinner served in the hotel in the evening. (D,B&B)
Tuesday 12 October 2021
Today, after breakfast you will be joined by a guide for a walking tour of Sligo Town. Sligo is the largest town in Ireland’s North West with a rich history evident in landmarks such as the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, the Courthouse, which served as a carpenters’ shop during the cholera epidemic and Sligo Abbey, the town’s only surviving medieval building (built circa 1252). A bronze statue of William Butler Yeats stands watch on Hyde Bridge, while City Hall, with its Renaissance-style architecture, dates back to the 1860s. After the walking tour you will board the coach, joined by the guide and you will have a guided tour of Yeats Country for the rest of the afternoon. During your tour you will visit the spectacular Glencar Waterfall which is 50 ft high and situated at Glencar Lough. Glencar served as an inspiration to WB Yeats and features in his poem ‘The Stolen Child’. The waterfall is really impressive after rain and can be viewed from a lovely wooded walk. Before returning to the hotel, we will stop at Drumcliffe Church which is best known as the final resting place of W.B. Yeats. His grave is marked with a simple headstone with the inscription, "cast a cold eye on life, on death, horseman, pass by." This was Yeats' self-penned epitaph together with the instructions that the grave consist of "no marble, no conventional phrase". The graveyard also contains a high cross and nearby is the site of a 6th Century Columbian monastery. You will return to the hotel in time for dinner. (D,B&B).
Wednesday 13 October 2021
After breakfast today we will depart the hotel and travel to Lissadell House. Lissadell secured its place in the turbulent revolutionary history of 20th century Ireland through Constance, later Countess, Markievicz who turned her back on a life of privilege to become a leading member of James Connolly’s Irish Citizen Army and a 1916 Rising Leader. After our visit to Lissadell we will take a scenic drive around the Wild Atlantic Way to Mullaghmore, passing by Streedagh Point and the fairy-tale castle of Classiebawn which was built in the 19th century by Lord Palmerston, but more recently belonged to Lord Mountbatten. Mullaghmore is a picturesque seaside resort. It has a charming 19th century harbour in the centre of the village and it is a delight to watch the sailing boats come as you sit and relax over a drink or cup of coffee. Mullaghmore village has a generous selection of pubs, hotels and shops, to meet even your best expectations. We will return to the hotel in the late afternoon with time to relax before dinner. (D,B&B)
Thursday 14 October 2021
We will check out of the hotel after breakfast and start the journey home with a stop near Roscommon at Arigna Mining Experience where you will experience what it was like to work in some of the narrowest coal seams in the western world. The tour lasts 45 minutes and brings visitors to the coal face of the mine, where the methods used to extract coal are demonstrated. You will accompany an ex-miner on a tour which is literally a journey through a miner’s life. The dripping of water, the intensity of the darkness, the sight of the cramped areas in which the miners lay on their sides in pools of water, leaves visitors astounded that such working conditions existed until relatively recent times. After your tour there will be time for some lunch before boarding the coach and making our way back to the original pick up points with comfort stops as required.
Tour Includes
Luxury coach throughout with experienced driver.
4 night’s hotel accommodation (D, B&B)
Cruise on Lough Gill
Visit to Glencar Waterfall
Visit to Drumcliffe Church and Yeats Grave
Entrance and tour of Lissadell House & Gardens
Guide for walking tour of Sligo town and tour of Yeats Country.
Visit and tour of Arigna Mine.
Cost of Tour
€580 per person sharing
€80 single supplement
Contact the office for more information on 0568831189 or visit our website www.kavanaghtravel.com