Imagine Ireland Tours

09/02/2021

Even if you can't travel, you can still enjoy the great city of Belfast.

Belfast is staying safe and staying at home; but you can still experience the city online.

04/02/2021

Fancy joining us on our 10-day Magnetic North tour ? Bookings are now open for Spring 2022.

www.imagineirelandtours.com

Day 1
We’ll gather together at our pick-up point in central Dublin and drive north to start our tour in County Meath with the showstopping UNESCO World Heritage site, Newgrange (Brú na Bóinne) in County Meath. Located in the bend of the river Boyne, this is a stunning collection of three Neolithic passage tombs built some 5000 years ago - older than Stonehenge and the Pyramids!

In the afternoon we cross the border into Northern Ireland and on to Belfast, our base for the next six days. After checking in to our city centre hotel, we will meet for a welcome drink in the world famous Crown Liquor Saloon before enjoying a group dinner in one of Belfast’s finest restaurants.

Day 2
Join us on a guided boat trip and, from your unique vantage point on Belfast’s River Lagan, hear the story of the city's rich maritime heritage . Listen to tales of the Titanic and the Harland & Wolff shipyard where she was built, before we visit the award-winning Titanic Belfast (World Visitor Attraction of the Year winner 2016).

After lunch we will enjoy a fascinating drive round Belfast, exploring the city’s most iconic sights including the world-famous political murals, Peace Wall, Queen’s University, Stormont Parliament Buildings, Belfast Castle, St Anne’s Cathedral, City Hall and the Grand Opera House. Discover why Lonely Planet voted our capital best place to visit in 2018. Learn about our complex and difficult past, and see for yourself the city’s transformation into one of the most dynamic destinations in Europe.

Tonight you are free to explore the city’s ever-growing restaurant and pub scene.

Day 3
Today we walk in the footsteps of royalty, peacemakers and US Presidents, visiting the stunning Hillsborough Castle and Gardens in County Down, official residence in Northern Ireland of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Famous guests have included Prime Minister Tony Blair, Presidents Benjamin Franklin and George W. Bush, and the Dalai Lama.

Later we will explore Ireland’s industrial heritage in the award-winning Irish Linen Centre in the city of Lisburn. On our guided tour we will learn why 19th century Belfast was known as Linenopolis and trace the history of linen production in Ulster, from the earliest times to the present, and see live spinning and weaving demonstrations.

Tonight is a free evening back in Belfast to dine at a restaurant of your choice.

24/09/2020

Ireland in the sky☘️☘️

Ireland in the sky. Lovely photo taken this evening in Coleraine, County Derry. Photo by Christie Greer.

17/09/2020

Beautiful Skellig Michael.

08/09/2020

Ireland's most northerly peninsula, and certainly one of its most historic. Inishowen: just one part of magical County Donegal. Here's a short film to give you a taste of this beautiful place.

A short film showcasing just some of the highlights of the Inishowen Peninsula.

08/09/2020

Hear Lynn talking about our walking tour of Van Morrison's Belfast with Eamonn Holmes on the Nolan Show this morning (from 1:23.20 until the end of the show).

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000mcm1

Breaking news, and hard-hitting talk about the big stories of the day.

25/08/2020

Storm Francis may be battering Ireland at the moment, but the heavy rain only makes it all the more dramatic. The beautiful Assaranca waterfall in full flood, Ardara, County Donegal.

01/08/2020

Have you visited County Donegal? Malin Head on the Wild Atlantic Way is a good place to start - full of history, beauty and rugged landscapes.

A short video about Ireland's most northerly point, Malin Head in Donegal.

18/07/2020

Here's a short video of a great day out climbing Errigal in Donegal. It's part of our Three Peaks and the Wild Atlantic Way tour.

A short video of a great day out on Errigal, County Donegal.

10/07/2020

Sir John Lavery RA was once the most famous portrait artist in the world. Born in North Queen Street in 1856, Lavery was one of the most distinguished Irish artists of his generation who painted a wide range of major figures, including the British Royal Family, Sir Winston Churchill and Count John McCormack.

In 1929 Lavery gave 34 of his paintings to the Belfast Museum and Art Gallery (now the Ulster Museum). However, one of his most beautiful works hangs in a church in Saint Patrick’s Church, Donegall Street in North Belfast. Lavery was baptised in the smaller church, which originally stood on this site. Perhaps that is why in his autobiography he writes: “As to my birthday, to save explanations when asked, I chose St. Patrick’s Day”).

The first church was opened on the site in 1815 while the current building dates from 1877. It was the second Catholic church built in the city since the Reformation. A beautiful feature is the 7ft tall statue of St Patrick above the front door which (like the altar) was carved by the English-born James Pearse, father of Padraig Pearse.

The Sir John Lavery work on display in the church is his religious triptych ‘Madonna of the Lakes’, which adorns the side chapel. It consists of three panels hinged together, depicting the Virgin, flanked by St Brigid and St Patrick. For this triptych, he used his wife, Hazel, his daughter, Eileen, and step-daughter, Alice, as models. It was unveiled on April 20, 1919.

Lavery married his second wife, Hazel, in 1909. She was 26 years younger than Lavery, a beautiful and artistic young American socialite, and Lavery painted around 400 portraits of his muse in his lifetime. In 1927, he painted her as the personification of Ireland, Cathleen niHoulihan, as depicted in the one-act play by W B Yeats, for the banknotes of the Free State. For this, Lavery was awarded the Freedom of Dublin, becoming the first man to have received that honour from both Dublin and Belfast.

When war broke out in 1914 he was appointed as an official war artist and produced many memorable canvases. He was knighted in 1918 and elected to the Royal Academy. Lavery died in 1941 and is buried in Putney Vale cemetery.

In 2019, on the hundredth anniversary of the unveiling of the Madonna of the Lakes, The Ulster History Circle commemorated Lavery with a blue plaque. Sir John Lavery’s legacy remains as one of Ireland’s foremost artists. The triptych is a beautiful example of his work. So next time you’re in Belfast with time to spare, pop round to Donegall Street and treat yourself to this magnificent piece of Irish art!

09/07/2020

Looks like an interesting production coming to some cinemas soon. You can come with us on the trail of Saint Patrick at Imagine Ireland Tours. See our website for details, www.imagineirelandtours, or contact us here on FB for details.

I AM PATRICK peels back centuries of legend and myth to tell the true story of Saint Patrick. See it in select Theaters Nationwide March 17 & 18 only!

04/07/2020

If you don't know about Harry Clarke, one of Ireland's greatest artists, check out this short film from Imagine Ireland Tours. Feel free to like and share!

Find out about one of Ireland's greatest artists.

29/06/2020

Check out our short film on Belfast slowly getting back on its feet after months of lockdown. Feel free to share the video and subscribe to our new channel!

A short film about Belfast coming out of lockdown after Covid-19.

27/06/2020

SO proud to be a Rick Steves guide - we will all be back again in Seattle one fine (fun?) day - can’t wait!!

22/06/2020

Exactly 99 years ago, on June 22 1921, King George V opened the Northern Ireland parliament, in the City Hall in Belfast, saying: "I appeal to all Irishmen to pause, to stretch out the hand of forbearance and conciliation, to forgive and to forget, and to join in making for the land which they love a new era of peace, contentment, and goodwill."

William Conor (he dropped the second 'n' of his surname in later life) was asked to paint the opening of the new Parliament, probably on the recommendation of Sir John Lavery. You can see the painting in the Senate Chamber at Stormont, and a copy is on display in the City Hall visitor exhibition.

The parliament moved from the City Hall to the Presbyterian Church’s college, later Union Theological College, where it remained until 1932. The Commons met in the College's Gamble Library and the Senate in the Chapel. In 1932, parliament moved to the new purpose-built Parliament Buildings at Stormont.

Below is a fascinating film of the occasion, showing Belfast streets, buildings and the docks as they were almost one hundred years ago.

Item title reads - State Opening of the Northern Irish Parliament by H.M. The King. Belfast, Ireland. Intertitle - 'Arrival of the Royal yacht and Naval esco...

17/06/2020

Delighted to be on the Rick Steves Guides’ Marketplace to share our new venture with you. My brother Paul and I are proud Rick Steves Ireland guides but, in the absence of Rick’s tours this year, we look forward to taking small group tours round Ireland. We’d love you to come with us! ☘️☘️🌈🌈

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Share Rick Steves Guides' Marketplace Rick's guides are hand-picked and passionate about teaching. This marketplace is a listing of creative services and experiences that Rick Steves guides are offering during the COVID-19 crisis to earn some income by entertaining,....

15/06/2020

On this day, June 15th 1919, Alcock and Brown crash-landed their Vickers Vimy aircraft in Derrygimla Bog just south of Clifden, Connemara, Co. Galway after a gruelling sixteen-hour flight from St. John’s, Newfoundland, trying to become the first to fly across the Atlantic non-stop.

Thse magnificent men wore electrically heated clothing, Burberry overalls, fur gloves and fur-lined helmets. The battery for their heated clothing sat between them in the cockpit, and they carried with them 300 private letters, making theirs the first transatlantic airmail flight in history.

They flew through hail and snow, and temperatures fell so low that parts of their engine froze. They feared the fragile fabric covering the exterior of the aircraft would be ripped open. Halfway across the Atlantic, Brown had to stand in the cockpit and scrape ice off key components just to keep the motor running. Visibility, naturally, was frighteningly poor. Then the radio failed, one exhaust and silencer disintegrated, which made conversation impossible.

On several occasions, the plane came within feet of crashing into the Atlantic. At one point, it was just 65 feet above the waves before Alcock regained control. He could taste the Atlantic salt on his lips from the waves below.

The men decided to try for a landing in County Galway. Hoping to find a suitable landing site they mistook a stretch of bog for a smooth green landing strip. The wheels touched down and ran on, before coming to a stop as they sank into the bog. The nose dipped and the tail rose up, and fuel began leaking into the cockpit. Scrambling to safety, they stepped onto Irish soil, their place in aviation history secured.

The had won the prize of £10,000 offered by The Daily Mail. Alcock and Brown left Clifden on the afternoon of Sunday 15th June, heroes to so many for their spectacular achievement.

There is a magnificent monument to Alcock & Brown on the High Road in Errislannan, overlooking the Derrygimlagh Bog, where these two men made their historic landing. Derrigimlagh Bog forms part of Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way, 1500 miles of wild Irish beauty from Donegal to County Cork. Come with us at Imagine Ireland Tours and let us show you the best of it.

Paul

12/06/2020

If you fancy a tour of Siena, check out our Rick Steves tour guide friend Anna Piperato. She’s been living there for a while now and is a passionate advocate for Siena.

12/06/2020

William Butler Yeats was born on this day, 13 June 1865 in Sandymount, Dublin. He was one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature right up until his death in 1939.

Although he lived in London for 14 years of his childhood, he staunchly affirmed his Irish nationality and maintained his cultural roots, featuring Irish legends and heroes in many of his poems and plays. Perhaps no other poet stood to represent a people and country as poignantly as Yeats, both during and after his life.

He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923, and the citation read “for his always inspired poetry, which in a highly artistic form gives expression to the spirit of a whole nation”. His reply to the many people who wrote letters of congratulation to him contained the words “I consider that this honour has come to me less as an individual than as a representative of Irish literature; it is part of Europe’s welcome to the Free State”.

Some of his most famous poems include The Lake Isle of Innisfree, An Irish Airman Foresees his Death, The Stolen Child, The Sorrow of Love, Had I the Heaven’s Embroidered Cloths, The Wild Swans at Coole, When You are Old, Under Ben Bulben and Easter 1916.

One of his ancestors included a soldier who had fought for William of Orange at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, and another relative was friends with the revolutionary Robert Emmet at the beginning of the 19th century. Yeats always reminded his readers that he was involved in both major ideologies of Irish political life which tore Ireland apart in the tumult and turmoil of the early years of the 20th century.

I was in Dublin for three days of commemorative events on the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising. Among all the official posters and banners to mark the occasion, one had more prominence than any other, and it was the image of the seven executed signatories of the Proclamation of the Republic, accompanied by some of the most famous lines of poetry ever written or quoted in Ireland. Yeats’s poem “Easter 1916”, in the words of one of his most eminent biographers, Professor Roy Foster, “showed his uncanny sense of history as it happened around him, as well as what his wife described as his astonishing ability to know how things would look to people afterwards”. This immortal poem, and these lines from it, will surely echo down the centuries:

"I write it out in a verse—
MacDonagh and MacBride
And Connolly and Pearse
Now and in time to be,
Wherever green is worn,
Are changed, changed utterly:
A terrible beauty is born."

He was instrumental in the Irish cultural revival and in 1904 was also a founder member of the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, whose manifesto was written by him: We hope to find in Ireland an uncorrupted and imaginative audience trained to listen by its passion for oratory ... and that freedom to experiment which is not found in the theatres of England, and without which no new movement in art or literature can succeed”. In short he wanted this new theatre to produce works written by Irish writers for an Irish audience. In this he succeeded.

His personal life was famously fraught, especially with his passionate and mostly unrequited love for the Irish revolutionary and activist, Maud Gonne, an English-born Irish republican, revolutionary, suffragette and actress and regarded as one of the most beautiful women of her time. At the age of 51 Yeats married the much younger Georgie Hyde-Lees and he went on to have a happy marriage and two children were born from their union.

When Ireland won its independence, Yeats became a senator in the new Irish Free State.

Yeats had an abiding love for Co Sligo, his mother’s home county and he wrote many poems about the area which is now known as “Yeats Country”.

He died in France in 1939, aged 73. In 1948, with the Irish government’s enthusiastic collaboration, the poet’s remains were taken to Ireland in an Irish navy warship and interred at the small Church of Ireland church at Drumcliffe, Co Sligo where his grandfather had once been rector. He wrote his own epitaph with the famous lines:

Cast a cold eye
On life, on Death.
Horseman, pass by.

11/06/2020

As the Black Lives Matter movement takes centre stage across the world, and statues of those involved in the iniquitous slave trade are being pulled down, it’s a good time to remember Thomas McCabe, a Belfast man who put himself on the right side of history by helping to ensure that a slave-owning shipping company was never established in Belfast, when other British cities such as Liverpool and Bristol were making fortunes from this barbaric trade.

Thomas McCabe was a goldsmith and cotton manufacturer with premises on North Street. As a radical reformer, he was a founder member of the Belfast Charitable Society, who financed and built the Belfast Poor House (now Clifton House). He was also one of the founding members of the United Irishmen, a group of radical reformers which became a revolutionary movement, leading to the doomed Rebellion of 1798 against British rule.

But it’s as a liberal humanitarian that McCabe is so relevant today. A merchant called Waddell Cunningham, supposedly the richest man in Belfast, acquired a slave plantation in Dominica, which he renamed “Belfast”. Having gained immense wealth in the Caribbean, Cunningham and others proposed turning Belfast into a slave trading port, sending out ships to Africa loaded with goods to trade for African slaves, to then sail to the West Indies and sell the slaves at auction, returning with cargoes of sugar and rum. Cunningham put forward this plan for the creation of the Belfast Slave Ship Company one evening in the Assembly Rooms in Waring Street in 1786.

McCabe, incensed by the proposal, marched into the room and declared: ‘May God wither the hand and consign the name to eternal infamy of the man who will sign that document! ’ He then seized the company prospectus and ripped it up. McCabe brought the majority of Belfast’s radicals along with him and, there and then, Cunningham’s slaving ambitions came to naught.

McCabe died in 1820 and is buried in Clifton Street cemetery, along with other United Irishmen such as Henry Joy McCracken and William Drennan. A blue plaque in his honour graces the wall of St Malachy’s College, built on the site of his family home. As the slave trade is remembered once again today in all its horror, we can be thankful that Belfast was spared the shame of having actively participated in perpetuating this most vile of practices.

And we can thank one of the city’s finest citizens, Thomas McCabe.

Paul

10/06/2020

Music is universal. This is an excellent instrumental version of Moondance, the classic 1970 song written by Belfast’s greatest musical son, Van Morrison, or Van the Man. Come with us on a walking tour of Van Morrison’s Belfast, hear his songs and see the sights that inspired so much of his music and took him “into the mystic”.

If you’re interested in joining us on this tour, or any of our other tours, please contact us via Facebook Messenger or at [email protected]

https://youtu.be/76SUltGxIas

MOONDANCE (Van Morrison cover) Lumbini Sessions Belfast cowboy Was 11 years old when his dad bought him his first acoustic guitar. He learned the basics from...

09/06/2020

Check out our list of extended tours and our-day tours at www.imagineirelandtours.com

We specialise in small group and bespoke tours. You imagine it, we make it come true.

05/06/2020

We’re looking forward to when these strange times are over, getting back on the bus and showing guests round this great country. Roll on the day.

05/06/2020

Good news. And the sooner the better.

As Northern Ireland begins to emerge from lockdown, hotels are rushing to make changes that will enable them to reopen their bars, restaurants and bedrooms safely next month.

05/06/2020

I’ve been a tour guide since 2007, and have been leading extended tours around Ireland since 2016, most of them for Rick Steves Europe. This year, 2020, looked as if it was going to be one of the best ever years for tourism in Ireland, and my diary was booked solid with extended tours of Ireland, tours from the 150 cruise ships due to call into Belfast this summer, and city tours of Belfast for visitors from Spain, France, Portugal and Brazil (not to mention having to refresh my vocabulary in these languages after a long winter!)

And then along came Corona virus and the whole world, suddenly and unexpectedly, shut down.

What do I miss about tour guiding? First of all, it is a “job” I love. What could be more enjoyable or rewarding than introducing visitors to the culture, history, politics and STUNNING BEAUTY of the island of Ireland? No, we’re not blessed with a lot of sunshine, but we more than make up for that in the warmth of the welcome, the friendliness of the people and our passion for “craic”, loosely translated as good times/good fun/laughs, usually accompanied by a few drinks !!

I miss welcoming our guests, travelling round this beautiful country on a tour bus, sampling some of the finest food and drink in Ireland’s restaurants, gazing at the magnificence of Slea Head near Di**le in County Kerry, the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare or the Causeway Coast in County Antrim.

I miss explaining, or trying to explain, Irish history to our guests (an argument without end), introducing them to the genius of so many Irish writers, among them four Nobel prize winners, and watching guests hear for the first time some haunting or lively Irish traditional music.

I miss taking guests around my gritty home city of Belfast, with all its troubled history and hopeful present, and with its unique brand of the English language mixed with Ulster Scots and Irish words.

I miss conveying our unmistakable sense of pride in a beautiful country and a passionate nation which has suffered much but contributed more.

Will life ever be the same again after Corona virus? Will tourism ever be the same again?

Here there is growing optimism that life is slowly beginning to return to normal and we now have specific dates for the re-opening of shops, hotels, bars and restaurants.

I can’t wait to get back out there, share my passion and welcome YOU to the Emerald Isle!



Lynn x
☘️☘️🌈🌈👍👍

05/06/2020

100,000 welcomes — and 14 days' quarantine!

Tourism is an absolutely vital sector of the Irish economy. It is worth nearly €10 billion, including domestic tourism, employing around 325,000 people, including in Northern Ireland. More than 11 million people visited Ireland from overseas last year. And I had the pleasure of guiding a couple of hundred of them round the most beautiful parts of the island.

We have all seen that COVID-19 has driven a metaphorical steamroller over global tourism. But whereas other countries in Europe are doing their utmost to ease lockdown and revive the industry, that’s not really the case in Ireland, on either side of the border. Stringent and controversial quarantine rules are threatening the sector even further, with both the British and Irish governments having decided to quarantine visitors for fourteen days on arrival in Northern Ireland and the Republic, backed up by spot checks. Those involved in the tourism industry like myself are horrified by the prospect. How are we going to attract tourists to these beautiful shores if they face sitting indoors for a couple of weeks as soon as they leave the airport?

In the Republic, even Irish citizens returning from abroad are required to fill out a "passenger locator form", providing evidence of the address they will self-isolate in for 14 days. Failure to comply could lead to a fine of up to €2,500 ($2,700) or six months in prison. The tourism sector, and in particular the airlines, are up in arms, and a review will take place on June 18. The ever-controversial Michael O'Leary, the well-known CEO of airline Ryanair, has said that quarantine would do "untold damage" to British tourism. He said businesses that depend on European visitors "will be deterred by this useless and ineffective quarantine". Worst of all, the quarantine will destroy jobs and put back Ireland’s recovery at the exact time that other countries are opening up their borders to foreign travel. It is probably the worst thing they could do if the aim is to get the economy rebooted and get aviation and tourism moving again. Céad míle faílte? You’re joking!

I’m afraid to say that it is unclear whether the quarantine rules will be lifted even before the summer holiday season is over. The Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar has told his party that any eventual changes are likely to come in "months, not weeks."

Thankfully, the number of deaths from coronavirus in Northern Ireland has fallen for the fifth week in a row. So far, a total of 757 people have died from the disease. In the Republic of Ireland The Irish Government is to change its advice to the public from "stay home" to "stay local" from Monday. And in Northern Ireland, up to 2,000 people gathered in Belfast city centre on Wednesday to express their support for the Black Lives Matter campaign. So – one way or another - the signs are clear that things are opening up. The next step is to make the Irish and UK governments listen to sense. As someone once said, we must remain militantly optimistic …