Ireland Essence

You will be met at Ireland’s Shannon International Airport and driven north to Westport, on the shores of Clew Bay. Depending on the time of year there may be an opportunity for the group to photograph the sunset over Clew Bay. (D=Dinner)

Each day you will visit some of these typical areas from your home base. There is no possible way to visit all of them, so your tour leader and guide will plan each day considering the interests of the group. The evenings can be spent over photographic discussions in the hotel or in town and enjoy the sights and sounds of the many Irish pubs in Westport. They abound with traditional Irish music every evening of the week.

Westport and the Village of Newport, both capture the flavor of true Irish towns with their tree- lined canals and colorful shops. Both capture the flavor of true Irish towns with their tree-lined canals and colorful shops. After a stop in Westport, drive to Murrisk Abbey, at the foot of Ireland’s Holy Mountain, Croagh Patrick.

Driving north, your first stop will be along the ocean on the Atlantic drive in Mulranny. After lunch on Achill Island, continue photographing along the ocean, and wind up at the deserted famine village at Keel. Achill Island, wrought by wind and water, is an arrangement of rock, cloud, and cliffs falling off to the sea.

Photograph in the morning along the shores of Doo Lough, continue on in the afternoon and you may visit and photograph at a working sheep farm if available. After lunch in the town of Louisburgh, spend the afternoon photographing in the Sheeffrey Hills, a place where you must be careful not to disturb the leprechauns who inhabit the forest. (B=Breakfast each day)
 

Driving to Dingle today you will have photographic stops along the way. The peninsula thrusts out into the Atlantic, claiming Ireland’s most westerly point. Here, majestic hills soar over vast bowls of unspoiled valleys, glittering mountain streams tumble down to lakes, and soft, golden beaches stretch for miles.

The region boasts of some 2000 prehistoric and early Christian remains. We make our way along the lovely Slea Head Drive, looking out onto the resplendent Blasket Islands, offering us a grand land and seascape. There will be photographic opportunities as we will be overwhelmed with Iron Age and early Christian rocks and ruins. Clustered on hillsides over the cliffs are beehive-shaped stone huts built by monks as a place of worship. The Town of Dingle has a lovely harbor and painted storefronts which will delight your senses. You will be overnighting in a much quieter town working hard to retain their Gaelic culture and language. Overnight Dingle Peninsula (B, D; B; B, D; B)

Leave Dingle early this morning, driving to County Clare, where you spend the evening not far from Shannon Airport. You will have photographic stops along the way, taking in to account the interests of the group. You will then be taken to your hotel for the evening and enjoy your farewell dinner. (B, D)

You can depart at anytime today as the airport is a five minute walk, and there are luggage carts for your use. Overnight Shannon Airport hotel (B)