By We are fast approaching St. Patrick’s day, which reminds me of a trip I took to Ireland in 2018. I’ve got zero Irish blood in me – I did an Ancestry.com test and I think scored 100% English – so theoretically the Irish should hate me and I them. But…back in 2018 Michael O’Neal arranged a chorale trip and I joined in the shenanigans. This was my second time going on a chorale tour. The first time was with the Macon Civic Chorale for a tour of France and visit with Macon’s sister city. I can tell you that it is pretty fun to pretend to be a touring artist!
Rather than share rooms with a stranger, I did pay the extra $ to have my own room. Best investment because I could relax in my room and unwind. There seems to be a common practice to apply surcharges for individuals, which I find annoying. I use less towels and hot water since there is only me in the room…so you should give me a break! but I digress.
The trip kicked off at the end of May/1st week of June. In Atlanta that is shorts and t-shirts weather, but for Ireland we were told to pack for cold/cool rainy days. Little did we know, a freak warm front came through. The lesson learned is to be ready for ANY kind of weather, despite what is typical.
Most of us were on a flight direct from Atlanta to Dublin. I splurged for Delta Comfort…which gave me a smidge more leg room. It’s a relatively short international flight, so I don’t know that I’d pay for premium or Delta One. Landing in Dublin, we slowly grabbed our bags and launched onto the bus tours. This was probably the only negative of the trip. There were so many of us we had two big buses. I’m used to traveling by myself, so I had to adjust to the group travel – meaning a lot of hurry up and wait.
I won’t go into all the details of the trip – I did post the itinerary below (removing rehearsal and concert performances). I must say, the first hotel was Dunloe Hotel in Killareny was PHENOMENAL. I loved just about every moment of the trip…I did conclude that the English were kind of jerks to the Irish. Dublin didn’t impress me that much, but it could be because that was at the end of the tour and I was ready to go home. The Guinness museum is a treat.
This is not me personally singing, but is a performance by MOS. We did sing this piece, which was commissioned for the Michael O’Neal Singers. He is probably sick of it, but I love the piece. When we performed in the US, we had a group of Irish dancers perform with us!
The itinerary in case you’re planning a trip
- Day 01 – USA-Dublin
- Day 02 – DUBLIN / KILLARNEY – Upon arrival in Kilkenny, sightseeing including entrance to St. Canices Cathedral and Round Tower
- Day 03 – KILLARNEY / RING OF KERRY
- Ring of Kerry
- Molly Gallivans Cottage and Farm for guided tour plus scones and tea.
- Day 04 KILLARNEY / GALWAY
- Killarney for transfer to Galway with a stop in Adare
- Cliffs of Moher
- Dinner at McSwiggans in Galway
- Day 05 GALWAY
- Excursion to Connemara region
Kylemore Abbey
- Excursion to Connemara region
- Day 06 GALWAY
- Morning Cruise of Galway Bay aboard Corrib Princess.
- Day 07 GALWAY / DUBLIN
- Transfer from Galway to Dublin with a stop in Athlone for lunch on your own.
- Visit Clonmacnoise monastic site
- Upon arrival in Dublin, visit the Guinness Storehouse
- Dinner at Murrays Bar.
- Day 08 DUBLIN
- Sightseeing tour of Dublin.
- Trinity College
- Day 09 DUBLIN
- Excursion to Wicklow
- Glendalough Visitor Center
- Dinner at Merry Ploughboy Irish Music Pub
Fun pictures from the trip
Looks like so much fun!