Inkslingers in Ireland – Summer 2018 Itinerary
July 28th to August 5th, 2018
July 28th (Saturday)
INKSLINGERS in IRELAND 2018 officially kicks off at the beautiful Cambden Court Hotel in Central Dublin at 6:00 p.m.
Participants will gather for a delicious welcome meal (provided by hotel), and get to know each other in a relaxed atmosphere.
After dinner everyone will gather in the writing room where Sue Reynolds will lead the first writing session of the trip.
At 9:30 participants are free to retire for the night or explore Dublin as they wish.
July 29th (Sunday)
Every morning in Ireland, participants are welcome to join the gentle morning yoga class, led by the compassionate and joyous Kate Marshall Flaherty who every day informs the yoga practice with inspiration from the Irish authors and poets we’ll be reading and learning about all week long.
The yoga is followed by a complimentary hearty Irish breakfast. At 9:00 a.m. everyone gathers for the group writing workshops which finish at 11:30.
Today we will be travelling on foot to visit the beautiful library at Trinity College and view the incredible Book of Kells. Along the way we will stop at one of Dublin’s wonderful eateries for lunch. Participants are free to explore other options, including the James Joyce Museum and/or the new Seamus Heaney exhibit.
Later in the afternoon we will meet up for the world famous Dublin Literary Pub Crawl. Enjoy a sip of Irish beer in the watering holes of Ireland’s great writers and hear actors performing these writers’ best known pieces.
Dinner this evening is at participants’ own expense, an ideal opportunity to explore the beautiful city before and after dining. Travellers return to the Cambden Court Hotel for the second night.
July 30th (Monday)
Enjoy morning yoga, a complimentary hearty breakfast and writing workshop until 11:30.
Today we visit the outstanding megalithic tombs in the historic Boyne valley. (With as stop along the way for lunch, of course!)
We will begin by exploring the ancient passage tombs of Newgrange and Knowth at Bru na Bonne.
Later we will ascend the Hill of Tara, the historic centre of ancient Irish kings and queens. They say you can see all of Ireland from there!
We will also visit the early Christian settlement at Monasterboice and marvel at the tallest Celtic Cross in Ireland.
Our amiable coach driver and guide will deliver us safely back to the Cambden Court Hotel.
This is our last evening in Dublin.
Dinner this evening is at your own expense, so feel free to head off in groups for a memorable evening at a wish-list restaurant for dinner.
July 31st (Tuesday)
After enjoying morning yoga, a complimentary hearty breakfast and the writing workshop until 11:30, we pack our bags and board the coach for a trip across central Ireland towards the beautiful west coast.
We will enjoy lunch at a lovely spot selected by our coach driver, and stop to visit the Quin Abbey friary, the best preserved 12th century ruin in Ireland.
Later that afternoon we will arrive at the Hotel Woodstock in the gorgeous town of Ennis, where we will be staying for the next three nights.
This evening, dinner is provided for the group by the hotel.
August 1st (Wednesday)
We will enjoy our morning yoga and complimentary Irish breakfast, but writing today will be back at the hotel after dinner because today we visit INIS MÓR, the largest of the ARAN ISLANDS.
We must depart early this morning for the 10:00 a.m. ferry at Doolin. If the sky is clear we’ll not only see these gorgeous islands on the ride, we’ll also be able to see the famous Cliffs of Moher from the ocean side, a rare sight indeed for most travellers.
Once we arrive at Inis Mór, most people choose bicycles as their mode of transport. Rentals are readily available, at your own expense, at the pier when we disembark the ferry. If you’re wondering how much bicycling you’d have to do, Inis Mór has an area of 31 square kilometers (or 12 square miles) and has a population of about 840 people.
The island is famous for its strong Irish culture, its loyalty to the Irish language, and a wealth of Pre-Christian and Christian ancient sites including Dún Aengus, described as “the most magnificent barbaric monument in Europe” by George Petrie.
Following our return to land, we will return to Ennis and explore the beautiful town for a delicious dinner, which is at participants’ expense.
The writing workshop will be after dinner tonight. (We’ll certainly have a lot to write about after this spectacular day!) After that, if we’ve still got the energy, we can sing along with the locals at the famous Poet’s Corner Pub in the centre of town.
August 2nd (Thursday)
NOTE: TODAY IS OUR MIDWEEK FREE DAY
Enjoy morning yoga, a complimentary hearty breakfast and writing until 11:30.
After that, you’re free to do whatever you like. Write in your room, walk about the town, and write anywhere you want actually.
The Irish love writers!
However, we have a coach and a knowledgeable driver, and Royal Irish Tours will drive those who would love to visit and shop in historic Galway, if you’re so inclined, taking a tour about the local countryside in the process. We’ll sort this aspect out on the day.
Tonight we spend our last night in Ennis. Dinner is at participant’s expense.
August 3rd (Friday)
Enjoy morning yoga, a complimentary hearty breakfast and writing until 11:30, and then we pack our bags again and board the Royal Irish Tours’ coach to drive east towards the east coast.
Along the way we’ll stop and visit one of the strangest and most story-inspiring mansions in Ireland, Belvedere House. We’ll investigate The Jealous Wall, Ireland’s largest and most outrageous folly, and delve into the most bizarre jealous behaviour ever exhibited by the rich and infamous!
In the late afternoon we will arrive at The Malahide Hotel, a sumptuous, spacious jewel on the Irish coast. We will be spending our final two nights here.
Dinner will be at participant’s expense.
August 4th (Saturday)
Following our last full morning of yoga, complimentary hearty breakfast and writing until 11:30, we will board the Royal Irish Tours coach and head south into the Wicklow Mountain area, (with a stop for lunch along the way) to visit Glendalough, home to one of the most important monastic sites in Ireland.
This early Christian monastic settlement was founded by St. Kevin in the 6th century and from this developed the ‘Monastic City’ and university that survived until the Vikings finally found this idyllic location in its hidden valley.
Afterwards we will visit Avoca Mills, Ireland’s oldest weaving mill, only a few minutes from Glendalough.
Dinner tonight will be provided by the hotel.
Participants celebrate the trip with a rowdy and emotional dinner where everyone is invited to read something they wrote on the trip to their attentive fellow travelers.
August 5th (Sunday)
All good things come to an end.
Depending on the outbound flight times, yoga and/or writing may be offered this morning, but in the past most participants are off for the airport around 9:00 a.m.