In September 2015, over 2.5 million images of Irish births, deaths and marriage records from the General Register Office (GRO), were released online for the first time. The images, available on www.irishgenealogy.ie, date back as far as 1864. Among the records are the birth, marriage and death register for Tom Crean, the Antarctic explorer. Crean’s grandson Brendan O’Brien joined the Irish Government Ministers Heather Humphreys and Leo Varadkar at the release launch event at the National Library. The online database also includes death register entries for the Leaders of the 1916 Rising, including James Connolly, Thomas Clarke, Padraig H Pearse, and Eamonn Ceannt.
Mullingar has been selected as the venue for Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann 2020, Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann announced on Saturday. The event will take place from August 2nd-9th next year. This year’s event in Drogheda, Co Louth attracted around 400,000 visitors to the town with up to 10,000 musicians taking part. Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann founded the event in the Co Westmeath town in 1951 but the event has not been hosted there since 1963. “We are very proud to be part of this mammoth endeavour and have pledged that all necessary resources will be made available to the organising team,” said Pat Gallagher, chief executive of Westmeath County Council. Chairperson of […]
Galway 2020 European Capital of Culture, the largest and most complex cultural event held on the island of Ireland, will start on February 1st with a week of “fiery celebrations” in Co Galway towns and villages. Events throughout the year will involve more than 1,900 events across 154 projects, 170 partnerships and collaborations with local, national, European and international artists and cultural organisations from more than 30 different countries. The opening week will include a large public spectacle in Galway city on February 8th, produced by Water Works, a company which has created events for the Olympics, including London’s. The opening will involve a community cast and creative director Helen […]
Tralee and Lismore named as the best tourism towns in Ireland In their annual Tourism Towns Awards, Fáilte Ireland awarded Tralee and Lismore with a certificate and a grant of €5,000 towards further tourism development Wed, Nov 25, 2015, 16:00 Updated: Wed, Nov 25, 2015, 16:04 Joan Scales Tralee and Lismore have been crowned the top large and small tourism towns, respectively, by Michael Ring, TD Minister for State for Tourism and Sports. The Fáilte Ireland annual tourism awards recognise those towns that do their best for tourism and where all sectors have supported the strengthening of their local welcome. Each town will receive a certificate and a grant […]
It was an exciting and successful weekend of competitions, concerts, céilithe and sessions as the Comhaltas 64th Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann was celebrated by an estimated 400,000 throughout Sligo. The biggest event to have ever been hosted in Sligo, organisers estimate that attendance was up 30% on the previous year. Sligo seemed to pulse with Irish rhythm and revelry as age-old traditions were celebrated by fresh generations. The Fleadh Cheoil featured a week-long festival of fun with over 250 events and in excess of 8,000 competitors taking part in the All Ireland Fleadh competitions. Sligo spared no effort ensuring an entertaining event-packed programme that brought the world’s premier festival of […]
PAYMENTS Ireland West Private Tours accepts payment by check or major credit cards DEPOSITS A non-refundable deposit amounting to 10% of the total value of the arrangements made is required to confirm reservations. The booking is only confirmed when the deposit is received. FINAL PAYMENT Full payment must be made 45 days prior to departure. We reserve the right to withdraw all, or part of, the services if this condition is not complied with and the deposit payment will be forfeited CANCELLATION FEES In the event of cancellation, it should be noted that the following cancellation fees would be levied, depending on the date of cancellation. The […]
Though we specialise in west coast tours we can customise tours to all parts of Ireland. We can draft or amend itineraries to meet your particular cultural or recreational interests. Where possible we can draft itineraries to coincide with festivals of music, film, food, theatre literature, and a broad range of sporting events. Our Writers Trail which focuses on the places that inspired such notable Irish writers as James Joyce, Samuel Beckett, George Bernard Shaw, W.B.Yeats, Sean O Casey, Seamus Heaney, Brian Friel, Frank McCourt Demote Healy, John McGahern and Tom Murphy is a very popular tour.
Three Days In The West – Mayo, Roscommon and Galway Day 1 We travel to the Hennigan Heritage Farm and get a glimpse of what life was like for small tenant farmers in Ireland between the 1870’s and 1950’s , the story of generations of Hennigans is skilfully interwoven with the History of Ireland touching on the famine and the land wars. In the afternoon we go to Strokestown house and see how the other half lived, this is one of Ireland’s many aristocratic Landlord mansions which sustained itself on the rental incomes from tenant farmers such as the Hennigans. On route to Strokestown we visit Cruachan, this is one of […]
The West Coast Tour Day 1 We start off your tour in Donegal. Donegal is one of the most unspoilt landscapes in Europe. It’s famous for its beautiful scenery, coastline, impressive mountain ranges, glens and lakes and rich reminders of a historic past. Our first stop of the day is Glenveagh National Park (over 14,000 acres), a remote and hauntingly beautiful wilderness of rugged mountains and pristine lakes. Glenveagh is the haunt of many rare and interesting plants and animals and is famous for its herd of native Irish red deer. There are a variety of short walks from which you can choose. The estate of Glenveagh was originally consolidated into […]
The West & South West Tour Day 1 We travel to the Hennigan Heritage Farm and get a glimpse of what life was like for small tenant farmers in Ireland between the 1870’s and 1950’s. The story of generations of Hennigans is skilfully interwoven with the History of Ireland touching on the famine and the land wars. In the afternoon we go to Strokestown House and see how the other half lived, this is one of Ireland’s many aristocratic Landlord mansions which sustained itself on the rental incomes from the tenant farmers such as the Hennigans. On route to Strokestown we visit Rathcroghan which boasts a multitude of monuments stretching from the first […]