Monday, March 28th

We begin our Catholic Trips pilgrimage with an overnight flight from Chicago O'Hare Airport to IRELAND. Dinner will be served onboard the plane. D

Tuesday, March 29th

This morning, before our plane lands in DUBLIN, a light breakfast snack will be served onboard the plane. After passing through custom formalities and collecting our luggage, we will be met by Catholic Trips owner, Jim West, who lives in Ireland, and our Irish tour guide/driver, who will take us on a PANORAMIC TOUR OF DUBLIN. This tour will include driving past many of the major sights and visiting St. Patrick's Cathedral. Following this tour, we will check into our first class hotel, the Castle Hotel, where we will have the opportunity to relax and settle in. The afternoon is free for you to enjoy at your leisure. Tonight, we will enjoy a special "welcome dinner" and hear a brief orientation from Jim about our pilgrimage. Fr. Joe will give us a special blessing before we retire for the evening. B, D

Wednesday, March 30th

Following a hearty Irish breakfast, we will board our coach and drive to the Garden of Ireland, COUNTY WICKLOW. We leave the city behind and head for the heathery hills of the Wicklow Mountains that spring up at the edge of Dublin's southern suburbs. We drive south through ENNISKERRY to GLENDENDALOUGH where St. Kevin founded his 6th Century monastic settlement. We will spend some time walking around the ruins and remains of the old church and cemetery before boarding our motor coach and traveling to AVOCA. The town of Avoca was made famous by Thomas Moore's song, "The Meeting of the Waters," and is best known for its weaving and spinning mills. There will be time to enjoy some shopping and lunch on our own before we drive back to Dublin. Tonight, Fr. Joe will celebrate holy mass in one of the nearby churches and the remainder of the evening is at your leisure. B

Thursday, March 31st

After a delicious breakfast, we will check out of our hotel and drive to the beautiful town of KILLARNEY. Along the way, we will stop in BLARNEY, where we will have an opportunity to have lunch on our own and shop in the Blarney Woolen Mills, famous for Irish crystal, china, linens, woolen clothing and all kinds of wonderful souvenirs. For those who are interested, this is also the stop for Blarney Castle, where, for a nominal fee, you can kiss the famous Blarney Stone. In the afternoon, we will arrive at our first class hotel, the Killarney Towers, and relax. Fr. Joe will celebrate mass in one of the nearby churches and we will return to our hotel for dinner. B, D

Friday, April 1st

This morning following breakfast, we will depart on one of Ireland's most popular and beautiful drives, the RING OF KERRY. Traveling from Killarney, we come to the town of KILLORGLIN, famous for the "Puck Fair". We will continue our drive along the coastline of the broad Iveragh Peninsula, through the towns of GLENVEAGH, WATERVILLE, CAHIRCIVEEN and SNEEM. The scenery includes spectacular wind-swept cliffs, still lakes, lost valleys and rocky mountains blended amongst the awesome beauty. As one looks around it is easy to agree with the old Irish saying, "Even if a man has only a small bit of earth here, he has a lot of the heavens." We will return back to our hotel and Fr. Joe will celebrate mass before we break for the remainder of the evening. B

Saturday, April 2nd

This morning following breakfast, we will check out of our hotel and travel north to the city of GALWAY. Upon our arrival into the city, a local tour guide will board our motor coach and provide us with a PANORAMIC TOUR of the city, including the magnificent Galway Cathedral. Here Fr. Joe will celebrate holy mass for our group. We will check into our first class hotel, the Radisson Blu Hotel in the afternoon and settle in. The remainder of the day is free for you to enjoy on your own. B

Sunday, April 3rd

Today following an early breakfast, we will drive north of Galway into the Connemara Region. Along the way we will pass the famous bridge, made famous in the John Wayne movie, "The Quiet Man." We will drive through a beautiful mountain range and see beautiful vistas and streams along the way. We will eventually arrive at the Benedictine Kylemore Abbey and Gardens. Here we will take our time and enjoy the gardens, shopping and time for lunch. Fr. Joe will celebrate mass inside the chapel in the Abbey. We will return to our hotel in the middle of the afternoon. Tonight, and optional tour will be offered to Bunratty Castle for a medevil banquet and show. (Cost of this optional tour is $89.00 per person.) The remainder of the evening is at your leisure. BB

Monday, April 4th

Following breakfast this morning, we will board our coach to travel to the city of KNOCK, where we will enjoy the day at the shrine of OUR LADY OF KNOCK. As an international place of pilgrimage and prayer, this shrine welcomes over one million pilgrims every year. These beautiful and historic grounds incorporate five churches, and Fr. Joe will celebrate holy mass in one of these locations. There will be plenty of free time to walk around, pray, have lunch and shop on your own. Later in the afternoon, we will board our motorcoach and drive back to hotel. We will bring our pilgrimage to a close with a special "farewell dinner," and recap our time together in prayer and fellowship, before retiring for the evening. B, D

Tuesday, April 5th

Following breakfast this morning, we will say goodbye to the Emerald Isle and drive to SHANNON AIRPORT and fly home to CHICAGO. During our flight, a lunch snack will be served onboard the plane. B, L

Itinerary and pricing are subject to change. Pricing is per person based on double occupancy. Single rates are available. Some restrictions apply. Space is limited and on a first-come, first-served basis. All Terms and Conditions apply once deposit is made. Insurance is available and is highly recommended.

Cost
$2632.00 | per person

Reservations
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