Trip Review
Ameranall Travel’s Ireland Music Tour 2011
with Burning Bridget Cleary
On May 21st, 2011 Ameranall Travel had the pleasure of taking a group of 39 to Ireland on a music tour with a northeastern Pennsylvania based Celtic band called Burning Bridget Cleary.
Exactly one year ago to the day we arrived in Ireland, May 22, I was first introduced to “Burning Bridget Cleary” by chance on a day out in Philadelphia where I attended a Celtic Music Workshop. I recognized however that this Celtic band had something special and I was moved to the point of wanting to be part of helping them to be successful of which I have no doubt will happen. So I approached their Manager with the notion of taking them on tour to play their Celtic style music in Ireland with the promise of their enjoying the experience of playing in Ireland at many different types of venues while being exposed to American tourists who might bring their name home having heard them there.
What commenced from that point forward was a year of planning, promoting and a lot of fun culminating in an enchanting tour with great music, beautiful sites, a fabulous driver guide and a truly wonderful group of travelers.
Our first night was in Dublin City where we stayed in the lovely Steven’s Green boutique hotel right next to St. Steven’s Green at the top of Grafton St. Burning Bridget Cleary had an opportunity to play at Taylor’s Tree Rock as the opening act for their Irish Night dinner show where 150 American’s and Canadian’s enjoyed their lively entertainment.
The following day we toured some of Ireland’s famous sites, the Irish National Stud and Japanese Gardens and Rock of Cashel and a special tour of sites in Co. Tipperary surrounding the life and death and folklore of Bridget Cleary the last witch burning in Ireland in the late 1800s. “Are you a witch or are you a fairy or are you the wife of Michael Cleary?” Two good books on this subject are “The Burning of Bridget Cleary” by Angela Bourke and “The Cooper’s Wife is Missing” by Joan Hoff and Marian Yeates.
Our evening found us in the lovely port town of Kinsale in Co. Cork as we shared a good meal and spent the evening relaxing in the waterfront Trident Hotel.
Next, after a photo stop at Charles Fort across the harbor from Kinsale we were off to kiss the proverbial Blarney Stone at Blarney Castle and pick up a few things Irish at Blarney Woolen Mills. Then on to Killarney by way of Molls Gap on the Ring of Kerry. Most of our group opted to take the jaunting carts from Ross Castle along Killarney Lake in Killarney National Park into town and our hotel the Killarney Towers. They arrived just in time for the band to set up for their evening performance at McSorley’s Nightclub where they played to a full house and delivered an awesome performance.
The following day we were off on a tour of the breathtaking Dingle Peninsula ending up at Paudie’s Pub in Dingletown where Burning Bridget Cleary performed an outstanding afternoon performance. That evening back at the hotel pub they treated the guests at O’ Donaghue’s Public House to a session of lively instrumental jigs and reels.
Then we were off to cross the river Shannon in route to Gallway City by way of the infamous Cliffs of Moher, Doolin a wee village known for big music and a fairy ring fort steeped in Irish superstition and folklore. All I can say is our driver did his duty in getting us to the site which we circled on his terms of respecting the spirits and not tempting fate. It’s hard not to feel something at one of these sites.
Our home for two nights in Gallway city was at the Imperial Hotel directly at the top of Eyre Square. If you put a pin in the center of Gallway City you would land here, great location. Then a 5 minute walk down Shop Street and across the Corrib River and you arrived at Monroe’s Tavern where the band played yet another great performance to a lively full house.
The next day was a day of rest for the band and a tour of the Aran Islands, crossing by ferry specifically to the largest island Innismore. Now here was the real Ireland of days past. Innismore is rustic, majestic and steeped in the rich history of Irish fishing and Irish sweaters. The intricate cable knit patterns of the Aran sweaters depict the family name of the fisherman so if lost at sea as many were, when their bodies washed up unidentifiable for the harsh sea it was the pattern of the sweater that told who the lost sole was. This is rural Ireland at it ‘s best but not without modern enterprise. Many movie sets were filmed on the Aran Islands. A more recent movie with Amy Adams and Matthew Goode, “Leap Year” was filmed on Innismore. The pub in the movie in Dingle was actually a cafe at the base of Dun Aengus an Iron Age cliff edge ring Fort.
Our final touring day we departed Galway City and headed north for a visit to Celtic Crystal with our dear friend Mary Munnelly the designer. The group enjoyed a tour of the show room and it’s marvelous pieces of crystal with designs from the Book of Kells. They they and the opportunity to stand at the elbow of Sean, a Master Cutter as he demonstrated how the designs are cut by eye and feel into the layers of glass.
Then we were off to the Bunratty Castle Hotel where we were to spend our final night in Ireland. Burning Bridget Cleary had an afternoon performance at the Bunratty Folk Park Corn Barn. It was a beautiful sunny day for an exceptional performance and time to explore the 19th century reproduction village. Later that evening we attended the Bunratty Castle Medieval Dinner which was a definite highlight of the tour and that was followed by a session of Burning Bridger Cleary playing a session at Durty Nelly’s just outside the folk park. After 7 performances you might think the band as well as the groupies might have been winding down but you would never know it on this tour. The group closed Durty Nelly’s, continued the gaiety on the patio and then took it back to the hotel for a final nightcap in the wee hours before dawn.
Alas, the following day, or that day depending on when, if and who got to bed at all we headed to Shannon Airport bidding Ireland a fond farewell we headed home.
Mary Ann Devery 6/9/11
Comments from our tour participants –
It was great getting to know you and Jim. I daresay that this was the best vacation trip we have ever had in our lives. You and Jim were fabulous planners and guides and thought of everything. I will recommend you both to anyone I know who is planning a trip. Thank you so much for all that you did. We truly appreciated it. – Barbara
Our group and everyone in it were just awesome. Miss you all already. Miss getting up early and eating that Irish breakfast and getting on the bus and traveling to see all the fabulous sites and sounds of Ireland. Thanks to BBC, Mary Ann and Jim for a fantastic tour. – Barbara
Thank you for a wonderful trip, which you handled in a thoroughly professional and first class manner. I recognize that a lot of planning and preparation was required, and want to commend you for doing such a good job. I particularly enjoyed the trip to Inishmore, and thought the final day, at Bunratty, was a fitting end to a great trip. Tom Murphy was an excellent driver and tour guide, in addition to being a first class gentleman. I also thought we stayed in excellent hotels, in desirable locations, and consider the entire package to be good value for the money. Pat and I enjoyed everything and would definitely be interested in another trip to Ireland in the future, particularly one oriented around music and sightseeing, as was this trip. – Colin
I totally agree that your choice in bus drivers was totally awesome! I think the hotel choices you made were excellent. I enjoyed the trip immensely and I understand when you book a trip like this, you try to get to see as many places as possible. However, I would rather see less and have more time to spend enjoying the things we get to. Also, a little more down time factored in. I think the fact that the band was scheduled to play at certain times probably made it challenging for you to accomplish any of that, so I totally understand.
All in all, I think you did a terrific job, and it was money well spent. – Brigid
You will notice in the logos presented on our site, the Irish Shamrock. Jim and I are both certified with the Irish Tourist Board and specialize in tourism Ireland. In particular, we enjoy setting up family tours and customized groups including band/music tours to Ireland. If you haven’t been, you really need to put Ireland at the top of your travel wish list and give us a call.
Mary Ann Devery
