Itinerary*

Day 1: USA / Shannon Airport / Achill Island
Our pilgrimage begins today as we depart on our overnight flight to Ireland. Meals and drinks served aloft. After arrival at Shannon Airport, we will be met by our guide in the arrival hall. We will travel by bus to Achill Island where we will meet with Christina Gallagher at the House of Prayer.
Dinner and overnight at Achill Island Hotel.

Day 2: Achill Island / Knock
Irish breakfast at the hotel.
Today we will visit Croagh Patrick, Ireland’s holy mountain. Legend has it that St. Patrick ran out the snakes from Ireland. To this day there are no snakes. Near Murrisk, explore the small ruins of a monastery. Later during the day, visit Kyle More Abbey, a beautiful 19th century Benedictine Abbey.
Dinner and overnight in Knock at Bellmont Hotel.

Day 3: Knock / Ballintubber Abbey
Irish breakfast at the hotel.
Today visit the holy shrine of Knock. This is the sight where apparitions were seen in the Catholic Church from 1879-1880. Numerous miraculous cures were documented. A modern basilica now stands at the holy sight which was visited by Pope John Paul II. In the afternoon visit Ballintubber Abbey, where Mass has been celebrated daily for the past 776 years.
Dinner and overnight in Knock.

Day 4: Knock
Irish Breakfast at the hotel.
Visit the potato famine museum and view the history of the tragic event that shaped Irish history. Will have personal time for prayer and reflection at the Knock Shrine.
Dinner and overnight in Knock

Day 5: Knock / Aran Island / Lahinch
Irish breakfast at the hotel.
Will be taking a ferry boat to scenic Irishmore, the biggest of the Aran Islands. There is the great stone fort of Dun Aenghus, a mighty semicircle of three roughly concentric enclosures on the brink of sheer cliffs dropping 270 feet to the sea. Via ferry, will arrive at Doolin and drive to Lahinch.
Dinner and overnight at Aberdeen Arms Hotel.

Day 6: Lahinch / County Clare / Cliffs of Moher / Galway
Irish breakfast at the hotel.
Full day for exploring County Clare beginning from the The Cliffs of Moher where the multicolored limestone cliffs drop vertically over 3000 meters to the raging Atlantic below. Visit the Burren, an area of Karst vegetation where the porous limestone has allowed the rain to flow through, creating a network of underground rivers, lakes and waterfalls while the surface looks like the moon. There is an abundance of alpine and arctic flora living peacefully side by side, wonderful birds and many prehistoric burial chambers, tombs and Dolmens.
There will be some free time in Galway, a charming town that has grown from a medieval core of narrow streets into a lively cathedral and university city with many modern industries. The town was founded on the east bank of the river late in the twelfth century by the Anglo Norman family De Burgo. Under the control of the fourteen leading families, known as the tribes, an extensive trade developed not only with the continent, importing French and Spanish wines, but also with the West Indies.
Dinner and overnight at Aberdeen Arms Hotel.

Day 7: Lahinch / Glenbeigh
Irish breakfast at the hotel.
Departure from Lahinch to reach Glenbeigh in the Ring of Kerry while crossing the Shannon River at Killimer. On route, visit the Dingle Peninsula that stretches westwards for 30 miles from the low lying country near Tralee. Take in the striking Sileve Mish Mountains and the lovely harbour at Castlemaine. Explore the Gallerus Oratory, one of the most perfect early Christian church buildings in Ireland and is probably 1200 years old.
Dinner and overnight at the Towers Hotel in Glenbeigh.

Day 8: Glenbeigh / Ring of Kerry / Dungarvan
Irish breakfast at the hotel.
Early departure from Glenbeigh to visit the Ring of Kerry. View some of the finest mountains in Ireland and panorama of land where the sea scapes have been featured in many famous movies. Stop for a visit at Blarney Castle where you can kiss the famous Blarney Stone. Drive into Cork, a prosperous center of distilling, brewing and bacon curing. Visit to Cobh. Will visit St. Finbarr’s monastic establishment.
Dinner and overnight at Lawlor hotel in Dungarvan.

Day 9: Dungarvan / Waterford / Lady’s Island
Irish breakfast at the hotel.
On the way to Our Lady’s Island, visit Mount Mellery Monastery, a gothic-style Cistercian monastery founded in 1822 by French Trappist monks at the foot of Knockealdown mountains. Our Lady’s Island is a tiny island, surrounded by a salt lake and cut off from the sea by a sand bar. It has been a place of pilgrimage since pre-Christian times. It was St. Ibar who absorbed it into the Christian Church and dedicated it to the Virgin Mary.
Dinner and overnight at Lawlor Hotel.

Day 10: Dungarvan / Our Lady’s Island /Glendalough / Maynooth
Irish breakfast at the hotel.
Departure from Dungarvan to visit the celebrated monastic settlement of Glendalough. In the 6th century, St. Kevin settled in this remote valley as a hermit but he attracted so many disciples that he founded a monastery. When he died in 618 there were over a thousand disciples.
Proceed to Maynooth for dinner and overnight at Glenroyal Hotel.

Day 11: Maynooth / Drogheda
Irish breakfast at the hotel.
Travel to Drogheda, once the largest English town in Ireland where the scene of a horrific massacre by Cromwell’s soldiers in occurred1649. Visit St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church which houses a shrine containing the embalmed head of St. Oliver Plunkett, Archbishop of Armagh.
Dinner and overnight in Maynooth.

Day 12: Maynooth / Dublin
Irish breakfast at the hotel.
Sightseeing tour of Dublin, an exciting old European capital where elegant wide Georgian streets mingle with narrow twisting lanes. Visit 16th century Trinity College which was founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth 1 of England. Here is displayed the legendary Book of Kells, an illuminated manuscript dating from the 8th century.
St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the largest church in Ireland is an Anglican cathedral. It contains numerous monuments and tombs among them, Jonathan Swift, who wrote “Gullivers Travels”.
Free afternoon for shopping and/or private visits.
Farewell dinner with Irish music @ Jrury’s on the outskirts of Dublin.
Overnight at Glenroyal Hotel.

Day 13: Maynooth / Dublin / USA
Irish breakfast at the hotel.
Today our Ireland Pilgrimage comes to an end. Transfer to Dublin Airport for our return flight home.

*Please note that this is only a sample itinerary. Actual trip itinerary may vary slightly in length and in activities. For specific information please contact:

Tekton Ministries
Pilgrimage Office
910 Oakwood Trail
Indianapolis, IN. 46260
toll free (866) 905-3787