I hope to reschedule this tour when the Covid 19 situation feels stabilized.
Ancestral Ireland Tour 2022 April 26 - May 6, 2022
It will soon be time to return to Ireland and I hope that you are going with me.
Ancestral Ireland Tours are life-changing in the best of ways. The magic of Ireland opens her heart to you, especially in her sacred sites, to answer prayers, intentions and welcoming us home. Ancestors open the way and we follow the signs. Each tour is different, an expression of the collective intentions of the group.
The Ancestral Ireland Tour is not a sightseeing tour, nor will your experience be that of a typical tourist. You will travel with a small group; spend extended time at each site and two or three nights in each location. Each sacred place we visit is an opportunity to experience the culture and heritage of the Celtic people and to access ancestral energies that evoke memory and healing. We will be a tending presence in these ancient sites, supporting their continued blessing with respect and gratitude. In return, their spiritual energies will support our renewal, transformation and healing. This land and these places have the power to stir your soul and change your life.
Our lodging is at town centers for each location giving you the ability to choose your dining experience, circulate among the music venues as your interest and energy lead and return to your own bed when you choose. Click on the lodging name in the descriptions below for details on each accommodation.
Our bus is an executive touring 16-passenger minibus with all the comforts you would expect from first-class service while still small enough to travel the one-lane back roads we take to our sites.
Please note we will be hiking 2-4 miles per day in rural locations where the terrain is often rocky with sometimes extended uphill climbs. Reasonable mobility and stamina are important to enjoy this tour - and a good pair of ankle supporting hiking boots!
Day 1 - Arrive at Shannon Airport
Experience has shown that the first day after all-night transcontinental air travel is very difficult. I believe it is better for travelers to have an unscheduled first day to get grounded, tough out staying awake, go to bed early and start fresh the next day able to appreciate their experience. Therefore our first night will be at Bunratty 10 miles from Shannon Airport, where you can visit Bunratty Castle and Folk Park or stroll the village pub and shops (or not!) at your leisure. We will gather at our guesthouse, The Bunratty Courtyard, by 3 PM for introductions, orientation and our first meal. Our journey begins in earnest the following morning.
Day 2 Co. Limerick
We begin by heading southwest to Limerick where we will set our intentions for our journey at the Grange, the largest stone circle in Ireland - a magnificent experience! When satisfied here, we’ll tour the nearby Neolithic park at Lough Gur in depth with a local guide. This is home to the Goddess Aine, our Mother Earth. On to Knockaine, the Rock of Aine, ancient place of ceremony and the crowning of Munster kings, now thought of locally as a Fairy Hill. We travel on to Kenmare, Kerry for 3 nights stay at The Lodge. Kenmare is known for great food, lively music, shops to explore at the quieter pace of rural Ireland.
Days 3 - 4 Co. Cork & Kerry
Jack Roberts, author of the Sun Circles of Ireland and The Sacred Mythological Centers of Ireland will join us exploring some of the one hundred stone circles in County Cork and Kerry. Jack knows these places like the back of his hand and has the widest and deepest understanding of the arc of Irish spirituality that I have found. He did some of the original work finding astronomical alignments of Irish stone circles. The magnificent Paps of Anu - breasts of Aine by a different spelling - offers the living experience that the Mother Earth is indeed there in the land itself.
Day 5 - 6 Co Clare
We travel today to Ennis, Co. Clare, a center of traditional music in Ireland, by way of the stunning Co. Clare cliffs. While the Cliffs of Moher are the most famous location on these cliffs, it is now a very crowded tourist site. We will choose a less-traveled section of the 18 mile long cliffs, walking for a few miles on the Wild Atlantic Way hiking trail. Our exploration of Co. Clare will also take us to the ancient Celtic Christian monastery site Holy Island, in Lough Derg, a lake in the Shannon River. On our way back to Ennis we will stop by the 1,000-year-old oak known as Brian Boru’s Tree. Our lodging for two nights in Ennis is at The Old Ground Hotel.
Days 7 - 8 Co. Galway & Sligo
Our historical timeline move’s forward now to understand the Celtic Renaissance that was so important in rebuilding Irish identity and pride after 300 years of English colonization. William Butler Yeats’ home, Thoor Ballylea, and Lady Gregory’s adjacent Coole Park were the center of Irish literary and cultural revival in the 1890s. These efforts paved the way for the Irish War of Independence that led to the establishment of the Republic of Ireland and the partition of Northern ireland.
We continue on to Sligo where we encounter Maeve, warrior queen of Connacht. Maeve was her own woman through whom we can understand the place women held in Celtic culture, the legend of the Tain and the Ulster hero Cu’ Chulain. We tour the Neolithic site of Carrowmore and rest for 2 nights at the Riverside Hotel.
Days 9 - 10 Co. Meath
Our final days in the Boyne Valley include visits to Newgrange, the extraordinary restored passage cairn built 1000 years before the Pyramids, Slieve na Cailleach, another passage cairn where we will be undisturbed, and the Hill of Tara, ancient ceremonial site and seat of the high kings of Ireland. We will conclude with a final dinner together sharing our reflections of our time in Ireland. Our accommodations in Co. Meath is at the Newgrange Hotel in Navan.
Day 11 - Return to Dublin Airport
“I have been on all of Nancy’s 4 previous tours to Ireland. Met wonderful people on each tour. Nancy finds the “keepers” of the ancient keys allowing her groups into places “tourists” do not go. She brings speakers to her group to share their knowledge of the Irish land & her history. Ireland is beautiful, very spiritual & FUN! My experiences & memories will stay with me forever. A marvelous tour to be sure. You truly will not know what you miss unless you go! ”
“I can get to any city or town in Ireland myself. It’s all the remote sacred sites that you go to that I don’t even know about that brings me back a second time.”
COVID 19: My sense of responsibility to my participants and the people of Ireland leads me to require Covid-19 vaccinations for all participants in this 2022 tour.
Accommodations for our tour will be in 3 star or better hotels or guesthouses. Your payment covers one bed in a shared twin or double room with private baths serving a full Irish breakfast that will fill the heartiest eater and sustain many until dinner. A private room for an additional $533 is available upon request. Three additional dinners will be provided leaving you the freedom to choose your dining location on other nights. Lunches are not included, and for many not needed.
All ground transportation in first-class buses and drop off at Dublin airport. May 6.
All teaching and on-site presentations by Nancy and guest contributors.
All applicable taxes and entrance fees.
Note: We begin at Shannon Airport and conclude at Dublin Airport. If you will fly out of Dublin on May 6 be sure that your departure is no earlier than 10 am. You will arrive at the airport by 8 am. Note check-in needs. Airfare is not included.
Cost: $3590 with $1000 deposit by Feb 1, 2022. Thereafter $3990, with full payment due Mar 21, 2022. A single room can be reserved with an additional single supplement payment of $533 at registration.
Registration: REGISTER HERE or email me and send a check. You may also request a Paypal invoice for payment as a third option.
Email: nancy@nancylee-evans.com
Phone: (907) 748-4844
Mail: AnamCara, 66665 Fry Ct., Homer, AK 99603
Payment: You may send a check to the address above or pay by credit card through this link REGISTER HERE. If you prefer to pay by Paypal, or Venmo I will be happy to send you the link.
Upon registration, I will send you a letter with more detailed information about logistics and what to bring.
Refund policy: Full refund by Feb 1, 2022. 1/2 refund until Mar 21, 2022. No refund after Mar 21, 2022.
Note on flights:
While the Ancestral Ireland Tour does not include airfare, here are some thoughts to consider when booking your travel. You might use airline miles to book some or all of your travel. If you purchase a ticket you will earn nearly enough miles for a free award ticket if you book all the way from Alaska or the USA to Ireland no matter what company you fly with. Aer Lingus is now an Alaska Airlines Partner and flies direct from Seattle to Dublin.