S tunning scenery, rich history and nightly Irish music sessions will warm your heart and soul.

Beginning in County Mayo, we explore Ireland’s spectacular western coastal region, including the breathtaking views on Achill Island. We experience the legendary landscape of County Sligo that enthralled Nobel Prize winning poet, W. B. Yeats. We cruise on Lough Erne and see the 6th-century monastic site on DevenishIsland. We take in the wonderful Titanic Belfast experience and go back in time at the Ulster Folk Museum. We walk the medieval village of Carlingford with its narrow streets and quaint pubs. We enjoy the Cooley Mountains and their spectacular views, the Monasterboice Celtic High Crosses and the world famous passage tombs of the Boyne Valley, which predate the Egyptian pyramids by 1,000 years. We finish in Dublin city with a session at Ireland’s oldest pub and a night at one of Dublin’s renowned theaters.

S U N DAY, O C TO B E R 2 • DAY 1

Departure Day We take an overnight flight to Shannon, where Robbie, along with Alice and Sean Rattigan, our musicians and guides, will meet us outside the Customs Hall.

M O N DAY, O C TO B E R 3 • DAY 2

The Hills of Connemara and Clew Bay The group will gather at Shannon airport where we will board our comfortable motor coach and travel northwest through the rugged landscape of Connemara to our hotel in Mulranny, County Mayo, stopping en route for a traditional Irish breakfast. We will also have a coffee break in the beautiful village of Leenane, County Galway. Once we arrive at our hotel, the rest of the day is free to relax and get over jet lag or explore the coast of Clew Bay. After dinner, we have the first of our nightly traditional music sessions and a chance to get to know one another.

An Irish SojournNorthern LightsOCTOBER 2 – 11, 2016

Join Brian O’Donovan, host of A Celtic Sojourn on 89.7 WGBH, and legendary singer Robbie O’Connell for an intimate, music-filled tour through the hidden gems of Ireland.

T U E S DAY, O C TO B E R 4 • DAY 3

Museum of Country Life, Achill Island and Granuaile’s CastleWe begin the day at the Museum of Country Life in Turlough, a branch of the National Museum of Ireland. After lunch in the bustling market town of Westport, we explore Achill Island with its breathtaking panoramic views, and we visit the castle of Ireland’s famed pirate queen, Grace O’Malley, better known as Granuaile.

W E D N E S DAY, O C TO B E R 5 • DAY 4

Ceide Fields, Carrowmore and Glencar Waterfall In the morning, we wander the scenic back roads of Mayo en route to Ceide Fields Heritage Center on the site of a recently discovered farming community dating back over five-and-a-half millennia. Then it’s on to Carrowmore in Sligo, the largest megalithic site in Europe. Situated in the shadow of Queen Maeve’s cairn atop famed Knocknarea, it has more than 60 ancient monuments. After lunch in Sligo town, we visit magnificent Glencar valley and waterfall, made famous in the poetry of W.B. Yeats. Then it’s on to our lakeside hotel in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh.

T H U R S DAY, O C TO B E R 6 • DAY 5

Lough Erne, Devinish Island and Florence CourtAfter breakfast, we take a boat cruise on Lough Erne and visit Devenish Island and its 12th-century round tower, one of the finest monastic sites in Northern Ireland. After lunch, we tour the 18th-century Florence Court house and walled garden, the ancestral home of the Earls of Enniskillen.

LearningTours

F R I DAY, O C TO B E R 7 • DAY 6

The Titanic Experience and Ulster Folk Museum Our first stop is Titanic Belfast, the new highly praised museum that brings the Titanic experience to life. Then we step back into the 19th century at the internationally renowned Ulster Folk Museum before continuing on to our hotel in Ballymascanlon, County Louth.

S AT U R DAY, O C TO B E R 8 • DAY 7

Cooley Mountains, Medieval Carlingford and Cooley Distillery We take a walking tour of medieval Carlingford with its narrow streets and quaint pubs renowned for their local oysters. Then it’s on to the mountains of the Cooley peninsula with its panoramic views of the Mourne Mountains and Carlingford Lough. Following a visit to the legendary Long Woman’s Grave, we continue around the head of the peninsula to the award-winning Cooley Distillery, where an expert whiskey maker will reveal his secrets and allow us to sample the fruits of his labors.

S U N DAY, O C TO B E R 9 • DAY 8

Celtic High Crosses, Bru na Boinne and The Brazen Head We visit the Celtic High Crosses at Monasterboice, considered the finest examples of their kind in Ireland. Our guide, Harry Long, will interpret their mysterious carvings for us. Then it’s on to the crown jewel of Irish archeological sites, Bru na Boinne, which includes the famous passage tombs of Knowth, Dowth and Newgrange. We then continue to Dublin, Ireland’s capital city, for dinner and a music session at the Brazen Head, Dublin’s oldest pub.

M O N DAY, O C TO B E R 1 0 • DAY 9

Dublin’s Fair City and A Night at the TheatreToday you are free to explore Dublin at your own pace with a ticket for the Hop-on/ Hop-off bus, which runs on a continual loop to the major visitor sites very 15 minutes. You can visit the National Gallery, the National Museum, the Guinness Storehouse, the Book of Kells, Dublin Castle, Kilmainham Gaol and dozens of other sites. We cap off our evening with a visit to one of Dublin’s premiere theaters before farewell drinks at our hotel.

T U E S DAY, O C TO B E R 1 1 • DAY 1 0

Heading for Home We depart our hotel for Dublin Airport. Don’t forget to leave some time for shopping at the Duty Free Shop.

CO S T

10-Day Tour Per person, double occupancy: $5,799;Single Supplement: $600

Group Airfare (round trip from Boston): Included

A deposit of $1,600 reserves your place, and includes a $600 donation to WGBH.All sign-ups and balance due Monday, June 6, 2016

CO N TAC T A N D R E G I S T R AT I O N

Call Sandy Chin at 617.300.4400 for a registration form and to reserve your place on the tour with a credit card deposit. Or you can download the form from wgbh.org/learningtours and send it back with check or payment info for the deposit amount to:

WGBH LearningTours – Ireland 2016Attn: Sandy ChinOne Guest Street, Boston, MA 02135

LearningTours

YO U R E X P E R T T R AV E L H O S T S

Brian O’DonovanTo listeners of 89.7 WGBH, Brian O’Donovan is the voice of Celtic music in New England. “The Celtic traditional music scene has never been as vital and vibrant as it is today,” he says. Brian’s passion for this music is readily apparent to listeners

of his weekly program A Celtic Sojourn, heard Saturdays, 3-6pm on 89.7 WGBH, or online at wgbh.org. A native of Ireland, he has narrated and co-produced documentaries on Irish politics and emigration for Irish Television and PBS.

Robbie O’ConnellRobbie O’Connell was born in Waterford, Ireland, and grew up in Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary. In 1977, he joined The Clancy Brothers, with whom he has recorded three albums. With the release in 1982 of his first solo album, Close to

the Bone, Robbie emerged as an important solo artist. WUMB Boston voted his album Love of the Land the number one acoustic album of 1989. In 1991, Robbie won a Boston Music Award as Outstanding Celtic Act. He has been leading tours to Ireland and Scotland since 1996.

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