The O’Brien Express: A New Way to Experience Ireland
Tours of Ireland can be complex, and if you are not careful, you can get scammed, as I did. I did not get paid any of the earned commission on the tour through Tim Vaughn in June of 2023, and iIrish did not get paid by Aiden Cronin Tours for their last add, in July of 2024.
That was the last straw for me and for iIrish. I started my own tours, with the generous guidance and support of true experts and friends Mary Pat Flanagan at @JEMTours and Pat Hollywood at @TravelConnection. I have known both for decades, and trust them implicitly. If you are not choosing to travel with me, please choose Pat or Mary Pat – they are both dedicated, knowledgable and good friends to me, the Irish community, and iIrish.
I will share with you manyTips: and other things I learned along the way in my many trips and tours, to share the history & beauty, save you hassle, hardship and of course, euros. My tours are smaller – this one brought six friends, 5 of which had never been to Ireland. We fit nicely in the beautiful Flynn Tours bus, arranged by Mary Pat Flanagan and driven by James Griffen.
I arrived a day early, to smooth any bumps, but there were none. So instead, I pursued other worthy endeavors along the River Liffey and at the fantastic, hard working and very friendly family run West County Hotel …
And We Are Off!
On Saturday June 21, we welcomed our first tour group, meeting five trusting souls from the great state of Florida. Travel from Dublin Airport west toAthlone,about 35 minutes, depending on traffic, was quick in The Beautiful Beast.
We stopped to have breakfast on the way to Dublin city at @Kiely’s, just outside the airport. Very Good food and loads of options; definitely recommended as a jet-lag fighter and a way to catch your breath and relax after the long flight.
TIP: A cab from Dublin Airport to Dublin city is about €35 each way, and 35 minutes, depending on traffic and drop off point.
TIP:I highly recommend trying Irish black tea over Irish coffee – even the ones called Americano. My Fav is @Barrys, which also has the best tasting decaf tea anywhere. Others I enjoy include @Lyons, which is owned by @Lipton, but only available in the US at Irish import stores, pubs, etc.
TIP: If you have a bank that has branches in Ireland, you can change dollars for Euros. If you do not, you cannot. Get your Euros before you get to Ireland. I never need many, using my credit card for the vast majority of food, travel and entrance fees without hassle – choose Euro instead of U.S. Dollar after scanning your credit card to save a small bit. The Euro Exchange rate was $1.02 the day we left, so almost equal.
Then, the Fun Began
We set off for Clonmacnoise (Klon mac Noise) in Co. Offaly, about 40 minutes from Athlone in the Co. Roscommon, home of famous Tenor, John McCormack, and my family.
The monastery of Clonmacnoise (means Meadow of the Sons of NĂłs) is on the River Shannon, south of Athlone. Ruins include a Cathedral, two round towers, three high crosses, nine churches & over 700 Early Christian grave slabs.
We may have been moving slow, but the history and surrounding setting took our breath away, over and over.
Next Blog:
Atteagh Mills 11th Generation O’Brien Family dairy farm, Derryglad Heritage Museum
So what do you think of the first day of the first tour?
Comments? Questions? Ideas?
