Visit a new world class visitor centre and working whiskey distillery where Slane Irish Whiskey is produced. Slane Distillery is housed in the 250 year old stables of Slane Castle. Receive a guided tour through Slanes authentic working distillery. Be taken through the entire whiskey making process and learn about the incredible heritage of Slane Castles buildings and their expertise in raising barrels and coopering along the way. The tour culminates in a tasting of Slanes signature triple casked Slane Irish Whiskey.

At the Castle you will get an understanding of the heritage and history of the Conyngham family and their ancestral home. Learn about the works of some of the most renowned architects of the time and the iconic rock and roll artists that have graced the stage at Slane rock concerts.Finally you will learn the history of the Irish Coffee and how to craft the perfect Slane Irish Coffee from the resident mixologist. Using only the finest local ingredients you will start as an amateur and finish as a professional after creating your own masterpiece and then enjoy your finished product.

Following approximately 3-4 hours in Slane Castle, visit Monasterboice founded in the late 5th century by Saint Buithe. Monasterboice is just outside the town of Drogheda. The name Monasterboice has been anglicized from the Gaelic Mainistir Buithe meaning the monastery of Saint Buithe. It is home to an in-use graveyard, the three high crosses of which Ireland’s tallest High Cross and the most detailed High Cross. See the impressive tenth century round tower which is still standing from the original monastery.

Stop at Slane Hill where St Patrick lit the Pascal Fire 433AD in defiance of the High King of Tara.Saint Patrick escaped slavery in Ireland and fled to France and it is scripted that God spoke to him to return to Ireland and preach Christianity to the pagans of Ireland.He made his way to the Hill of Slane and lit a huge fire which was against the laws while the High Kings fire burn bright. The present ruins that are there today is a medieval church.

Finish of the day by touring the beautiful historic heritage town of Trim. View the largest Norman Castle in Europe built by Hugh de Lacey in 1173. Standing at an area of over 30,000 sq metres and built on solid bedrock, it is the most impressive and historic feature of the town of Trim today. You will drive across Ireland’s oldest in use bridge and see the tallest Monastic settlement in Ireland, known as the Yellow Steeple. We will also visit the Newtown monuments and a small famine plot dating back to the 1800’s.

Meath Tour

Newgrange is world UNESCO site and is over 5,000 years old, Newgrange is a passage tomb which is 76 metres in diameter over an area of roughly an acre. It is from the Neolithic period where people started to settle down and farm on lands instead of being hunter gatherers. The mound is ringed by a stone circle with 93 kerb stones weighing upwards of a tonne surrounding the mound. Inside there is a 19metre long passage way which is quite narrow and is in cruciform shape at the top. It is ironic that it is in a cruciform shape as this is well before Christianity ever arrived to Ireland. The roof of this mound is all stone and has been done is a corballing method which has never leaked in over 5,000 years.

Visit Monasterboice founded in the late 5th century by Saint Buithe. Monasterboice is just outside the town of Drogheda. The name Monasterboice has been anglicized from the Gaelic Mainistir Buithe meaning the monastery of Saint Buithe. It is home to an in-use graveyard, the three high crosses of which Ireland’s tallest High Cross and the most detailed High Cross. See the impressive tenth century round tower which is still standing from the original monastery.

Then visit Mellifont Abbey, home to an order of cistercian monks, founded in 1142 and was the first abbey of the order to be built in Ireland. Today the ruined abbey is a national monument of Ireland. The name Mellifont comes from the french ‘font of honey’.

The battle of the Boyne site is where a battle took place for the crown in England between James 2nd and William of Orange, his son in law in 1690. This battle transformed Ireland forever…

Stop at Slane Hill where St Patrick lit the Pascal Fire 433AD in defiance of the High King of Tara.Saint Patrick escaped slavery in Ireland and fled to France and it is scripted that God spoke to him to return to Ireland and preach Christianity to the pagans of Ireland.He made his way to the Hill of Slane and lit a huge fire which was against the laws while the High Kings fire burn bright. The present ruins that are there today is a medieval church.

Kells is very famous for Saint Colmcille where he finished off the famous ‘Book Of Kells’ See the house that is 1000 years old, a round tower and high cross which were part of the Monastic settlement founded by Colmcilles monks.

See the beautiful historic heritage town of Trim. View the largest Norman Castle in Europe built by Hugh de Lacey in 1173. Standing at an area of over 30,000 sq metres and built on solid bedrock, it is the most impressive and historic feature of the town of Trim today. You will drive across Ireland’s oldest in use bridge and see the tallest Monastic settlement in Ireland, known as the Yellow Steeple. We will also visit the Newtown monuments and a small famine plot dating back to the 1800’s.

The Hill of the Tara will be our final stop of the day and is an ancient Neolithic site with the ‘mound of the hostages’ being as old as Newgrange. Also includes other ancient monuments and according to tradition was the seat of the High King of Ireland. There is a famous rag tree (fairy tree) located to the right of the raths and also a cross denoting where Daniel O’Connell held one of his forty monster meetings.

Dublin Tour

Experience Georgian Dublin by viewing Dublins Oldest Georgian Building, the Mansion House.The official residence of the Lord Mayor of Dublin, built in 1710 by Joshua Dawson after whom the street is named where it is situated, Dawson Street. Visit the Henrietta Street museum to experience how life changed from Georgian Dublin to Tenement Dublin. 14 Henrietta Street tells the story of the buildings shifting fortunes, from family home and powerbase to courthouse; from barracks to its final incarnation as a tenement hall. (Please note the Henrietta Museum tours are available Wed-Sun only). View the reputed birthplace of Sir Aurthur Wesley at the Merrion Hotel. Sir Arthur Wesley also known as the Duke of Wellington is famous for beating Napolean Bonaporte in the Battle of Waterloo as leader of the English army. There is also an obelisk in the Phoenix Park commemorating him.

The Garden of Remembrance is dedicated to the fallen soldiers who gave their lives for Irish freedom over the course of the last 216 years. There is a statue in the Garden of Remembrance representing the story of the Children of Lir, a story which symbolizes freedom from suffering. Why not take a moment to throw a coin into the water feature and make an ‘Irish Wish’.

Rotunda Hospital is the oldest maternity hospital in the world founded by Bartholomew Mosse in 1757 and became known at that time as the first ‘lying in’ hospital so babies were not born in unsanitary conditions in the home. It was built at a cost of over 20,000 pounds (today’s equivalent 1.77 million). Mosse built a chapel inside this hospital which contains some of the finest stucco plaster work. He also built a Rotund hall where balls for the aristocracy  were held to generate funding for the hospital itself.

Take a walk down Dublin’s main thoroughfare O’Connell street formerly known as Sackville street. In 1924 Sackville Street changed to O’Connell street after the Great Emancipator Daniel O’Connell when Ireland got its Independence. There are three main statues of Irish political figures along O’Connell street, Charles Stewart Parnell at the top of the street, James Larkin in the middle and Daniel O’Connell at the end of the street whose statue still has bullet holes in the angels from the War of Independence 1922-1923.

See the GPO which stands for General Post Office and was the headquarters for the Postal Service for Ireland. It is without doubt the most important building of the 20th century in Irish History. When a small group of middle class intellectuals stood outside the building and Padraig Pearse  read a proclamation to the citizens of Dublin, what followed next changed the shape and political future of Ireland. Still a working post office, the building was re-constructed after its almost total destruction following the events of Easter 1916, when we look closely at the columns outside, we shall look for the bullet holes over 100 years old.

As we drive through Dublin City centre and see both sides of the River Liffey which dissects the city. You shall get an overview of various places of historic significance, The Guinness Brewery, Collins Barracks, the Croppy Arce, Ushers Island, Ormond Quay, Isoldes Tower, Wine Tavern Street, Mary Street famous for Mary’s Abbey along with Phoenix Park, Kilmainham Jail and many many more.

Wicklow Tour

Wicklow Town was founded in 795AD by the Vikings after they plundered monasteries and settlements. The Black ruins which still stand today overlook the harbour as a historic reminder of the Norman invasion that once occurred. Though the surrounding county of Wicklow has many monuments the oldest settlement in the town is the ruined Franciscan Friary.

Wicklow Gaol founded in 1702 and was a place of execution up to the 19th century and recently made into a heritage centre and tourist attraction. Several important rebels from 1798 Rebellion met their end here. Wicklow Gaol closed in 1924 but today we can visit and see the cells and harsh conditions that people were forced to live in in these times.

Based at the foothills of the Wicklow mountains is Ireland highest waterfall at 398ft high, Powerscourt Waterfall. It has a running waterfall all year round. This is an impressive sight to behold and often silence is all that can be heard as it is picturesque. Powerscourt House was completed in 1741 and has fantastic views of the Sugarloaf mountains. Take a stroll through the Japanese gardens and admire the beauty of the surrounding landscape of County Wicklow.

Glendalough was founded as a monastery by St Kevin in the 6th century. Also known as ‘Valley of the Two Lakes’. Here he founded seven different churches in his monastic settlement while mostly living his life as a hermit and rarely speaking. The view from the mines at the top of the Valley is majestic looking down over Glendalough. It is truly a peaceful and wonderful ancient site.

Lough Tay set in the scenic Wicklow mountains and commonly known as the Guinness Lake. It lies between the mountains of Dule and Luggala. The pale white sand and the dark peaty water create a striking similarity to a pint of Guinness hence where it gets its name the ‘Guinness Lake’.  This is privately owned but is visible form a road above and again like the rest of Wicklow its beauty is truly wonderful.