Éire Trips is the in-person tour part of the business and offers walking tours, day tours and extended tours. Each of their tours is designed with comfort in mind and aims to share well-known places as well as some hidden gems and lesser-known areas with its guests.
Virtually Irish is another brand that focuses on live-streamed tours and can be easily delivered with an in-person tour. Photography Tours Ireland is another part of the business and will be developed at a later stage.
Eire’s first tour was a FAM trip and travel2ireland was welcomed along with, Tour Partner Group, Dublin Rogues Tour, E-Whizz Electric Bike Tours, Trainee guides, drivers and some family for moral support!
The tour was designed to showcase some of the wonderful things to do in Dublin, Wicklow and Kildare. The tour group wanted to share the Irish Story so visited Jeanie Johnston for a guided tour where we heard all about life in Ireland at the time of ‘An Gorta Mór’ (The Great Hunger).
Keeping with this time in history we walked part of the final journey made by the many brave souls who had to emigrate from their homeland to escape the horror of the Famine. We visited the Famine memorial ‘Famine’ a heartbreaking monument by sculptor Rowan Gillespie and talked about the men, women and children who walked the 100 miles from Roscommon to Dublin, along what is now The National Famine Way. We took a moment to visit the World Poverty Stone.
Next on our tour we visited the award-winning Epic, The emigration museum. A great addition to Dublin and a must see for anyone interested in hearing the Irish Story. It is an interesting look at emigration and the impact that the Irish have had on the world.
We refuelled at the Bakehouse, CHQ building (delicious!) before meeting our driver Mark from Jacobus Coaches. After driving to Wicklow we had a quick photo stop and talk in Hollywood (or Hollyw…..the sign was missing some letters!)
The highlight of the tour came next. We visited Irish Working Sheepdogs for a Sheepdog demonstration which on its own is a really great experience but when our shepherd, Michael brought out some of Maggie’s pups, they stole the show.
Reluctantly, we left Michael and the puppies and headed to Athy, County Kildare. We received a warm welcome from the lovely people at the Shackleton Museum and heritage centre. This is a surprising museum with so much history all under the one roof, well worth a visit.
By now, we were all starting to feel tired so after a short walk and talk along the Barrow River and Grand Canal, we reached our final destination, The Auld Shebeen. After another warm welcome, we ate, drank, tested our knowledge from the day in a friendly quiz, heard some stories from our own Dublin Rogue (Dave from Dublin Rogues Tour) and listened to an emotional rendition of ‘Grace’ sang by Hazel’s brother.
What’s next for Éire Trips?
Éire trips are planning a range of tours that focus on everything Irish. They have a ‘Women of Ireland’ walking tour in Dublin nearly ready to launch and some extended tours planned for 2023. There will be a selection of tours that can be booked by anyone and will also offer tours to groups and corporates (days out, over night experiences and extended tours).