Sunday, December 11, 2011
Friday, February 4, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
History and heritage small group Glendalough Wicklow day tours
Join our History and heritage day tours which run everyday from Dublin
Book a spectacular small group tour from Dublin and enjoy the real authentic Ireland on a day trip to Wicklow Mountains National park and Glendalough today
Landscapes in Ireland spectacular countryside from Dublin everyday
Discover spectacular day trips from Dublin everyday
Ireland - Wicklow Glendalough Avoca tourism promo
Join our Wicklow National park Avoca Village Glendalough Sally Gap day tour
Wicklow Day tours from Dublin book your seat and visit PS I Love You film locations
Visiting Dublin the Fun Starts Here
Ireland its waiting for you ..... just for you
the fun starts here
Check out our spectacular day tours fro Dublin everyday
Monday, January 17, 2011
Things to do Dublin Ireland, RBS 6 Nations Rugby Ireland v France
Ireland V France - Rugby Six Nations Championship
 Europe’s six top rugby playing nations will be aiming for glory in another hotly contested championship.Whether you have a ticket to the game or not the magical atmosphere of a rugby weekend in Dublin is not to be missed! Watch the game in a local bar or restaurant and you'll feel like you are in pitchside...almost! |
Date: 13/02/2011
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Venue: Aviva Stadium
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Time: 2.30pm
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Sunday, January 16, 2011
A Journey Through Wicklow - Part 1
check out this video for some of the best locations,and visitor attractions that
await you in County Wicklow
Things to do in DublinBikes @AskAboutIreland.ie
While on one of our great day tours from Dublin ask your tour guide how it all works.
Bikes
(23/06/2009)dbs have been uniquely designed for Dublin city, designed with you in mind.
Comfort
- Unisex bikes suitable for all, 14 years and up
- Simple and quick three gear change
- Adjustable cushioned saddle
- Large capacity durable front basket
- Non-slip handlebars
- Anti-splash front and rear mud guards
Safety
- Automatic rear and front lights, operating day and night
- Reflective strips on wheels and pedals
- Front and rear brakes integrated in wheel hubs
- Chain guard
- Easy to use bike rest
- Finger touch bell
- Anti Theft Lock
Newgrange Day Tour from Dublin
Late Stone Age Megalithic Tombs
It was only around the fifth millennium B.C., with the advent of new farming stock bringing their own seeds and flocks with them, that people in Ireland began to settle down permanently in one place and discover for the first time the monumental power of stone. This new dawn they expressed in the form of megalithic tombs for the burial of the elite in Late Stone Age society who, in time, would be revered as the tribal ancestors legitimising ownership of the land. The impressive size, and seeming eternality, of the monuments they erected must have stood in awe-inspiring contrast to the simple wooden houses of the stone-builders themselves.
Browneshill Dolmen
Image courtesy of Dept. of Environment, Heritage and Local Government
Enlarge imageImage courtesy of Dept. of Environment, Heritage and Local Government
Dolmens
What two hundred years ago were called cromlechs (or 'curved stones') we now call dolmens, from two Breton words meaning 'stone table'. Academic musings of the eighteenth century saw them as altars for druidical sacrifice, though local folklore envisaged them more romantically as the beds of the young lovers Diarmuid and Gráinne on their flight from the wrath of an aged Fionn mac Cumhaill. We know now that dolmens are, more prosaically, burial places for the dead, Poulnabrone in the Burren producing 22 burials in a much-visited example that dates from around 3800 B.C. That at Legananny, Co. Down, looks appropriately as if three stones were carrying a coffin aloft.
Normally, a dolmen consists of between three and seven upright stones bearing a massive capstone which has sometimes fallen because of its weight, as is the case at Browneshill near Carlow, where the capstone has been calculated to weigh one hundred tonnes. One can only wonder at the engineering ingenuity of the men who erected such stones, probably with the help of a temporary earthen ramp, and without being able to call on anything like the cranes or block-and-tackle we have today. The simple macho silhouette of dolmens has led to them being described as Ireland's first pieces of public sculpture!
Court Tombs
Less dramatic, but more impressive in scale, are court cairns, large tombs consisting of a long roofed gallery of massive boulders covered with a mound of smaller stones, and opening off a semi-circular court where funerary rituals would probably have been performed. Their distribution is confined to the north and north-west of Ireland, where they had links with Scotland. Their builders (speaking a tongue, and being of a race, we cannot identify) would seem to have buried only a few, presumably special, individuals in the tombs, usually by cremation which is now again, after a lapse of thousands of years, beginning to become fashionable again.
Dowth, Co. Meath
Image courtesy of Dept. of Environment, Heritage and Local Government
Enlarge imageImage courtesy of Dept. of Environment, Heritage and Local Government
Passage Graves
Passage graves are bestknown through their most famous example - Newgrange. They get their name because a passage leads from the rim of a round mound to its centre (or near the centre), where there is a burial chamber covered over with stones and earth. Other than the tumulus being round rather than angular, the system is similar to the pyramids of Egypt which, however, are likely to be later than most of the Irish passage graves. But the pyramids were designed as the tomb of a single individual, the deified Pharaoh, rather than for a number of (usually cremated) dead, as is the case with the Irish passage graves. Such tombs are spread along the maritime countries of Western Europe, and the idea for building them may have come northwards by sea to Ireland from Brittany, where some of the oldest known examples are found.
Newgrange itself is a masterful piece of Stone Age engineering, with the passage aligned to a point on the horizon where the sun rises on the shortest few days of the year, and shines for about 17 minutes through a narrow slit above the entrance right into the back of the burial chamber. It is the achievement of capturing the sun's rays in this way at the winter solstice that has made Newgrange famous throughout the world, but the tomb is also remarkable for the decoration of the stones, particularly that in front of the entrance, with its famous triple spiral (a motif that is also repeated on the back chamber of the tomb).
Newgrange is only one, albeit the most famous, of the approximately 300 passage graves in Ireland, which are found largely in the northern half of the country. There are two other important examples close by in the Boyne Valley, Dowth and Knowth, the latter of whichhas been extensively excavated to reveal what is perhaps the greatest collection of Stone Age 'art' anywhere in Europe. It differs from Newgrange as we know it today in having two separate burial chambers back to back, each very different in character. County Meath has another important cluster of partially-decorated passage graves forming a cemetery on the Loughcrew hills, otherwise known as Sliabh na Calliaghe.
Passage graves are usually sited on hill-tops, where they can be seen for miles around - the most notable instance being 'Queen Medhbh's grave' on the summit of Knocknarea in Sligo, a county very rich in passage graves. A number of these megaliths are grouped together at Carrowmore where excavations suggest that stone tombs may have been built there as early as the fifth millennium B.C. (that is, before 4000 B.C.).
Wedge-Shaped Tombs
Metal began to be worked in Ireland before 2000 B.C., and one type of megalithic tomb that may have been used by these early metallurgists was the wedge-shaped grave, which consists of a long stone-lined and -roofed gallery placed in a wedge-shaped mound of stones that narrows in width towards the back of the tomb. So-called Beaker pottery found in some of these tombs hints at links with copper-mining, particularly in Kerry, but other locations on upland limestone pasture, like the Burren, suggest that pastoralists, too, may have been involved in their construction. One of the finest examples is Labbacallee, Co. Cork, but they are also found in many other parts of the country.
Book a day tour to Newgrange from Dublin online today - advanced booking always required
Private shore excursion in Dublin visit the Hill of Tara one of the best day tours from Dublin Fairy forts, Fairy rings, stories myths and legends
Prehistoric Earthworks
Earthworks are monuments of various shapes and sizes made simply by piling up earth, starting in the Stone Age with the banks of rare rounded enclosures such as the imposing Giant's Ring at Ballynahatty near Belfast, which has a small megalith near its centre, or the so-called causewayed camps at the Antrim sites of Lyles Hill and Donegore. Much more common are the U-shaped 'burnt mounds' or fulachta fiadha, in which water heated with hot stones was probably used for cooking, but possibly also for personal washing - or both. Widespread, too, are round mounds, or barrows, used for burials, of which a number of examples are known on the Hill of Tara.
Tara is only one of a number of important royal sites in Ireland that have mythological links with echoes going back to before the dawn of the country's history. One of these is Emhain Macha, Navan Fort, where a remarkable wooden structure 40m across, and consisting of half a dozen concentric circles of posts with a taller one at the centre, was built around 100 B.C. - only to be ritually set on fire some decades later. Of roughly the same date are long earthworks snaking across the borders of South Ulster, and known variously as the Dorsey, the Dane's Cast, or the Black Pig's Dyke. They may possibly have been erected to protect the province against invasion from the south - epitomised by the army of Queen Medhbh, whose royal seat was at Rathcroghan on the plains of Roscommon, where there is a large mound which is said to mark the area where she had her 'palace'. Another important royal site was Knockaulin or Dún Ailinne in Kildare (not regularly accessible), where excavations suggested the former presence there of a kind of wooden amphitheatre within a large, circular earthen hill-top fort.
Tara has a rare example of a cursus, which is the ceremonial end to a road with earthen banks on either side and to which the medieval chroniclers of Tara gave the romantic name of 'The Banqueting Hall'. The hill-top itself is within the so-called 'Royal Enclosure' consisting of an incomplete oval ditch inside a bank, which suggests more a ritual than a defensive purpose. Not far away is Rath Medhbh, a roughly circular enclosure, but more war-like because the ditch is outside the bank. This is the more usual configuration in the hill-forts found around Ireland, as at Mooghaun, Co. Clare, which - at over 27 acres - is probably the largest in the country. These earthen forts may date from the Late Bronze Age, around 700 B.C., or from the Iron Age which followed it.
Tara is only one of a number of important royal sites in Ireland that have mythological links with echoes going back to before the dawn of the country's history. One of these is Emhain Macha, Navan Fort, where a remarkable wooden structure 40m across, and consisting of half a dozen concentric circles of posts with a taller one at the centre, was built around 100 B.C. - only to be ritually set on fire some decades later. Of roughly the same date are long earthworks snaking across the borders of South Ulster, and known variously as the Dorsey, the Dane's Cast, or the Black Pig's Dyke. They may possibly have been erected to protect the province against invasion from the south - epitomised by the army of Queen Medhbh, whose royal seat was at Rathcroghan on the plains of Roscommon, where there is a large mound which is said to mark the area where she had her 'palace'. Another important royal site was Knockaulin or Dún Ailinne in Kildare (not regularly accessible), where excavations suggested the former presence there of a kind of wooden amphitheatre within a large, circular earthen hill-top fort.
Cruise ships visiting Dublin Port 2013
DISCOVERY
8th April 2013 @ 11:59
MARCO
POLO 12th April 2013 @ 03:45
DISCOVERY
13th April 2013 @ 11:59
CROWN
PRINCESS 26th April 2013 @ 11:59
LE BOREAL
5th May 2013 @ 06:00
FRAM 5th
May 2013 @ 07:00
CARIBBEAN
PRINCESS 8th May 2013 @ 07:00
LE BOREAL
15th May 2013 @ 06:00
ISLAND
SKY 15th May 2013 @ 19:00
QUEEN MARY
2 15th May 2013 @ 06:00
ARTANIA
16th May 2013 @ 07:00
SERENISSIMA
16th May 2013 @ 07:00
HAMBURG
17th May 2013 @ 06:00
CELEBRITY
INFINITY 17th May 2013 @ 06:30
MEIN SCHIFF
I 18th May 2013 @ 06:00
SILVER
EXPLORER 19th May 2013 @ 05:30
SILVER
WHISPER 19th May 2013 @ 07:00
CARIBBEAN
PRINCESS 21st May 2013 @ 07:00
EXPLORER
22nd May 2013 @ 06:45
ADONIA
22nd May 2013 @ 07:00
SILVER
EXPLORER 25th May 2013 @ 06:00
BRAEMAR
27th May 2013 @ 11:30
CARIBBEAN
PRINCESS 27th May 2013 @ 11:59
MSC
MAGNIFICA 28th May 2013 @ 03:45
DELPHIN
28th May 2013 @ 07:00
ISLAND
SKY 31st May 2013 @ 06:00
SEVEN SEAS
VOYAGER 5th June 2013 @ 07:00
CELEBRITY
INFINITY 8th June 2013 @ 09:30
DEUTSCHLAND
9th June 2013 @ 06:30
MARINA
9th June 2013 @ 07:15
ISLAND
SKY 14th June 2013 @ 06:00
CARIBBEAN
PRINCESS 14th June 2013 @ 07:00
ATHENA
15th June 2013 @ 07:00
ASTOR
19th June 2013 @ 06:00
PRINSENDAM
23rd June 2013 @ 06:00
NAUTICA
30th June 2013 @ 07:00
CARIBBEAN
PRINCESS 2nd July 2013 @ 07:00
CLUB MED
2 7th July 2013 @ 07:00
SEA
PRINCESS 8th July 2013 @ 11:59
ARCADIA
9th July 2013 @ 03:15
THE WORLD
11th July 2013 @ 09:45
COSTA
VOYAGER 13th July 2013 @ 07:00
AZAMARA
QUEST 14th July 2013 @ 06:00
CARIBBEAN
PRINCESS 14th July 2013 @ 07:00
SEA CLOUD
II 14th July 2013 @ 07:00
BOUDICCA
15th July 2013 @ 07:00
DEUTSCHLAND
16th July 2013 @ 07:00
WIND SURF
18th July 2013 @ 07:00
BALMORAL
18th July 2013 @ 16:30
ARTANIA
24th July 2013 @ 11:59
ORIANA
26th July 2013 @ 03:30
CARIBBEAN
PRINCESS 26th July 2013 @ 11:59
EURODAM
29th July 2013 @ 07:00
SAGA
SAPPHIRE 29th July 2013 @ 07:00
SEA CLOUD
II 30th July 2013 @ 05:00
MARCO
POLO 31st July 2013 @ 07:00
SILVER
CLOUD 31st July 2013 @ 07:00
OCEAN PRINCESS
1st August 2013 @ 07:00
VEENDAM
3rd August 2013 @ 06:00
QUEEN
ELIZABETH 7th August 2013 @ 03:00
MARINA
7th August 2013 @ 07:15
CARIBBEAN
PRINCESS 7th August 2013 @ 11:59
PRINSENDAM
9th August 2013 @ 07:00
CELEBRITY
INFINITY 9th August 2013 @ 11:00
EUROPA
10th August 2013 @ 06:00
OCEAN
PRINCESS 10th August 2013 @ 07:00
SILVER
CLOUD 11th August 2013 @ 07:00
VISION OF THE
SEAS 12th August 2013 @ 05:30
AIDACARA
16th August 2013 @ 06:30
BRAEMAR
16th August 2013 @ 07:00
PACIFIC STAR
PRINCESS 17th August 2013 @ 07:00
OCEAN
PRINCESS 18th August 2013 @ 07:00
MSC
MAGNIFICA 19th August 2013 @ 07:00
CARIBBEAN
PRINCESS 19th August 2013 @ 11:59
COLUMBUS
2 20th August 2013 @ 07:00
ORIANA
21st August 2013 @ 02:00
ALBATROS
21st August 2013 @ 07:00
PRINCESS
DANAE 22nd August 2013 @ 11:59
NAUTICA
24th August 2013 @ 07:00
MINERVA
25th August 2013 @ 11:00
CRYSTAL
SERENITY 26th August 2013 @ 01:00
OCEAN
PRINCESS 27th August 2013 @ 07:00
SEABOURN
SOJOURN 27th August 2013 @ 07:00
DISCOVERY
27th August 2013 @ 11:59
CLUB MED
2 28th August 2013 @ 07:00
BOUDICCA
28th August 2013 @ 12:00
SAGA
SAPPHIRE 29th August 2013 @ 07:00
AIDACARA 30th
August 2013 @ 06:30
CELEBRITY
INFINITY 31st August 2013 @ 07:00
WIND SURF 31st
August 2013 @ 07:00
DELPHIN
2nd September 2013 @ 07:00
OCEAN
PRINCESS 3rd September 2013 @ 07:00
THOMSON
SPIRIT 3rd September 2013 @ 07:00
BRILLIANCE OF
THE SEAS 4th September 2013 @ 09:30
SEVEN SEAS
VOYAGER 9th September 2013 @ 07:00
BREMEN
10th September 2013 @ 07:00
SEABOURN
PRIDE 11th September 2013 @ 05:30
MARCO
POLO 11th September 2013 @ 06:30
ATHENA
12th September 2013 @ 07:00
BOUDICCA 13th
September 2013 @ 18:00
SILVER
WHISPER 14th September 2013 @ 07:00
EXPLORER
20th September 2013 @ 07:00
VISION OF THE
SEAS 20th September 2013 @ 09:30
CARNIVAL
GLORY 22nd September 2013 @ 11:59
BOUDICCA
23rd September 2013 @ 06:30
BOUDICCA
3rd October 2013 @ 05:30
Day Tour to Glendalough 6th century monastic settlement
Wicklow Mountains National Park
Wicklow Mountains National Park extends over 20,000 hectares and is one of only six national parks in Ireland. It was established in 1991 and its main purpose is to protect the natural habitats, flora and fauna of the Wicklow Mountains. Heath and bogs dominate the upland areas, while woodland is the principal habitat of the river valleys. Corrie lakes, rivers and rocky outcrops are other landscape features of the Wicklow Mountains.
The Wicklow Mountain area is the largest continuous upland region in Ireland and it supports a plethora of flora and fauna, from mammals, birds and reptiles, to centuries-old woodland and numerous wildflowers.
The Wicklow Way is one of the most spectacular walks in Ireland. The trail begins in Dublin and continues for 132km across the mountains as far as Carlow, with seven main stages.
Glendalough
Glendalough is one of the best known areas of the National Park. It is the site of an ancient monastery that is believed to have been established by St. Kevin in the 6th century, and also contains some of Wicklow’s best surviving examples of native broadleaved woodland. The Upper and Lower Lakes of Glendalough give the area its name - the original Irish name was Glen dá Locha, meaning ‘the valley of the two lakes’. The rich history, scenic beauty and abundance of wildlife of Glendalough attract locals and visitors alike.
Book one off the best day tours from Dublin to one of Irelands most spectacular valleys, explore the valley of two lakes, discover Glendalough one of Irelands most stunning Early Monastic settlements. Advanced booking is always required Call +35318340941 or book now online
Saturday, January 15, 2011
RBS SIX NATIONS RUGBY 2011 Things to do in Dublin Ireland February 2011 March 2011
2011 SIX NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP FIXTURES (All times are local)
Friday, 4 February
19:45 Wales v England – Millennium Stadium
Saturday 5, February
14:30 Italy v Ireland – Stadio Flaminio
17:00 France v Scotland – Stade de France
Saturday 12, February
14:30 England v Italy – Twickenham
17:00 Scotland v Wales – Murrayfield
Sunday 13, February
15:00 Ireland v France – Aviva Stadium
Saturday 26, February
14:30 Italy v Wales – Stadio Flaminio
17:00 England v France - Twickenham
Sunday 27, February
15:00 Scotland v Ireland - Murrayfield
Saturday 12, March
14:30 Italy v France – Stadio Flaminio
17:00 Wales v Ireland – Millennium Stadium
Sunday 13, March
15:00 England v Scotland- Twickenham
Saturday 19, March
14:30 Scotland v Italy - Murrayfield
17:00 Ireland v England – Aviva Stadium
19:45 France v Wales – Stade de France
When in Dublin check out things to do in Dublin, Ireland, Best value day tours from Dublin daily
AIRPORT TRANSFERS FOR LARGE GROUPS DUBLIN AIRPORT TO CITY CENTRE
Friday, January 14, 2011
Things to do in Dublin Ireland February 2011
Jamerson Dublin International Film Festival
17 - 27 February 2011
Eleven days of movie magic - 100 films , gala screenings, premieres, big name public interviews, with a chance to meet some filmmakers.
www.jdiff.com
Hennessy Gold Cup at Leopardstown racecourse Dublin
6 February 2011 - Irelands premier steeplechase over 3 miles.
www.leopardstown.com
Four Nations International Football - Carling Nations Cup
Aviva Stadium Dublin
8 & 9 February 2011 continues in May 2011
International senior football Ireland - Wales - Northern Ireland - Scotland
www.fai.ie
Check out all of our spectacular day tours from dublin everyday during February 2011
Things to do in Dublin Ireland January 2011 Festivals and events 2011
Temple Bar Traditional Music Festival 26 - 30 January 2011
No better way to escape the chill in January than to tuck up in one of Dublin's great pubs and listen to Trad music come alive, during concerts and sessions. Go on take to the floor and learn those jigs, reels and set dancing steps. This unique music festival starts 26 - 30 January 2011 in Temple Bar, drift through the cobble stones, and narrow streets of this historic area and enjoy the cream of Irish and International musicians as they preform in various locations throughout Dublin. ....... check out all of our special offer day tours from Dublin to Wicklow Glendalough Newgrange. Day tours depart everyday all year.
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