Éire's Land of Heart's Desire

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Éire’s Land of Heart’s Desire

8 days

from £2295 per person

A fascinating journey across Ireland, from Dublin to the wild Atlantic west. County Sligo is Ireland’s undiscovered hidden gem, with breath-taking scenery, a rich cultural heritage, and the greatest concentration of prehistoric sites in the country.

Highlights:

The magnificent, unspoilt landscapes of north-west Ireland.
An outstanding collection of prehistoric sites.
Expert guiding from Tony O’Connor.
Get off the beaten track on the Wild Atlantic Way.
Three nights in the Irish capital, Dublin.Overview

Dates & Prices:

16–23 July 2025. Open for booking. Only £2095.

Single supplement only £495.

Early booking is recommended.

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Overview

Céad míle fáilte—a hundred thousand welcomes. The Emerald Isle’s warm hospitality, well of culture, and poetic natural beauty never fail to fill one’s heart. Indeed, the Nobel Prize winning poet William Butler Yeats was so inspired by County Sligo that he called it “The Land of Heart’s Desire”.

Tony O’Connor takes you on a fascinating journey across a swathe of the country from Dublin’s ancient east to Sligo’s wild west, revealing dramatic histories, hidden gems and majestic landscapes. This is old Ireland, imbued with deep history and tradition, and steeped in myths and legends since humanity first arrived.

Sligo is one of the most picturesque places in all of Ireland, and yet remains relatively unknown. Facing the expanse of the Atlantic Ocean, its coastline is shaped by colossal forces which seem also to feed the spirits of creative souls. We explore this “Wild Atlantic Way” and discover an amazingly significant archaeology. Whole landscapes of prehistory are preserved, giving unrivalled insights into the Neolithic world, and forming the backdrop to millennia of fascinating and colourful Irish history, mythology and culture, all eloquently captured in the poetry of W.B. Yeats.

Our tour features excellent, centrally-located hotels in both Dublin and Sligo.

See the ‘Itinerary’ and ‘Hotels’ tabs above for full details.

: Carrowmore & Knocknarea [1]

: Carrowmore Neolithic landscape [2]

: Mullaghmore [3]

What’s Included:

Seven nights hotel accommodation (3 in Dublin, 4 in Sligo).
All breakfasts and three evening meals.
Daily excursions with all transport, entrances and expert guiding.
Flexible travel arrangements.
100% TTA Financial Guarantee.

Your Tour Director

Tony O’Connor FSA

Tony studied Ancient History and Archaeology at the University of Manchester. His subsequent career in field excavation and museum management has earned him Fellowship of the Society of Antiquaries of London. He is particularly interested in the Roman Empire, and has wide experience of leading archaeology tours to virtually every corner of it.

Activity Level

This tour requires a reasonable level of mobility and independence. There is plenty of walking and standing, and some sites have slopes and uneven ground, but the pace is gentle and stops are frequent. Please feel free to ask us for more details.

Flights, Ferries and Extended Stays

Dublin can be reached by air or by sea. Flights and ferries are added on a personal basis rather than included in the tour price. This gives you complete freedom to choose your preferred method of travel, departure point, times, length of stay etc. We will be pleased to quote and book flights and ferries for you, and any extended stays, or you can book your own if you prefer. Flights booked with us are fully ATOL protected.

How To Book

Tours have minimum and maximum numbers of participants, so you will benefit from booking early; it secures your place and enables us to confirm your tour earlier. We keep our group sizes small, so tours can quickly fill but it is always worth checking for late availability.

Reservations & Enquiries: To reserve your place or enquire further simply click the “Book This Tour Now” button on the relevant tour page, and submit your details. You can also call us on (UK) 0121 444 1854, or email enquiries@hiddenhistory.co.uk.

There is no commitment and no payment at this stage; reservations are purely provisional until we have confirmed availability and proceeded with booking and payment.

Booking & Payment: Once we have checked availability, a deposit is required to secure your booking (£100 for UK tours, £250 for non-UK tours). We will email you a payment link which enables payment by credit card, debit card or bank transfer. Card payment can also be made by telephone (UK) 0121 444 1854.

Places and prices are guaranteed only with a deposit. Full payment is usually required 2 or 3 months ahead of the tour.

Financial Protection: Hidden History Travel is a member of the Travel Trust Association with membership number Q2398. This means that we provide you with the strongest consumer protection available in the travel industry. Any payments you make are 100% protected by the association to pay for your holiday or to reimburse you if we fail to provide it. Hidden History Travel also holds ATOL licence number 12463. This means that if you book your flights with us you will be protected if we or your airline cease trading.

See our booking conditions for further details.

BOOK THIS TOUR NOW

Image Attributes

[1] Public Domain, Source

[2] Andreas F. Borchert, CC BY-SA 4.0, Source

[3] Tony Webster, CC BY 2.0, Source

[Hero image] Adobe Stock (Free), Source

Day 1: Arrival in Dublin for 2 nights

Make your way to your Dublin city centre hotel, and meet your tour director for a welcome talk followed by an included evening meal.

Day 2: Dublin City

A guided walking tour of Ireland’s capital, Dublin, is a great way to brush up on Irish history. We take in all the main sights, including the National Archaeological Museum and the famous Book of Kells.

Day 3: To Sligo via the Boyne Valley

Head west across Ireland to County Sligo, stopping in the Boyne Valley to visit the impressive Neolithic tombs of Newgrange and Knowth. This is a World Heritage site, pre-dating Stonehenge and the Pyramids and producing the greatest concentration of Megalithic art in Western Europe.

Day 4: Sligo & Carrowmore

A walking tour this morning will acquaint you with the colourful character and heritage of Sligo, a vibrant county town with a rich history. In the afternoon we explore the Cúil Iorra peninsula on the southern side of the town, home to the Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery, one of Ireland’s most significant Neolithic sites. Its numerous stone circles and passage tombs are watched over by the hill of Knocknarea, upon which stands a particularly striking Neolithic cairn, visible from miles around.

Day 5: South along the Wild Atlantic Way

Follow the rugged and spectacular Wild Atlantic Way southwards to the Céide Fields. Dated to over 5500 years ago, these are the oldest known field systems in the world and the most extensive Neolithic site in Ireland. We finish the day at the Magheraghanrush court tomb with fine views over Lough Gill.

Day 6: North along the Wild Atlantic Way

A short way north of Sligo, and nestling below Ben Bulben mountain, we find W.B. Yeats’s grave at Drumcliff church, and a little further on stands the Baronet of Sligo’s Country House, Lissadel, where Yeats was a regular guest. Further up the coast we find Creevykeel, one of a chain of megalithic buildings along this ancient routeway. The nearby seaside village of Mullaghmore is associated with Lord Palmerston and the Mountbatten family.

Day 7: To Dublin via Rathcroghan and Tara

Today is a day of Irish capitals, ancient and modern. Heading back to Dublin, we stop at Rathcroghan, where a large mound is the nucleus of a landscape of numerous monuments spanning millennia. The site is imbued with a wealth of Irish mythology, and is known as the sacred capital of Connacht, and tribal royal seat of western Ireland.

Further east, at the Hill of Tara we find another of Ireland’s old capitals, the sacred site of inauguration of the High Kings of Ireland during the Middle Ages. Finally, arriving in Ireland’s modern capital, Dublin, we conclude with a farewell dinner to celebrate our time together discovering the Emerald Isle.

Day 8: Departure

Check out after a leisurely breakfast and make your way home, or why not stay longer and make the most of your time in Ireland – feel free to ask us for information and ideas.

We have carefully chosen the following hotels for their great locations and high standards. Please note that we sometimes have to change hotels for reasons beyond our control. We always choose hotels of a similar standard, designed to give you a little luxury and leisure alongside your cultural enrichment.

DUBLIN

The Harding Hotel, Copper Alley, Fishamble Street, Christchurch, Dublin 2, D02 DX57, Ireland.

The Harding Hotel is centrally located in historic Old Dublin, actually on one of Dublin’s oldest streets. It is a few minutes walk from Dublin Castle, Christchurch Cathedral and the vibrant Temple Bar district, but in a quieter side street. The hotel’s friendly and helpful staff offer a genuine Irish welcome.

SLIGO

The Glasshouse Hotel, Swan Point, Abbey Quarter North, Sligo, F91 NCA4, Ireland.

A genuine Irish welcome in this ideally situated hotel in the centre of Sligo city, overlooking the Garavogue River and close to riverside restaurants and cosy bars. It is Sligo’s only four-star city centre hotel.

www.theglasshouse.ie

Flexibility: Dublin can be reached by air or by sea. By keeping travel arrangements separate from the tour price, we keep your options open to give you complete freedom to choose your preferred method of travel, departure point, times, length of stay etc.

We will be pleased to quote and book flights and ferries for you, and any extended stays, or you can book your own if you prefer. Before booking any travel of your own please ensure we have confirmed the tour and your place on it.

By Air: Direct flights to Dublin are available from a large range of UK and international airports.

By Sea: There are regular sailings to Dublin from Holyhead in Wales and from Liverpool in England.

: Carrowmore & Knocknarea [1]

: Carrowmore Neolithic landscape [2]

: Mullaghmore [3]

: Benbulben Mountain, Sligo [4]

: Mullaghmore Head [5]

: Newgrange [6]

: Newgrange [7]

: Sligo landscape [8]

: Wild Atlantic Way & Céide Fields [9]

Image Attributes

[1] Public Domain, Source

[2] Andreas F. Borchert, CC BY-SA 4.0, Source

[3] Tony Webster, CC BY 2.0, Source

[4] Subhrambar, CC BY-SA 4.0, Source

[5] Kent Wang – flickr.com/photos/kentwang/, CC BY-SA 2.0, Source

[6] fhwrdh – flickr.com/photos/fhwrdh/, CC BY 2.0, Source

[7] Johnbod, CC BY-SA 3.0, Source

[8] Hellowiki789, CC BY-SA 3.0, Source

[9] Neuköllner, CC BY-SA 4.0, Source

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July 14 - July 21, 2026

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Physical Considerations

Please tick here to confirm that you have read and understood the Physical Considerations section on our What to Expect webpage and that you have a reasonable level of mobility and independence. If you have any issues or concerns, please call us for a chat.