Pilgrimage to Ireland

September 30 to October 12, 2019

On September 30th, a group from our parish will depart from Logan Airport to fly to Dublin Ireland.  Our tour is being organized by Catholic Travel Center based in Los Angeles, CA.  The cost of the trip varies according to the choices the traveler makes:

• $4,099:  Full package with a Cash discount which includes air travel from Boston Logan Airport to Ireland and return, plus tips of $195 for a total of $4,294; (paid by cash, check or money order).
• $3,499:  Land only package with Cash discount does not include air travel (for those who want to pay their airfare with credit card rewards, frequent traveler miles, or for an upgrade), plus tips of $195 for a total of $3,694.  Traveler agrees to meet the group at the airport in Dublin or at the first night's hotel.
• $4,348:  Standard price (no cash discount) with payment by credit card, plus tips of $195 for a total of $4,543 and includes air travel and land package.
• $3,748:  Land only package (no cash discount) with payment by credit card, plus tips of $195 for a total of $3,943.  Traveler agrees to meet the group at the airport in Dublin or at the first night's hotel.

Once there, they will tour the city to take in the sites of the Irish Rebellion when Ireland gained its independence in 1916.  The highlights of our tour will be a visit to admire and appreciate the exceptional artistry of the medieval Book of Kells, an illuminated manuscript hand done by Irish monks and found buried in a field in Kells, Ireland. 
From Dublin, we will travel north to the Boyen Valley, home to one of the most ancient burial sites in the world, older than the pyramids.  We will learn the lesson of the lintel box for the winter solstice and admire the medieval monastery of Monasterboice and its beautifully preserved high cross.
For our fourth day we will held to Downpatrick to visit the traditional burial site of the patron of Ireland, Saint Patrick.  When the great saint died, many communities argued for the right to bury him among their midst.  One of their number encouraged them to let a higher authority decide.  They hitched a wagon with his body bound to it and let it run free.  Where it stopped, was where the great saint was finally laid to rest.  A modern visitor center on the Confessio, a writing of the great saint is here for us to visit as well.
From Dublin we head to Belfast and Northern Ireland, a part of the British Empire.  We will tour the city and visit the Museum of the Peace Wall of Murals.  Our second day in Belfast will include a visit to the unusual natural formation of basalt columns named Giant's Causeway.  While here we will also tour the Bushmills distillery and learn the process of one of Ireland's famous and tasty exports.
From Belfast we will travel across the island to appreciate its natural beauty to arrive in Galway where we will visit Ballintubber Abbey, a site where Saint Patrick himself baptized the faithful and for centuries the traditional starting point of the Togar Padric, the pilgrim's climb to the summit of Patrick's mountain where tradition claims he fasted for forty days and nights before begining his ministry to the Celtic people.  We will visit the site of Our Lady's appearance at Knock in Country Mayo and see the sights of Eyre Square and the center of the city.
Heading south we will travel to the spectacular Dingle Peninsula with breathtaking vists of Kerry, the Atlantic Ocean, Skellig Michael and the Irish coast.  From here we will admire the craftmanship to construct Gallarus' Oratory without any adhesive, standing intact since the 9th century.  We will leave Dingle for an overnight in Killarney and travel to Blarney to climb the steps of the famous castle to admire the stone with its power of eloquence. 
Our final day is spent in Ennis before we head to Shannon Airport for the return flight to Boston on October 12, 2019.
Each day we have Mass.  Here are the sites planned for our pilgrimage Masses, subject to change:

• Tuesday, October 1:  Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Dublin, home of the shrine to Saint Valentine  (feast of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus)
• Wednesday, October 2:  Saint Peter's Church in Drogheda, the National Shrine of Saint Oliver Plunkett  (feast of the Guardian Angels)
• Thursday, October 3:  Down Cathedral in Downpatrick, traditional burial site of Saint Patrick
• Friday, October 4:  Clonard Monastery, Belfast, home of Fr. Alec Reid, facilitator of the Northern Ireland Peace  (feast of Saint Francis of Assisi)
• Saturday, October 5:  Mass at a local church in Belfast (TBD)
• Sunday, October 6:  Mass at a local church in Galway (TBD)
• Monday, October 7:  Mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Knock  (feast of Our Lady of the Rosary)
• Tuesday, October 8:  Mass at a local church in Galway (TBD)
• Wednesday, October 9:  Mass at Saint Mary's Church in Dingle
• Thursday, October 10:  Mass at local church in Kilarney (TBD)
• Friday, October 11:  Mass at the Cathedral of Saints Peter & Paul in Ennis  (feast of Pope Saint John XXIII)