An Irish Golf Tour

Highlights

• Scenic Irish countryside
• Challenging golf courses
• Killarney National Park
• Rock of Cashel
• Georgian Dublin
  

Day 1 - Arrive Limerick
On arrival at Shannon airport, you are met by your Guardian Angel and escorted to your private vehicle. Your driver-guide will transfer you across the River Shannon and over the hills into County Kerry. Your hotel is located in the idyllically situated town of Killarney. The remainder of the day is at leisure.

The Killarney Park Hotel is situated within walking distance of the town centre of Killarney, yet positioned in one of the most beautiful parts of Ireland, a combination of mountain, lake woodland and sea. The hotel is a well-appointed facility that has a particularly elegant restaurant. There is a Health Spa with a swimming pool, sauna plunge pool, Jacuzzi, bubble pool, outdoor Canadian Hot Tub and fitness suite. Activities available include horse riding, walking trails, fishing, shooting and cycling.
Killarney Park (Junior Suite)

Day 2 - Killarney
Today you are transferred to the Killarney Golf and Fishing Club, home to three 18-hole golf courses. Tee times are booked for a round of golf on the Killeen Course, the club's flagship course. The Killarney lakes and high mountain range provide an imposing backdrop and spectacular views to this Championship course. Re-opened in June 2006 the course challenges long hitters with accuracy being vital as there is water on virtually every hole. Killeen was the host venue of the 2010 and 2011 Irish Open.

Following your round, you will travel up to Kate Kearney's Cottage and board a horse-drawn jaunting cart for a memorable journey through the Gap of Dunloe. This natural cleft in the mountains of the Killarney National Park is one of the best loved natural features in Ireland. At the far end of the valley take an open-top boat over the Lower Lake of Killarney back to town (B).
Killarney Park (Junior Suite)

Day 3 - Killarney
This morning you are transferred over the Derrynasaggart Mountains into County Cork. Your destination is the Old Head of Kinsale, a wonderful promontory that extends out into the Atlantic. The Old Head Golf Links is a remarkable development, rising hundreds of feet high above dramatic cliffs, surrounded by the ocean on all sides and commanding the most spectacular views from virtually every part. The area available has allowed the composition of a 6,650 yard, par 72 golf course configured as two returning loops incorporating nine holes which play alongside the cliff tops.

At the end of your round you are transferred back to Killarney. Time permitting you may like to take the picturesque route through Glengarriff and over the Caha Mountains to Kenmare. You would then follow the Old Kenmare Road over Moll's Gap and past the Upper Lake of Killarney as you head back to Killarney (B).
Killarney Park (Junior Suite)

Day 4 - Killarney
This morning your chauffeur takes you north from Killarney to the northernmost part of County Kerry. On the coast at the point where the Shannon Estuary empties into the Atlantic lies the village of Ballybunion and its world famous golf links which boasts scenic beauty, tranquillity, the excellent condition of the course and the variety of challenges. There are two magnificent links courses here and you will have a confirmed tee time on the Old Course, with its fairways winding through colossal dunes. The sixth hole is one of the prettiest in Ballybunion, but extremely tricky to play. The difficult 8th and the long 15th also provide a very stern test of golfing prowess.

On the return journey to Killarney you may pass through Tralee, the principal town of County Kerry. See the Blennerville Windmill that is the largest working windmill in Ireland, and where visitors are guided by the miller through each element of the process. In the visitor centre there is an exhibition that outlines how during the Great Famine (1845-50), Blennerville was the main port of emigration from this region (B).
Killarney Park (Junior Suite)

Day 5 - Killarney - Blarney - Cashel - Dublin
Depart on a full-day journey across the country from one side to another. Leave County Kerry and drive over the mountains to Blarney Castle near Cork City. In the parapet of this ruined tower house lies the Blarney Stone, said to bestow the 'gift of the gab' on all who kiss it. This has made this otherwise unexceptional castle one of the most iconic sites in Ireland. Surrounding the castle is a lovely parkland area, and adjacent are the celebrated Blarney Woollen Mills where a huge range of Irish wares are on sale.

Continue into the dairy pasturelands of County Tipperary, where you will visit the Rock of Cashel. The ruined cathedral and the round tower of the early archbishops of Munster perch dramatically on top of this outcrop, and you will learn about its history in the interpretative centre. Continue through the Leinster countryside including the Curragh. This basin is covered with heathland and is famous for the race course where Ireland's classic horse races are run each year. From here you will continue to your hotel in Dublin.

Enjoying a splendid location in the heart of Dublin's governmental buildings, the Merrion has been developed around a quartet of original Georgian townhouses that have been restored in period style, and extended by the Garden Wing, with a delightful pool at cellar level (B).
The Merrion (Deluxe Double/Twin Main House)

Day 6 - Golf at the Royal Dublin Golf Club
This morning you will meet a local city guide who will take you on a half day panoramic tour of the Irish Capital in your private vehicle. You will visit Trinity College, where you will see the Book of Kells, a fabulous example of early Irish manuscript illumination that is on display in the Old Library. Also see the famed Georgian doorways that survive in the south side of the city, and the Guinness Storehouse where the story of Ireland's best-loved export is outlined.

This afternoon your chauffeur will take you through the northern suburbs of Dublin to the coast where you will travel over to Bull Island. The sandbank from which the island grew provides the ideal base for the greens and fairways of the Royal Dublin Golf Club. The links is 6,855 yards in length and is laid out in the old traditional links style resembling St. Andrews. Fine fescue grasses provide an ideal basis for greens and fairways; the wandering wind adds that extra hazard. Bunkers, close lies, subtle trappings are all features of Royal Dublin. Return to the hotel following your round (B).
The Merrion (Deluxe Double/Twin Main House)

Day 7 - Golf at the K-Club
Transfer west out of Dublin today to The K Club, now generally considered to be the finest golf club in Ireland. The Estate comprises 330 acres, including one mile of the famous River Liffey, which meanders through the grounds. Originally the land was dominated by flat paddocks and some 120 acres of magnificent woodland. The designer of the Golf Course was the legendary Arnold Palmer who produced a fantastic layout that cleverly used the existing woodland and water. The course hosted the Ryder Cup in 2006 and has also been a venue for the European Open and the Irish Professional Golf Championship. After your round return to the hotel and the remainder of the day is at leisure (B).
The Merrion (Deluxe Double/Twin Main House)

Day 8 - Depart Dublin
Today your A&K golf adventure comes to an end as you are transferred to the airport where you will board your flight home (B).

Pricing
At A&K all of our journeys are individually tailored to suit your needs and timescale. However, as a guide, a 8 day journey in Ireland will cost from US$11,638 per person based on two adults and subject to availability.