Ireland
Introduction
INTERNATIONAL SCHOLAR TOURS LLC is pleased to offer an extraordinary 7-day, 6- night academic-travel experience in Ireland, one of Europe’s most culturally rich countries, home to James Joyce, W.B. Yeats, Oscar Wilde, Samuel Beckett and George Bernard Shaw, as well as Liam Neeson, Pierce Brosnan, Enya, Sinead O’Connor and U-2, great live traditional music, lush green scenery, lively folklore, Leprechauns, Banshees, ancient castles, stone walls and world-famous wit and friendliness.
The tour will begin on Saturday, October 4, when participants meet in New York for an overnight flight to Dublin and will end on their return on Saturday, October 11. There will be a pre-trip online orientation session and Irish history seminar in late September.
Our trips are simply not your usual school trips. Each tour is an educational and cultural experience with lectures, a hand-picked faculty of experts and an immersive and enriching curriculum/itinerary.
Especially designed for homeschoolers, for this trip we have worked with our Irish faculty to create an immersive week during which the students will experience:
• Four days in Dublin with a daytrip to County Wicklow
• Three days in Galway City and the surrounding area, with visits to the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren with its ancient ruins and megalithic structures
• Faculty-led walking tours taking in Dublin sights like Trinity College Dublin (and the ancient Book of Kells), the Temple Bar neighborhood, Dublin Castle, Christ Church and St. Patrick’s Cathedral
• A performance at the Dublin Theatre Festival, which will be held the week we are there
• One or two live traditional music sessions at an Irish pub
• A visit to Dublin’s Museum of Literature, with a faculty lecture
• Other private lectures by our distinguished and delightful Irish faculty on Irish folklore, geology, history, art and culture
• A pre-trip reading assignment, online orientation/meet-up and class discussion on Irish history led by one of our Irish faculty members
Our Ireland Faculty
ÁINE FUREY, M.A. Higher Diploma in Irish Culture, with Distinction, University College Dublin
An expert on Irish culture and traditions, Aine is one of Ireland’s leading folklorists, as well as a popular Dublin tour guide and musician.
ALAN BYRNE, M.A. (First Class Honours), University College Dublin
Aian, a native Dubliner, earned an MA in Irish History from University College Dublin.
He is an expert on Dublin’s rich cultural heritage, including literature, art and architecture and a lecturer on Irish Heritage at Liberties College Dublin, where he also trains Dublin tour guides.
OTHERS: We will shortly announce other guest faculty members. Topics covered will include Irish History (including the Viking settlements, rebellions and the conflicts with Northern Ireland), Literature, Music and more.
JIM WARD, M.B.A., University of Galway A professor at University of Galway, a cartoonist and award-winning playwright, book author (in English and Irish) and poet, Jim lives just outside of Galway City. He is especially knowledgeable about Irish history and literature.
Jim will be leading a pre-trip online seminar for the participating students to introduce them to Irish culture. The topics will be the novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce and the poem The Lake Isle of Innisfree by William Butler Yeats.
PETER GROSS, B.A. (Honors) Yale University, J.D. (Honors) University of Pennsylvania School of Law, Former Adjunct Professor at The New School University, New York City Peter is an experienced educator, who for the past seven years has been teaching small, highschool level private classes to homeschool students in an array of humanities subjects, including Literature, History of Art, World Religions and Political Science. He has given lectures at NYU, Hunter College, University of Pennsylvania, Rutgers and at Cambridge University for the British Royal Television Academy.
Below: A megalith in the Burren, dating from ca. 3,400 BCE; the Library at Trinity College Dublin (housing the Book
of Kells); Irish countryside in County Galway; stone ruins in County Clare
Accommodations
Dublin: Our accommodations in Dublin will be at the charming and cozy Castle Hotel – highlyrated and a short walk from the city center.
Students will be sharing 3-bed or 4-bed rooms, and each student will have a separate twin bed.
Guest comments:
“Loved the property and the old-world charm! Such a beautiful hotel and the staff were amazing! Excellent location.”
“A very charming hotel with great breakfast.”
Galway: Our Galway accommodations are at the quirky, fun and comfortable Nest Boutique Hostel located in Salthill on the coast of Galway Bay and an eight-minute ride into the center of Galway. Here, the tour participants will stay two in a room in separate beds.
Guest comments:
“The Nest was great, from check in, to laundry, to bed and bathroom, breakfast in the morning…everything
exceeded our expectations! Highly recommend!”
“The hostel is really great! Comfortable, fancy.”
Participants and Supervision
We have crafted this tour with high-school-level students in mind, but we/d would be happy to consider older or younger students as well as parents. To assure the best learning experience, we are limiting the number of student participants to ten.
In addition to Peter and his wife Elizabeth (an educator, occupational therapist and children’s book author), there is room for two more adult participants/supervisors (who could be educators, parents or others) to join the group.
All participants will be required to sign and adhere to a written code of conduct and safety procedures.
Cost
The cost per student and adult participant for the entire experience is $2,880, which includes:
• Round trip airfare from New York
• All hotel stays
• Breakfast, lunch and dinner each day (based on set-cost menus or allowances)
• Airport transfers in Dublin and Galway
• All tours and listed activities, including guide fees, entrance fees and transportation and related gratuities
• All other transportation within Ireland that is part of the scheduled itinerary
• All lectures, discussions and presentations
Not included are checked-baggage fees, beverages and personal purchases.
