At The Hidden Ireland Tours, we delight in designing a vacation or event around your special interest.

Please click on each special interest to view more details:
• Painting • Cooking • Golfing • Fishing
• Fine Houses, Antiques & Gardens • Literary tours
• Spiritual Pilgrimages • Birds and Wildlife • Cycling
• Climbing • Genealogy tours
• Other tours

Painting
The light and landscapes of the Dingle Peninsula and wider County
Kerry have inspired artists for centuries. Each year, The Hidden
Ireland Tours hosts a special painting tour; a magical week spent
painting, learning and holidaying.

Our trip is based in Dingle and is led by renowned American artist,
G.A. Sheller. The week is designed to provide relaxation while renew
creativity and is suited to beginners as well as experienced artists

Itinerary in brief
Day 1-7 The Dingle Peninsula & Killarney Valley, Co Kerry
Dingle Town will be our home for the week, a quaint and colourful
fishing village surrounded by the most beautiful scenery in Ireland.
Our base will be a lovely Bed and Breakfast in the centre of town,
close to fine restaurants, lively pubs, galleries and craft shops.
There will be opportunities to paint and sketch in town and travel
around the peninsula on day trips......wild seascapes, spectacular
light, cliffs and abundant wildlife. There will be visits to the famed
Killarney lake-valley with its magnificent mountains and waterways,
National Park, Muckross House and Gardens.

Cost
Price on request.

The cost includes seven nights accommodation; breakfast, lunch and dinner each day; all ground transportation; and workshop fees.

Suggested Reading
How the Irish Saved Civilisation by Thos. Cahill
Ireland - A History by Robert Kee
The Blaskets – A Kerry Island Library by Muiris MacConaighle
Skelligs – Island Outpost of Europe by Des Lavelle
Anam Cara by John O'Donoghue

Useful links
www.dingle-peninsula.ie
www.gasheller.com
www.greenlanegallery.com
www.nationalgallery.ie
www.irishart.com
www.kennygallery.ie

For reservation information, please click here
To download our reservation form, please click here

Tour Map


Cooking
The Ballymaloe Cookery School, has been at the centre of the incredible renmaisance in Irish food in recent years. Here “Cooking is Fun” with Darina Allen and her amazing staff who passionately cook and teach their delicious craft.

Our cooking tour starts with a course at the renowned school followed by time spent exploring; touring, hiking through the magnificent South West of the country and in particular engaging with the region’s specialty food producers.

Itinerary in brief
Days 1 – 4 Ballymaloe
Ballymaloe House and Estate are located near the south coast of Ireland within sight of the Celtic Sea. Dating from the 1600’s and set amidst beautiful gardens and a working farm, this elegant pile is home to the dynamic Allen family. Committed farmers and fine food producers, their business has gained international renown for quality and dedication. The comfortable country manor house is our base in the area as we attend the Ballymaloe Cookery School and our two-day; Simply Delicious Food for Family and Friends.
The course involves three demonstrations and two practical sessions and is designed to give you a repertoire of quick and tasty dishes that will enable you to enjoy cooking whilst combining home life, children and careers. Included are quick and easy breads, starters, main courses, salads and of course some irresistible desserts. Recipes can be adapted to suit either the adventurous or conservative palette. There are plenty of tasting opportunities! Following classes each day there will be time for a walking, shopping or sightseeing.

Days 5 – 9
West Cork, Kenmare, the Ring of Kerry & Killarney
The landscape of West Cork and into County Kerry is a stark contrast to the fertile plains around Ballymaloe. Here, small farms are jig-sawed around a rugged and rocky place, rich in history, culture and archaeology and known as the 'capital of the Irish food culture'. We’ll visit many of the quality food producers in the area; local cheese makers, a community owned mussel farm, an artichoke co-operative, mountain sheep farmers. We will sample their products at spectacular picnics at the tips of the great peninsulas of Mizen, Sheep’s Head and Beara. These are wild places - dramatic mountains and glens and Atlantic-gouged coastlines.

The base for the second-half of our tour is the exquisite Park Hotel, located in the heart of Ireland’s prettiest town and gourmet centre, Kenmare. This a fabulous place of natural beauty and steeped in history. There will be time to relax, shop, luxuriate in a spa, hike or bike here before exploring the famous Ring of Kerry and Killarney Valley. The tour finished with airport transfer on Day 9.

Cost
Price on request.

Suggested Reading
Easy Entertaining, Simply Delicious Recipes, The Ballymaloe Book,
by Darina Allen
Rachel’s Favourite Food at home Rachel’s Favourite Food for friends
by Rachel Allen

Useful links
www.cookingisfun.ie
www.slowfood.com
www.ballymaloe.com 
www.parkkenmare.com
www.kenmare.com
www.corkkerry.ie

Tour Map


Golfing
Ireland is one of the world's great golf destinations where enthusiasts play wild links courses amidst coastal dunes and lavish parklands in the grounds of castles...Ballybunion, Lahinch, Tralee, Waterville, Portmarnock, The Druid's Glen, The K Club, Kinsale, Portrush, Royal Dublin, Killarney.

Fishing
On this small island of ours, the fishing is superb! In the lakes and rivers, the fly-fishing for trout and salmon is sheer magic. The
game-fishing for pike, bream and perch is the best in Europe! The surfcasting from our wild beaches is world renowned and then there's sea angling on the Atlantic itself for shark and more!

Fine Houses, Antiques & Gardens
Explore the heritage of Ireland's "big houses" in the company of
their owners and conservationists. Staying at some of these
mansions.

Literary tours
Explore aspects of Ireland's incredible literary heritage, from the pre-Christian oral traditions and mythologies, to the earliest Irish manuscripts and the great illuminated gospel Book of Kells, to the works and lives of Joyce, Yeats, Shaw, O'Casey, Wilde and more, including many contemporary Irish writers.

Spiritual Pilgrimages
Ireland's holy wells and grottoes, ancient circles and early Christian monasteries, holy mountains and trees dot the countryside and provide landmarks to many a soul-journey. We would be honoured to create a pilgrim journey for your group.

Birds and Wildlife
Off-shore colonies of puffins and gannets in the company of noted ornithologists, we will explore the wonderful habitats of the Killarney National Park with a park ranger and the amazing life of our coastal zones with a marine biologist.

Cycling
Dramatic mountain passes, quiet rural backroads, coastal paths
- on-road and off road, Ireland has magnificent biking!

Climbing
High places have inspired Con Moriarty from childhood and climbing has been his passion. Rock-climbing on wild Atlantic sea-cliffs or hiking and scrambling over Ireland's highest mountains. All levels catered for.

Genealogy tours
Assisting with the tracing of people's heritage in Ireland is always a privilege, reconnecting people to this place. We extend to you a very special welcome and invitation to re-trace the journey of your ancestors with us.

Other tours: Specialty Study Tours, Executive Training,
Father and Son, Mother and Daughter.