Day Excursions
While Hidden Ireland Tours operate throughout the island of Ireland, the Gap of Dunloe in the Killarney Valley of County Kerry is ‘home’ and from this spectacular base we provide independent travellers to the Kerry and the wider southwest region of Ireland, opportunities to engage with us on a ‘day excursion.’
In doing so we are continuing a tradition of ‘Moriarty guides’ stretching back over two centuries when, in the employment of the local gentry, ancestors escorted some of the earliest travellers, naturalists and mountaineers drawn to our region around the lakes of Killarney. When prior to co-founding Hidden Ireland Tours, a teenage Con Moriarty began sharing time with guests on the McGillycuddy Reeks from the late 1970’s, he was following in the footsteps of ancestors sharing the same hills at the beginning of the 19th century. In his book; The Angler in Ireland, the English vicar William Bilton wrote of his ascent in the summer of 1833 of then recently affirmed highest peak in Ireland in the company of one ‘Cornelius (Con) Moriarty’ (- the great, great grandfather of the present Con Moriarty), it was the first time one of these visitors named their guide:
“Near the Gap of Dunloe, I took up one Cornelius Moriarty, who had been recommended to me as by far the best guide for Carran Tual: he was a stout, honest, well-meaning fellow, very civil, and very obliging, and seemed to possess a tolerable knowledge of the mountain and surrounding country.”
The Angler in Ireland 1833. London (1834) by William Bilton (p 56).
For those planning to be in our ‘home-region’ of Kerry/West Cork, here find just some of our favourite places to walk or hike, bike or tour. There are of course other secret places that remarkably and thankfully remain hidden from the glare of social media; sacred spaces sensitively shared when opportunity presents.
Here are some of our favourite walks and hikes around the region we call home. There are more of course – including a number whose locations are known to few and kept secret for their protection and careful sharing. Sacred spaces which mere handfuls of souls experience each year.
In the company of Hidden Ireland, these tours are quite literally in our backyard, and in the company of our guides, the story of our place and people will be intimately and powerfully shared.
The great peninsulas of the south west of Ireland are separated by the drowned valley we know today as the Bays of Dingle, Kenmare, Bantry and Dunmanus. These and other coastal stretches of the Atlantic provide sea-kayaking rated among the finest on Earth!
From a range of diverse “human pursuits” spanning almost ten thousand years through to the riches of contemporary Irish culture and the magnificent natural history of Ireland, Hidden Ireland Events delights in sharing the special interests of our guests in the company of passionate scholars and guides.
“Con Moriarty’s love of his homeland is present every minute as you tour with him and hear his stories and experience his perspective of ireland – great story teller, wonderful guides, beautiful experience.”
VISITOR FROM REDWOOD CITY, CALIFORNIA – TRIPADVISOR
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From Ireland, call us on: +353 87 221 4002 • From USA & Rest of the World, call us on: +1 251 751 3087
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