The Anam Cara Program

Days 1-3

Shannon, Aran Islands, Inis Mor

Meet at Shannon Airport to travel by first class bus and ferry to the Aran Islands where you can unwind and settle into the slower pace and simplicity of these Gaellic speaking islands. Inis Mor has an elemental spiritual quality that made it the training ground of saints and a major pilgrimage destination of Europe for millennia. Through visits to the magnificent cliff edged stone fortress of Dun Angus, Seacht dTempall, the ancient monastic site founded  by St. Breacan and Enda’s church, we will ground into the ancient and Christian Spirituality and connect with the spirits of the land and place.

Day 4

Lough Corrib, Connemara, Brigit's Garden, Westport

We depart Inis Mor again traveling by way of beautiful Lough Corrib and Connemara in Co. Galway. We will pause at the exquisite Brigit’s Garden, a contemporary complex honoring the great Celtic Goddess and Saint, for lunch and orientation to the feminine aspects of Celtic tradition. We’ll hear stories of Brigit and make her rush crosses. Our journey continues through the rugged mountains of Connemara to our lodging in the lovely coastal village of Westport. An evening at your discretion awaits.

Day 5

Ballentubber Abbey, Coach Patrick

We begin our fifth day at Ballentubber Abbey, the medieval monastery that is the start of many a pilgrims journey to the top of Coach Patrick. Before we begin our own ascent, we’ll take in the history and legend of this famous sacred mountain as the most western home of the sun goddess long before St. Patrick found cause to expel the snakes of Ireland there. Thus, as we so often find, the pre-Christian and Christian bridge with great power and spiritual force on the same ground. 

Days 6

Knock Shrine, Sligo

This is the day for the wild in all of us.  We’ll peruse the territory of Grace O’Malley, the pirate queen of the O’Malley Clan. A formidable ship’s captain and leader Grace refused to submit to English domination, leading to a meeting with Queen Elizabeth on equal terms. Our next stop is Knock Shrine, where a miraculous visitation by Mother Mary, Joseph and St. John the Baptist took place in the late 1800s. Piles of crutches and such speak to the healing powers of this holy well.  On to Sligo for the night.

Day 7-8

Sligo

The ancient Celts build their sanctuaries of stone and trees. As most of the sacred groves are gone now, the stones carry the memories and history. In Sligo we will explore the largest complex of ceremonial megalithic structures in Ireland. Centered in Carrowkeel, Carrowmore and Queen Maeve’s Cairn, the complex includes dozens of passage cairns, stone circles and dolman laid out in astronomical detail. These complexes were the sites of several legends of the Connacht region. They are great access points for ancestral memory and their energies have the transformational power of the sacred feminine.

Day 9

Donegal, Glencolmcille

Now in Donegal and Glencolmcille, the famous sanctuary and pilgrimage site of St. Columba, the founder of Ireland. It was here that Columba waited before being exiled from Ireland and cast adrift with his 12 monks to find a place from which he could not see Ireland – Iona! Contemporary pilgrims follow turas or stations of prayer laid out on the starkly beautiful Donegal landscape. 

Day 10

Grainan Aileach, Beltany Stone Circle, Donegal

This is Beltane, the beginning of the Celtic summer a day great day for Ceremony and celebration. We’ll begin our day at Grainan Aileach, an ancient sun temple to Graine, the sun goddess. A magnificent drum shaped stone enclosure, it later became the inaugural site of the O’Neils, the kings of Ulster, and, for a period, all of Ireland. It is a perfect compliment to Dun Angus, where we started our journey on Inis Mor. We conclude our pilgrimage at Beltany Stone Circle, linked, as its name suggests, to this day of celebrating the gifts of life from the Goddess. We return to Donegal town for a farewell dinner.

Day 11

Londonderry

Transfer to Londonderry Airport in Northern Ireland or travel on your own to another destination.