irish chauffeurdriven tours with Dovechauffeurdrive and Dave Hogan

 Was there ever a better time to come to Ireland?  We are now on the road to recovery, and a country at peace. For anybody planning to come here from the USA, the dollar is now very strong against the Euro, and there is tremendous value to be had here. There is no certainty that it will remain this way, so maybe now is the time for you to make that move. Maybe, like my friends in the above picture, you can enjoy a jaunting car ride through the Kerry mountains, on an ancient road, which was carved through those mountains by a giant glacier during the ice age.

 Maybe you would like to cuddle a lamb on the Dingle peninsula, like these two young ladies.

 How about spending time enjoying the views at the awesome Cliffs of Moher? There is so much to see and do here in this magical country.

You can travel in style with me in one of my cars, such as the one above. No worries about having to drive yourself on the "wrong side of the road", and a narrow winding road maybe. The cost of a tour with me just might surprise you, if you take into account the cost of hiring a car yourself, plus the cost of insurance, a charge that is very expensive on top of your car costs, and which many people forget, much to their cost. If you damage your car in any way, and lose your deposit, then you are really on a loser.
This is the time of the year when i begin to get many enquiries from prospective customers from the USA, and i can only handle so much. If you are serious about coming, then now is the time to make that enquiry. As long as i know that you are serious, i can hold dates until you make that final decision. I work only on a "First come, first served"basis, so i would advise one and all to start planning now.
All you have to do is write to me and we can take it from there. It costs nothing to make that enquiry, but it may cost a lot if you leave it too late.

Connemara and Mayo with the O'Malley's

Julie and Mike on the Quiet Man bridge in Connemara.

Julie, pictured wearing her late grandfather's cap, something she wanted to bring back to Ireland in his memory, and pick a special place to wear it. How nice.

The happy couple pictured at the Quiet Man cottage at Maam Cross.

Another lovely picture inside the cottage.

Well, i did have to get in on the act with my pals at Kylemore Abbey.

The famine memorial in the Delphi valley.

Not the best picture you will ever see of Croagh Patrick, but the clouds were covering its peak.

Pictured together at Roonagh harbour, with Clare Island on the horizon in the background, one of the safe havens of the great Pirate Queen,Grace O'Malley. Can we say Mike's Granny?

Pictured at the bottom of Croagh Patrick, with the tiny white image of St Patrick in the distance.

Pictured here at the memorial of the famine shop, outside Westport.

You cannot go far in Westport without coming across the O'Malley's.

The memorial to St Patrick in the heart of Westport town.

Seated together inside the Basicila in Knock, and seated in front of the beautiful main altar.

Inside the Shrine chapel, with the statues of the Knock vision in the background.

A lovely picture at the grotto in Knock. Julie is really showing off her beautiful Irish red hair in the lovely sunshine.

It was not as warm when we got to the Cliffs of Moher, but this couple know how to keep warm.

Another nice picture at the cliffs.

One of our final pictures at Quin Abbey near Ennis in county Clare.

O'Malleys on Ring of Kerry tour Nov 2016

 The beginning of a really fabulous day as we began our tour of the famous Ring of Kerry. Our first stop off was at the Killarney Golf Club, which is situated on the shores of Lough Leane, and here we have Mike and Julie, happy and rested, after a great night's sleep in the Killarney Plaza hotel.

 Pictured together near Killorglin, hoping that their rainbow can been seen in the background.

 Killorglin is famous for it's annual ancient pagan festival, known as Puck fair. This statue of the male goat, on the outskirts of Killorglin, a puck is male goat,was erected here to commemorate this festival.

 Unfortunately we had a touch of mist when i took this photo on the Ring, with Dingle bay and the Dingle peninsula in the background.

 One of our most famous patriots, the great Daniel O' Connell, was born here in Cahersiveen, and here we have my pals, pictured with the ruins of his home in the background.

 Waterville was one of Charlie Chaplin's favourite holiday resorts, and the people of this town were grateful for that, and erected this memorial in his memory.

 One of the greatest exponents of our national game of Gaelic football, a game quiet different from ordinary football, or soccer, as you can use your hands as well as your feet, was the great Micko O'Dwyer, and this memorial was erected by the townspeople in memory of their greatest son.

 This view from Cumikista, at the head of the Ring of Kerry, is quiet spectacular. Once again, due to mist, this picture does not do justice to the view, but Mike and Julie still look very happy to be here.

 Pictured together at Carrol's Cove near Cumikista. This bar on the beach is located in a really beautiful location and a great place for a snack or a beer.

 Another break, and a beer, in a great pub in Sneem.

 This man relies on the generosity of tourists to keep his magnificent goat, a puck goat, well fed and happy. It looks like my pals are also very happy to meet puck.

 Mike and Julie, pictured together at the famous Ladies View in Killarney. It was getting a little chilly, as you can see here.

Well, that is one of the best ways to warm up.

We did have a great day, but we were all glad to get back to Killarney, and the warmth of a good pub.
Tomorrow we are off to Dingle, so come along and enjoy.

O' Malley Irish tour 2016

 My tour with Mike and Julie O'Malley began in Cork this morning. We had met for the first time at breakfast at the hotel, and i knew from the start that this was going to be a lovely tour. They were so friendly, and excited about their Irish adventure.
Our journey today was to take us into West Cork, a beautiful rural area which was always a stronghold for Irish republicanism, and the birthplace of the famous Michael Collins, who was assassinated in this locality in a place called Beal na Blath.  In the picture above, we have Mike and Julie, standing at the memorial to this great patriot, who played a huge role in forcing the British to finally reach an agreement which was to return 26 of our 32 counties to the new Republic of Ireland in 1922. This led to Michael Collins death, as he was assissinated by his own Irish republican brothers, as they felt he had betrayed them by not holding out for the full 32 counties. Collins, and many more strong republicans, firmly believed that at that time there was no chance of the British giving any more, as they had been warned by the Unionists in the North of Ireland that they would go to war if Britain decided to force them into the new Republic, as they felt that they were British themselves.

 A cost free way to do your shopping. We pictured this lady in one of the many towns we passed through on our journey today.

 The town of Bantry is a very lovely town, and located right on the western side of Ireland, where Bantry Bay leads directly into the Atlantic with nothing left between us and the USA but that ocean to the west.

 Mike and Julie, pictured looking really happy together, with Bantry Bay in the background.

 Unfortunately, we had the odd shower of rain here and there today, and the dark cloud did nothing for the light in this picture of Mike and Julie on the hillside overlooking Bantry Bay.

Another lovely picture of the coast of Kerry as we made our way up the south coast on our way to Killarney, where we will be tonight. Note the lovely Fuchsia.
Tomorrow we are off on the famous Ring of Kerry, a journey around the Iveragh peninsula, starting and ending in Killarney town. Then on Friday we are touring Dingle, where we will be staying before moving on to Galway. Mike and Julie will be staying in Benners hotel in the centre of Dingle town, and i myself will be returning to a favourite place of mine, Pax House in Dingle also. I have very special memories of this place, my first time back there in some time.My last visit was very special and holds very special memories.

This was a really nice start to this tour, and our weather was very good for November, cool but not too cold, and only the odd shower or two as we travelled.
Make sure to follow along with us as we make our merry way around the south west of this beautiful country.

Cork city and Kinsale on Irish chauffeurdriven vacation with Dave Hogan - REPOST OCT 8 2016

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To my many followers, especially those involved in these particular three tours.
Due to a computer error, three of my recent tour Posts were deleted from the Blog, and I am now reposting them.

They were the Blog posts for the following tours:

Phil and Barbara Reichart - Sept 13th- Sept 23rd
Dick Shannon - Sept 27th- Oct 6th
Pat Scanlon - Oct 8th- Oct 13th

Please note the dates of these Posts, as they are not being posted on the actual dates that these tours occurred. 

Sincerely, Dave Hogan
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Cork city and Kinsale on Irish chauffeurdriven vacation with Dave Hogan - REPOST OCT 8 2016

My latest tour got under way early today at Shannon airport, and these ladies brought the sunshine with them, all the way from New York. My new group consisted of four sisters, Pat, Eileen, Kathy, and Kerry. Kerry's daughter Allison was to join us later in Cork, where she is studying at the moment in the University there. Our program today included a visit to the Sacred Heart Convent in Cork where we had arranged a meeting, with their friend, Sister Mary Mc Manus.
In the picture above we have, from the left, Eileen,
Sister Mary, Allison, Kathy, Pat, and Kerry, standing at the front door of the new convent.

 
In this picture we have my group pictured on the front steps of the old convent, which has been closed now for some years.

All together with sister Mary, relaxing inside the new convent. This was a very special meeting with a very special lady, sister Mary, who is now ninety years young, and still with a wonderful memory and marvelous personality. A memorable visit.

Back at our hotel in Kinsale, and enjoying the lovely sunshine on the patio at the back of the Mac Donald's hotel.
From the left, Kathy, Kerry, Allison, and Pat.

Kinsale was celebrating it's Gourmet Festival this weekend, and today was Mad Hatter's day there, and our ladies joined this group of party goers for a photo on the street in Kinsale. Despite the fact that they had such a very early start at Shannon this morning, my new group were in great spirits, and lasted the full day, before retiring after a lovely meal together in Jim Edwards pub restaurant in Kinsale.

Tomorrow we  will have a relaxing day around Kinsale with a visit for lunch at the Old Head Golf Course, and also take in some of the many sights in this historic town.
Make sure to follow along.

If you need me for anything just message me.

Chauffeurdriven tour to Jameson's distillery and Cove with Dave Hogan - REPOST OCT 7 2016

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To my many followers, especially those involved in these particular three tours.
Due to a computer error, three of my recent tour Posts were deleted from the Blog, and I am now reposting them.

They were the Blog posts for the following tours:

Phil and Barbara Reichart - Sept 13th- Sept 23rd
Dick Shannon - Sept 27th- Oct 6th
Pat Scanlon - Oct 8th- Oct 13th

Please note the dates of these Posts, as they are not being posted on the actual dates that these tours occurred. 

Sincerely, Dave Hogan
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Chauffeurdriven tour to Jameson's distillery and Cove with Dave Hogan - REPOST OCT 7 2016

On Wednesday, we made our way to the famous Jameson's distillery in Midleton in county Cork. There was great excitement as we were all aware that after the tour of the distillery itself there would be a sampling session. This, of course, could be where the problems might begin for me, not that my people would cause trouble, but they do know how to party.

You can see in the picture above how anxious Annette was to get on with the tour, as she urges Joe to get a move on.

After completing  the tour without incident, and partaking in some sampling,we then we retired to have a snack. That was when the Irish coffees appeared, and the party was underway. Here we all are together, and it is obvious from the look on my face, (in the background there,) that I was getting a little nervous, as things were hotting up.

The ladies were now anxious to find out how to make the best Irish coffee, while in the home of the best of Irish whiskey. An expert was called in,(seen in the picture above),and the lesson began. Jane was fascinated by this, and took to it like a duck to water.

Now Annette was well into it also, as you can see here. I know that her Mom is following my Blog, and i hope that these pictures do not worry her too much, but i have to tell it as it is. I was concerned as these girls were my responsibility.

In this picture, it is clear to see that Annette is getting a slightly glazed look in her eyes.It was at this point that i called a halt to this session, which was difficult, and took a lot of tack, and i insisted that we would have to get underway soon as we had to get to Cove. Dick backed me, and took command of the situation, as any good mountie would do, and all was well again. The fact that he had settled for the soup helped a lot, as he was in full control of his senses.I suppose my concern for the girls may have been a little overdone, but having a couple of daughters myself, i know just how hard it is to keep an eye on young girls. I am sure that Annette's mom will understand.

By the time we got to Cove, all was well again, and the fresh air helped a lot. Here they are, all together at the memorial to Annie Moore and her two young brothers, the first people to register at Ellis Island in 1892.

Later in the day we returned to Kinsale, and to the old Charles Fort, which overlooks and guards the harbour there.

Kinsale is a beautiful town and one to put on your list.

This tour ended in Dublin yesterday, and what a fun tour it was, with a really lovely group of people. This year, i have been really blessed with many fine customers, people i would now like to call my new friends.
Thank you for all the fun that i was privileged to enjoy with you, and i wish you a safe journey back to the USA.

A very special thank you to my dear friend Dieny, who has helped me so much with her advice on how to deal with Annette during my latest tour. Your assistance Dieny, was invaluable, as she could have been a handful but for your guidance, and it all went off really well.

I begin another tour on Saturday, so if you are enjoying my Blog, feel free to journey along with us on my next adventure.