Chauffeurdrive vacations with Dovechauffeurdrive and Dave Hogan

 A lovely Kerry sky, with white clouds over the mountains.

 Here we have my happy family, with the lovely beach at Inch on the Dingle peninsula, in the background. This is a great place for surfing, and becoming increasingly popular. It also featured in the movie "Ryan's Daughter".
From the left;  Mom Janine, Erin, Dad Mike, Claire (the Boss), Grace (hiding behind her hair) and Jane.

 Another view out to sea from Inch. The USA is just beyond the horizon there, but you would need really good weather to catch a glimpse of it.

 The lambing season is over here in Ireland now,but you can still get to hold a baby lamb, (if you are traveling with me.) Well, maybe you might be lucky otherwise, but no guarantees, like mine. The West of Ireland, with its rugged Atlantic peninsulas and mountains, is where you will find the free roaming sheep. They all belong to the local farmers, but are allowed to roam the mountains during the better weather, but are gathered again before the cold winter months. My pictures here were all taken on the Dingle peninsula.
Erin looks like she has here hands full here, but isn't she happy?

 I said "Hello" to this little guy, and he waved at me. Jane looks like she is hanging on here.

 Now Jane's guy looks like he has settled down. Erin seems to be getting to know her guy.

 What is this guy doing with his legs in the air? Whatever it was, Grace seems to be enjoying it. A moment to remember for Grace.

 A nice picture of Claire, with her long golden locks, holding her big well fed lamb.He was quiet heavy.

 Mom Janine was not to be outdone, so she had her turn.

 Dad Mike looks like he has his hands full with this little guy, who looks like he is begging for help.

Sad to say, this was our final breakfast together in the Plaza Hotel in Killarney. What a lovely family to spend a vacation with. All we had left now was our journey back to Dublin, where we parted company, after what i would have to say, was, for me, just like a vacation with my pals.I know they also loved it all, especially my stories. I do write, but now they want me to write a book of my short stories. Maybe i will.
Thank you all, let's do it again sometime.

Wild Atlantic way chauffeurdriven tours with Dave Hogan and Dovechauffeurdriven vacations

I operate a chauffeurdrive business in Ireland, but i must point out that the above vehicle is not my normal means of transport. That is what we call a jaunting car, and here we have Grace, on the left, with Mom Janine and Jane, ready to go on their trip into the wonderful Gap of Dunloe in the Kerry mountains.

The Gap road is an ancient mountain gorge, which was caved through the Kerry mountains by a giant glacier during the ice age. Do not drive through here as you are a danger to yourselves, and also to the horses and jaunting cars.

The Gap of Dunloe tour begins with the jaunting cars, which take you up and over the mountain pass, which is the Gap, and then down to the lakes of Killarney on the other side. Here you board the small open boats, which then take you down through the lakes of Killarney, and back to Ross castle on the outskirts of Killarney.
In the picture above, we have, Claire, Erin, Grace , and Jane, having a break before boarding the boats.

Another moment of relaxation, with, from the left, Grace,Jane, Claire and Erin, with head coach Janine, standing watch in the background. What a nice picture.

An even more relaxed group as they wait fro their boat ride.

Ready to go at last, Erin, and Mom Janine, with their life jackets on.

They made it. All happy and smiling together as they arrived safely at Ross Castle, with Lough Laune in the background.
From the left....Janine, Jane, Big Daddy Mike, Erin, Grace , and Claire. The launch in the background is one of the pleasure cruisers which takes you on a tour of the lake, and the wonderful Inishfallen Island.

The magnificent Ross Castle, where your boat docks at the end of the Gap trip.

I just had to add this picture, which i took in Killarney town. Here we have a young Mom, with her five children, three in the buggy, and the two older ones standing beside her. Older ones? What a great and brave Mom, and she was only happy to pose with them all for me for this picture. God bless you Mom, and all of you lovely babies.

Today we head for the Dingle peninsula, and another adventure. Come along if you wish.

Chauffeurdriven tours of Ireland with Dovechauffeurdrive and Dave Hogan

 My latest tour is with the lovely Archibeck family, all the way from New Mexico. I took this really nice photo on our arrival in the Killarney Plaza Hotel.
From the left ,  Grace, Dad Michael, on the stairs behind, (kinda hard to make him out as he seems to blend in with the colours in the background)Then we have Erin, Jane, Claire and Mom Janine.

We had a brief stop off in the lovely little town of Adare on the way down to Killarney.

Our afternoon was spent in the grounds of the majestic Muckross House in Killarney. This was where Queen Victoria had stayed during her visit to Killarney in the eighteen hundreds. A fortune was spent on preparing the house and grounds for her visit, and the gardens here are really lovely.

My happy family, pictured here in the Muckross grounds, with the lakes and mountains of Killarney in the background.

This majestic oak tree in the grounds is one of my favourite trees, and must be at least a hundred years old.

The four beautiful Archibeck daughters, pictured together at Torc Waterfall in Killarney.
From the left, Claire, Jane, Grace and Erin.

All together at Torc, with one addition, yours truly. This family are all keen athletes, and a five to eight mile jog every morning is nothing to them. I may join them when they progress to my ten mile usual.

A visit to Ladies View in the mountains above Killarney, is a must. It was here that Queen Victoria, on taking in the view, declared it to be "The most beautiful View in the Kingdom"

This is a full view of Ladies View, with the long chain of the lakes of Killarney far below in the valley.
From the left. Janine, Grace, Dad Mike, Erin, Jane and Claire. What a lovely picture of a lovely family.

St Mary's Cathedral in Killarney, always amazes me, as the stonework here is comprised of hundreds of thousands of small stone fragments, which are holding up this gigantic structure, with its vast roof. The stone masons in those times, were master craftsmen. The stonework here, for me, is symbolic of the power of large numbers of people, working, and united, together for a common cause.

Pictured together here in the main Isle of the cathedral. The family that prays together, stays together?

Micro breweries, producing local craft beers, have become extremely common in the USA, and are now springing up all over Ireland. There is a new one now in Killarney, and Janine, Mike and i, visited there, and took part in the tour, which was really interesting.

Not only was the tour interesting Mike and Janine also enjoyed the sampling afterwards. Mike reckoned that this was the best craft beer he has sampled, and he is a fan of craft beers. I am not telling how much sampling they had, but their behavior was exemplary. What more can i say.

Mike, our tour guide Pat, Janine, and a sober me, pictured together after the tour.

If my family from New Mexico are enjoying themselves as much as i am enjoying being with them, then they are having a ball. We have been having some great food sessions together, with me, desperately defending my plate from their invading forks from all sides. Will i ever get used to the American way of eating? Or will i have to concede, and attack their plates. We shall see.

More to follow as out tour continues.

Cliffs of Moher and Galway City on Wild Atlantic Way chauffeurdriven tour with Dave Hogan

Yesterday, Thursday, we made our way to the Cliffs of Moher. The weather was not the best, but we did get to see the Cliffs, and my pals really enjoyed it all. Earlier we had managed to recover the lost luggage, which thankfully had arrived at Shannon, so we were all much relieved.

We did have some rain, which unfortunately was coming in from the USA but i suppose they have to get rid of it somewhere. Here we have, from the left, my cousin, Pat, Mike, her husband, Russ, and Denise, posing, with O'Brien's tower in the background.
After leaving the Cliffs, we made our way to Galway City, where they stayed last night.

This morning we began our tour of Galway city, with a stop off at the magnificent Galway Cathedral. This beautiful cathedral was built on the site of the old British jail, and was opened in 1965 by Cardinal Cushing.

A lovely picture of Mike and Pat inside the Cathedral, with the beautiful Rose stained glass window in the background. If you do get to Galway, do pay a visit to this special cathedral, you will not be disappointed.

I just had to bring Pat back to the old family homestead in Salthill, the sea side suburb, where i was born and reared. Deserted now for many years,it stands on a wonderful site overlooking Galway Bay, but no more than myself, it has been battered a little by the Atlantic breezes. Pat looks well though, doesn't she?

We had lunch in the Galway Golf club restaurant, which was a real treat, especially for the ladies. We did not have much difficulty getting them in past the bouncers on the doors, as i explained to them, that for security reasons, we had to always bring along our own waitresses. Denise was not happy with this, but she was hungry, and went along with it. You know what golf clubs are like ladies, don't you?

Americans seem to like sharing their food while dining, something abhorrent to us Irish, as you are likely to get stabbed if you go near one of our plates when we are eating. Just for the sake of peace, i agreed to share my strawberry bomb dessert with Denise, something i will surely live to regret if any of my friends find out. A strawberry bomb by the way, consists of vanilla ice cream, crushed meringue,fresh strawberries and fresh cream, with a dash of strawberry syrup on the top to finish it off. (You can see from that sneaky look of victory on Denise's face that she has fooled me into sharing, and that i will pay for that. A bit of the Adam and Eve in that, would you think?

Here we have from the left, yours truly, my wife Sue, my brother Sean, my cousin Pat, and her husband Mike, outside the Golf club, having finished our lunch.

After a really nice day together, we finally arrived back in Kinvara to our own home, where we had tea and cookies. Here we have my happy  friends, seated around the kitchen table. It's hard to beat an Irish cup of tea.

This has been a very special tour for me as it is not often i get to be with my cousins from the USA. Like most Irish people, we have relatives, and children of our own, in the USA, and elsewhere, and it is always special when they come to visit.
I hope they have had as nice a time with us as we have had with them. I do know that Russ wants to buy a little house here, close to a golf course, and a little town, with some good old fashioned Irish pubs, where the regulars are little old Irishmen, full of jokes, and stories of bygone days. They are surely there Russ, and you will be welcome.

If you are planning a visit to Ireland, and you are interested in a chauffeurdriven tour, you do not have to be my cousin to travel with me. All are welcome.

Chauffeurdriven tours of Ireland West and South West with Dave Hogan

Like most Irish people, i have many relatives in the USA, but this was to be my first tour with a relative, my cousin Pat Homeyer, her husband Mike, and their friends Russ and Denise Bishop. Pat and Mike are from Houston Texas, while Russ and Denise are from Colorado. Our first day, Tuesday, was complicated, as Pat and Mike's flight from Houston was delayed ,which resulted in them missing their connection at Newark, which in turn led to a diversion to London, which in turn again led to another delay there and a very late afternoon arrival at Shannon. On top of that their luggage never arrived. Not the best of starts, but good sports that they are, they did not let in spoil anything.
The picture above of the Flesk river in Killarney, signaled the beginning of a far better day all around today.

How better to start day 2 than with a great breakfast at the Killarney Plaza Hotel. If you do get to stay there make sure you try their oatmeal, or as we correctly call it, porridge, the right name,of course.

Today was to be an adventure in the magnificent Gap of Dunloe, that wonderful mountain gorge in the Kerry mountains, just outside Killarney. In the picture above we have my impatient friends, waiting to take their bus to the entrance to the Gap.
From the left, Mike, Pat , my cousin, (you can tell from her good looks), Denise, and Russ.

All set and ready to go, after boarding their jaunting car at the entrance to the Gap. Don't they look happy.

 Under way,  as the horse begins the long journey up through the gorge on his way to Lord Brandon's cottage on the far side,where they will board their boats, which then takes them down through the lakes of Killarney, and back to the town itself.

 One of the quaint bridges which span the river linking the roadside lakes as you journey up to the gap at the top.

A view of the narrow road, winding its way up the mountainside.

The boat ride down through the lakes is a real treat, where you enjoy amazing views of the mountains surrounding you all the way.

There are narrow waterways which link the lakes before you finally enter Lough Laune, which is the largest lake, and where you disembark at the ancient Ross Castle.

There it is, Ross Castle, standing proudly on the mainland on the Ross peninsula.

Ashore, and all beaming, after a really wonderful trip. Please note the suntans. It never ceases to amaze me just how many people come to Ireland just to get a decent suntan. Well i suppose some of them come for the Guinness also. Traveling with me, of course, also allows them to have a few pints, but i do keep an eye on them as we are very critical of drinking here. I think it may have something to do with our calm serene nature.

Killarney is really beautiful, and make no mistake about that. I have seen nonsense comments by some who claim that it is too touristy. Well, if they think that they can have a place as lovely as Killarney to themselves, maybe they should try the moon, or maybe Mars or somewhere. 

In this picture above we have, from the left, Russ, Denise, Pat, and Mike, with the Killarney racecourse in the background. We went there, after leaving Ross castle, to reserve our seats for tonight's fantastic show, Celtic Steps, featuring the best of Irish dancing, song and music. The show takes place in the auditorium at the racecourse and is not to be missed.

This afternoon we visited Killarney's St Mary's cathedral, built on a site where many famine victims were buried in mass graves during the terrible famine in the mid eighteen hundreds.

 Mike and Pat, with Denise and Russ, inside this fabulous cathedral.

There is a new restaurant in Killarney called the Uptown restaurant. This really nice place is owned by Imhran Khan and his wife Faiza, and it will not do any harm if you mention my name to them.  If you choose to dine in Casita Mexicana, you can mention my name there also to the owners, Eve and husband John. Both of these restaurants will not disappoint. The Uptown offers a great selection of

Thai, Chinese, and Indian food, and it is really good. It is located just off New street, in the same location as my favourite Mexican restaurant, Casita Mexicana. Now.... there's two nights dining covered for you in one go. If you saw my tummy, you would know for sure that i appreciate my food.

 Three very happy and lovely ladies dining in the Uptown.

 Just a sample picture of my starter, a delicious type of prawn dish. Yummy. I also had a delicious Madras. Tempted?

Full up with great food, we were now off to the Celtic steps show, and what a night we had there.All of the ladies in this picture above, are champion dancers.

 This is Roisin Ryan, a lady born and reared on the Ring of Kerry, and a wonderful singer, with a real haunting, lilting Irish voice. Rosin also plays the violin and is a very talented musician.

 Now the guys are in the picture, these two having 12 world championship titles between them. They  are just fantastic dancers, and have to be seen to be believed.

 Russ and Mike with one of the champs between them.

 My full party with a couple of the dancers.

 Pat, on the left, with dancer, Darragh O'Donnell,  accordion player Sharon Langston, and Denise pictured after the show. Sharon is another truly wonderful musician, who has traveled extensively with her music. I could sit listening to her all night. I think my pals could also.

And finally, the ladies just had to get to meet the musical director, and producer of Celtic Steps, Sean Murphy. Well they did, and here he is, smiling happily with the ladies,and bringing their evening to the perfect conclusion.