Chauffeurdriven tour on Ring of Kerry with Dovechauffeurdrive and Dave Hogan

The lovely Torc waterfall, just outside Killarney on the Ring of Kerry, is a most popular place for visitors to spend some time, and we did just that this morning. Today was what we call "A soft day" here in Ireland, a day when the rain is more of a mist, and the temperatures are not exactly cold. Today was such a day, and here we have our entire group, yes, me included, posing with the waterfall in the background.I am actually much taller in real life, just something wrong with the camera, or the photographer. What can i do. I still look lovely though, and Ohhh, so do the rest of them.

Here we have Peggy, pictured at the famous "Ladies View", where queen Victoria stood with her handmaidens, and declared it to be the most beautiful view in the kingdom.I think that Peggy just adds to the beauty with her lovely smile.

All the ladies together in this one, and another photo to add to their special Irish collection.
From the left we have, Ann, Peggy, Brenda, and Laurie.

Brenda, also at Ladies View, but from a different angle, looking back down towards Lord Brandon's cottage, from where the boats set out on their Gap journey down through the lakes of Killarney.

Muckross House is where Queen Victoria and her entourage stayed during their brief visit to Killarney. The ladies enjoyed the tour of this stately home today, which is now owned by the state.

I spotted this little guy hiding in this lovely cluster of flowers at Muckross. Leprechauns are not too inclined to reveal themselves during the day, but this fellow was caught unawares.

These Leprechauns are notorious pranksters and Ann and Peggy seem to be completely unaware of our jolly fellow as he sneaks in between them for this photo. There is something about Ireland that brings those lovely smiles to pretty faces.

Despite the damp day, everybody enjoyed today. Tomorrow we head for the wonderful Dingle peninsula. Come along and enjoy. Maybe have some fish and chips....and i mean real chips not those things you by in a tiny bag, i mean properly sliced chipped potatoes. (Something some people call French Fries, why i do not know, we do our own. )
See ya soon.

Chauffeurdriven tour in Gap of Dunloe with DoveCan you recognise

Today was a special day for the ladies, as they were off on their adventure through the famous Gap of Dunloe, a journey through a mountain gorge, which was created by a giant glazier. This tore through the Kerry mountains, during the ice age. The tour begins at Kate Kearney's cottage at the entrance to the Gap, where you board your horse drawn jaunting cars, which then bring you on the long haul up to the Gap at the top of the mountains, and down the far side to the lakes of Killarney at Lord Brandon's cottage. There you can have a snack before boarding your open boats, which take you down through the three lakes of Killarney, and back to Killarney itself at the historic Ross castle. This is indeed a very special journey ,and one not to miss. People will tell you that they did it and drove through it themselves, but take it from me, they do not know what they have missed by leaving out the section down through the lakes in the open boats. The Jarveys, the men who man the jaunting cars, are also local men, and great characters, and full of fun and stories. You will enjoy them also. If you do the Gap, do it the right way.
The picture above shows the gap in the distance, and the narrow mountain road ahead.

This is a picture of Ross castle as the boat reaches its final destination at the end of the tour.

Looks who's back again after their great adventure.

There's Ann and Peggy, looking happy and relaxed as their boatman brings them to the pier.

Another view of the Gap, as they near the top.

If you do choose to drive it, then this is the type of road you are going to have to navigate.

 Can you recognise these ladies pictured above? Well they are, from the right, Peggy, Ann, Brenda, and partially hidden behind Brenda, we have Laurie. They were on their feet for an encore at the end of the great Celtic Steps show in the Killarney racecourse auditorium last night, which features a great selection of wonderful traditional Irish music, wonderful singing, and world class Irish dancing. This is a show not to be missed, and one that has been running for the last few years, and will be continuing again when the next season begins around April 2018. The ladies really loved it, and were a little disappointed that they were not called up to give a little exhibition themselves, but maybe next year.

Well they did actually appear on stage, as you can see here, but they would not allow me to publish their performance as they have not worked out their contractual agreements with Utube yet. Well why should they not be paid also, common sense i would say.  A bit disappointing for their fans back home in the USA though i would think.

I forgot to mention that we dined last night in the Uptown Indian restaurant where everybody, even those who had never eaten Indian food before, really enjoyed the meal.
This was another great day and one we all enjoyed together.

Brenda and pals on tour with Dave Hogan

This morning we left Kinvara, as we began our journey to the southwest of the country, and the town of Killarney. This is one of my favourite Irish towns, and a wonderful location, as it is surrounded by some of Ireland's most beautiful countryside, the famous Ring of Kerry, the Dingle peninsula, the Beara peninsula, and the Gap of Dunloe, among some of the best known ones. These we will be covering over the coming days.
Our first stop off on our way south, was the lovely town of Adare.

 This old Trinitarian Abbey was built some eight hundred years ago, and is in remarkably good condition, and has become one of the most popular churches that i know of for weddings. Here we have my four ladies, really getting carried away, having been already to the matchmakers headquarters in Lisdoonvarna, and now in this choice place for weddings, what more can i say.
From the left we have, Brenda, Laurie, Peggy, and Ann.
Please refrain from sending any more enquiries to me, as i am not involved in any matchmaking business, nor have i any intention of passing on your information to anybody.

What a lovely picture of my happy girls inside the old abbey.

Now in the street outside the church with the famous old Adare thatched cottages in the background.

The town park in Adare is also very beautiful, and some of my ladies are really into flowers. I have a feeling that we will be visiting more gardens as we go.

Another picture in Adare town park. After spending a little time in the park,there was no time for any more pictures here, as i got distracted somehow, and the ladies were gone to the shops like a shot. What is it about women and shops anyway?  And they want us men to be more like them? Do they realise just how dangerous and disastrous that would be if we went on these mad shopping excursions as well? Where would the money come from? Is it not bad enough as it is with just one person shopping? I hope i am not worrying their partners at home too much now.

Well i did eventually find and capture them again and we moved on to Killarney where i took this really nice picture of the ladies down by Lough Laune with the majestic Kerry mountains in the background.

 Is there anything better to help people settle down than a good plate of Irish food, and a glass of wine? Well here we are, all together, and smiling in the Caragh Restaurant in the heart of Killarney town tonight. Amazingly, the ladies did as i suggested, and they all went for the magnificent Irish Kerry Lamb shank. If you get to Kerry, and visit the Caragh restaurant, make sure that you also have a lamb shank. I myself had the fish pie, another wonderful choice in the Caragh, and i did that purely to let the ladies see how good that dish was as we intend to dine here again on one of our remaining nights in Killarney.
Today was another great day really, with just the usual herding problems, but i am getting better at rounding them up, i think. How much easier life would be if they had never invented credit cards. I suppose this was always gong to happen when men lost their equality rights. Too late now to do anything about it. (I just hope that my wife is not reading this Blog.)

Chauffeurdrive visit to Knock with Dovechauffeurdrive and Dave Hogan

Today we visited the Holy Shrine at Knock in county Mayo, a shrine associated with many claims of healing miracles, something similar to Lourdes or Fatima. It is a beautiful place, and today there was a special bi-centenary celebration for the founding of the Congregation of the Religious of Jesus and Mary, a teaching order of nuns, which began in France all those years ago. They now work in some 28 countries, including Ireland and the USA. The Basilica at Knock was packed with hundreds of school children and we found ourselves spending time there, which had not been our plan.

 The beautiful Basilica at Knock, which was especially built for the visit of Pope John Paul 11 in 1979.

The vision at Knock appeared on the rear wall of the old church in Knock, in 1879, and the apparition consisted of the figures of Mary, St Joseph, and John the Evangelist, and an altar with a lamb and a crucifix, and a half circle of angels around the altar. In this picture, the ladies are joined by a nun who was also visiting today. This nun had spent many years in Nevada. In the background you can see the marbled figures of the apparition, inside this apparition chapel, which was built in recent years.

 A picture i took during the celebration ceremony today.

 Another view of some of the gathering of mainly children today.

 My four lovely ladies, pictured after the ceremony had ended. This picture was taken in front of the main altar, with the beautiful mosaic of the apparition in the background.

 Tonight the ladies are enjoying the medieval banquet in the Dun Guaire castle, in Kinvara where they are staying tonight.. They look like they are all set to have a great night, and i am sure that they will.

Chauffeurdriven trip to the Cliffs of Moher with Dove and Dave Hogan

Our weather took an amazing turn for the better today, as we made our way to the awesome Cliffs of Moher. Yesterday was so wild and wet, that today felt like the seasons had changed. This helped to make our trip to the Cliffs a very special occasion indeed.

There is no doubt that the sunshine brings out the best in most of us, and as we left Galway behind this morning, we were all in great spirits.I know that there are people in my line of work today who wonder why i seem to get all of the lovely ladies to tour with, but i just put that down simply to jealousy.
Here are my four lovely ladies, happy and smiling together, at the Poulnabrone Dolmen in the heart of the Burren of County Clare today. This dolmen is an ancient burial tomb, dating back thousands of years. It is not known who was buried here, but it would have been an important member of whatever community lived here back in those times.
The ladies are, from the left, Laurie, Ann, Peggy, and Brenda.

We spoke with this man at the Dolmen, and he explained that he was a warden here, and his job was to prevent any damage being done to this historic dolmen, as in recent times there has been damage done to this priceless grave by idiots and vandals. How can people behave like that. He was a very nice man and went to great lengths to explain everything to us. I would hope that if anybody is a witness to any such act,that they would report it to one of these wardens, or to the police.

After leaving the Dolmen, we continued on our way to Liscannor town, close to the Cliffs, where we visited this Rock Shop. Here they have a great selection of stones and rocks, not only from Ireland, but from many other countries also. Also a lovely place for a scone and a good cup of coffee.
I have to be careful with the ladies and control the amounts of shops they visit. Their husbands may be following the Blog, and i do not wish to get myself in any trouble.

Peggy looks like she is enjoying her first view of the Cliffs, or was it that warden she spotted close by. Who knows.

All together girls....I was not the only one taking pictures.

I am sure that this visit to the Cliffs will live long in the memory of these ladies, as they really had a wonderful time here. They did spend a lot of time looking for the Puffins, those gorgeous little birds that live close to the Cliffs, but who are never that easy to get close to, as they are a very shy bird, and nest mainly on close by offshore islands, and rocky headland areas. I think that ladies felt that we should capture some of  them, train them, and have them walking around freely everywhere, so that they could cuddle them, and pet them, like they would do maybe in the USA, in somewhere like Disneyland. You know, it's not that easy here. Anyway, in Ireland we do not have any Puffin trainers, as far as i know. And i am only a tour operator, a guide and driver. I know an awful lot, but i have very little know-how when it comes to Puffin catching or training. I think the ladies were still disappointed but what can i do?

There was great excitement when i told them that we were going to visit the famous matchmaking town of Lisdoonvarna. The annual matchmaking festival just finished here last weekend, and was once again a huge success. People still come here annually in their droves, seeking a life time partner. The matchmakers are available always all the year around, but September was the big month as it was when the farmers would come here after the harvest, when all of their work was done, and indeed many men came from America to find an Irish wife.
The ladies were up for a laugh, and here we have, on the left, Peggy, and on the right, Laurie, advertising for that man in a million.

Brenda and Ann were not to be left out.

I should really be charging people for this free advertising i am doing. Even the matchmakers get a fee, and i am sure that there are quiet a few men following my Blog.
Here we have all of the ladies together outside the Matchmaker Bar in the center of Lisdoonvarna. From the left we have, Laurie, Brenda, Ann, and Peggy.

As we made our way back to Kinvara, where they are staying tonight, we drove along the Flaggy shore, a wonderful area which takes you along the southern coast of the lovely Galway bay. Here we have Brenda, one happy lady, enjoying the fresh air in glorious sunshine. I hope that all of those misinformed people who say that it always rains in Ireland are following this Blog, and talking note. Yes... i did say sunshine.

Here we have Ann, also enjoying the sunshine. Note her shadow, if there was no sunshine, she would have no shadow, so there.

They are a jolly bunch, and great fun to be with.

Tomorrow we head northwards into county Mayo, one of the worst affected areas in the dreadful famine in 1845. Come join us.

Chauffeurdriven tour of Ireland West and Southwest with Dovechauffeurdrive and Dave Hogan

Today, Wednesday 4th October, i began my latest tour, when i collected Brenda Holson and her pals, Peggy, Ann and Laurie, on their arrival at Shannon airport.

 From the left we have, Brenda, Ann, Peggy, and Laurie, all seated together in the Harbour Hotel in Galway after their long journey from Florida. They were obviously tired but happy to have arrived at last.

Despite their tiredness, they were ready and willing to allow me to take them on a brief tour of Galway city, where the highlight today was the beautiful Galway Cathedral. Here they are, all happy and smiling inside this magnificent church which was opened in 1965 by Cardinal Cushing from Boston. This was fitting, as a large amount of the money collected to complete the construction of this cathedral, was collected from Irish Americans in the USA.
The weather was unkind today,but the ladies were tired anyway, and were happy to be able to retire to their hotel for a rest.
Tomorrow we should be all fit and ready to go on the next part of what i hope will be a wonderful experience for these ladies, as we venture into some of the most beautiful places in the West and Southwest of Ireland.
Maybe you can come along with us, and follow their tour. You are more than welcome.

Sheehan at Sheehans in Dublin.

 I have been having problems with my  computer and have not been able to Blog properly for the last few days. To add to my problem, my techie is unwell right now so please forgive the confusion. Hopefully i will rectify it soon.
Now adding a few more pics from Bob Sheehan's tour in Dublin.

Here we have a picture of Sheehan's famous pub in Dublin.

Joanne pictured in Dublin outside Sheehan's pub.

Enjoying the music in Sheehan's in Dublin.