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Latest Travel News
To our Wild West Travelers and Community,
Wishing you and your family are well and in good spirits. We are certainly living in extraordinary times.
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A Day in the Wild West
Wild Westie Lucinda kept a journal while on a Wild West Irish Tour and has kindly shared with us her experience of a day in the Wild West!
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Valentine’s Day and The Claddagh Ring
People all around the world are celebrating Valentine’s day today, but did you know Irish people represent their love by wearing jewellery such as a Claddagh Ring?
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Irish Lessons with Wild West Irish Tours!
The Irish language is a huge part of what unites people of the Wild West together as a nation. It connects us with our ancestors and brings the feeling of family to life. We recognise the importance of this here at Wild West Irish Tours and want to help you connect with your roots!
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Happy St Brigid’s Day!
Born into a noble family, Brigid was named after the ‘Goddess of Fire’. Which is said to be one of the most powerful goddesses of the pagan religion. Her name reflected well upon her personality as she was a strong, empowering female figure in Irish history.
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An Irish Christmas Long Ago
I sat down and asked my grandparents about what Christmas in Ireland was like when they were young. How much it differs from present day traditions.
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Rachael’s Introductory
We welcome Rachael Sharkey, our brand new Social Media Specialist! Here is her Introductory.
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Thoughts from a Two Time Wild Westie
When my husband and I signed up for our second tour with the Wild West Irish Tour group we imagined that there was NO way it could match the amazing time we had on our first tour. Happily, we were wrong!!
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Donegal Landscapes through Daniel’s Lens
Daniel is a photographer from Richmond VA, who joined our tour, with a personal desire to capture the Donegal landscapes through his camera lens.
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The Luck of the Irish!
It was the luck of the Irish when my daughter, who I was visiting in Richmond, and I happened by your booth and Ireland brochures at the St Patrick’s Day Festival and met Beatriz
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Carousel Wild West!
I felt privileged to experience the history and culture of Ireland with knowledgeable guides in a relaxed atmosphere, where a driver is perfectly happy to stop the mini-bus just because a Wild Westie wants to snap a picture of one of Ireland’s breathtaking views.
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A Community Member’s Story
This was my third trip to Ireland, my second Wild West Irish Tour. I knew it would be amazing but I didn’t know that it would be so completely different from my other two trips.
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Wild Living With Livestock
When traveling through the Wild West of Ireland, one probably expects to see sheep, it’s true.
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St. Patrick’s Day
It’s almost St. Patrick’s Day! Can you believe how fast the year is flying by already?
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Casting Stones: A personal Account
Many thanks to tour participant Nancy Fitzgerald for this elegant piece about her experience on one of our very own tours.
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Christmas in the Wild West of Ireland
What makes the Christmas season merry and bright in the Wild West of Ireland? Everyone loves to celebrate their Christmas traditions.
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Moher and More
It feels like the edge of the world sometimes in the Wild West of Ireland. The landscape edged with oceanic foam. Dramatic drops off into the sea framed by stone made famous by film, song, and story.
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Four Fantastic Film Spots in Ireland
For film fanatics, we share the four fantastic film spots in the Wild West of Ireland. Full of memorable places from movies & TV,
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Halloween in the Wild West of Ireland
Here are three Halloween beings you might encounter when the veil is thinnest at this time of year in the Wild West of Ireland…
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Wild West Irish Tours: Upcoming Irish Festivals Automn 2019
The Wild West Irish Tours has two extraordinary events coming up and we want to see you there! Mark your calendars for the Maryland Irish Festival, the largest indoor Celtic festival in the country, as well as the spectacular Central Virginia Celtic Festival & Highland Games! Featuring craftsmen and musicians of all manner of Irish … Continued
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All About Irish Countess Markievicz
Countess Markievicz is not a name that is forgotten easily. So much more than a muse of a poet – a nurse, a seamstress, a countess, a rebel leader.
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A Typical Day on Tours of Ireland
Rise and shine, it’s time to set out on a typical day of our small group tour to Ireland.
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Irish Songs for your Playlist
On your trip to the Wild West of Ireland, there are great Irish songs that should be on your playlist. Our Wild West Irish Alumni have a few tracks in mind for your any of our four tours in our comfortable mini bus.
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Guinness in the Wild West of Ireland
Ireland is green, Ireland is beautiful, and of course, there’s Guinness by the pint. Wild West Irish Tours makes a point of stopping in authentic pubs and restaurants known to serve a variety of drinks.
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Six Irish Wedding Traditions
Ireland is full of traditions and we’ve chosen to highlight a few of our favorite Irish wedding traditions. We’ve had Wild Westies from all over celebrate their weddings and anniversaries with us.
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3 Reasons to Visit Ireland in the Fall
It’s not quite Fall! But if you’d like to pretend it’s already the season of falling leaves and spooky stories, I suggest you grab your pumpkin spice latte, your softest blanket, and cozy up with a look at Ireland in the Fall, and our top three reasons why you should visit!
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Yeats and Wild Waters
Irish poetry speaks to the soul. There is a fundamental connection to Seamus Heaney, Oscar Wilde, James Joyce, and William Butler Yeats.
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History with Adrian O’Neill
Sligo Town tour guide Adrian O’Neill has always loved history. Sitting in secondary [or high] school; listening to an incredible teacher tell stories of Columbus, Magellan – explorers and guides in their own right.
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3 Legends from the Causeway Coast Tour
When it comes to folklore, history, and legends of the Wild West of Ireland, the opportunities for exploration are endless.
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Dispatches From the Wild West of Ireland
When I returned from my Clare-Connemara-Galway Tour I was glad to be home and see my family. But I felt a little melancholy at leaving the home of my heart. And tremendously grateful to have had the opportunity to share my experiences with all of you.
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Dispatches from the Wild West: Day #9
A quiet thread of melancholy hovered over me as I made my way to breakfast on the last morning of my Clare-Conemara-Galway tour.
Read Post Dispatches from the Wild West: Day #8
The final day of my Wild West Clare-Connemara-Galway Tour was a quiet wrap-up to a week of history, myth, legend, song and breathtaking sights.
Read Post Dispatches from the Wild West: Day #7
I have discovered Heaven on another beautiful, sunny day on the Clare-Galway-Connemara tour
Read Post Dispatches from the Wild West: Day #6
A heat wave has hit Ireland this week, and I’ve managed to acquire a bit of a sunburn…and I’m having the time of my life on the Clare-Galway-Connemara Tour!
Read Post Dispatches from the Wild West: Day #5
A scorcher in the Wild West of Ireland today, as the country enters a heat wave and I headed out upon a journey of spirituality and self-discovery.
Read Post Dispatches from the Wild West: Day #4
Day 4 ~ From Sweeping Romance to Gritty Reality and back again. Another fabulous day with Wild West Irish Tours that brought out the romantic in me!
Read Post Dispatches from the Wild West: Day #3
Day 3 ~ History and Old Hollywood. A lovely day for a cruise…and that’s exactly what we did!
Read Post Dispatches from the Wild West: Day #2
Day 2 ~ A Feast of History and Inspiration. The sun shone brightly on the second day of my Clare-Connemara-Galway tour.
Read Post Dispatches From the Wild West: Day #1
My Clare-Connemara-Galway tour started out with a bang, filled with history, fascinating details that only locals would know, and just a wee bit o’ Irish mist.
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Dispatches From the Wild West of Ireland
I’m about to embark on a grand adventure, and I feel almost like one of my own romance novel heroines!
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Genetic Memory
I felt a sense of anticipation as I walked toward that dead village. At first, I thought, “Oh, I’m just excited to see the place and absorb the history.” But it was more than that. I felt almost as if I were coming home after a long exile.
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An Irish Tour for Every Adventurer
It’s almost summertime! Have you made any plans for the upcoming months of sunshine, serenity, and sightseeing?
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An Author’s Journey for Inspiration
My name is Cynthia Owens and I’m a proud and grateful alumnus of a Wild West Irish Tour.
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Mystical Beings Found in Ireland
Monsters, The Sidhe, tragic lovers, secret caves, mystical landscapes!! Oh my! Here are six mystical beings you could take home from the Wild West of Ireland.
Read PostHistorical Figures of The Wild West of Ireland
Here is a cast of characters historically documented to have shared the roads you’re traveling on. Walk alongside these folks and invite them home with you – so that they, through you, can tell their tales.
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Put Knocknarea on your Bucket List!
The sound of stones being clacked together; the feeling of mist curling between grassy knolls, the sheer slick of mud beneath a traveler’s boots, and the bite of cool mountain air with just a splash of the sea. If one were to listen closely, one might hear the whispers of battle-song and chanting on the wind – echoes of a past as mythical and enigmatic as one can possibly imagine.
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4 Surprises in the Wild West of Ireland!
When it comes to the Wild West of Ireland, there is plenty to be surprised about.
But according to our alumni “Wild Westies”, people who travel with us on a Wild West Irish Tour, nothing is more surprising than these top four things:
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Purls of a Sweater Queen
Donegal. One of the realest and wildest places in the Heart of the Wild West of Ireland whose slogan is “Up here, it’s different”. A bit of an understatement; that, in the best possible way!
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Cruising the Channels of the Wild West
Going to the Wild West of Ireland, one probably doesn’t expect to take a cruise of any kind. Ireland, however, runs rampant with rivers and lakes [or “loughs”, if you will] as well as being surrounded by the wild Atlantic, lends itself to quite a few opportunities to peruse via cruise.
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We “Herd” You Like Sheep!
Forget everything you think you know about sheepdogs – not the big, gray and white behemoths bounding through the grass, or the heelers from Down Under. No, this is more along the lines of James Herriot with an Irish twist, a black and white beauty racing herds of fluffy sheep across agate terrain.
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Putting “Heart” in Heart of the Wild West!
Wild Westie Sue Kavanagh wrote us the most incredible love letter to the Wild West of Ireland today – a fantastic retelling of her experience on a Wild West Irish Tour..
Read PostThe Armada & The Man Who Treasures Her
When people think of the Wild West of Ireland, they probably picture a lot of things: the iconic hills, the individual mountains, stories of Yeats, and endless rainbows.
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The Heart of Ireland’s Wild West: Summary
It occurred to me that in describing my elaborate adventures in the Wild West of Ireland this time around, some people might want the Reader’s Digest version of events that transpired.
Read PostHearth & Heart’s Desire: Day Six
It’s almost time to go home – but I’m just not ready yet!
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Hearth & Heart’s Desire: Day Five
Day five on a Wild Westie live blogging adventure – a day about town, and so much more.
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Hearth & Heart’s Desire: Day Four
Today’s adventure takes place in yesteryear, now, and the future – for what we experienced today will come with us tomorrow…in the best possible way!
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Hearth & Heart’s Desire: Day Three
Day three of the Wild West Irish Tours live blogging adventure – and let me tell you, folks, today was one of the greats!
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Hearth & Heart’s Desire: Day Two
Day two of a Wild West Irish Tour’s brief coverage for you all!
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Hearth & Heart’s Desire: Day One
Welcome to the daily updates of a Wild Westie on the Move!
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Wild West Irish Tours 2017 Highlights!
As a part of Wild West Irish Tours, from our perspective, we also focus on transformation – as we say, “you will be transformed” journeying with us, and stepping over the threshold to explore the Wild West of Ireland – from perspectives new and old.
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Home is The Land of Heart’s Desire
Recently, a few folks have come forward to express how much Ireland reminds them of certain places close to home.
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What Does the Irish Wild West Sound Like?
Music has, for centuries, been a means of speaking to one another – be it a romantic love song between the wooer and the wooed, a tune to pick up one’s spirits during the war & bolster morale, or simply something to dance to and connect with others on the dancefloor. In the Land of Heart’s Desire, music is all of the above and more.
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Sandra Ganley: Our Rising Rose
With less than three weeks till the Rose of Tralee International Festival comes to fruition, we thought we might take a moment to recognize the competition our dear Rose of Mayo; Sandra Ganley, has entered into.
Read PostDo You HAVE to be Irish to Visit?
Wild West Irish Tours has roots in different places – Virginia, Ireland, and the many areas of the world our adventurers come from to join us on our quests.
Read PostThe Mayo Rose of the Wild West
We are pleased to announce our sponsorship of Sandra’s journey to Tralee in the hopes she will take home the crown. She quite possibly best exemplifies what it means to be the Rose of Tralee.
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What IS a Wild West Irish Tour?
It occurs to me that some of you may not know exactly who or what a Wild West Irish Tour is. I’d be happy to break that down for you now!
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5 Friendly Faces in Western Ireland!
It isn’t just the two-legged who tend to be curious about visitors; however – the residents of Ireland who walk on four legs instead of two are also known for their inquisitive and outgoing nature
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Top Mystery Spots in Western Ireland!
Enjoy this peek through the window into where we like to venture: if you dare to be wild, come with us now to discover these secret places
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