🍀44 Clovers Dyeing to Knit Ireland Tour 2024 🍀
October 7th-16th 2024
Explore hidden gems rich in heritage and natural beauty while learning from local crafts people.
What’s Included in this Tour:
* Transfers on arrival and departure by private coach (for arrivals prior to 11am on tour start date (Monday October 7th from Dublin airport) and departures on tour end date (Wednesday October 16th to Shannon airport).
* Sightseeing as per itinerary in a luxury coach with an experienced driver and accredited guide, entrance fees included if applicable.
* Accommodation in double rooms with private facilities for 9 nights. Single supplement if required: (Booking a single private room is at an extra cost, in addition to the tour cost, price listed below).
* Irish breakfast daily.
* 7 hotel dinners.
* 3 lunches.
* Afternoon Tea at Crafts of Ireland.
* Entrance to the following attractions: The Little Museum of Dublin, Trinity College & Book of Kells Exhibition, Belleek Pottery, & The Cliffs of Moher.
* Ferry fare to and from Inis Mór, Aran Islands.
* The Shed Distillery Guided Tour.
* Inis Mór Guided Tour.
* Studio Donegal/Donegal Yarns Visit.
* Galway Wool Co-op & Farm Visit with Blatnaid Gallagher.
* Heart of Burren Walking Tour with Tony Kirby.
Workshops & Knitting Activities Included:
* Moebius knitting workshop with Lisa Sisk of This is Knit, Dublin.
* Crafts of Ireland Experience with Sandra Coote at her farm where she raises the rare Roscommon sheep, grows and processes flax into linen and many other traditional crafts, Cavan.
* Carrickmacross Lace Gallery; lace making demonstration (they have lace making kits!!!), Monaghan.
* Edel MacBride, renowned knitwear designer of Donegal & Derry, knitting workshop, Donegal.
* Exclusive knitting workshop with Carol Feller of Stolen Stitches of Cork, happening in Galway.
* Traditional Aran knitting workshop with Aran Island native, Úna McDonagh, Inis Mór.
* Natural Dye Hybrid workshop with your Host, Rachel Bingham Kessler of 44Clovers, The Burren.
* Wool, patterns, and other fibers (you need to bring your own needles, sizes will be advised) will be included.
Luxury Accommodations
*Dublin for 1 night (Camden Court Hotel or similar)
* Cavan for 1 night (Cabra Castle Hotel)
* Donegal for 2 nights (Mill Park Hotel or similar)
* Galway for 1 night (Park House Hotel or similar)
* Inis Mór for 2 nights (Aran Islands Hotel)
* Clare for 2 nights (Armada Hotel)
*Itinerary Important Note: Attractions, Workshops and Demonstrations may change according to availability and scheduling
***Airfare, travel insurance and gratuities are not included in the tour price. ***
Day 1: Monday October 7th Tour Introduction, Little Museum of Dublin, Trinity College
* Tour Introduction – Meet your tour guide in the hotel lobby where you will be introduced to the 9 Day tour ahead!
* The Little Museum of Dublin – Set in a Georgian townhouse, this award-winning quirky museum along with its informative and funny tour guides, will take you on a journey of Irish history and nostalgia over the last century.
*Trinity College & Book of Kells Exhibit – Visit this world renowned institution which houses the famous Book of Kells manuscript which was intricately penned by monks in the 9th century.
* Welcome Dinner – Enjoy as a group at our hotel this evening.
*Feel free to take your self out exploring for a pint and music or settle in for the night after taking a dip in the hotel pool.
Day 2: Tuesday October 8th Lisa Sisk and Sandra Coote
*Knitting workshop with Lisa Sisk – Enjoy an exclusive knitting workshop with Lisa from This is Knit, Dublin’s favored knitting shop. Lisa will meet us at our hotel.
*Crafts of Ireland Visit – after our workshop with Lisa, we’ll board our coach to go visit Sandra at Crafts Ireland in Cavan for a tailored experience including a scrumptious afternoon tea along with gleaning an insight into flax growing, crochet, wool dyeing and seeing her local and rare heard of Roscommon sheep.
*Overnight at Cabra Castle, Cavan. We’ll then head over to check into our castle stay at Cabra Castle! Relax for the rest of the afternoon and evening with dinner and a walk around the grounds, snuggle in with a book, or work out what Lisa taught us earlier that day.
Day 3: Wednesday October 9th Carrickmacross Lace and the Shed Distillery
*Carrickmacross Lace – We’ll board our coach and drive north 11km to Monaghan to visit the famed Carrickmacross Lace Gallery. Well known for creating a panel of lace for the late Princess Diana’s wedding dress.
*Shed Distillery – We’ll then head 100km west to Leitrim to visit the award-winning Drumshambo Gunpowder Gin where this distillery is set in deepest rural Ireland. Take a tour of the working distillery and new visitor experience before tasting some of the products yourself!
*Overight Donegal– We’ll then 90km north to Donegal and settle into our next hotel, the Mill Park Hotel for 2 nights. Enjoy exploring Donegal town on your own this evening or staying in this evening for a dip in the indoor pool.
Day 4: Thursday October 10th Edel MacBride and Studio Donegal
*Edel MacBride Workshop – Take part in an intensive workshop with one of Ireland’s finest knitwear designers, Edel MacBride, who will conduct a core workshop on Aran knitting this morning right at our hotel.
*Following this, enjoy lunch at our hotel (included).
*Studio Donegal – We’ll board our coach for travel 40km west to the Donegal coast to visit this manufacturing business which is deep rooted in the wild and rugged county of Donegal. Here, we’ll learn about the preservation and promotion of traditional Irish hand-weaving while seeing the process from beginning to end, i.e. spinning, warping and weaving of the wool.
*Free Evening – Upon return to our hotel (approx. 5:30PM/6:00PM), the remainder of the evening ours to enjoy on our own. Be it exploring the town of Donegal for dinner and music. Pool side at our hotel, or a cozy sofa with our knitting and comforting night cap.
*Overnight at the Mill Park Hotel, Donegal
Day 5: Friday October 11th Belleek Pottery and Blatnaid Gallagher’s ‘Wool Safari’
*Belleek Pottery – We board our coach and travel 30km south and then slightly east to dip a tow into Northern Ireland to visit a world famous producer of Parian china goods, Belleek Pottery. A 160 year old tradition of fine craftsmanship.
*Galway Wool with Blatnaid Gallagher – We’ll then head 100km south to visit and speak with Blatnaid Gallagher at her farm and enjoy a ‘wool safari’. Here, we’ll learn about the preservation work of the Galway Wool cooperative along with meeting the wooly Galway girls!
*Free Evening – We’ll then head 60km west into Galway City to check into our next hotel, The Park House Hotel. The remainder of the evening is free to explore the vibrant and compact city of Galway, home to an abundance of cafes, gastro pubs and
restaurants. Be sure to enjoy one of the local haunts to listen to a traditional Irish music session!
*Overight at The Park House Hotel, Galway
Day 6: Saturday October 12th Carol Feller Workshop and the Aran Islands!
*Workshop with Carol Feller – After breakfast, take part in a knitting workshop with well-known Irish knitter Carol Feller at our hotel.
*Aran Islands – Later this afternoon, we’ll travel 50km west and slightly north to the village of Rossaveal to board the ferry to Inis Mór which takes about 40minutes to reach Inis Mór, the largest island of Aran Isles. On arrival, we’ll meet with our local guide Úna McDonough who will introduce us to island life before dinner along with a traditional Irish dancing lesson!
*Overnight at the Aran Islands Hotel– We’ll settle into our hotel for the next 2 nights.
Day 7: Sunday October 13th Aran Islands
*Aran Knitting Workshop – Enjoy a workshop with Úna McDonagh where you will be instructed on traditional methods and stitches associated with the Aran Island way.
*Lunch (included)
*Island Tour including Dun Aonghasa – Enjoy sightseeing the island this afternoon which will take in sites such as the majestic stone fort of Dun Aengus, the Worm Hole, the seal colony and the site of the seven churches, or Na Seacht dTeampaill, as its known in Gaeilge! You will also have the opportunity to visit some of the local knitwear shops on the island in the afternoon. The rest of the evening is ours to enjoy on our own.
*Overnight Aran Islands Hotel, Inis Mór.
Day 8: Monday October 14th *Cliffs of Moher & Burren Walking Tour
*Cliffs of Moher We’ll board our ferry and say goodbye to Inis Mór and head south east to the mainland to Doolin where our coach will meet us to take us to the well-renowned Cliffs of Moher which rise to over 700ft above the churning Atlantic swells. Whilst here, we can visit the Atlantic Edge exhibition centre along with strolling out along the cliff network.
*can we talk our coach driver into stopping at St. Bridget’s Well? I’ll work on this 😉
*Heart of Burren Walking Tour – In the afternoon we’ll board our coach and head north to Fanore to join Tony Kirby of Heart of the Burren Walking Tours. Tony will showcase an area of outstanding botanical beauty featuring Arctic, Alpine, Mediterranean and Maritime plants. The location also features spectacular views of Galway Bay, the Aran Islands and Connemara along with prehistoric monuments. This is Rachel’s favorite place in Ireland and where she spends many of her visits studying the flora and rock formations and landscape through her natural dye work and landscape painting.
*Overnight at the Armada Hotel, Clare We’ll then head 40km south to check into our last accommodation of the tour, the Armada Hotel, for two nights. Set on the coast on Spanish Point. A true oasis of land and sea and the perfect spot to end our tour.
Day 9: Tuesday October 15th Natural Dyeing Hybrid Workshop with Rachel Bingham Kessler
*Workshop with Rachel, your host. – After breakfast, we’ll head out on our coach and travel 70km east to join Jennifer at her natural dye house, AppleOak Fibre where she’ll be hosting Rachel’s natural dye workshop. We’ll experiment with local plants on both local wools and salvaged fabrics.
*Lunch (included)
*Farewell Group Dinner at the Armada Hotel
*Overnight at the Armada Hotel Clare
Day 10: Tuesday October 16th Packing up and departing.
After breakfast, depart your hotel for Shannon Airport in time for check-in and last minute duty-free shopping. Or travel on to your next Irish destination if you choose to extend your trip. If you’d like tips on extending your trip on your own on either end of this tour, get in touch with Rachel and she’s be happy to help you with this. She especially loves driving in Ireland and can give you a pep talk into how to be more comfortable with this.
🍀Pricing Details:
Knitting Tours is based in Limerick, Ireland and works under the umbrella of Irish Tourism. Knitting Tours handles and arranges all of the logistics and hires all the instructors, books the hotels, sightseeing destinations, and handles all finances. When paying for this trip, it is done so through a secure payment link that goes straight to KnittingTours. All payments are taken in Euro. Below I am providing pricing in both Euro and the US dollar.
€3,951/ $US 4,227.30 per person double room occupancy with private facilities
€904/ $US 967.22 extra per person if single room is required (€3,951 + €904= €4,855/ $US 5,194.61 total for a single private room with private facilities)
*please note that exchange rates change daily. The US prices above are being posted on April 23, 2024. Please do a quick google search on the current daily exchange rate if you’d like an exact number.
*20% deposit required to hold your spot and book your place. Installment payments thereafter can be arranged.
-This will look like:
*For the standard double room rate of the tour, 20% deposit: Euro790.20/ US$845.40
*For the extra cost of a single private room plus the cost of the tour 20% deposit; Euro 971/ US$1,039.
Would you like to bring a friend or partner who isn’t a knitter? They are very welcome! They would receive a Euro200 deduction from the standard shared room tour price.
*travel insurance is encouraged.
*Please hold off on booking flights until you receive word from Knitting Tours or Rachel that the tour is a go. A decision will be made by early summer.
When you’re ready to book, please fill in the form by clicking the “book now” button below. This notifies Rachel immediately by email that you intend to book this tour. She will then send you the booking link that goes straight to Knitting Tours in Limerick, Ireland. Milda will then start your booking process and follow up in 2-3 business days with your secure payment link. Once your non-refundable deposit of 20% has been made, you will officially be booked for the Dyeing to Knit Ireland Tour!! If you simply wish to ask Rachel a question about the tour, you can reach her at 44clovers@gmail.com Please add “question about Knitting tour” in the subject line.