Literary Northern Ireland Tour

North of Ireland Writing Tour

Join us for a tour of the beauty of the North of Ireland, including the vibrant city of Belfast, followed by a tour of the Antrim Coast, including Giants Causeway, Carrick-a-Rede Bridge, and the glens. While in Belfast, we will have a story writing workshop with Belfast writer Malachi O’Doherty before we head off to visit the wild north.

The tour culminates with full participation in the John Hewitt Summer International Summer School Festival of Literature, Arts and Politics in Armagh. Participants will take writing workshops in memoir, poetry, fiction, novel, as you choose. See below for the complete itinerary and links to the John Hewitt Society.

Reserve your space by making a deposit below!

Detailed Itinerary

    • Arrive in Dublin Airport

    • Meet your Coach and Driver-Guide (1 person):  Dublin Airport

    • Travel to Belfast

    • Dinner and overnight at Europa Hotel, Belfast City Centre

    • Breakfast at the hotel

    • Coach and Driver-Guide (1 person)

    • Local Step-On Guide Belfast for a full day tour

      • This Panoramic City Tour of Belfast covers breathtaking architecture and feats of engineering, including the renowned Queen's University, the giant H&W cranes, Titanic's birthplace and Cathedral Quarter and Queen's Quarter. The tour takes in the dark Crumlin Road Gaol and the world famous Belfast murals on the republican Falls road and the loyalist Shankill road.

    • Early Dinner at the hotel

    • Possibility to attend the Theatre this evening

    • Overnight in Belfast

    • Dinner and overnight at Europa Hotel, Belfast City Centre

    • Breakfast at the hotel

    • Coach and Driver-Guide (1 person)

    • Check out of hotel and depart for Queens University

    • Attend a morning writing workshop with Belfast writer Malachi O’Doherty

    • Travel along the Antrim coast

    • Entrance - Carrickfergus Castle

    • Dinner and overnight at The Causeway Hotel

      • The Causeway Hotel enjoys an idyllic location with stunning scenery all around, the perfect place to stay for a short break whilst discovering the beautiful North Coast of Northern Ireland.//w

    • Breakfast at the hotel

    • Coach and Driver-Guide (1 person)

    • Visit - Giants Causeway

      • Renowned for its hexagonal columns of layered basalt, the Giant’s Causeway is the only World Heritage site in Northern Ireland. Resulting from a volcanic eruption 60 million years ago, this is the focal point of a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and has attracted visitors for centuries.
        www.nationaltrust.org.uk/giants-causeway

    • Continue along the coast to Carrick-a-rede rope bridge

    • Entrance - Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge  (weather permitting)

    • Afternoon Tea - The Causeway Hotel

    • Dinner and overnight at The Causeway Hotel

    • Breakfast at the hotel

    • Coach and Driver-Guide end service:  Armagh

    • Depart for the Glens of Antrim

    • Stop for a hike at Glenariff Waterfalls

    • Overnight at Armagh City Hotel

    • NO DRIVER SERVICES FOR THE NEXT 5 DAYS

    • Breakfast at the hotel

    • Overnight at Armagh City Hotel

      • NO DRIVER SERVICES FOR THE NEXT 5 DAYS

      • Breakfast at the hotel

      • Overnight at Armagh City Hotel

      • Breakfast at the hotel

      • Overnight at Armagh City Hotel

      • Breakfast at the hotel

      • Overnight at Armagh City Hotel

      • Breakfast at the hotel

      • Overnight at Armagh City Hotel

    • Breakfast at the hotel

    • Coach and Driver-Guide end service:  Armagh

    • Depart for the Glens of Antrim

    • Stop for a hike at Glenariff Waterfalls

    • Overnight at Armagh City Hotel

    • Breakfast at the hotel

    • Coach and Driver-Guide end service:  Dublin Airport

    • Transfer to Dublin Airport for your flight home.

What’s Included

  • Tour Includes the Following:

    Accommodation

    • 2 nights at Europa Hotel, Belfast City Centre

    • 2 nights at The Causeway Hotel, Bushmills

    • 6 nights at Armagh City Hotel

    • 1 night at Clayton Hotel Burlington Road, Dublin

    Included ground transport

    • Coach and Driver-Guide throughout Tour

    Other services

    • Breakfast every day at hotel

    • 5 x Dinner at hotel

    • Afternoon Tea - The Causeway Hotel

    • Local Step-On Guide Belfast for a full day tour

    • Writing Workshop with writer Malachi O’Doherty in Belfast

    • Entrance - Carrickfergus Castle

    • Visit - Giants Causeway

    • Entrance - Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge (weather permitting)

  • Full participation at the John Hewitt International Summer School (July 28th - August 2nd - details to follow - https://johnhewittsociety.org/)

  • Not included: flight, transportation to/from Dublin

  • Founder and Tour Guide

    From childhood, Joan has dreamt of being a tour guide, especially around literature and literary figures. She earned her masters in Literature from Middlebury College Bread Loaf School of English and has spent most of the past 10 summers traveling in England and Ireland as a teacher and an administrator. Her favorite thing has been to visit the places where writers lived and wrote like London, Chawton, Stratford, Haworth, Dublin. It’s not like she’s looking for ghosts, not really.

    Joan became a humanities and literature teacher in an independent school in Howard County Maryland after spending a decade as a theater artist and educator in Baltimore City.

    She is a nerd, a hardcore, to-her-soul nerd. Let’s tour.

Physical Requirements

There will be walking every day of the tour, not generally more than 1 mile at a time over a period of 30-40 minutes. UK towns are often paved with cobblestones which can create uneven services.

Please let us know if you will need support and we will do our best to help.

Costings

$4,000 per person in a shared room; $5,100 for a single.