WAC-6 Post-Congress Tours (5^th – 7^th July)

Three optional 3-day post-congress tours are available for those participants and accompanying persons who would like to extend their time in Ireland.  Please note that each tour will only take place if there is a minimum of 35 persons booked and places are limited to a maximum of 49 persons.
Please note that the coaches for the post-congress tours will depart from the University College Dublin Belfield campus at 10.00am. The tours will be led by archaeologists, documentation on all sites, teas/coffees, breakfasts, lunches, dinners and accommodation are included in the price. Detailed itineraries will be supplied in advance. The tours offer a fantastic opportunity to experience the richness and diversity of the archaeological heritage of Ireland.

Tour 1: Landscapes of Northern Ireland This tour will be based in Belfast. It will provide the opportunity to see a range of sites from Northern Ireland’s rich archaeological and historical heritage, from areas that were the focus of early prehistoric settlement to the largest shipyard in the world where the Titanic was built. The trip will begin with a visit to the historic walled town of Carrickfergus and Carrickfergus Castle. This will be followed by a focus on Belfast, with a tour of the Harland and Wolff shipyard and the prehistoric complex at Ballynahatty. The spectacular Antrim Coast Road brings the tour to North Antrim to see a range of prehistoric sites, Dunluce Castle and the Giant’s Causeway World Heritage Site. The peatland areas of central Tyrone form a very different landscape and here the focus will be on the rich prehistory of the area, including the megalithic court tomb at Creggandevesky and the stone circle complex at Beaghmore.   Cost: Cost: €200.00 per person THIS TOUR IS SUPPORTED BY ENVIRONMENT AND HERITAGE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT, NORTHERN IRELAND	Dunluce Castle Beaghmore complex (Photo: Ken Williams)
Tour 2: Monumental Munster This tour will be based in Limerick. A striking variety of landscapes and wide diversity of archaeological sites and monuments are with easy reach of this university town and the town itself is a Norse foundation and has a medieval historic fabric. The trip begins with an opportunity to explore the archaeology of the upland limestone karst landscape of the Burren, including the iconic megalithic portal tomb at Poulnabrone and the Cistercian abbey of Corcomroe in the heart of the Burren. East of Limerick is a rich agricultural landscape and here the focus will be on the Neolithic and Bronze Age. There is a major concentration of settlement sites, megalithic tombs and stone circles at Lough Gur and the promontory of Knockadoon. The Irish midlands have a very rich heritage of early medieval monastic sites and the tour will focus on Roscrea where there is a Round Tower, High Cross and church with Romanesque façade.   Cost: €300.00 per person	Grange stone circle, Lough Gur (Photo: Ken Williams) Poulnabrone portal tomb, Burren (Photo: Ken Williams)
Tour 3: Gateway to the Northwest This tour will be based in Sligo. Northwest Ireland has both varied landscapes and a spectacular upstanding archaeological record, from megalithic cemeteries to medieval monasteries and castles, with much new evidence coming from excavation and survey. The tour will provide an opportunity to see the major sites in this area. Included will be a trip to the Neolithic pre-bog field system at Céide Fields and the megalithic cemeteries at Carrowmore – the largest in Ireland -  and Carrowkeel.  Other prehistoric sites include the ceremonial enclosure at Lisnalurg and the Rathdooney Beg barrow cemetery. Among the early medieval monastic sites visited will be Drumcliff (also the burial place of the celebrated poet W.B. Yeats). The Cistercian abbey at Boyle which had a key role in the development of the Irish Romanesque, will be one of a number of abbeys and friaries on the itinerary which will also feature Parke’s Castle, a key early 17th century plantation castle. Cost: €300.00 per person	Carrowkeel passage tomb cemetery (Photo: Ken Williams)

Please remember to book your accommodation with us for the 7^th July, if you require it.

The cost will include:

• 2 nights accommodation in single university accommodation including continential breakfast
• Dinner and lunch daily
• Entrances for all visits and tours
• Coach travel for the tour
• English-speaking guide for the duration of the tour