Strabo Photo Tour Collection

Ireland: Photograph St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland

Copyright Karen Oakes

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland with John Weiss. You will be invited, with John and your local guide, to commemorate this annual holiday by visiting with the locals at the Westport Parade. Everyone in the parade is dressed to be photographed, and you’ll have ample opportunity to do so while enjoying the festivities. After the parade there are music sessions in the many pubs of this National Tidy Town award winner. You will have a day to explore the lively City of Galway, with its many shops, pubs, and colorful street performers. The tour concludes in the village of Ennis, a charming hamlet with its narrow cobblestone streets framed by brightly colored store fronts.

The heritage town of Westport offers a magnificent blend of traditional and cosmopolitan, from the coziest corner of an old-style pub with traditional music sessions, to state-of-the-art modern shops. Westport is a welcoming tourist town from the stately Georgian buildings along the Carrowbeg River to the cheerful miscellany of friendly faces, smiling children and perhaps even a busker (entertainers) or two on the busy but leisurely streets of the town.

John\\\'s passion for photography embraces documentary, street photography, and portraiture image-making. While that will be the emphasis on this tour, there will also be ample daily opportunities to photograph the landscape, architecture, and structures of historical importance.

Another hallmark of John\\\'s tour is his flexibility in photographing unique events not listed at the time this tour itinerary is listed. For instance, John has taken groups to photograph the Ballenrobe horse races, sheep shearing contests, cattle auctions, the Tour de Ireland bike race, and a host of other uniquely Irish activities.

A significant element of your photographic experience is John\\\'s critique of your work and his presentations on making creative photographs. In addition to a personal one-on-one review session with John, he will offer two group critiques of the photographs you make while on tour. Digital imaging now makes these \\\"real-time\\\" reviews possible and is a great way to improve your seeing while on location.

It\\\'s important that you have a laptop or some other storage device so you can access and download your images, then transfer them to John\\\'s laptop for projection. For those shooting film, we suggest you bring a folio of up to 20 photographs.

Western Ireland affords us a unique opportunity in that there are so many wonderful hidden places to explore. There are spectacular monastic and megalithic ruins to seek out in your daily adventures.
Your itinerary is set in the unspoiled villages, rugged ancient abbeys, broad peat lowlands, and the dramatic coastline of Western Ireland. The soft pastel shades of the mountains and clouds appeal to the artist and photographer. These natural landscapes, along with the people, render this Isle a place of inspirational beauty. We will visit places you could never locate on your own — tiny villages, hidden beaches, castles, and ancient abbeys.

Join accomplished photographer John Weiss through Western Ireland. John Weiss has been a photographer for over thirty years. He began at M.I.T. as an apprentice to Minor White, the legendary photographer and educator. Later, he earned his M.F.A. at the Rhode Island School of Design, where he studied with Harry Callanan and Aaron Siskind. Since 1975, he has been Professor of Art and Coordinator of Photography at the University of Delaware, where he has established his own record for excellence as both a maker of expressive images and as an educator. His graduate photography program won The Photo Review award for excellence in 2003. Numerous prominent public institutions, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, have collected Weiss’s photographs. In 2006, John won the Teacher of the Year award by the Santa Fe Photography Workshops.

Itinerary

March 15: U.S. – Shannon

Copyright Karen Oakes

Your journey to Ireland begins with an overnight flight from the U.S. to Shannon, Ireland.

March 16: Shannon – Hillcrest House, Westport

We will be met at Ireland’s Shannon International Airport and driven north to Westport, on the shores of Clew Bay. After lunch we can relax, enjoying conversation in the library or explore the nearby countryside. Depending on the weather there may be an opportunity for the group to photograph the sunset over Clew Bay. (D)

March 17 - March 22: Western Ireland

We start our first full day with the celebration of St. Patrick, visiting and photographing the County Mayo residents at the local Westport Parade. There will be time to enjoy traditional Irish music at one of the many local pubs.

The remaining days we will visit some of these typical areas from our home base at Hillcrest House. It is not possible to see everything during each tour, as we also like to take time for unscheduled stops. Your guides will plan each day considering the interests of the group, and special events taking place during your time in Ireland. John’s groups have frequented such events as the Croagh Patrick pilgrimage, horse races at Ballinrobe, a cattle auction, open-air festivals, and the ‘Tour de Ireland’ bicycle race.

Hillcrest House lays half way between the City of Westport and the Village of Newport. Both capture the flavor of true Irish towns with their tree-lined canals and colorful shops. After a stop in Westport we drive along the shores of Clew Bay, stopping at Murrisk Abbey, and the Famine Memorial standing at the foot of Croagh Patrick.

Driving north, a stop will be along the ocean on the Atlantic drive in Mulranny. After lunch on Achill Island we will continue photographing along the ocean and given time, wind up at the deserted famine village at Keel. Achill Island is the largest island off the Irish coast. To get there, we will drive over the bridge at Achill Sound. Wrought by wind and water, the island is an arrangement of rock, cloud, and cliffs falling off to the sea.

We travel to the shores of Doo Lough and the Connemara Mountains, where we will see some of the most stunning landscapes in all of Ireland. Photographing in Sheeffrey Woods, a place where we must be careful not to disturb the leprechauns who inhabit the forest. Afterwards we visit the town of Leenane, where we will have lunch with the residents, and have time for photographing in the small pub, known as Gaynor’s (film location of The Field).

Just outside Newport is Burrishoole Abbey, a great place to start one of our days. Nearby is Carrigahowley Castle, one of the many strongholds of Grace O’Malley, the adventurous sixteenth century Pirate Queen. Later in the afternoon we visit Letterkeen Forest. (B, D)

March 23: Westport – Galway

Copyright Karen Oakes

We will leave Hillcrest House early this morning, driving south to County Clare. Galway is a thriving place with a young lively atmosphere thanks to its university and Eyre Square. The city has a special energy with street performers, pubs filled with tourists, and locals spilling into the patio’s that line the pedestrian-only streets. You will find many handcrafted items such as traditional Irish sweaters, prints, and pottery, or shops filled with books or Irish music. Be sure to take at least one piece of Ireland home with you. If you’d like to get away from the crowds, cross over the bridges in the bohemian left bank of the Corrib, where great music and some of Galway’s best pubs await. Just south of the left bank is the Claddagh, Galway’s original fishing village. The hotel is centrally located to all of these sites. (B)

March 24: Galway - Ennis

Ennis is a charming riverside town with colorful storefronts and narrow cobblestone streets. There will be plenty of time to photograph this lovely village and its architecture. Tonight we will stay at the Temple Gate Hotel (or similar) in Ennis and enjoy dinner on our own. The hotel rests on the site of a nineteenth century convent. (B)

March 25: Ennis – Shannon – U.S.

After breakfast this morning, we will say good bye to our new friends in hopes of seeing them again some day, perhaps even at Hillcrest House. We board our afternoon flights for home. (B)

Accommodations

Your home away from home, Hillcrest House, was renovated for the sole purpose of accommodating photography groups. Its homelike quality adds to the relaxed atmosphere of the trip. Prime hotel locations in the heart of Galway and Ennis. Transportation is provided in a roomy tour van, which is large enough for both the group and our equipment.

Guides

Please contact us for more details.

Food & Drink

You will enjoy traditional Irish breakfasts and dinners during your stay. Lunch will be at various restaurants and pubs, or we can stop in town and have a picnic lunch wrapped for our daily excursions in the field.

Pricing Info

Tour land cost: $3,495 US Dollars based upon minimum of 5 paying participants. All our program prices are based on double occupancy unless noted in exceptions.

Single room supplement: $345; single rooms are subject to availability and are not guaranteed. We try to accommodate travelers who request single accommodations, as well as travelers who are looking for a roommate. If a single room is requested, or if we are unable to find a suitable roommate, you will be required to pay the supplement.

Note: The land costs on international tours is based upon current exchange rates. Although the rate has been relatively stable, should it change, there may need to be an adjustment in the land cost.

General Tour Info (includes, excludes and other details)