Our New Tour Vacations

New Tour Vacations from Celtic Ways

I now have two new tour itineraries for 2007 that have evolved from requests by tour organizers. I feel honoured and thrilled that people have taken quite a bit of time to explain to me what they would like to see and do in Ireland in relation to services that can see we provide.

Both tours are week long vacation but anyone can request to join in for part of the tour, even for just a day or part of a day. Day tours will no longer be advertised because our vacation offers are proving to be popular before I even get them onto my web site.

"Veil Between Two Worlds"

A tour that follows much of my book to be published this year. This is a vacation in Ireland that is more than a touring visit but includes a journey through ancient Celtic traditions. This vacation tour is available for most weeks of the year.

Previous travellers that joined us shared their experiences and explained how our tours and retreats restored, revitalized and rekindled new fires into their lives. Our "Veil Between Worlds" vacation now combines visits to sacred spaces, such as stone passage cairns and sacred wells, with ancient stories and introduction to the wisdom and paths of the ancient Celtic shamans.

During the daytime our travellers enjoy exhilirating views from little known hills, valleys, lakes and rivers. Travel is moderated and relaxed because we also spend quality sanctuary time in ancient sacred spaces for reflection, thanksgiving and even healing.

Evenings are shared with words from bards, music meditations and lively traditional ceilis around turf fires. You will be welcome to share your music, story and writing talents.

As we are not aligned to any religion or doctrine you will find yourself feeling free to be yourself with your own faith. You will also be accompanied by fellow travellers who you will feel are "your kind of people".

Please explore our "Veil Between Two Worlds" itinerary

"Ancient Temples Of Ireland"

Recently, a couple of group leaders told me that their groups wanted to see as many ancient sites all around ireland that I could pack into a week. They were not interested in spending time doing meditations, writing, chanting, firewalking and other things we do.

Their requests created our new wonderful "Ancient Temples Of ireland" vacation. This is a tour that travels a circle around Ireland and introduces any visitor to many of Ireland's ancient sacred sites as well as providing quite a complete experience of Ireland's landscapes and people.

You may not have heard of many of the sites we visit because they are not found in Ireland's guide books and brochures. Many of these hidden sites are along narrow lanes where visitors can enjoy a taste of real Ireland amongst its most stunning scenery.

Starting at Shannon Airport, we visit The Burren, Cliffs Of Moher, Galway, Ancient Royal Site of Connaught (The Tain), Carrowkeel Passage Cairns, Keash Caves, Markree Castle, Labby Rock, Brighid Stones, Shannon Pot, Loughcrew Passage Cairns & Ancient Art, Kells High Crosses, Tara Hill, Dublin Museums and Book Of Kells, Glendalough, Wicklow Gap, Piper's Stone Circle, Rock Of Cashel, Stone Circles Of Beara (Kerry). You can take the whole vacation or part of it.

We also provide plenty of time for joining in traditional Irish craics, ceilis and for doing your gift shopping and postcard mailing.

If you have never been to Ireland and prefer active adventure amongst Ireland's ancient sites rather than relaxation and spiritual pilgrimage this is the right vacation in Ireland for you. Note that instead of starting at Dublin we start and finish at Shannon Airport which is very convenient for most visitors from North America.

Please explore our "Ancient Temples Of Ireland" itinerary

"Two Worlds Passage"

I said two new vacations for 2007, but here's a third. This third vacation is due to commence during 2008 but we will have one vacation date, last week of July, in 2007 where we will be presenting this itinerary under another name where our guides will be Heather Ash Amara and Raven Smith. I'll explain this in a later blog.

However, "Two Worlds Passage" goes more into learning ancient based traditions and less on visiting sites compared to our "Veil Between Two Worlds" itinerary. This vacation will include firewalking, sweat house cleansing, labyrinth meditations, sound healing, orgone energy recharging, wild food gathering and cooking, introduction to herbalism and additional ancient traditions and wisdom.

We welcome your enquiries for last week of July and all through 2008

The Torch Stone of Loughcrew

Lighting The Stone

November the 6th, 2006, and I witnessed the most perfect sunrise phenomena that can be seen at any of Ireland's megalithic temples. That was the sunrise lighting of the Torch Stone of Loughcrew.

About Loughcrew

Loughcrew is the current name given for a range of 4 hills in County Meath, near Oldcastle and not far, north west, from Kells. It may seem strange for a bunch of hills to have Lough, meaning lake, as part of their name. This is because its name comes from nearby Lough Creeve and somehow the townlands around Lough Creeve became known as Loughcrew. Creeve is derived from the name given to a sacred tree by the lake where season rites were performed.

The hills on the Loughcrew lands have been named in the past as "Tri Choiscéim na Caillighe" that translates as "three footsteps of the hag", Later they became known as the "Calliagh Steppes" and then the "Witches Hops". Three of the hills then became known as Carn Beg and Carn Mor with Loar in the middle.

I mentioned there are 4 hills. Legend tells of the goddess Cailleach Bhérra creating the cairns on the three hills with herself being buried at the 4th hill, now known as Patrickstown Hill. Carn Beg and Carn Mor are now Carnbane West and Carnbane East while Loar is now known as the Red Hill.

About the Torch Stone

Cairn T on Carnbane East is quite well known for its equinox sunrises lighting up the cairn's backstone of ancient sun images plus Carnbane East is well signposted and is a popular visiting place all year round and popular for summer picnics.

Carnbane West is less known due to the signs being taken down and some complexities that I will not feature in this article. However, its Carnbane West that is hosts to Cairn L This five chambered cairn is the home of a mysterious free standing quartz stone. Beside this stone is a huge stone basin, a huge ballaun stone, with many holes where chalk balls once sat to be involved in some kind of ritual or rite.

At Samhain and Imbolc, at the sunrise of the cross quarter days, that are centre of Equinox and Solstice, casts a shadow that darkens all around while it lights up the top of the quartz standing stone

Male or Female?

Some say that Carnbane East with the Hag's Chair and Cairn like an entry into a womb is a feminine energy hill while Carnbane east with its phallic standing torch stone creating life for the year ahead is of male energy. Interesting thought. My own reasoning is different but the symbolism for the different energies is there.

Being present at its lighting

I arrived at 6:45 am, in good time for the 7:33 am rising. Skies were clear but I could feel a fog rising. A barrier of hazy cloud started to rise from the horizon, which commonly blocks out Loughcrew sunrises. 7:15 the first of the advance red glows of the sun appear but a black cloud forms on the peak of the Red Hill right above Carrigbrack Cairn and the mist was rising furiously to form a fog.

The sun rises at this time from behind Lambay Volcano Island in the Irish Sea, over Tara Hill and Kells to rise above the Carrigbrack to shine on the Cairn L stone, the Pinnacle Stone of Morrigan's Cairn on Keash Corran and the peak of Maeve's Cairn on Knocknarea.

7:30 and it seems the black cloud was set to block the event, but a sudden miracle stepped the cloud aside, the landscape around darkened, and the torch stone lit celestially for about 4 minutes.

Well protected

After its spectacular curtain raiser the sun stepped aside from glowing the stone to passing its light onto the stone basin. Unfortunately, that part I could not witness. Cairn L is secured by a thick steel railing gate with a very heavy lock. Getting into Cairn T is simple, just pop down to Loughcrew House and pick up the key, in exchange for €50 deposit.

For Cairn L, with the Torch Stone, a kind of essay has to be written to the Office Of Public Works in Dublin explaining why you want entry. That takes 2 to 3 months to sort out and then you pick up the key from their office in Trim about 40 km away. Considering there is no way of knowing if and when there with be a clear sunrise at Samhain or Imbolc its an arrangement that's a bit tricky.

I had to take photos and video by poking my lenses through the railings, but am very happy with what I caught, that I would like to share with you now.

If you click on any of the thumbnails below you can visit my selected gallery story of this phenomena. The video will follow as soon as I can.

dark stone before sunrise

sun is rising, stone is glowing

a few minutes of glow

above, sun that lights the stone and, left, is an indent image of the sun and the light moves from the stone

sun risen, and now the fog lifts

A wonderful easy read illustrated guide to Calendars, Sundials, and Stone Chambers of Ancient Ireland by Martin Brennan. The most comprehensive collection of Irish megalithic art ever published You can read more about, and order, The Stones Of Time from these links ... USA Canada UK/Ireland

quartz standing stone is the pillar on the left and cairn entrance is from the right