MAGIC OF CELTIC IRELAND
August 18th-27th 2015 (10 days / 9 nights)

Hosted by Glenn and Cameron Broughton, Anthony Murphy & Karyl Huntley

There is a magic about Ireland which is recognized by people worldwide, maybe because its name means Land of the Goddess Eriu. Be open to magic and it will happen! - our megalithic ancestors knew this and they are inviting you to do the same… The varied landscape of lush green meadows, mountain ranges and spectacular coastline certainly lead one to believe that this land is blessed and stories of fairy folk and leprechauns also reflect the belief that the land has guardians. Our travels will take us back in time and into the realms of myth, legend and deep wisdom as we take a journey through the provinces of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland visiting megalithic and Celtic sites revered as sacred by Pagans and Christians for thousands of years. We will have time to explore, relax, meditate and conduct ceremony on our mystical journey this August. For further information email here

Tour Highlights Include:

Newgrange: A place that was used for ceremony before Stonehenge was built! It contains intricately carved megalithic spirals, a deep chamber that captures the light of the midinter sunrise, is surrounded by an ancient stone circle and is a geodetic power-spot on a global network of megalithic sites.
Knowth: Some of the finest Neolithic stone carvings in Europe, with an equinox alignment.
Hill of Tara: The traditional center of this province, located by a holy well, megalithic chambers and the seat of the high kings of ancient Ireland.
Janus Idol and Lusty Man on Boa Island: Two mysterious carved stone statues with double-faced heads that may date to the Bronze Age are located in the atmospheric early Christian graveyard of Caldragh that is around fifteen hundred years old.
Athgreany Piper’s Stones: Reputed to be dancers who were turned to stone for dancing on Sunday but locals say that fairies still play the bagpipes at midnight!
Carrowmore: Ireland’s largest megalithic complex including the spectacular site of Carrowkeel, set high in the Bricklieve Mountains.
Glendalough Round Tower: An atmospheric former monastic community complete with a round tower set in a valley of outstanding natural beauty containing two lakes.
Kildare: The home of Brigid. She was both Pagan goddess and early Christian saint.
Kells: The home of the famous 'Book of Kells' and several Celtic Christian crosses

Magic of Celtic Ireland
August 18-27, 2015 (10 days/9 nights)
£1995 based on double occupancy
Single occupancy supplement: £210
Tour deposit: £450

Payment Details
By clicking a button on the left, you will pay through PayPal, using a credit card or PayPal account. If you wish to pay by other means, please e-mail us at info@megalithomania.co.uk. Payment through PayPal is safe and guaranteed with all the normal payment guarantees. On payment, you will be returned to the 'Journeys with Soul' website, and you'll receive immediate e-mail notification of receipt of payment. You will soon after receive an e-mail from us providing full further details about your booking and the tour you have booked for.

Tour Hosts

Glenn and Cameron Broughton are dowsers, geomancers, tour guides and have travelled worldwide to hundreds of sacred sites. They have spoken at Megalithomania twice, they run 'Journeys with Soul', organise the 'Earth Spirit Conferences' in Vermont and have a deep understanding of the subtle earth energies at sites around the planet. They run regular tours to Ireland and have been involved with the Emerald Isle for over a decade.

Rev. Karyl Huntley has been a minister for almost 20 years. She has been a lover of ancient history and ancient wisdom for twice that time. Since childhood she has been drawn to initiatory practices and secret wisdom traditions. Her book 'Real Life Rituals' draws together the threads of ancient and modern religions, myth, performance, ceremony, and initiation in ways that experientially show the common source of all these ways of knowing and becoming.

Anthony Murphy is an authority on the sacred landscape of Ireland. He spoke at Megalithomania in 2007, and runs the vast website www.mythicalireland.com.
He has featured on Ancient Aliens and is the author of two books: Newgrange: Monument to Immortality and
Island of the Setting Sun: In Search or Ireland's Ancient Astronomers.

Itinerary: August 18th-27th, 2015

Day 1: Tuesday 18th August

Collection from Dublin airport and drive to hotel base in Naas – for 3 nights. Introductions followed by dinner at the hotel

Day 2: Wednesday 19th August

We start our journey with a pilgrimage to Kildare, the home of Brigid. She was both Pagan goddess and early Christian saint. St Brigid established a monastery in 470AD, probably at the location of a former pagan sacred site. Kildare Cathedral developed from this monastery in the early 13th century and is unusual in Ireland for being Anglican. It contains a hidden ‘sheela-na-gig’, a pagan symbol of fertility and the feminine. Within the graveyard is the only surviving round tower in Ireland that you can climb. We will visit Brigid’s Well, a place of peace and tranquility that has been revered since beyond memory. The Brigidine Sisters, who maintain her perpetual flame, are a shining light for peace and have recently opened a new centre that we will visit when we go to meet them. Free choice dinner not included

Day 3: Thursday 20th August

The former monastic site of Glendalough meaning ‘Glen of the two lakes’ is set in a valley of great natural beauty and serenity surrounded by the Wicklow Mountains. The ‘monastic city’ was mostly built in the 12th century and comprises several churches, a spectacular round tower and an early Celtic cross. We explore the legends as well as the ruins and take time to walk in the natural woodland that was home to this spiritual retreat. We lunch at Avoca Handweavers’ award-winning café and take a tour of the oldest woollen mill in Ireland. We travel through the stunning high moorland scenery of the Wicklow Gap to visit two stone circles within a sacred landscape. Castleruddery, a small stone circle, contains two large quartz blocks as portal stones that are highly energetic. Athgreany Piper’s Stones, are reputed to be dancers who were turned to stone for dancing on Sunday but locals say that fairies still play the bagpipes at midnight! Dinner at Hotel.

Day 4: Friday 21st August

Today we drive across the width of Ireland to the dramatically located harbour town of Sligo, our base for the next three days (3 ½ hrs). The town looks out to the west through the harbour and Sligo Bay to the open Atlantic and is protected by the imposing flat topped mountain of Benbulbin to the north. The rest of the day is free time to explore this charming town including the ruins of medieval Sligo Abbey.

Day 5: Saturday 22nd August

Today we travel into County Sligo for the day to visit Carrowkeel and Carrowmore. Carrowkeel is set high in the Bricklieve Mountains and offers sensational views of the surrounding landscape.There are fourteen Neolithic cairns, two of which have three side recesses forming a cruciform chamber. Cairn G has a light-box above the entrance, similar to the one at Newgrange, and this admits the light of the setting sun around midsummer and the setting moon around midwinter.

Stone circle at Carrowkeel. Photo courtesy PDPhoto.org

Carrowmore (above) is the largest megalithic complex in Ireland covering more than 1 ½ square miles. There are remains of thirty passage cairns, together forming an oval shape, many of which have a dolmen at their centre. The sacred mountain of Knocknarea, with Maebh’s Cairn on top, is visible to the northwest. We will have the whole day to explore these landscapes that have been revered as sacred for over 5,000 years. Dinner at Hotel.

Day 6 – Sun 23rd Aug

Today we explore County Mayo, on the west coast of Ireland. Our first stop is at the oldest field system in the world, the Ceide Fields. Set high on the clifftops the pyramidal shaped visitor centre has a glazed viewing area at its peak affording spectacular views out over the ocean as well as an informative audio-visual show on the people who lived here 5,500 years ago. We’ll have lunch at the visitor centre cafe. We then take a short journey but leap forward five thousand years to the Franciscan Moyne Abbey dating to 1462AD. The ruins are amongst the most intact of any Irish abbey and give a glimpse into medieval monastic life. Set in a rural location and receiving few visitors it has a very peaceful atmosphere, ideal for meditating or ceremony.location and receiving few visitors it has a very peaceful atmosphere, ideal for meditating or ceremony. Free choice dinner not included.

Day 7 – Mon 24th Aug

Today we travel to our third and final hotel base in Kells (3 ½ hrs) for 3 nights. En route we make a brief detour into Northern Ireland (Ulster). There are no border controls as we cross over into Ulster to visit the enigmatic Janus Idol and Lusty Man on Boa Island. Two mysterious carved stone statues with double-faced heads that may date to the Bronze Age are located in the atmospheric early Christian graveyard of Caldragh that is around fifteen hundred years old. There are similarities to the Easter Island Moai and some people think they look alien so lets see who you think they were. When we arrive in Kells you will have a free afternoon and evening to explore the town with its five High Crosses and other historic sites. Free choice dinner not included.

Day 8 –Tues 25th Aug

Today we visit the Bru na Boinne visitor center to learn about Newgrange and Knowth cairns, Ireland’s most famous Neolithic sites. Anthony Murphy, author of 'Newgrange: Monument to Immortality', will be our expert Irish guide for the day to share his wisdom with us as we experience the sacred sites of the Boyne Valley. We will be guided inside Newgrange, known as a passage tomb but also a place of initiation and spiritual rites of passage. It is aligned such that the midwinter solstice sunrise sends a shaft of light that extends deep inside the passage to the central chambers. Lunch at the Visitors Centre & talk by Anthony Murphy

Incredible spiral carvings at Newgrange. Photo courtesy PDPhoto.org

Four provinces of Ireland

Afternoon visit to Knowth (below), a series of unusual mounds/chambers that has the finest Neolithic stone carvings in Europe that decorate most of the kerbstones around the base of the cairn. This feels like a real world Hobbitland. Free choice dinner not included.

Day 9 – Wed 26th Aug

This morning our climb up to the hilltop cairns of Loughcrew is rewarded with panoramic views of seventeen counties (or so we’re told!). The old name for Loughcrew was Slieve na Caillighe, Gaelic for Mountain of the Witch. We can gain access into Cairn T that has elaborately carved and decorated stones in its inner recesses and the Hag’s Chair set into the northern side of the kerb. We’ll take time to personally experience the energies of the different cairns that each have solar alignments on various Celtic Festival dates. We have a relaxed lunch at the nearby Loughcrew Gardens.

Then we’re off to royal Tara the ancient capital of Leinster and the place where the king undertook the ‘Ban Fheis’ or sacred marriage to the goddess in order to secure fertility and wellbeing for the land and his people. Its importance grew until the king of Tara was also seen as the High King of all Ireland, but only after undertaking tests to prove his rightfulness to be king. We explore the complex of sites at Tara including Grainne’s (Sun Goddess) Mound, the Mound of Hostages, the Stone of Destiny and Teach Cormaic. Farewell dinner at the hotel

Day 10 – Thurs 27th Aug

Depart for Dublin airport for flights home or private time in Dublin.

Feedback from 'Magic of Megalithic Ireland' Tour 2013

"I may have initially thought this trip was about rocks and circles (:)), but it turned out to be so much more! I loved the silent moments and the connecting with the ancient spirits" - Amanda King, Australia

"I miss the companionship and joking and play, and deep conversations and constellations, dance, and sacred sites we shared together. And I am taking all this joy with me in my ever expanding heart." - Lottie Cooper, USA

Feedback from Peru, Nazca & Bolivia 2013 Tour
with guest hosts Glenn & Cameron Broughton

"For us the tour was an amazing opportunity and a privilege to explore the earth energies at an incredible number of megalithic sites. We learnt so much and feel truely grateful for what was revealed to us, and to all the organisers, especially Hugh & Brien, for putting together such a memorable and stimulating tour. It was also a joy to be in the company of so many like minded people with a deep curiosity about the ancient ancestors"
- Chris & Marilyn Gulliver, New Zealand

"Your tour exceeded our expectations in nearly every way. We saw, learned and experienced more than we ever would have on any other kind of tour. In addition, we traveled and made new friendships with people from all over the world. This trip is definitely one of the highlights of our life travels! For this we would like to thank you, Hugh, Irene, Cameron and Glen and David and Jennifer from the bottom of our hearts!"
- Ed & Teresa Chipp, USA

"So once more I want to thank you - Brien, David, Hugh, Irene, Cameroon, Glenn - and also all the participants, for the most special journey i've ever had! Hope to have more of those with you and will recommend to the people who are interested." - Vicki Molliver, Israel

"I loved the tour! Many thanks to all organisers, especially Irene :) I hope you are enjoying a break from questions and demands. Was great to meet you all and being in cusco without you all is not the same. I hope the tour has deepened your interest in the ancient mysteries like it did for me."
- Alex Jupp, UK

"I thought the trip was excellent. I learned so much and from so many people on this trip. Thanks to everyone for making it great."
- Suzan Moore, Canada

"I can safely say that this was one of, if not the best, experience of my life. Thanks Brien, Dave, Hugh, Glenn & Cameron and of course Irene for an amazing adventure. You have my tick of approval ;)." - Tony Giovani, Australia

"It felt less like a tour group and more like I had flown in to visit friends who were showing me around their turf, and for me, that was fine. I still feel I got more out of this tour than I would have with any other group. I enjoyed myself to the utmost, and was pleasantly surprised by almost everything - especially the kind people with whom I had the privilege of sharing this time." - Sandy Underwood, USA