Landscapes of the Soul: Celtic Pilgrimage to Ireland

July 7-14, 2007:
Land Costs: $2650
Single Supplement: $450

Day-by-Day Itinerary    Overview

Friday 6:  Depart USA (Overnight on Board)

Saturday 7:  10:00am - Arrive Dublin Airport and Meet at Information Desk in the Arrivals Hall. Begin with a morning visit to Monasterboice (Famous Celtic High Crosses) and the Hill of Slane (site of St Patrick’s legendary encounter with the Druids of Tara).  Buffet lunch at Dowdstown House and free afternoon for rest.  Welcome and introductions before dinner. O/N Dowdstown House

Sunday 8: Morning visit to Newgrange or Knowth (Ancient Neolithic Passage Tombs dated 3,200 BC - Knowth has one of the highest concentrations of megalithic art in Europe.) Afternoon visit to the Hill of Tara (seat of the ancient High Kings). Eucharist Celebration on the Hill of Tara. O/N Dowdstown House

These sites that call forth reverence and
awe and humility and wonder,
we make them sacred, and the ancient ties
 are never lost, the oldest voices
 calling from within stones.
 –James D. Houston

Monday 9: Depart for Kildare.  Morning visit to Castledermot and Moone (famous Celtic High Crosses).  Afternoon visit to St Brigid’s Cathedral in Kildare (13th Century) and site of Brigid’s ancient monastery. St Brigid’s Holy Well with Prayers and Liturgy at the Well.    O/N Glendalough Hotel

Tuesday 10: Depart for Glendalough Visitor’s Center for Video on “Ireland of the Monasteries” and Museum followed by Pilgrimage Walk to St Kevin’s Monastic City. See St Kevin’s Church, Kevin’s Well, 10th Century Round Tower, St Kevin’s Cross and St Mary’s Church. Afternoon Free for Quiet Time O/N Glendalough Hotel

“Glendalough is ready to reveal its wonder, if we are willing
 to spend time moving slowly through the valley.”
Glendalough, A Celtic Pilgrimage
Michael Rodgers and Marcus Losack

Wednesday 11: Depart for Pilgrim Walk to Diseart Chaoimhin (St Kevin’s Desert) beside the Upper Lake. Visit Reefert Church, St Kevin’s Cell (foundations of Kevin’s 6th Century Hermitage, Teampall Na Skellig (The Church of the Rock) and Reflections with silence beside the Upper Lake. Free Afternoon O/N Glendalough Hotel

Thursday 12: Depart for full day visit to Dublin (Morning visit to the National Museum in Kildare Street and Trinity College, Dublin – Book of Kells Exhibition (famous 8th Century Illuminated Manuscript of the Four Gospels). Free time in Dublin for shopping or additional sightseeing O/N Glendalough Hotel

Friday 13: Morning teachings on Celtic Spirituality and the Wisdom of the Heart in the Desert Traditions.  Eucharist – free afternoon for reflections. Closures, celebration dinner and Celtic music program. O/N Glendalough Hotel

“May you recognize in your life the presence,
power and light of your soul.
May you realize you are never alone,
That your soul in its brightness and belonging
connects you intimately with the rhythm of the universe.”
J. O’Donohue

Saturday 14:  Early Morning Departures

As a pilgrimage community all our days are bracketed with a morning and evening prayer to help us enter into the soul of the day and the spirit of the place.  The prayers and meditations are ecumenical and invitational.  

Appropriate to each site will be a few moments for a guided reflection or meditation, in addition to teachings on the Celtic tradition. 

Price Includes:
• Two overnights at the gracious country house of Dowdstown House. This tranquil and charming retreat center nestled among ancient tree groves and pastoral landscapes is a perfect place to begin our journey.  See www.dowdstownhouse.com
• Five overnights at the beautiful and charming Glendalough Hotel. This location nestled in the Wicklow Mountains offers peace and beauty. Please visit their website at www.glendaloughhotel.ie  The meals at this hotel are fabulous – a true culinary experience
• All breakfast and dinners included  (most lunches not included) 
• All land transportation to sites
• All fees to museums and sites including Newgrange
• All fees for speakers and guides
• All resource materials including journal
• Traditional Informal Irish Music session
• Passionate local resource guides, poets and storytellers
• Fee to the National Museum in Dublin
• Study Programs on the Celtic Spiritual and Cultural Traditions
• Occasional tea breaks
• Teachings on the ancient Wisdom Way to incorporate into daily life

Price does not include:
• Air transportation to/from Ireland
• Travel insurance (recommended)
• Beverages with meals
• Gratuity for bus driver  (about $20.00 per person)
• Individual touring in Dublin
• Lunch meals

Pilgrimage Highlights:

• See and experience Glendalough, the ancient monastic city of St. Kevin, like no other visitor under the care and guidance of Marcus Losack, co-author of Glendalough, A Celtic Pilgrimage
• Experience Newgrange and the Hill of Tara through the luring legends and visionary understandings of the threads of life that still bind us to our ancestors
• Attend an informal traditional Irish Music Session with one of Ireland’s most respected musician
• See and participate in Dublin’s lively town center – experience the ancient and contemporary – fabulous sightseeing and great shopping
• Learn to integrate into your own daily life several spiritual practices with roots in the Celtic and major faith traditions such as the Noble Silence, Labyrinth Walk, Prayer Methodology and the Wisdom Path.
• Unique guided tour through Celtic artifacts in the National Museum
• Opportunities for rest and renewal in the beautiful Wicklow Mountains and Valley of Two Lakes. 
• Guided prayers and meditations appropriate to sites

YOUR GUIDES:

Marcus Losack is founder and Director of Ceile De, an ecumenical organization in Ireland specializing in the development of study programs and pilgrimages in Celtic Spirituality. He has worked as an Anglican priest in the United Kingdom and Libya.  Marcus is also author of Glendalough, A Celtic Pilgrimage.  From his time as Course Director and Lecturer at St. George’s College in Jerusalem where he developed pilgrimages to the Holy Land and Egypt stems his love and particular interest of the relationship between Celtic Spirituality and the Desert Spiritual Tradition.

Regina Roman is founder and director of Sapira, an educational and spiritual resource organization for pilgrimages to New Mexico, Ireland and Egypt.  Study programs for each of these areas are offered by integrating the history, cultural and spiritual stories of the people and place. She is co-author of Journey with Purpose, A Guided Journal to Discover Your Way.  In addition, Regina is an experienced Spiritual Director following in the paths of the Desert Mothers and Fathers of “opening the heart” and “prayer of the heart.” 

Gary Sandman’s passion has been in the field of natural health, working as a consultant to national organizations and founder and director of Signature Supplements, an organization matching the health needs of clients with individualized vitamins.  His own journey led him to study with Rolling Thunder, a medicine man in the Native American tradition.  Gary is an active member of his local church serving on its board of Trustees and as a youth leader and educator to teenagers.  Gary’s delightful spirit and wisdom of the wellbeing of body and spirit is an immense gift to Ceile De/Sapira and its pilgrim participants.

Come Join us for this extrodinary journey!

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