Our tour, including tickets to the game where Notre Dame play Navy in Ireland’s Aviva Stadium on September 1st 2012 is filling up fast!
For American Football lovers worldwide this is a unique opportunity to see two of College Football’s giants play on Irish soil. The “Emerald Isle Classic” as it has been billed has attracted unprecedented interest.
To coincide with the game we put on a great tour of Ireland that allows those visiting us see the true character of Ireland. However this tour is filling up fast.
If you want to join us, I recommend booking soon!

Click here for more info: Notre Dame vs Ireland 2012 Tour

Hotels in Ireland are the cheapest in Western Europe according to a new survey of rates across 44 countries by the world’s largest independent online booking company, expedia, owners of hotels.com.

The hotel price index, compiled from bookings made through Hotels.com at 130,000 hotels around the world, found Ireland had the sixth cheapest hotels out of a total of 44 countries surveyed with an average room rate of €79 (approx $107).

No other Western European country had lower rates. In Eastern Europe, only the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary were found to be slightly lower than Ireland making Ireland the 4th cheapest in the entire European continent.

Hotel prices in the capital, Dublin, were even lower than the national average at just €73 (approx $98), dropping 6% in 2010 versus 2009, making it one of the best value capital cities in the world in which to stay. Of 95 cities surveyed around the world, Dublin ranked 18th cheapest and cheapest in all of Europe.

Average hotel prices in Dublin in 2010 were significantly lower than in neighboring European capitals. In London, average hotel prices stood at €135 a night; Paris – €120; Amsterdam – €115; Rome – €113; Edinburgh – €109; and Lisbon – €83.

Kilkenny remained the most expensive place to stay in Ireland, despite a fall of almost 20 per cent in average room rates from €138 in 2009 to €112 in 2010. The southeast also had the second most expensive destination, with Wexford at €109. Third most expensive was Galway at €100, followed by hotels in Killarney at €96 and Tralee at €95. The lowest cost place to stay in Ireland, the survey found, was Waterford, with an average hotel price of just €56.

Seamus Mac Cormaic of Expedia Inc said: “Despite having a reputation as an expensive destination, Ireland is now one of the most affordable destinations in the world and Dublin one of the least expensive major cities.”

British/European airline, Flybe has announced a new route between Knock Airport and Edinburgh in Scotland. The new route will be operated three times a week starting on 19 April

FlyBe have the route on sale now with fares from UK£29.99 one way (including taxes & charges) at http://flybe.com

The new service provides the only air link between Scotland and Ireland’s West;
Apart from providing easy access to the scenic attractions of the West of Ireland, the nearby village of Knock is also world-renowned for its Marian Shrine that is visited by over 1.5-million pilgrims each year.

Of course the development has also been widely welcomed by those living in the West of Ireland giving easy access to Edinburgh and to holidays in Scotland in general.

More information about Ireland’s Airports: Flights to Ireland

I was delighted to hear another wonderful story of a myguideIreland Guest enjoying their Ireland vacation last week.

However I was even more thrilled when they enquired about our affiliate program and how they could work with myguideIreland to earn a little extra income for themselves from promoting our website.

Our Guest has create a lovely Irish blog about visiting Ireland and I was just delighted to share it with you all.

Anyone else who would like to promote their blogs or learn about our affiliate program – please be sure to contact us at ireland@myguideireland.com

Following on from the great interest we have had in Irish Surnames,  we bring you the latest Irish name O’Doherty again kindly supplied by Eddie from Araltas.

Doherty is an example of a surname in which the resumption of its prefix 0 during the recent century has been very marked. Comparing the statistics of 1890 with 1955 we find that in the former year in Ireland out of 465 births registered only eight i.e. less than two per cent were O’Doherty: at the present time the proportion is approximately fifty per cent. i.e. those calling themselves Doherty and 0′Doherty are about equal. Alternative spellings such as Dogherty and Dougherty are rarely met with nowadays.

In Munster Doherty is often not Ó Dochartaigh but Ó Dubhartaigh: this is more correctly anglicized Doorty in west Clare.

In Oriel Dorritty is an occasional synonym.

Many Irish surnames in their anglicized forms present problems in regard to their origin. Doherty, however, is simple and straightforward. In Irish O Dochartaigh, which is said to be derived from the word dochartach meaning obstructive, this large and powerful sept is of the same stock as tbe 0′Donnells. Originating in the barony of Raphoe, Co. Donegal, the 0′Doherty chiefs extended their territory till they became Lords of Inishowen in the fourteenth century, but they were greatly reduced as a result of the ill-timed rebellion of Sir Cahir O’Dougherty in 1608. The great majority of the present day bearers of the name live, or at least were born, in Donegal or the areas adjacent to that county. Their numbers give them the fifteenth place in the list of the commonest names in Ireland.

However you choose to spell Doherty, and there are at least half a dozen versions apart from with or without the O, it remains a Donegal name. It is believed to be one of the oldest hereditary surnames, and translated from the Irish it is thought to mean obstructive. Ranking fifteenth in the list of 100 most common Irish surnames, the motto on their coat of arms is Ar nDúthcas (for my inheritance). According to the O Dogherty pedigree of 5 November 1770 in the Genealogical Office in Dublin, they are descended from one of the eight sons of Niall of the Nine Hostages, the legendary chieftain who was killed jousting in France in AD 405. Nial is reputed to be responsible for bringing the young Patrick to Ireland as a slave. Four of Niall’s sons settled in Meath. The eldest, Laogarius, was Ireland’s first Christian monarch, surely the very king who saw Patrick light his Pascal fire on the Hill of Slane. Niall’s four younger sons went north to Ulster and were known as the Hy Nialls. They reigned there for over 600 years until 1002, when Brian Boru assumed the high kingship. The names of the descendants of Niall are renowned in Irish history. They include the O Neills who were princes and earls of Tir Eogan, the O Donnells, princes and earls of Tirconnell, and the O Melaghlins, kings and princes of Meath. The O Dohertys who descend from Niall owned the Inishowen Peninsula until, to quote their genealogical document, “the accession of King James I to the throne of England and Ireland in 1603, at which period six counties of Ulster were escheated to the Crown and granted to Scotch Planters”. From the eighth to the seventeenth centuries there was a constant power struggle between the clans and in the twelfth century, against the English invaders – few Normans penetrated as far as Ulster. For a while the O Dohertys maintained good relations with the English. Cunningly they used them to play O Neill against O Donnell. Many times they preserved their land, or their lives, by pretending allegiance to Henry VIII, or Elizabeth I.Thus they acquired their knighthoods.

Shane Mor O Doherty was knighted in 1541. His son, Shane Og, who was knighted in 1585, was the father of Cahir, the most notorious of all the O Dohertys. Cahir O Doherty (1587 – 1608) was only 14 when his father died and there were many family quarrels before Cahir was finally acknowledged as Lord of Inishowen. He has been described as extremely tall and handsome and very brave in battle. Still only in his teens, he was knighted by Mountjoy for military bravery and, in 1603, was invited to visit the Court in London. On his return to Ireland he was made an admiral of the new city of Derry. Intrigues enmeshed him and he was accused of treason, which provoked him, catastrophically, into the madness of attacking Derry, which he mercilessly burned. Retribution came swiftly; a strong Crown force was dispatched and he was killed, and his head was sent to Dublin to be exhibited.

Cahir O Doherty earned himself the title “that audacious traitor” and his actions opened the floodgates for the plantation of Ulster and the tragedy which continues into the twentieth century. Cahir’s was the end of the O Doherty lordship of Inishowen. The year before his death, the northern earls had sailed away from Lough Swilly to spread their battered wings all around Europe. Cahir’s brother Sean O Doherty soon followed, and his descendant, Dr Ramon Salvador O Doherty, who lives in Cadiz in Spain, is 11th in direct line from the Lords of Inishowen. In July 1990, he was ceremonially inaugurated as 37th O Doherty chieftain.

The Keep, all that remains of the fine castle built by the O Dohertys in 1430, still stands at Buncrana, in a ruggedly charming area of Donegal between Lough Swilly and Lough Foyle. A glance in the telephone directory will confirm that the O Dohertys continue to thrive around Inishmore. Across the sea in Scotland, where they fled to escape the persecutions following the plantations, there are also many of the O Doherty name. Following the disaster of Derry, many of them went still further afield.

John Doherty (also sometimes Dougharty) (1688 – 1755), settled in Worcester in England, where he had a school for over fifty years. Mathematics was his speciality and his many published works include A Way of Finding Mean Times of the Moon’s Phases and Eclipses. A man of some distinction, he is buried in the cloisters of Worcester Cathedral.

Thomas Doherty (d. 1805) was a lowly countryman who went to England and found work clerking in a legal o6ice. During his sixteen years there he studied law, and made an important collection of precedents and notes on legal cases which were so remarkable he was made a member of Gray’s Inn, the legal institution in London. He devoted himself so obsessively to his vocation, and to editing a series of books on the duties of the Crown Court Assistant, that he utterly neglected his family, a nineteenth-century example of a workaholic.

John Doherty (1783 – 1850) graduated from Trinity College, Dublin, and in the course of time reached the eminence of Chief Justice of Ireland. His reputation as a judge was surpassed by his performance in the House of Commons in London, where his impressive appearance and sharp Irish wit were much appreciated. So also was his connection, on the maternal side, with a former Prime Minister, George Canning. Although John Doherty and Daniel O Connell were in accord as regards the granting of Catholic emancipation, politically they frequently differed bitterly. When the House of Lords was almost within his grasp, over-optimistic investment in the railway industry lost him his fortune and closed his career. Kevin Izod O Doherty (1823 – 1905), while studying medicine in Dublin, wrote articles for the Nation, mouthpiece of the Young Irelanders the protagonists of Home Rule. He was tried for treason and was deported to Van Dieman’s Land (Tasmania). He was eventually pardoned and he returned to Dublin where he completed his medical studies. In 1862 he returned voluntarily to Brisbane, Australia, where he practised successfully for 23 years and was also a member of the Queensland legislative assembly. On a visit to Ireland he was so well received that he was elected Member of Parliament for North Meath, but when he returned to Brisbane three years later he found his medical practice had disappeared. He died a poor man.

William James O Doherty (1835 – 68) was a Dublin-born O Doherty who made a name as a sculptor in London. He had the good fortune to begin his studies in the Royal Dublin Society, with its government-sponsored school of art. He soon abandoned painting for sculpture and progressed so rapidly that by 1857 he was exhibiting in London’s Royal Academy. He transformed his name to Dogherty, altering the spelling several times. His works were commissioned by the nobility and various institutions. He went to Rome to execute an important commission and to study but, alas, while on a visit to Berlin his promising career was cut short by an early death at the age of 33. The Dohertys were certainly varied in their pursuits.

At the beginning of this century, Reggie and Laurie Doherty were stylish tennis champions who graced the centre court at Wimbledon and wrote about the game.

Learn more on how you can visit the places of your ancestors on one of our many excellent ireland vacation packages or read more on the O’Doherty name at Araltas

Traveling to Ireland as a Group in 2011?  Let myguideIreland assist you.

Now, more than ever, Group rates in Ireland are better and cheaper than any other time and the perfect time to plan for your  2011 Group Travel is NOW!

At myguideIreland, our Groups department caters for all types of groups and assists with everything from Flights, Accommodation, Coach hire and Attractions -all inclusive.  See what previous groups have said about our service by clicking here

Do you have a group who wish to travel for early, middle or Late 2011?.  Send us your dates, your numbers and any other specific requirements you have and we we can send you a free costing/quotation. Then, all you have to do is gather your friends/family to make a group. We even give a free place for the organizer of groups of 20 or more!!

We are based in Ireland (West Cork) as well as USA (Boston). We meet all groups (20 or more) when you arrive to Ireland. We are on hand  every step of the way from the time you enquire to the time you arrive and right through until you depart for home.   We pride ourselves on our Customer Service care to our Guests. See some of the Group Testimonials below.

Contact our Groups Manager, Suzanne Byrne for your Free Quotation we hope to welcome you and your Group to Ireland in 2011.

You probably already know that there are some great reasons to come to Ireland on vacation that never change. You will find thousands of reasons throughout literature, news and on the web as to why Ireland should be  chosen as a destination.
However, right now, there is one new big reason why you should choose Ireland and why you should choose it now!. That reason is value;

Ireland is a member of the European single currency, the euro, which has seen its value fall by up to 30% from its peak in recent years. That means that, for example, the US dollar buys almost 30% more Euro’s now than it did in 2009. But there’s more: The prices of vacation products such as accommodation, car rental, restaurant meals etc have fallen dramatically over the last year. When these savings are added to the greater value of the US$, the savings can be up to 50% in total.

This is an opportunity not to be missed! By booking now you can lock in this great value even if the Euro strengthens again before you travel.

Come and experience for yourself the reasons why Ireland is one of the world’s favorite vacations destinations and benefit from amazing value by booking in 2010.

So…. back to the “other” and permanent reasons to book a vacation in Ireland:
We have surveyed many of our Guests over the years about what they liked about Ireland. Here are the top 10 reasons given by people who said they would return to Ireland on another vacation:

1. Warmth and Friendliness of the People

2. Stunning Irish Scenery

3. Ireland’s History and Strong Heritage

4. Culture – Irish Music and Dance

5. Irish Food and Drink

6. The clean, fresh air and countryside of Ireland

7. Festivals in Ireland

8. A variety of activities

9. Pubs are about atmosphere not just alcohol

10. Irish Sports – Especially Hurling

Do a quick survey yourself of the web and look at various travel publications such as The Lonely Planet, Shermans Travel magazine, even Conde Naste Traveler: You will find that the above themes are repeated again and again. There are very few destinations that can offer such a broad range of reasons to be chosen for vacation, but Ireland has them all.
Combine these great reasons with the exceptional value available when booking right now and we honestly believe that Ireland is the world’s best Vacation destination for 2010.
We look forward to welcoming you!

Here are just some of the great deals we have right now:

7 day B&B vacation with 100% flexible route: from $49.99 per day

A week in Ireland with B&Bs and a Stay in an Authentic Castle: from $399

In our last newsletter we were amazed by the feedback we got on our suggestions for the top 10 places to visit in Ireland. Plenty agreed with some but no one agreed with all and we got many suggestions on special places to visit all across or wonderful little Island.

That got us thinking….instead of publishing all the feedback we received why not get you our Guests to write about the places you think all visitors to Ireland should make that extra little effort to fit into their vacation.

Whether you have a list of 3 or 23 why not talk about it either on your own blog or website? Alternatively comment on our facebook page, send them to us via twitter or simply email them in and we will publish the very best of them here on our website.
To mark this we are also offering an amazing FREE vacation to Ireland to the person we deem writes the best blog post/s about the reasons that make Ireland such a special place to visit.

How does it work?

• Our starting prize will be a basic vacation to Ireland for 2 people staying in a cottage vacation rental with rental car for a week
  - great if you can get it but how about some more? …

• Once we reach 25 entries the bar rises and the vacation includes a mix of B&B’s & Hotels

• At 50 entries, the vacation includes all luxury hotels

• Get us to 75 entries and half the stays will be in genuine Irish Castles

• When we have 100 or more entries, all entrants will have the chance to win a luxury castle vacation in Ireland.

Rules:

There are no rules for entry as such but here are some things we won’t say no to:

• Nice mentions of myguideIreland
• Becoming our friend on facebook … www.facebook.com/myguideireland
• Links to our website
• Constructive comments of our website
• We love lists – top 3, top 5, top 10 etc.

Looking forward to hearing from all you Ireland enthusuiasts soon.

Once you have written about Ireland – email: seamus.omurchu@myguideireland.com
with details of where the article is posted,
Entering is as simple as that!

I just came across an article from USA-Today from May 21st where they name Ireland in the Top 5 Bargain Destinations for Summer 2010.

Ireland is the only European destination to make the list and is included in the Top 5 along with California & Myrtle Beach in the USA, Quebec City in Canada and the Bahamas.

There is exceptional value available for Ireland Vacations this year, with hotel prices at the lowest they have been for many years. This combined with the 20% fall in the cost of a Euro in US$ since its peak earlier this year makes Ireland especially good value for visitors from the USA. For example, our basic, go-as-you-please package now starts at $349 compared to an average $499 last year.

We can testify to the resonance this is having with US tourists here at myguideIreland. With the volcanic eruptions in Iceland now in the past, enquiries for 2010 vacations and the exceptional value available, enquiries are growing strongly. Our advice? Book as soon as possble before the most popular areas get booked out!!

In a major boost to Irish Tourism, Delta Airlines have announced that they will reinstate their winter schedule between JFK  and Shannon Airport for the 2010-2011 winter season.

Delta withdrew the route for winter 2009/10 opting only for a summer service, however the resumption of the winter link is a huge boost for Shannon Airport, Ireland’s midwest and Irish tourism in general delivering greater cometition for North American tourists looking to fly to Ireland