www.furtherafieldtravel.ca/gems-ireland-signature-tour

The Grand Central Hotel in the heart of the Belfast city. This is one of the city’s newest hotels, opened in 2018, a former Grand Central Hotel had been built in 1893 by John Robb. It changed hands in 1927, when John Grant of the whisky distillery company took it over. They remained in business until the Troubles in Northern Ireland lead to their demise. The attraction of tourism to this area of Ireland has seen an expansion in the number of hotels that have opened in the last 30 years.
 
The Seahorse is the symbol of Belfast’s maritime history and has become a feature of the Grand Central hotel. The hotel is on 23 floors with 300 bedrooms, cafes, restaurants, regular bars, the Seahorse restaurant and observation lounge is on the top floor. In mythology the Celts believed that the Seahorse were Sea Gods. Visitors to the Belfast City Hall will be enthralled by the use of Seahorses, on lampposts, bins, carpets, and stained glass windows. Queens University has a Seahorse on their Coat of arms. At Belfast Harbour there’s a statue of The Seahorse welcoming visitors to the city and hopefully has the potential of unifying the city’s people.
 
The city has a population of 350,000 it’s easy to manoeuvre around and see the city centre sites on foot. The City Hall is just across the street, a beautiful building with many historical facts about the city, the Cathedral quarters, the Titanic Visitors Centre, bars, restaurants, the Victoria Shopping Centre, and the transportation facilities, of buses, trains, and taxis are all centrally located. 
 
The shipbuilding history dates back 300 years. The sheltered harbour was what attracted merchants and seafarers to establish the many industries here. At one stage Belfast was the largest city in Ireland. Trade with North America and the West Indies saw its expansion escalated dramatically, shipbuilding gave way to demand for lumber, glass, iron and steel, rope making, furniture, carpets, etc., the distilleries gave employment both in the workplace and in farming for the growing of barley. There was Gallagher cigarette factories had two ships going across the Atlantic, taking goods from Europe to the States and tobacco, sugar, and rum back to Belfast. The linen industry was the backbone of Belfast and indeed Ireland in the 19th and 20th centuries, there was a dramatic decline for linen after WWII. The city had the nickname ‘Linenopolis’ or the linen capital of the world. 
 
Harvey’s Point in Co. Donegal has been voted the top hotel in Ireland for five consecutive years. Driving along a relatively major road we turn off, to a remote and isolated rural road. As if in a wilderness the silhouette of water twinkles through the hedgerows of trees, a crocheted like curtain reveals this Alice in Wonderland hotel, nestled by the shoreline of Lough Eske, and shadowed by the Blue Stack Mountains.
 
There’s a story of love and romance attached to this hotel. In 1983 Jody Gysling from Switzerland arrived Ireland, wishing to escape from the hassle of life there. He travelled through Ireland and found his dream paradise in Donegal, although there were some who classed the cottage and the few fields that surrounded it as a swamp. Not to be deterred Jody stated to work towards his goal and he opened a bed and breakfast. His brother Mark joined him as a chef and in 1989 they had expanded the premises to a small hotel with twenty bedrooms and catering facilities. Deirdre McGlone, a local girl joined the staff and here’s where the romantic twist in the story begins. Love conquerors everything, Mark and Deirdre began to see more of each other outside of working hours. The hotel was thriving and expanding, the couple get married in 1996.
 
Today the hotel has 88 suits and 13 cabin style rooms, an amazing ballroom suitable for weddings, cabaret performances, and conference meetings. This hotel has grown to be a destination venue with an international reputation. The town of Donegal is six kilometres away, it has that village feel to it, with family-owned shops, bars with Irish music, songs, and dancing. Banks, Real Estate offices, commercial premises, schools and churches. The quality of life is entwined with the remoteness of the county. Looking at the map of Ireland, Donegal is the northernmost county in the island of Ireland, yet Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom.
 
The mountains, peat bogs, the coastal areas with fishing ports and their fantastic fleet of trawlers and ships are what makes this county so attractive. 
 
The Westport Plaza hotel, Co. Mayo.
This hotel is located in the centre of the town of Westport, a town that is associated with Westport House and Estate. It was built to a specific plan designed by the architect James Wyatt. The Carrowbeg river is its central point, mature trees and hanging baskets of flowers breathing life into the town, several streets branch out from here each with colourful shop fronts some exhibiting their wares to attract customers. Bars, restaurants, banks, commercial premises, an undertaker, churches, schools, hotels and the statues of various people who passed through or lived here. Even Saint Patrick is remembered, and so he should be with Croagh Patrick, the pilgrimage mountain standing majestically at 470 meters outside the town, Patrick is reputed to have bone Christ’s purgatory (40 days fasting) on this mountain.
 
The hotel is a beautiful place, situated close to the river and all the attractions that’s on offer. The Green-way that has recently been opened, gives visitors access to walks, biking, or hiking, out of the town for about 20 kilometres as far as Achill island.
 
Westport House has a history dating back to the 1500s and Grace O’Malley, the Pirate Queen. The Marquess of Sligo is the Peerage held currently by Sebastian Ulick Brown, the 12th Marquess of Sligo. The Brown’s were direct descendants of the Pirate Queen. The house is open to the public throughout the year.
 
The Glenlo Abbey Hotel, Co. Galway.
Here three kilometres west of Galway city lies the most luxurious five-star hotel’s one can imagine. It’s built on a 138 acre estate and that dates back to 1740s, it was built by the Ffrenches, one of the fourteen merchant families that were known as the famous Tribes of Galway, they were of Anglo-Norman origin dating back to the 1200s. The building was supposed to have been as a church, but was never completed or concreted. 
 
Through the centuries there were several owners of the property, due to wars, evictions, shortages of money, inheritance etc., it was gambled, forfeited, and exploited forgery. The Palmers owned it from 1897 until 1980. The Burke family took over the estate in 1980 and with care and attention they have transformed it into a Five-star hotel with over 150 rooms and bungalows, four restaurants, three bars, spas, indoor and outdoor heated pools, a golf course, the award winning Orient Express Pullman Carriages Restaurant, and there’s access to Lough Corrib.
 
Galway is a university city with that bohemian lifestyle that’s presented through art, music, pageants, and festivals. Lynch’s castle is in the city centre, Saint Nicholas Cathedral dating from 1320 is still in use today, the old walls are incorporated into the shopping arcade’s and some of the bars. Buskers, the street entertainers are also a joy as you move down the streets. Eyre square has always an air of anticipation about it, walking down to the river you end up at the Spanish Arch where maritime trading was done, the date over the entrance to the city arch is 1494.
 
The Lake Hotel, Killarney, Co. Kerry.
The Huggard family have been in the hospitality business for three generations throughout Ireland, and the Lake Hotel is the grandest location you’ll stay at. Nestled on the banks of Lough Leane with the MacGillycuddy Reeks mountains stretching for miles is a joy to witness in the morning or evening. Looking out from your bedroom windows watch the herd of deer grazing on the lawns. Take a stroll down to the ruin of McCarthy’s castle. After dinner have a nightcap in the hotel bar and enjoy the music being played by local artists. The entrance to the Killarney National Park is beside the hotel, 26,000 acres of woodlands, lakes, mountains, farmland, and Muckross house. Turk mountain has some beautiful trails for climbing and hiking.
 
The old Franciscan Abbey that dates back to the 1450s, is a 20-minute walk away, a massive Yew tree is growing in the middle of the ruins. Yew tree and spiritually is of great importance in Irish culture, it’s associated with death and rebirth. Both Druids and Christians revered this sacred tree, it was a symbol of immortality and an omen of doom. In times past wine barrels were made from yew staves, and was referred to as the ‘Coffin of the Vine’. The branches of the yew are carried on Palm Sunday, (palm trees don’t grow in Ireland or Great Britain). When a grave is dug in Ireland, we place yew branches into the side of the grave about six inches from the top to camouflage the opening, as the coffin is lowered down it seems to disappear through the branches. The tree is extremely toxic and so livestock will not graze there, as if protecting the sacred ground. 
 
The Lake Hotel is at the end of the journey around the Ring of Kerry when you’re travelling by coach, if you’re in a car you’re free to travel both ways. In the town of Killarney there’s a great amount of activities to choose from, rent a bike, take a boat trip on the lakes, go horseback riding, or take a ride on a pony and trap through the National Park, attend an Irish night with music and dance, go golfing, fishing, shopping or maybe just relax.
 
The Lyrath Hotel, Co. Kilkenny.
This Manor Hotel, certainly didn’t begin its existence as a hospitality venue. In the 1660s this estate was incorporated into the vast estates that were the properties of the Duke of Ormond. Butler was the family name, with the new title, came Kilkenny Castle and thousands of acres of land including the Lyrath estate. Through the years various tenants farmed the estate. 
 
The Manor House that dates back to the 17th century is part of the Lyrath Hotel. The house and 170 acres estate was purchased in 2003 by Xavier McAuliffe. The house has been developed into the luxurious five-star facility that’s here today. The furniture and paintings that are part of the experience within the building are a delight to behold.
 
The city of Kilkenny has a lot to offer visitors, the castle is open to the public throughout the year. Take a visit to the galleries, museums, wonderful shopping stores, restaurants, and the bars, one in particular is Kyteler’s Inn; said to be haunted so be warned. The city is also ideally located for visiting local destinations such as Waterford Crystal, and the Rock of Cashel.
 
Carton House Hotel, Maynooth, Co. Kildare.
This hotel is situated on 1,100 acres of a walled estate. The property was the seat of the Fitzgerald family that dates back in history to the Anglo-Norman’s that arrived in Ireland in the late 1100s. They received the title the Earls of Kildare in 1315, and were one of the most influential families in Irish history for over seven centuries. The present house was built in 1739. 
 
In the mid-20th Century it was operated as a 300 cows dairy herd and a cereal growing farm until the 1980s. The company that had purchased it, decided that for their investment there would be a more lucrative return in the agritourism business. The grasslands were converted into two championship golf courses laid out by Mark O’Meara and Colm Montgomery. The Irish Open has been held here on numerous occasions and the Women’s Irish Open was held in 2024 and again in 2025. 
 
The house got a total revamp, with some extensions, the dining rooms are incredible, the lobby is an open plan space incorporating the reception area, a bar, a foyer for guests to relax with a coffee or drink. The complex also has a conference centre, meeting rooms, and presentations rooms, something to suit all demands.
 
The town of Maynooth is within walking distance or is a 6/7 minute drive. It’s a university town with 16,000 students, the town has been transformed into a modern location with plenty of employment that educational centres bring to areas. The only Catholic Seminary in Ireland is here in Maynooth, it was built in 1795. People can take a tour of the property including the beautiful St. Patrick’s church. The Fitzgerald Castle in the middle of the town is also open to the public.
 
Guests that stayed in Carton House before it was a hotel were. Queen Victoria on two occasions, Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco, Peter Sellers, Marianne Faithful for 7 years in the 1990s, Julie Andrews and her husband director Blake Edward’s, while filming ‘Darling Lili’, for about 6 months.
 
Carton House Hotel is now Ireland’s first Fairmont resort, lavish marble bathrooms, Egyptian sheets on King-size beds, an open fireplace, and lush gardens and lawns stretching out you to savour the beauty and peacefulness of Carton House Hotel.