Travelbound

Your students can be taken on a walking tour of this beautiful by one of the history students of Trinity College. Tours are conducted with a blend of history and entertainment and will provide a fascinating insight into Dublin's past. Places of interest include: Old Parliament House, Temple Bar, City Hall, Dublin Castle, Wood Quay, Christ Church Cathedral and Four Courts.

Belfast was once recognised as the capital city for trade and industry and boasted the largest shipyard, linen mill, tobacco factory and rope works anywhere in the world. Today, the waterfront factories are being replaced by designer flats, restaurants, hotels and offices as the city is undergoing a transformation from the devastation caused during WWII and 30 years of civil unrest. Guided tours will show you the buildings, docks and people that have played their part in Belfast's history.

This is Ireland's third largest city and is home to many significant buildings, markets and waterways that have served the people of southern Ireland over times gone by. A guided tour of the city will show how the waterways have been well used by traders and merchants and to this day the bridges that criss-cross the River Lee help to establish the character of Cork.

A visit to Belfast harbour will help your group to understand how Belfast was the centre of industrialised Ireland and how it is transforming itself to become a modern centre of business and entertainment. The shipyards of Harland & Wolff, birthplace of the Titanic, provide a unique look at the city's past and include the drawing offices where the infamous luxury liner was designed.

The Parliament buildings at Stormont were originally constructed to house the newly formed government of Northern Ireland. Today the buildings are home to the Northern Ireland Assembly, the legislative authority for Northern Ireland, established under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. School groups can find out more about the terms of the agreement as well as enjoying the magnificent grounds and Greek Classical architecture of the buildings themselves.

This beautiful college was founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth and has become as much a part of Dublin's heritage as anywhere else in the city. Among the many famous students to attend the college over the years were the playwrights Oliver Goldsmith and Samuel Beckett. Trinity's lawns and cobbled paths provide a pleasant haven away from the bustle of the city and history students may also be interested in the Old Library and the Book of Kells.

Built in 1792 this is one of Ireland's most famous prisons having held many famous Nationalists and Republicans over the years. The prison was closed in 1924 but not before it had witnessed the execution of the leaders of the 1916 Ester Rising. Guided tours of the building are available which provide a good insight into the history of Irish Republicanism.

Michael Colins played an instrumental part in Ireland's struggles for independence against the British. He was an MP for Cork South and part of the founding movement that set up the Irish Parliament in Dublin. As part of the Easter Rising in 1916 and Director of Intelligence of the IRB this centre explains Colins': roots, status and memory which is embedded in the history of Ireland. 

The village of Blarney is only 5 miles out of Cork City and surrounded by beautiful wooded countryside. The Tudor village has developed around Blarney Castle and its famous stone that is held high up within the castle battlements and is said to offer, once kissed, the gift of the gab. A trip to this 600 hundred year old castle will give history groups an insight into times gone by when Chieftains such as Cormac MacCarthy ruled the land.