Just finished my last two tours over a week ago and while I will be sorry that the tours are finished, I will be glad to get some rest. At this point I would like to thank all the tour leaders and especially the people who trusted us enough to travel with us. I hope they all enjoyed themselves in Ireland. This year we had people from USA, England, Scotland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Switzerland and of course Canada.

My focus now turns to Rugby, (for a few weeks anyway) and the wonderful Munster Rugby team. Rugby is perhaps my favourite way of relaxing after music and my club team Shannon and Province Munster are a dream to follow. Munster have won all their 7 games this season including a resounding win over USA in August. We are of course European Champions and on Sunday we beat England’s best team, Sale in England in this seasons European Cup,

Last week I went to Dublin to have a look at some hotels and visitor attractions. Killmainham Jail reall touched me deeply and I also enjoyed The Guinness Brewery, especially the pint at the end. I think Dublin is very doable and I will be planning a couple of visits there next year.

I am now preparing a trip to the USA next week. I will be meeting my tour leaders for next year and even some prospective travellers. I will also be hooking up with some people who have toured with me in the past. I will be there until Christmas week and I am really looking forward to it.

I am starting off in Florida, where I will catch some sun for a couple of weeks. I have not completed my schedule yet but I will also be in Boston, Philadelphia, (where I will be spending Thanksgiving with Anne Feeney) Chicago, Nashville, Ashville, Austin, Norman, Ok., and Colorado. I may be also travelling to the Carolina’s.

There also is an outside chance that I may be going to Seattle and onto Vancouver. My son is in Vancouver, where he plays rugby with Vancouver Rowers and if their season extends until December I will go and see him play there. He is returning to Ireland for the Christmas period, so I will see him there, if not in Vancouver.

That’s all for now. My next blog will be from the US of A. Cannot wait.

Just a few more tours to go this year. I am getting ready for 2 more tours, one with Johnsmith and the other with Anne Feeney.

I am resting at the moment after working since July without a day off.

We had some wonderful tours this year. The weather has been dissapointing but it never stopped us completing our activities. We have learned much again this year. You never stop learning in this business. I think I will be in even better shape next year. The dollar is on the up , which is great news. We took a big hit this past year on the exchange rate so hopefully it continues improving.

I am looking at some new places for next year. Lots of people have been asking about Dublin, so that’s my first priority. I am also looking at Newgrange and the Battle of the Boyne site. I will also look at the Guinness Brewery and Kilmainham Jail in Dublin. We also had hoped to include Waterford in our plans this year but itdid not work out, so I will look there again for next year.

I have been working on next year’s tours and have 12 booked already, so that is pleasing. We may have 4 new group leaders and the rest are repeat bookings, so I am happy that next year should be busy.

We did some new things this year. The most exciting and memorable was a Handfasting/Druid’s Wedding Ceremony at The Beltony Stone Circle in Donegal. There was not a dry eye to be seen, (including the guys) I was told more thanonce that I have missed my calling. Catherine and Craig, (the couple involved) really loved it.

Well , back for some more rest. I will write again soon………………………..TOM

It has been a long time since my last blog. Things have been very busy this Summer. I have just finished two wonderful tours with Johnsmith. The first one was in Cork, Kerry and Clare, where there were so many highlights. Every day was so special. We again had John Spillane do a private gig for us and he performed as if he was in Carnegie Hall. A truly amazing gig. He is a great performer and a gentleman also. There was a mad search for his CDs throughout the trip but I think everyone on the tour has got one at this stage. We had a music partner of John’s travel with us on this trip also. Dan and his wife, Mary added so much to the tour that it is going to be hard to do one without them now. We also had Eilis Kennedy and Donagh Hennessy play for us, another truly great night. The music on this trip was perhaps the best ever.

We then headed to Donegal. As usual the scenery up there is so special. It is very varied. There are not that many tourists there also, so the beaches are deserted and that’s great especially at this time of the year when Cork, Kerry, Clare and Galway are over-run with tourists. We also had a great group here and heard some great music also. Don Stiffe played a blinder of a gig for us on our first night. We heard Sharon Shannon at “The Mary from Dungloe Festival”. My favourite night’s music yet this year was at the Ballyshannon Folk Festival, where we heard “Four Men and a Dog”. This was one of the best night’s music I have ever experienced in my life.

We had some firsts also in Donegal. Ellen Fein met our President Mary McAleese in Glencolumbkille. I also performed a druids wedding at the Beltony Stone Circle for Catherine and Craig. Johnsmith sang a few wonderful songs and I performed a “Handfasting Ceremony” It was very moving and I was surprised to see many tears, even from some of the men in our group. People said that I have lost my calling, ( maybe it’s not too late yet)!!!!!!!!!

I am now getting ready for a return to Donegal with Anne Feeney. I am really looking forward to this one also. All the preparations are completed and Anne is returneing from Sweden, where she has spent most of the Summer with her husband Julie.

I am also working on my 2009 schedule which is going really well. It looks like I have 12 tours booked. I have 4 new tour leaders, just 2 more tours to sell. The dollar is also gaining ground, so things are looking up. This year has been great fun but a bit of a struggle, due to the fall of the dollar .

I will finish now but I hope to write again after Anne’s tour

Hi folks,

    I am resting in my hotel room in Limerick,  preparing for the last night of the Anne Feeney Tour.   Our first 3 nights were in Dingle,  the next three in Doolin,  on then to Clifden for 2 nights and back to Limerick for our last night tonight.   This group was a little different to others as we had union people and activists,  so there was plenty is discussion,  especially on The Lisbon Treaty and we had plenty of lively discussion on Irish history,  while a certain Mr. Bush got plenty of mentions.

   We had about seven musicians and singers,  all of whom enjoyed doing their pieces,  so our nights out were lively,  to say the least.   I think we had our own session after every night in the pub.   We also heard some great musicians including Eilish Kennedy,  Tommy O’Sullivan,  Eoin Duignan,  Pauline Scanlon,  Donogh Hennessy and Damien Mullane in Dingle.   We saw Eoin O’Neill,  Ger Hoyne,  Maeve Kierse,  Noel O’Donoghue in Doolin and a wonderful group named Glor in Clifden,  who included my favourite bodhran player, Sean Halpenny and Mike Carey in their lineup.   It would be hard to nominate our best night,  but I think for atmosphere,  good singing and especially our tour peoples participation I think The Irish Arms in Lisdoonvarna would be hard to beat.   Blaise Phelan and Chris Walshe played a blinder.   It was wonderful.   Thanks to Kevin McNamara for providing the venue and hospitality.

   We are staying in for our last night and after dinner in the hotel we are going to a private room where we will talk about the tour and sing some more.   It will be another good night.   We then say GOODBYE to most of the group.   Some are staying around for a little while.

   I will write again when I am on my next tour.  Please keep your comments comming…………………………TOM

   The weather was fairly good.   We saw some rain on the last couple of days but it never stopped us doing anything.   I must say at this point that Anne Feeney was a joy to be with.   Her enthusiasm was wonderful.  She is a wonderful lady to tour with.   The people who are comming in August and September have a treat in store. 

Hi Folks,

    Just sitting at home looking out the window at a typical Irish Summer’s day.   Today already we have had sun,  rain and high winds.   The weather has been very unpredictable these past few weeks,  as usual but I have been lucky on the two tours I have done since I have written my last blog.   My first tour was with Chuck Brodsky and 17 of his friends/fans.   We started in West cork,  then went on to Dingle and then on to Liscannor/Doolin, Co. Clare and finished in Limerick on our last night.

 As I said we were very lucky with the weather.   It did not stop us doing anything we had planned on tour.   We,  as usual saw some wonderful scenery and the music was really good.   Some of the musical highlights were of course Chuck Brodsky’s performances,  he is an incredible singer/songwriter.   We had Ger Wolfe do a gig for us in Bantry,  i was so impressed by him.   We lucked out in Dingle as we were invited to Donough Hennessy’s birthday party in John Benny’s pub.   Some other guests included Pauline Scanlon, (of course) Eleanor Shanley,  John Spillane,  Eilis Kennedy,  Seamus Begley,  Damian Mullane, (Irish Champion Accordian Player) Tola Custy and many more.   We had a wonderful night.   Our night in Doolin was also memorable as we heard a great session of music played by Blackie O’Connell, (Uileann Pipes)  Karl Lynch, (Banjo) Cyril O’Donoghue, (Bouzouki and vocals) and Ger Hoyne, (Bodhran)  What a night !   We had a lovely group of people on tour and I think they all enjoyed the tour very much.   Chuck is already planning a tour for next year,  which will happen  on June 16,  2009.

 My next tour,  which I only finished on Friday last was a private one for two people from Montana.   We again had a wonderful night in Dingle and the tour also went very well.   Weather was great except for the last couple of days.   Again the people were really lovely and we had a blast.   They are talking about doing a full family tour next year as most of their family play music in Montana and also have Irish/Norwegian backgrounds.

 I am now finalising arrangements for my first tour with Anne Feeney.   This is one that I am really looking forward to.   We are again going to Dingle,  Liscannor/Doolin and Connemara.   This is the first of three tours for Anne.

 I am a little bit uneasy this past week as this time last year I was in Kerrville.  I wish so much I could be there.   Johnsmith has been emailing me which has really unsettled me.  Last year in Kerrville was such a wonderful time for me.   I hope to get back there again next year.  

We have booked John Spillane for the Johnsmith West Cork tours later on in the year,  so that is very exciting as John is Ireland’s best folksinger.   We are also hoping to get Eleanor Shanley for our Donegal tours.

That’s all for now.  I will write again during the Anne Feeney Tour.

 Regards……………..TOM

I have just arrived back from Lanzarote.  I had expected to be writing my blogs from there but the internet situation over there proved to be very difficult.   However I had a wonderful  time over there.  I rested a plenty,  walked a lot and drank and ate a little too much at times but in the main I behaved myself  but I sang plenty of songs.

 The greatest thing I did over there was to walk almost every day.  Due to a back problem I could only walk for 100 yards at first but ended up in my last few weeks walking along the beachfront in Peurto del Carmen for 6 miles.  I took plenty of rests but I felt a great sense of achievement when I did that and I must pay tribute to my great friend Frank O’Dwyer, who cajoled me into walking every day.

 The weather was mostly between 75f and 85f so it was wonderful to soak up the sun all Winter.  Lanzarote is a wonderful island and there was something to do every day and the time passed so quickly.

 I am now back and prepairing to start my first tour on Tuesday next April 15.  I will be travelling with Chuck Brodsky and I am really looking forward to this tour.   We are starting in West Cork,  then Dingle and onto Co. Clare and finishing in Limerick.

We have had some cancellations due to the state of the US Dollar and the state of the ecomomy,  but these things happen and I am really looking forward to the upcomming tours.

I will write again soon and report on the Chuck Brodsky Tour.   Goodbye for now………………………..TOM

Hi Folks,

Tomorrow I start my second last tour of the year with Johnsmith. John actually arrived this morning and is now in bed asleep. We are going for Dinner and Music in McDermott’s Pub in Doolin. Today we looked at a new Hotel premises in Ballyvaughan and it looks very promising for next year.

I also did some work in Co. Waterford and that also looks good. The sceenery over there is wonderful and also it is called the “Sunny Southeast” as rainfall over there is a lot less than the rest of the country.

Tomorrows tour takes us to West Cork, Dingle, Co. Kerry and Doolin/Liscannor, Co. Clare. This is a wonderful mix of Sceenery. West Cork is like a series of Picture Postcards. Dingle is a little rugged but it gets seriously rugged in Clare. The music is also very different in these areas.

We are very honoured and delighted to have Ireland’s greatest singer/songwriter, John Spillane do a private concert for us in Clonakilty. We also have some wonderful live music in Dingle and on to The Mecca of Irish Traditional Music, Doolin. We have so many incredible nights of music planned for this tour.

I hope this blog brings back some memories to this years travellers and maybe whet’s the appetite of our future travellers.

I will tell you about the tour in about two weeks.

Slan…………………..TOM

Hi Folks,

Welcome to our newly refurbished Web Site. First of all I want to publicly thank my son Gary for all the hard work he has done to get this up and running. He has been a tower of strength for me through this project. Once again, thanks a million Gary.

I also want to thank my brother Joseph who has also put in the hours to get this up and running.

This is of course my first attempt at Blogging?? so first of all I want to thank everyone who has travelled with us these past few years. It really has been a wonderful journey for me. I also want to thank Johnsmith from the bottom of my heart, through him, the journey began. I cannot remember all the people who showed us various degrees of kindness along the way, but thanks to the Hotel and B & B owners, the musicians who entertained us for the past few years

This year has been a pretty busy year for me. I have done 3 tours with Johnsmith, with one more to go. I have also done tours with The Rowan Brothers and Cosy Sheridan and would you believe a Ski Club from Maryland. I will also be touring with singer/songwriter Joe Jencks in October. We have also travelled from Malin Head (Irelands most Northerly point) to Mizen Head (Ireland’s most Southerly point) We now have 3 set tours and I am at present looking into Waterford for next year. All in all it has been a great year.

As is the custom, our travellers name their own tours and this year we have had some strange names

The Are We Where We Are Tour

The Best Tour (N)EVER

The Gullible Travellers Tour

I remember when I did the first tour with Johnsmith we said that it would be hard to have a better tour, but each tour raises the bar for the next one. It is incredible. There are no two tours alike. We feel they are getting better all the time. We have had wonderful groups this year and it amazes me to see the bonding starting from the first minute we meet. It is also great to see the emails that start among the groups from the first day that they arrive back in the USA.

I hope you all like the Web Site and I would like to invite all our travellers to write to us.

I hope to write about every couple of weeks, so if anyone has a question to ask, I will try to answer.

TOM