Comments on: Tours

By: Dave Kleiner

Dave Kleiner — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 17:12:11 +0000

We returned from our Johnsmith tour with Tom and Paddy 5 days ago, but I still haven’t returned to Earth. It was unquestionably the best vacation in my life: folkloric, musical, social, historical, beautiful, relaxing (we even had steam baths in two of our hotels!), and fulfilling. We’ll be back!

By: Marge Zieske

Marge Zieske — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 17:06:46 +0000

My friend Dorothy and I went on Johnsmith and Tom’s July 14 tour beginning at Shannon AP and finishing in Ennis. The tour is certainly different from the usual “big bus” experience. We toured back roads on a comfortable small bus driven by Paddy Downs, a great driver. We walked on small beaches, listened to Irish music in real Irish Pubs and stayed in small, off the beaten path B & B’s. Wonderful trip for the descerning traveler who wants a unique experience.

By: Larry Walbrun

Larry Walbrun — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 00:58:04 +0000

Hi Tom – Had trouble sending this email direct to you, so thought I’d send it to your website. Most of the gang from our “Close as Cousins” trip got together in LaCrosse this weekend to see John and Dan play. It was a great time and was really fantastic to see everyone again. We all dearly missed you though, and you were certainly there in our hearts and minds. It just wasn’t the same with someone else singing “Good Night Irene” at the end of the night. But it also reminded me that I’ve been meaning to drop you a note.

I’d like to thank you again for making the extra effort to get our family to our B&B and giving us the million dollar tour of Limerick too. We are so glad that you dropped us at that music store so we could pick up a copy of that John Spillane cd/dvd. We just love it and must have listened a hundred times to that and the great cd you made for us. I’d especially like to thank you for the kindness and friendship that you extended to my kids – it really helped them to feel more comfortable with all the adults. They just thoroughly enjoyed your companionship, gentle nature and humor and and love ya to death. They (and Linda a me too) hope we can meet again sometime in all our travels, and hope you don’t mind if we try to stay in touch a bit. Am sure in your tour business you have to have lots of new friends come and go, but we all really did feel a special bond with you and will think of you as a life long friend. Ben and Caitlin have been wanting to email you also, but we saw how busy you are and don’t want to impose on your privacy – would you mind if they drop a note to say Slainte??

I still have a ticket to Lambeau Field with your name on it if you can find a way to make it fit your schedule Dec 7. If it just won’t work for you this year, I’ll let you know when the schedule comes out next year and maybe you can plan your US meetings around a game. I would absolutely love to treat you to a Packer game sometime and play tour guide for YOU in Green Bay! I’ll be there next Sunday nite to see the Cowboy game – that’ll be a load of fun because the Cowboys are dearly hated in Green Bay. If you watch the game you can feel that a little bit of you is actually there with us at the Frozen Tundra!

Oh yea, thanks also for not blowing my cover and letting me finish my dramatic rendering of St Bridgets prayer without correcting my historical innacuracy! When we got back I googled up some history of St Bridget and OOPS, I see that she was a nun and didn’t marry, so in fact she liked to give away her Fathers wealth, and not her husbands. Well, like John Spillane says, if there’s any lies in my story, let them stay there.

Let us know what your plans are for your trip to visit the Cherokee in Oklahoma – we;ll try to see if there’s a way for us to make it down for that. God bless you my friend! Go Munster!!

Regards,
Larry Walbrun
715-381-1808
715-220-1616 cell

By: dan sebranek and mary cortesi

dan sebranek and mary cortesi — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 16:39:16 +0000

Hello Tom, Paddy and John
We have some great photos of the trip but nothing replaces the experience of actually being there. Ireland is rich in history and beauty but you guys make this tour the best! We know you all work very hard behind the scenes to make this trip truly enchanting. We will recommend this tour to all of our friends who love to travel off the beaten path away from the tourists to really have a travel experience of a lifetime. Thanks for everything…SLAINTE!
peace and love to all,
Mary and Dan (July tour- 2008)

By: Anne Feeney

Anne Feeney — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:29:16 +0000

Hello Tom!!

Still basking in the joy from our June tour of Kerry, Clare and Galway. Time to post those 2009 dates – May 19-28 (Kerry, Clare and Galway); June 30-July 9 (Donegal/Derry); August 25 – September 3 (Cork, Kerry and Clare). I’m looking forward to all three trips! Here’s the link http://www.flickr.com/photos/annefeeney/sets/72157605809447284/ to the photos from the first tour!

All the best,

Anne Feeney

By: Guy Zahller

Guy Zahller — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:57:35 +0000

Tom,

I just wanted to thank you Anne and Paddy for the wonderful tour. I loved learning about the history of Ireland. Thanks for being so flexible and taking extra time out to run us around an extra day! I’m sure I’ll be back again for one of the other tours. I’ll be posting blogs on the tour over the next couple of weeks along with many of the pictures. You can view it at http://www.myspace.com/zahller

Peace, Love and Vegetable Rights!

Guy Zahller
Aptos, CA
June 10-19, 2008

By: Paul Rutter

Paul Rutter — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 21:26:25 +0000

I did the Johnsmith version of the tour with my wife and 10 new friends in 2006. I created a Web site to remember it and trade comments etc., http://www.fairplaytometour.com.
Tom and John did a great job, and we had an awesome time. We were fortunate that the group really gelled together and stayed up past late each night in various hotels rooms after the pubs had closed. My comment would be don’t give Tom maps in Italian… he can’t read them especially up in County Donegal where those roads are so skinny.
Next time we’ll meet the king of Tory Island for a real visit.
Great trip!! So Far, So Good!
Slainte!
Paul

By: Maddie Sifantus

Maddie Sifantus — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 17:17:14 +0000

As I think back on all the things I did in 2007, what tops the list was the wonderful tour of Ireland I took with my friends the Rowan Brothers, five other of my friends, and some new friends I met on the trip. I loved singing with Pauline Scanlon, discovering John Spillane, all of Tom’s history, the scenary, the wonderful bus driving of Paddy Downes and everything about it. I hope I will be able to go back before too long!

By: Mr. Steven Howard Parker

Mr. Steven Howard Parker — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 00:08:31 +0000

I am interested in the April 15 tour.

By: Peter Pavarini

Peter Pavarini — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 15:33:28 +0000

Tom: I’ve been meaning to write and tell you what a fabulous time Colleen and I had on the Johnsmith tour of Counties Cork, Kerry and Clare last month. We haven’t stopped talking about it to our friends here in Ohio. In fact, we are interested in using your company for a similar tour in 2009. The six members of my band, the Klatt Brothers, our wives, and perhaps a few other couples would be the tour group. We’d bring several acoustic instruments with us and hope to perform a few of our songs in the pubs along the way. If that’s something you could do for us, please let me know and we’ll begin making arrangements. Colleen sends her best. Kind regards, Peter Pavarini