Red Druid Tours

09/07/2026

At present in Killaloe
Don’t forget to book for 18th & 19th July
Red Druid Tours
Monasticism on River Shannon
Past and Present
Trip

08/07/2026

Monasticism on River Shannon
Past and Present
18th & 19th of July
Killaloe
St. Lua’ s Oratory

08/07/2026

Last year moments
Looking forward to 2026

07/07/2026

07/07/2026

Monasticism on the River Shannon
18th & 19th July 2026
Itinerary

06/07/2026

From the ancient Celtic portal tombs of Newgrange, whose stones have endured longer than even some of the pyramids of Egypt, and the mighty Ring Forts where wise chieftains once held dominion, to the austere life lived within the stone beehive cells of Skellig Michael of the Atlantic; from the astonishing splendour of the Illuminated Manuscripts (Book of Kells) to the masterful craftsmanship of the Round Towers, hewn from stone and scattered across the countryside like great pencils sketching their lines upon the heavens, Ireland is an island woven of mystery.
To travel through her is to surrender oneself to wonder. Every valley, every ruin, every windswept shore seems to whisper the echoes of an ancient world, where history and legend, faith and folklore, remain inseparably entwined.
From the very dawn of Christianity in Ireland, men and women sought the solitude in which to encounter God. It was in the monastic life that this longing found its fullest and most beautiful expression. For more than three centuries, the island became adorned with monasteries, hermitages, and sacred places, each bearing witness to a civilisation shaped by prayer, learning, and quiet devotion.
Then came the Vikings…..And with their arrival, a different chapter of Ireland's story began, a tale for another journey, another time…..and for another experience.
The route of this journey offers but a glimpse of the many places where Irish monasticism found its home and flourished.

Lough Derg forms the final great widening of the River Shannon before its waters make their way to the Atlantic Ocean. Once lying within the dominion of one of Ireland's most powerful dynasties (the O'Brien clan), it is also the birthplace of one of the nation's greatest High Kings, Brian Boru. Yet its legacy is not only royal. These shores also nurtured renowned hermits and bishops, among them Saint Lua and Saint Flannan, whose lives of prayer and holiness left an enduring mark upon the spiritual landscape of Ireland.
As we look back upon the past, we are also invited to behold the present, with the establishment of the first Orthodox monastery in Ireland: the Life-Giving Spring Monastery at Shannonbridge, dedicated to the Mother of God and Saint Ciarán of Clonmacnoise.
Less than ten kilometres away lies Clonmacnoise, one of Ireland's most celebrated monastic foundations, established by Saint Ciarán himself in the sixth century.
In this quiet corner of the country, the spiritual inheritance of the past continues to find expression in the present, bridging centuries of Christian devotion and bearing witness to a tradition that remains alive.

P.S. Poster credits go to Aisling Johnson

03/07/2026

Coming up soon!

31/05/2026

Colmcille's Arch • Dísert • Donegal

Dísert is an atmospheric site hidden away in the Bluestack Mountains of Donegal.

The site is associated with the famous 6th century Donegal saint, Colmcille, and it has a number of fascinating features to discover.

Though it looks a little like a dolmen or portal tomb, this arch is thought to have originally been an entrance into the early enclosure that surrounds the site.

A local tradition says that passing through the narrow arch can cure backache.

28/05/2026

This tiny stone building on the Di**le Peninsula has been standing for over 1,200 years. And it has never leaked.

The Gallarus Oratory is one of the most remarkable structures in Ireland — a small early Christian church built sometime between 600 and 800 AD using a technique called dry stone corbelling. No mortar. No cement. Just thousands of carefully selected stones, each one shaped and placed with such precision that the walls taper inward as they rise, locking together under their own weight into a perfectly watertight seal.

It has held through 1,200 Irish winters. Through storms off the Atlantic that have battered the Di**le Peninsula for over a millennium. Through centuries of neglect, invasion, reformation, and famine.
Not a drop of water gets in.

Modern architects and engineers who have studied the Gallarus Oratory still cannot fully explain how the anonymous builders achieved such a precise result using nothing but hand tools, local stone, and an understanding of physics that predates Newton by a thousand years.

The doorway faces west — toward the setting sun and the open Atlantic beyond. Inside the oratory is barely large enough for a handful of people to kneel. But it has been drawing visitors, pilgrims, and the simply curious for twelve centuries.
Some things are built to last. And some things last beyond any reasonable explanation.
Have you ever visited the Gallarus Oratory? 👇