With a quick bus trip into town and a short walk I found myself standing on the corner at 8am with several other keen people waiting to see what Ireland had to offer. We all get into the relevant groups and make our way over to what will be our transport for the week.
Names are ticked off and seats are filled and then finally its time to leave Dublin and begin our adventures. First stop is at Drogheda where we saw the preserved head of St. Oliver Plunkett (executed 1681) in St. Peters Cathedral. All a little gross and intriguing all at the same time. I mean how has this head stayed preserved like this for so long. ummm.... so many questions.
Just a short drive and we were at ruins of Monasterboice, the 5th-century Monastery of St. Buithe. The impressive ruins include a large cemetery, two churches, one of the tallest round towers in Ireland and two of the tallest high crosses.
We then cross the border into Northern Ireland and stop at a town called Omagh for Lunch. Omagh was a interesting stop as this area is more famous for its more recent history of the Omagh Bombings of August 1998 where 29 people were killed by a car bomb attack carried out by the RIRA. It was described by the BBC as "Northern Ireland's worst single terrorist atrocity". The good news is that we all ate our lunch in peace before getting back on the bus to head for Derry.
We arrive into Derry check into our hostel and then we are off again to do an in-depth walking tour of Derry's walls (1601) with a local guide. We learnt why the city is officially known as Londonderry and the story of the long bloody siege that took place in 1689. We were also taken down to the well known Bogside district, scene of the Bloody Sunday massacre in 1972, this an inspiration for U2's classic anthem 'Sunday, Bloody Sunday'.
Now back to hostel and time to get ready to go out and and mix with the locals and get to know each of the group members a little better.
Tomorrow on to Belfast.
Just a short drive and we were at ruins of Monasterboice, the 5th-century Monastery of St. Buithe. The impressive ruins include a large cemetery, two churches, one of the tallest round towers in Ireland and two of the tallest high crosses. 
