Céad Míle Fáilte to dtí Carpe Diem Tours

Welcome to Carpe Diem Tours

Carpe Diem Tours is a unique tour company specialising in cultural tours and pilgrimages since 2007. We cater for the tourist who wants to get behind the scenes when they visit a destination, meet local people and experience the local culture. Some of our local tours visit Irish speaking or Gaeltacht areas in Ireland where Gaeilge or Irish is the everyday language. Beidh seans agat Gaeilge a chlos is a labhairt m’ás mian leat.

'Men build their dreams as they build their circle of friends.
God is in the bits and pieces of Everyday.
A kiss here and a laugh again, and sometimes tears,
a pearl necklace around the neck of poverty.’
- Patrick Kavanagh (from the Great Hunger)

We wish to advise that any decisions regarding our tours will be taken in accordance with official government guidelines as the safety of our pilgrims and cultural tourists is paramount.

Our annual pilgrimage to Skellig Michael, Co. Kerry will be taking place in September 2021.

Our weekend tour to the majestic Dingle Peninsula including a trip to visit An Blascaod Mór has also been rescheduled to 2021. We hope to announce the rescheduled tour dates as soon as possible to this magnificent Gaelic-speaking part of Ireland.

We regretfully announce that our 'Bring on the Balkans' tour can no longer take place this year as anticipated due to Covid-19 travel restrictions. We at Carpe Diem Tours look forward to running this spectacular tour at a future date.

'Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine' is an old Irish saying meaning 'In the shadow of each other, people live'. In essence, we rely on one another for support; people need one another. We sometimes lose sight of this with the hustle and bustle of modern day life. In these times, this saying is eerily prescient as we witness great kindness and community spirit in our battle against Covid-19.

We at Carpe Diem Tours hope everyone is keeping safe and well in these very uncertain times. We look forward to brighter days when we can once again gather and enjoy diverse cultural experiences together; laughing, praying, singing and reflecting on these strange and difficult times.

Beir bua is beannacht,

Mícheál de Barra
Tour Director

Tá Carpe Diem Tours lonnaithe i mBaile an Fheirtéaraigh, sráidbhaile gleoite i gceartlár na gaeltachta in iarthar Chiarraí. Tugaimíd cuairteanna mórthimpeall na háite seo gach bliain. ‘Sé buachphointe an turais do ghach einne ná cuairt a thabhairt ar an mBlascaod Mór. Mar an gcéanna an turas to dtí Sceilig Mhichíl. Is breá linn Gaeltachtaí na h-Eireann a thaispeáint d’ár turasóirí, go mór mór turasóirí ó thíortha thar lear.

Bespoke Cultural Tours of Ireland

As well as booking one of our scheduled tours, Carpe Diem Tours would be delighted to design with you your bespoke cultural tour of Ireland which may extend to a week or ten days and which will begin as soon as you arrive at your Irish airport. We have had several groups from Canada who availed of this facility.

Contact Mícheál for further details.

What our Pilgrims Say...

Words like excellent, stunning, wonderful come to mind. The measure was full and running over. It had great variety and depth. Thanks for stretching our imagination. The grub was A1 (and I'm a vegetarian). The accommodation just got better and better. The driver, Director, Spiritual Director and guide formed a formidable team. Us folk in our strengths and weaknesses became an instant functional community. I loved all the elements and would not drop any. The riches of the area are so vast. Mar a duirt an té a duirt re Rome: One week perfect! One year, not enough. Lean ort faoi bhláth, A Mhichíl. Mo mhíle bhuiochas, Seán 2017

A Mhichíl, a chara, Tá súil agam go bhfuil tú i mbarr na sláinte agus gur éirigh go geal libh inniu chomh maith. Bhí lá iontach agam inné agus ba mhaith liom mo fhíorbhuíochas a ghabháil leat as ucht na hoibre a rinne tú chun an t-oilirtheacht iontach a chur i gcrích. D’éirigh thar barr leis agus bhí gach duine lán t-sásta le gach gné den turas go dtí an Sceilig. Comhghairdeas. le meas, Daithí

I have been on a pilgrimage to the rock off the south west coast of Kerry – Skellig Michael. You may not be very taken by pilgrimage, but it is possibly the only 'growth sector' of religious activity at the moment, now that the 'new age' spiritualties are rapidly fading or assimilating to mainstream culture. What image does the word 'pilgrimage' bring to your mind? Parish worthies piling off the bus in a damp car park at knock - shuffling off in search of a cup of tea? This was different. Firstly there are nine miles of sea to cross – and the sea is the open Atlantic... Gillies

Read more Pilgrim's Stories