Discover Ireland's hidden gems with these memorable guided tours

There are many ways to explore Ireland, and guided tours offer a unique insight into our culture, history, and landscape. We spoke to three seasoned tour guides to learn what makes a truly memorable experience for visitors and locals alike

Sheena Dignam's food tours of Galway offer locals and visitors alike a unique way to experience Galway.

Eddie Fitzgerald, Ballycotton Sea Adventures

Eddie Fitzgerald, tour guide and former lighthouse keeper, Ballycotton Sea Adventures, on a tour of Ballycotton Lighthouse with Ballycotton Sea Adventures. Picture: Michael O'Sullivan /OSM PHOTO.

Eddie Fitzgerald has been giving tours of Ballycotton Lighthouse for 11 years.

As a former lighthouse keeper, he understands why people are intrigued by these iconic structures: “I suppose it’s the mystery of it really, when they look out and they see this tower on the rock or the headland, depending on where they are. Because down through the years they were off bounds to be honest.”

Eddie, now aged 80, worked for Irish Lights in the 1960s, and was stationed at a number of lighthouses — including his hometown of Ballycotton.

Although he left to pursue a music career with the East Cork group Gina And The Champions, he retained his interest in lighthouses: “I loved it. And it is still a passion that I have for all lighthouses. I just love talking about them, and telling stories about what the light people did, and the craic.”

“At my age, it’s lovely to still get out and step onto the lighthouse. And when I get onto the landing, I’m transported back to when I was a young man.”

Customers come from all over the world, and occasionally people who spent time in Ballycotton as children join a tour. One man was the son of a former lighthouse keeper who worked with Eddie.

“They’d send the children for a week out to Dad on the lighthouse during the summer months, to give Mam a breather. So that would be quite interesting, because the children would get up to all kinds of mischief,” he says.

“One family came back, and the chap — who was now a grown man — he was out there as a child, and I remembered him.”

The tour takes approximately 90 minutes, and involves a short boat trip over to the island, and a chance to go into the lighthouse and up onto the balcony. 

“There’s a magnificent view when you get there, and people love that,” he says. 

Groups might be lucky to meet some wildlife on the boat trip.

“Sometimes we’re blessed and you might have a pod of dolphins hanging around for a day or two, and sometimes a tour might see them,” he says.

“Just a couple of weeks ago, we had a lot of basking sharks in the area. The seals usually come into the caves near the landing, and sometimes, when the people on the boat arrive out, there’s a seal inside before them. And of course they get a great kick out of that, especially the children.”

• ballycottonseaadventures.com

Sheena Dignam, Galway Food Tours

SheenaDignam: "You have such a diverse melting pot of different cultures of people coming to live and stay in Galway, because they feel comfortable. They like the way of life here, it’s very beautiful, it’s vibrant. It’s a small city, but still, there’s a lot going on.”

Sheena Dignam founded Galway Food Tours 11 years ago. Born in Wicklow and raised in France, Sheena spent 15 years working in the food industry.

When she returned to Ireland as an adult, she saw the opportunity to challenge people’s perception of Irish food: “Growing up in France, I was always kind of subject to negative tones about our food industry, which I knew weren’t true. You can do fish and chips seven days a week if you want to, when you’re coming to Ireland. 

"But you can also look for those beautiful farmhouse cheeses, you can look for the air-dried meats, our dairy, our fish.” 

While working as manager of Kai restaurant in Galway, Sheena started giving food tours to French tourists. The tours soon took off, and she began offering them in English.

“Now there’s a team of 11, and we have an average of seven tours a day. They vary from food tours, whiskey and storytelling tours, weaving tours where you to learn how to weave, and ring-making and food tours.”

They are expanding to Kilkenny this summer, and also offer tours in France. Galway has become a top foodie destination in Ireland, thanks to its rich cultural scene, vibrant city, and celebrated local producers.

“It’s got such a dynamic of different things,” says Sheena.

“You have such a diverse melting pot of different cultures of people coming to live and stay in Galway, because they feel comfortable. They like the way of life here, it’s very beautiful, it’s vibrant. It’s a small city, but still, there’s a lot going on.”

While the majority of Sheena’s customers are from overseas, she would love to see more Irish people joining the tours: “It’s a harder sell, you’re preaching to the converted. What I will say to them is that you’re getting the inside story of who the people are.”

“You’re meeting those people. Because you can walk by a place and say ‘yeah, I know where that is.’ First of all, you might not have been in there. But also, you don’t know that he named his favourite cocktail after his dog.”

For anyone looking to see a different side to Galway, a food tour promises something unique.

“It gets people off the main thoroughfare of the city. It goes off the beaten track, inside an immersive experience of what Galway is and who are the people of Galway that represent this beautiful industry.”

• galwayfoodtours.com

James Foley, Beyond The Glass Adventure Tours

James Foley: “You get to see the western part of the city on my cultural history tour, which is Fitzgerald’s Park, the Shaky Bridge, [University College Cork] campus, the Lee Fields. They’re all gems that are amazing."

When James Foley worked in pharmaceuticals, he regularly dreamed of outdoor adventures: “I always found myself looking out the window, out over Cork harbour. When I worked in Kerry, I was looking over the MacGillycuddy’s Reeks.”

This inspired the name of his business, Beyond The Glass Adventure Tours, which he set up in 2018: “I was always hiking the mountains, cycling in different parts of Ireland, different parts of the world. So it was a natural progression for me.”

James offers cycling tours of Cork City, as well as mountain hiking trips in Munster. The guided hikes offer a relaxed, safe way to go up a mountain: “It’s four or five hours out on the mountain, so a great way to spend a Saturday or Sunday.”

The cycling tours of the city go through Cork’s colourful lanes, riverside paths, parks, and attractions such as Shandon Bells and St Finn Barre’s Cathedral. People hear stories of Cork’s past and get tips on the best places to eat, drink, and visit during their stay.

Sometimes locals join in during a tour, which James says adds to the charm.

“You get to see the western part of the city on my cultural history tour, which is Fitzgerald’s Park, the Shaky Bridge, [University College Cork] campus, the Lee Fields. They’re all gems that are amazing,” he says.

Sometimes locals join in during a tour, which adds to the charm: “By the top of North Main St, it says ‘End Dublin Rule In Cork’, and I tell them that Cork is the real capital, and we’re better than the rest of the counties, but it’s all tongue in cheek.” 

“And then a customer one day was like ‘why are you better?’ There was a girl parked in a car alongside us, and she was overhearing the conversation. She just put her head out the window, and she goes: ‘Look, we just are better.’”

The Metropole Hotel has launched a new partnership with Beyond The Glass. Cork Unrushed is for two people, and includes two nights bed and breakfast, a two-course dinner, on one evening in The Met Restaurant, and the bike tour.

• themetropolehotel.ie/offer/cork-heritage-2-night-cycle-and-stay/
• beyondtheglass.ie