Kilkenny Castle wave

The Eugene O’Neill International Festival of Theatre 2023

October 12, 2023 - October 16, 2023

$

The Eugene O’Neill International Festival of Theatre in New Ross, Ireland is a cultural and civic celebration of the strong ties between Ireland and the United States exemplified by O’Neill’s Irish heritage. Eugene O’Neill’s father James, along with James’ parents and siblings, lived in Tinneranny, Ireland, and emigrated to the United States from nearby New Ross. Eugene O’Neill wrote his elder son, “The one thing that explains more than anything about me is the fact that I’m Irish.”
The cultural tie between the two countries is reinforced by a partnership between the O’Neill Ancestral Trust of New Ross and the Eugene O’Neill Foundation, Tao House, of Danville, California. Together they present the Eugene O’Neill International Festival of Theatre. The cultural ties also created a civic bond between New Ross and Danville, which are now Friendship City partners.

 

The Tour Packages

 

The Eugene O’Neill Foundation, Tao House, in partnership with the O’Neill Ancestral Trust of Ireland, is offering two exciting tour packages to Ireland this October.

A. The Eugene O’Neill International Festival of Theatre in New Ross, Ireland. Oct. 12 to 16. Festival Package Flyer

B. A Tour of Western Ireland, including Galway, the Aran Islands, and the Wild Atlantic Way. Oct. 16 to 22. Extended Tour Flyer

The Tour of Western Ireland may be taken separately or combined with the New Ross Festival, as the flyer explains.

 

Here is a summary of the packages:

The Eugene O’Neill International Festival of Theatre package

The Festival package will cost only 850 Euros for double occupancy and 970 Euros for single occupancy. It will include:

On October 12, 2023, at noon, pick up at the Dublin airport and transportation by chartered bus to New Ross. The morning of October 16, following the Festival, return transportation to Dublin airport by chartered bus. (Those also taking the extended Tour of Western Ireland will remain in New Ross for the start of that tour.)

Four nights lodging, breakfast, and dinner at the Four-Star Brandon House Hotel

Tours each morning, including lunch, to regional landmarks:

Lismore Castle and Gardens

The Irish National Heritage Park in Wexford

Cruise on the Barrow River from New Ross to Waterford on The Barrow Princess

Each afternoon there will be informative sessions on Eugene O’Neill and his legacy presented by scholars from the Eugene O’Neill Society and Ireland’s Southeast Technological University.

And each evening there will be great theatre and music:

The O’Neill Foundation’s production of “Anna Christie,”

A professional production of another O’Neill play with an Irish cast,

A concert by Wexford’s own Green Road band, featuring Irish opera star Clodagh Kinsella, following its first American tours.

The Tour of Western Ireland

The Tour of Western Ireland may be taken separately or in combination with the Festival, as the flyer explains. For those taking only the Tour of Western Ireland, a chartered bus will meet travelers at the Dublin airport at noon on October 15 and take them to New Ross, where the tour will start the next morning.

The Western Ireland package will cost only 1595 Euros for double occupancy and 1870 Euros for single occupancy. For those taking only the Western Ireland package, there will be an additional charge of 150 Euros to cover transportation from Dublin airport and the first night lodging at Brandon House Hotel in New Ross.

Part 1: Three days of touring while staying in Galway City

Day 1 (Oct. 16): The Rock of Cashel, “The High King of Irish Monuments,” Cliffs of Moher

Day 2 (Oct 17): The Burren, Connemara, and Kylemore Abbey  Galway City

Day 3 (Oct. 18): Aran Islands

Part 2: Two days of touring while staying in Westport

Day 4 (Oct. 19): Westport House & Gardens, The Wild Atlantic Way

Day 5 (Oct. 20): Achill Island, Croagh Patrick

Part 3: Touring while staying in Malahide Village near Dublin

Day 6 (Oct. 21): Malahide Castle & Gardens

Day 7 (Oct. 22): Chartered bus to Dublin Airport

The tour will be led by Sean Reidy and Dan McGovern, the Co-Founders and Co-Chairs of the Eugene O’Neill International Festival of Theatre in New Ross. Sean is Irish born and bred, and this will be Dan’s ninth trip to Ireland. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask Sean (seanreidyirl@gmail.com) or Dan (danielwmcgovern@gmail.com).

The deadline for signing up for this tour is July 15.