Save The Date - Bloomsday!

Hi everyone,
Our wedding date has been set. It's the 16th June 2007. We are getting married in the Cathedral of the Assumption, Tuam, Co. Galway and our reception will be held at Ashford Castle, Cong. Co. Mayo. Please click on the posts opposite to find some information about our wedding and how to get there! If you have any questions please let us know and we will do our best to help you.
This picture was taken the night we got engaged (06May06) in Renvyle House Hotel, Connemara. Sarah & John

Bloomsday is a holiday observed annually on June 16 to celebrate the life of Irish writer James Joyce and commemorate the events in his novel Ulysses, all of which took place on the same day in Dublin in 1904. The name derives from Leopold Bloom, the protagonist in Ulysses, and June 16 was the date of Joyce's first outing with his wife-to-be, Nora Barnacle, when they walked to the Dublin village of Ringsend. The event is commemorated with a range of cultural activities including academic conferences, Ulysses readings and dramatisations, pub crawls and general merriment.....Perfect day for a wedding then!

P.S If you notice anything on this webpage which is not working please let us know. Thanks.

Reservations at Ashford Castle & other accommodation tips

All rooms in Ashford Castle have been exclusively reserved for our wedding guests on Saturday 16th June 2007 and Ashford are happy to offer a special rate of €100 per person sharing. This is a fantastic opportunity to stay in this magnificent 13th century castle and as the dancing is likely to continue into the wee hours it will be very convenient for all the late night party goers.
To learn more about Ashford Castle, visit http://www.ashford.ie/.

To reserve a room please email banqueting@ashford.ie and quote the McBreen/Richerson wedding. If you would like to telephone please dial +353 94 9546003.
From the US please dial: 011 353 94 9546003.

Self-catering, B&B, hotel, hostel, guest houses, country homes
For the rest of your stay we recommend you do a web search on http://www.irelandwest.ie/ to find suitable accommodation. All types of accommodation (self-catering, B&B, hotel, hostel, guest houses, country homes etc)... can be booked through the tourist office.




Local B&Bs, guesthouses & hotels near Tuam, Claregalway & Headford.
Alternatively, you can look on the local Tuam guide to find accommodation nearby. This link gives you a list of contact details for local B&Bs, guesthouses & hotels in the area.
http://www.tuam-guide.com/accommodation.htm

Another site to look at for rental accommodation is this one:
http://www.shamrockcottages.co.uk

or try this nice guesthouse in Cong:
http://www.ballywarrenhouse.com/

If you have any questions please let us know!
Sarah & John

Hotels

For anyone wishing to stay near Galway, Claregalway, Headford, Tuam or Cong please see a list of hotels below. We are getting married in Tuam and the reception will be at Ashford Castle in Cong.


Galway - 40mins drive to Tuam

1. Radisson Hotel
   www.radissonhotelgalway.com
2. Harbour Hotel
   www.galwayharbourhotel.com
3. Jurys Hotel
   http://galwayhotels.jurysdoyle.co
4. Corrib Great Southern http://www.corribgreatsouthernhotel.com/
5. Park House Hotel http://www.parkhousehotel.ie/

There are also many more hotels & B&B's in Galway which you can research on tripadvisor.com

Claregalway - 20 mins drive to Tuam
http://www.claregalwayhotel.ie/ located in ClaregalwayTel : +353 (0)91 738200
Very reasonable rates & only 12km from Galway. Email: Stay@claregalwayhotel.ie

The Arches Hotel located in Claregalway Tel : +353 (0)91 739000
Web : http://www.arches-hotel.com/The_Arches_Hotel_Location.html

Headford - 15 min drive to Tuam
Angler's Rest Hotel located in HeadfordTel : +353 (0)93 35528
Email : anglersresthotel@eircom.net

Tuam
Corralea Court Hotel located at The Square, Tuam Tel : + 353 (0)93 24188
Email : info@corraleacourthotel.com

Cong
Please see our other post (above) in relation to rates at Ashford Castle for the night of the wedding.
www.ashford.ie

How to get there?

Tuam is north of Galway city (21 miles) so we recommend you stay somewhere near there...either Galway city, Claregalway, Tuam (Co. Galway), Cong (Co. Mayo) or Headford (Co. Galway).

Shannon Airport
Shannon Airport is located in Shannon, County Clare on the west coast of Ireland. The airport is about 10 miles from Limerick, and 12 miles from Ennis.
Shannon Airport is not as busy as Dublin Airport. Guests from the UK and Europe can also fly directly to Shannon Airport.
If you plan on visiting the west of Ireland, you may like to arrange for your itinerary to begin and end at Shannon. This makes for an excellent tour of Ireland if planned in a loop to include some of the countries major towns and attractions. It will definitely save you a few hours in travel time!

Dublin Airport
Dublin Airport is located about 6 miles north of Dublin's city center, is well signposted on all major routes and is served by an excellent but busy road network. Dublin Airport serves both international and domestic airlines and is the main airport in Ireland.
Flying time to Ireland is 6½ hours from New York, 7½ hours from Chicago, 10 hours from Los Angeles and approximately 1 hour from most British cities.
There is no rail link to Dublin airport. An express bus links railway stations, Busaras (Dublin's central bus station) and the city center. The Air Coach, which calls at city center hotels, is also a good option on arrival. A taxi to the city center from the airport is easy to arrange and should be metered.

Galway Airport
Galway Airport is located about 4 miles from the City Centre.
The airport offers direct convenient international access to Galway City and county and of course idyllic Connemara, as well as neighbouring counties Mayo, Roscommon, Clare and Limerick. You can avoid having to face a long road or rail connection to the West of Ireland if you fly direct to Galway from either Dublin, Cardiff, London Luton, Manchester, Edinburgh, Belfast City, Birmingham, Cork, Southampton or Leeds Bradford. United Travel have announced that they will run charter flights this winter to Amsterdam and Prague.

Flights

You can book direct flights from the US to Dublin or Shannon with Aer Lingus, Continental or American Airlines. Recommended websites are:

www.flyaerlingus.com
www.americanairlines.com
www.travelocity.com
www.orbitz.com
www.expedia.com
www.continental.com

Map to Galway, Tuam & Cong.

Please click this link below (in red) to open up a full colour map of the West of Ireland. You could print this out & bring it with you on the day. http://www.galwayeast.com/GalwayEast_full_map.pdf

What to wear?!

There is no set dress code for the wedding. It is not a black-tie event.

We therefore recommend:
Suit & tie for the gentlemen &

Summer dresses/outfits for the ladies. I imagine there will be lots of colour & quite a few summer hats around so don't be shy - put them on!

Who wants to play golf?

John is organising golf for Monday 18th June at the Connemara Golf Club. Anyone who's interested in playing please let us know or post a comment here.

We will have a bus take everyone to the course from two pick-up points in Tuam & Galway.
To see a map of other nearby golf courses click here:
http://www.ashford.ie/local-golf-courses.html

Rehearsal Dinner

The family rehearsal dinner will be held at 'Morans Oyster Cottage' on Thursday 14th June. Moran's is located at The Weir, Kilcolgan in Co. Galway (approximately 5 minutes from the village of Clarenbridge). It is situated 10 miles south of Galway city on the N6 which is the Limerick road.. We will give the families & wedding party directions closer to the day.
www.moransoystercottage.com

The Quiet Man

We recommend you all see the movie 'The Quiet Man' before the wedding!

In US you can rent it online from www.blockbuster.com

In Ireland you can rent it online from www.dvdrentals.ie

In England and Scotland you can rent it online from www.blockbuster.co.uk

Transportation in Ireland

CIE covers all bus and rail services throughout Ireland
www.cie.ie

For printed bus timetables from anywhere in Ireland please click on this link: www.buseireann.ie/site/your_journey/expressway_services.asp There is also a journey planner on this website so you can plan your trip/s.

For printed rail timetables from Dublin to Galway please click on this link:
www.irishrail.ie/your_journey/printed_timetables.asp

Hire Cars:
You can hire cars in Ireland from the following sites:
www.thrifty.ie
www.dublincars.ie
www.budget.ie
www.countycars.ie
www.enterprise.ie
www.irelandcarreservations.com

Local Attractions in the West of Ireland

Ireland is one of the most beautiful countries in the world and there are a myriad of things to do and see. Ireland is full of historical sites, breathtaking natural scenery and wonderful golf courses, pubs and restaurants. Click on the following link to get some ideas for your trip.
www.Ireland.ie

To see a map of some of the local attractions in the west of Ireland please click on this link:
http://www.ashford.ie/local-attractions.html
This is one of our more famous bridges - it was filmed in 'The Quiet Man'.

Trying on hats from Nebraska!

Our bon voyage party pics! 21st August
2006