20th Century Irish Political History

This itinerary comprises visits to key historical sites in two cities, Dublin and Belfast. It covers the turbulent events of 1916 and the founding of the Irish Free State (the precursor of the Republic of Ireland, established in 1949), and The Troubles, the name given to the civil unrest/civil war in Northern Ireland between 1968 and the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. Other sites to be visited in Dublin will be the 14 Henrietta Street House Museum, Trinity College Dublin and the Book of Kells, and, in Belfast, the Titanic Museum. The Book Kells and the Titanic Museum are examples of venues in Dublin and Belfast, respectively, that although do not relate to the main theme of this itinerary, one cannot visit these cities without taking in these two iconic sites. In addition, there will be time to stroll on Dublin’s Grafton Street and visit a couple of old-school pubs that have hardly changed in 100 years.

A key aspect of Hibernia Travel itineraries is providing background to what you are seeing. To this end, we will hear from Professor Gerry Whyte, a Professor of Law at Trinity College Dublin, on the changes to the Irish Constitution over the past 100 years, and from professor Katy Hayward, Queens University Belfast, on the status of Northern Ireland post-Brexit.

And, of course, yours truly will be leading the trip and will provide context and color commentary on the sights and sounds of Dublin and Belfast.

The inauguration of this itinerary will take place in April 2026 when I will lead the trip with Jewel Rozanski of Cultured Travel.  Jewel is a Certified Travel Advisor, and has a lot of experience organizing educational travel around the world, including to Egypt, Turkey, the Galapagos islands, Spain, as well as within the US. This will be her first trip to Ireland, and I am delighted to share my native land with her and the 16 travelers already signed up (as of July 2025). We have room for 4 more, so don’t hesitate if this would be of interest to you - I am sure that we will fill the remaining 4 slots in the next couple of months.

Here is a brief overview of the trip:

Day 1: arrival in Dublin/personal day to recover from flight (Paul available to advise on downtown Dublin sights)

Day 2: to Belfast; visit Titanic Museum

Day 3: Belfast: walking tour of The Troubles + visit Stormont government buildings

Day 4: to Dublin; free afternoon to sightsee/shop (Paul available to advise on downtown Dublin sights)to sightsee/shop

Day 5: visit Dail Eireann (Irish government buildings); visit Trinity College Dublin/Book of Kells in afternoon

Day 6: visit General Post Office (GPO) 1916 Rising Museum; visit Kilmainham Gaol in afternoon

Day 7: free time in the morning to explore/shop (Paul available to advise); visit 14 Henrietta Street House Museum in the afternoon; farewell dinner in evening

Day 8: Depart Ireland for home …or extend visit - as always, I will be available to advise on sights to see around the country

You can see all the details and book the trip here.

And by all means, feel free to e-mail me (paul@hiberniatravel.com) if you would like to learn more about the trip or Hibernia Travel.