For additional information, contact Distinguished ... · have become guideposts to lifelong learning and a concern for humanity and the environment. ... For additional information,

For additional information, contact Distinguished Professor of Catholic Thought Michael W. Higgins at 203-371-7902 or [email protected].

www.johnmoriartyinstitute.org

I N T H E F O O T S T E P S O F J O H N M O R I A R T Y

D I N G L E , K I L L A R N E Y , C O N N E M A R A & G A LW A Y


Join us for an eight-day trip that follows the journey of distinguished Irish philosopher and storyteller John Moriarty, including significant places on the Dingle peninsula, Killarney, Skellig Michael, Listowel, Clareand Connemara. Guests will enjoy some of Ireland’s finest hotels, share meals together and travel in a

comfortable coach with a maximum size group of approximately 25 persons.

The tour will be led by Sacred Heart University’s Distinguished Professor of Catholic Thought Michael W. Higgins who will place Moriarty’s ideas in the context of other significant 20th-century thinkers and share insights from his own well-known biographies about Thomas Merton and Henri Nouwen. Sean Aherne, a member of the order of Christian Brothers and friend of Moriarty, will also offer valuable insights into how Moriarty experienced nature and sought a deeper spirituality.

A U N I Q U E J O U R N E Y

“How vast a journey is our journey to where we always already have been and are.” – John Moriarty


Dingle: Dingle Skellig Hotel & Spa (3 nights). Described by National Geographic as one of the most beautiful places on earth, Dingle boasts expansive landscapes, a kaleidoscope of colors, beautiful beaches, towering hills, several well-preserved ancient forts and chapels, such as Gallarus and Kilmalkadar and

holy wells. Dingle town, the location of Sacred Heart University’s campus in Ireland, is a top tourist destination and one of Ireland’s key fishing ports.

Killarney: Aghadoe Heights Hotel (2 nights). Killarney is known for its beautiful lakes and the highest mountains in Ireland. Killarney National Park contains Ross Castle, Muckross House, Gardens & Traditional Farms and an ancient monastery. The town boasts St. Mary’s Cathedral as well as many fine shops and restaurants. Travelling west on the peninsula of the Ring of Kerry, boats depart from Portmagee to monastic site Skellig Michael, where from 600-1200 A.D., a dozen monks sought solace and the freedom to pursue a religious life surrounded by a vast marine environment.

Connemara & Galway: Glenlo Abbey Hotel, Galway (2 nights). Travelling north from Killarney, the tour will visit Listowel, near Moriarty’s birthplace and famous for its writers, followed by a visit to the Cliffs of Moher and then on to Connemara. Moriarty spent 24 years working as a gardener in Connemara and it is here that he experienced bog land, native forests and rough coastal shores, an environment shaped through time rather than by human inter-ference. Galway is the center of the Irish west. As a harbor city, it has traded with the world, yet it retains a distinctive traditional Irish culture that is proud of its music, literature and language. Old narrow streets are alive with pubs, shops and art galleries. It will be the European Capital of Culture in 2020.

T R A V E L T O T R U L Y S P E C I A L P L A C E S

“The geography of my mind is the geography of the world I walk in.” – John Moriarty


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AAll hotels are set along the Wild Atlantic Way, following romantic and stunning scenery that abounds in coastal vistas as well as winding roads through forests and expansive, rugged hills and mountains. Each select hotel has luxurious rooms, exquisite dining and relaxing spa facilities.

Dingle Skellig Hotel & Peninsula Spa: 4-star, Dingle: Dingle Skellig Hotel is one of the finest hotels in Kerry due to its exceptional service, friendliness and a unique view that overlooks Dingle Bay and the surrounding fields and mountains. www.dingleskellig.com

Aghadoe Heights Hotel: 5-star hotel spa, Killarney: With spectacular views of the lakes of Killarney, surrounded by the highest mountains in Ireland, the environment is reminiscent of some of Europe’s alpine areas. www.aghadoeheights.com

Glenlo Abbey Hotel: 5-star hotel, Kentfield Bushy Park, Galway City: This 138-acre resort was once an abbey with a rich history of its own. Today, it offers a retreat with extensive gardens and a restored Pullman Dining railway car where guests can experience something of the flavor of the famed Orient Express. www.glenloabbeyhotel.ie/en/usa

E N J O Y S U P E R I O R A C C O M M O D A T I O N S

“Over a thousand years ago, believing in a god who was willing to hang for them, a group of Christian monks rowed themselves out there to hang with him, vertiginously so.” – John Moriarty

“Our world doesn’t environ us. It is in us and we are in it.” – John Moriarty


“In Connemara my senses weren’t an encumbrance to soul, they weren’t an obfuscation of soul, an eclipse of soul...they were awakenings of soul.” – John Moriarty

John Moriarty (1938-2007) is one of the most significant Irish philosophers of the 20th century and his ideas have become guideposts to lifelong learning and a concern for humanity and the environment. While he was a university professor for seven years, he gave up his professional life to reflect on the human condition and a

deeper spirituality. He found freedom in a profound connection with nature and he labored as a gardener, caring for the earth as a divine creation meant as our human home. The manifest richness of his thinking is best understood in the context of its wide ecumenicity. Climate change, social and political upheaval, relentless challenges to our received anthropological understanding and spiritual ennui demand serious attention. John Moriarty’s mastery of the scientia cordis enabled him to respond to these myriad questions in creative and fearless ways. Tour guides will offer insights each day linking Moriarty’s rich and challenging ideas to the environment as he experienced it. Attendees will be asked to consider looking at the environment in a new and more appreciative way with the guidance of John Moriarty, still present in his writings, and in the wise counsel of the tour guides.



Day 1 – June 4, 2019

• Check into Dingle Skellig Hotel. Welcome lunch plus introduction with Prof. Higgins and Br. Sean

• Film screening • Dinner with entertainment

Day 2 – June 5, 2019

• Morning talk with Prof. Higgins and Br. Sean

• Depart Dingle for Slea Head Tour. Lunch followed by visit to Baile Lochaigh, Moriarty’s ancestoral home, for a valley walk and reading

• Dinner followed by reflection

Day 3 – June 6, 2019


• Plan A: Depart Dingle for Blaskets Islands with guest speaker. Picnic lunch, weather dependent. Plan B: Visit Blasket Centre with guest speaker. Lunch at Centre followed by visit to St. John the Baptist Holy Well


Day 4 – June 7, 2019


• Depart Dingle for Killarney

• Check into Aghadoe Heights Hotel

• Visit Aghadoe monastic site and Moriarty’s grave

• Lunch

• Visit Moriarty’s house at foot of Mangerton Mountain and Torc Waterfall


Day 5 – June 8, 2019

• Plan A: Bus trip to Portmagee and boat trip to Skellig Michael. Morning discussion to be held on bus. The 2.5 hour tour of the island will include lunch. If it is difficult to land, we will continue the boat trip around Skellig. Plan B: Innisfallen, Ross Castle and the Paps of Anu. Lunch will be provided


Day 6 – June 9, 2019


• Depart Killarney for Galway and stop at Listowel, Moyvane and Cliffs of Moher along the way. Lunch will be provided en-route

• Check into Glenlo Abbey Hotel, Galway


Day 7 – June 10, 2019


• Spend all day in Connemara, where Moriarty lived and worked as a gardener for more than 24 years. A chance to experience the mystic beauty of the landscape, including Ballynahinch Castle and other locations

• Final dinner followed by reflection

Day 8 – June 11, 2019

• Departure from Galway after breakfast at the hotel. Group bus will stop at Shannon Airport for flight home. Guests who are returning to Dingle will remain on the bus

D A I L Y I T I N E R A R Y“Only a great story can shelter us.” – John Moriarty

I N T H E F O O T S T E P S O F J O H N M O R I A R T Y I N T H E F O O T S T E P S O F J O H N M O R I A R T Y

D O N ’ T M I S S T H I SR A R E O P P O R T U N I T Y

Cost: $3,750 per person, double occupancy; $4,250 single occupancy. Price includes exclusive hotels, all domestic travel, meals and admission to all activities. Flights not included. Terms and conditions available upon request.

Early Program reservation: Save $250 by registering by September 15, 2018

Visit www.johnmoriartyinstitute.org to pay online or print the registration form and mail a check payable to “John Moriarty Institute” in care of Professor Michael W. Higgins, Sacred Heart University, 5151 Park Avenue, Fairfield, CT 06825.

For additional information, contact Michael W. Higgins, distinguished professor of Catholic Thought, at 203-371-7902 or [email protected].

THE JOHN MORIARTY INSTITUTE for Ecology and Spirituality

The mission of the Institute is to understand and consider the richness and wonder of the natural environment and to promote a deeper reflection on human spirituality as an important and necessary element for a flourishing life of meaning and purpose. Situated at the Sacred Heart University campus in Dingle, Ireland, the Institute is a steward of Moriarty’s writings and ideas, housing a collection of documents, texts, videos and other resources as well as offering excursions to significant places.

“There is only one world but there are visionary and everyday ways of seeing it.” – John Moriarty

Be sure to visit www.johnmoriartyinstitute.org for announcement information about future trips.

For additional information, contact Distinguished ... · have become guideposts to lifelong learning and a concern for humanity and the environment. ... For additional information,

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