Step into a world of battles, famine, feuds and power struggles in an epic road trip through medieval Irish history.

This one-day adventure back in time will take in three of Ireland’s most majestic medieval locations: Glendalough, Kilkenny City and the often forgotten, Kilcooley Abbey.

The trip will first journey to the beautiful mountain monastery of Glendalough, the 1400 site of one of the country’s earliest towns. Hear of the monks’ Viking terror as raiders brought violence upon the serene landscape.

From here, the tour will speed along to Kilkenny City, the place where Ireland’s first “witch” was burned and where the Black Death killed half the population. This well-preserved medieval city oozes history from its ancient walls of rivalries and hardship.

The trip finishes up in a hidden gem in the Irish historical site portfolio: Kilcooley Abbey, in Co. Tipperary. Located inside a walled estate, the Cistercian abbey boasts flamboyant windows, knights’ tombs and barrells of history. 

Fin Dwyer is a historian, author and blogger who studied archaeology and Greek and Roman Civilisation in University College Dublin and completed a masters in archaeology. Since 2008, he has been researching the social history of Ireland in the Middle Ages.

He, along with fellow historian Jamie Goldrick, will be behind the wheel of the tour, guiding you through ancient Ireland to the time when the country’s history could have rivalled any episode of Game of Thrones.

Fin has already carried out a dummy run of the tour, creating a riveting podcast of his journey and sharing a glimpse of what’s in store for his group of adventurers: birds chirping peacefully, interesting facts and romantic descriptions of the sights. You can get a taster in the podcast here.

Places are going fast with just 29 spaces available on the tour. The full day costs just $67 (€60) and a discount to $56 (€50) for groups of three or more. For more information on the tour or to book your place visit Fin’s site or email [email protected].

If you can’t make the trip to Ireland in June, Fin runs tours around medieval Dublin all year round. More information can be found here.

We, however, will be starting on our medieval roadtrip playlist.

* Originally published in Nov 2015.