Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I am actually in Ireland and got to watch the local town parade today. 

Hope you all are having fun today.

Early-bird rates still available for the first 15 people

There is a lot of talk about this now... 

You can still see the roads to nowhere

 and the famine walls to no where.. 

in Ireland today.

Our new 2018 Maria's Irish Tours are now open for registration.

April 8 - 23, –
Ireland Sacred Tour: Celtic Angels - 14 nights with Cindy Smith & Maria

May 19 - 28, –
Ireland Sacred Tour: Gaia - 9 nights with L.A’s Talk Radio host & Yoga teacher Bridgetta Tomarchio & Maria

Sept 25 - Oct 6, –
 Ireland Sacred Tour: Find Your Inner Love and Joy Vibrations - 11 nights with Maria, Jane Donald & Melanie Schroeder

Do you have your new 2018 Calendar?
Mark June 21st for the Okanagan's Largest Summer Solistice on Thursday June 21st at 6:30pm by the Marina Way Beach, across from the Prague Cafe by OKanagan Lake Marina  in Penticton.

https://www.facebook.com/events/660424574105695/

Muckross Abbey

This Abbey is one of my favourite places to visit on Maria's Ireland Sacred Tours because it has such beautiful energy. This was once a place of sacredness for Priestesses of the Goddesses. It later became a centre of learning and healing. Then the Franciscan friary of Irrelagh was founded for the Observatine Franciscans c.1448 by Daniel McCarthy Mor.

It has an ancient yew tree in the courtyard and one outside. You can still sense the monks waking around in meditation around the inner courtyard.

Now known as Muckross Abbey, it is missing the roof but apart from that the abbey is in a superb state of preservation. This compact abbey consists of a rectangular nave and chancel church with an inserted central tower between them. There is a south transept adjoining the nave. On the northern side of the church are the cloisters with an ancient yew tree in the centre of the garth. On the north side of the cloister is the refectory. To the south is the abbot’s house and kitchen. On the east side of the cloister is the dormitory. A sacristy abuts the north side of the chancel.

The chancel has three windows in the south wall and a large three mullioned window in the east gable, pictured right. There is a double piscina with ogee arches, a single sedelia and a tomb recess present in the south wall of the chancel. There are two more tomb recesses present in the north wall. The ambulatories of the cloisters are not covered by the usual lean to but vaulted. The arches of the east and north sides of the cloisters are different to the other sides, suggesting they are not of the same date.

The yew tree in the centre of the garth is traditionally believed to be as old as the abbey. There are further dormitories at the first floor level which can be accessed via a spiral staircase. In 1589 the monks were expelled from the abbey by Elizabeth I. The following century it was burned by Cromwellian forces.

The abbey was still in residence up until 1698. It was also used as a burial place for local chieftains. Some of Kerry’s leading poets were buried here in the 17th and 18th centuries.

On Maria's Ireland Sacred Tours we do a lovely meditation as we stand around the Yew Tree and the energy is amazing.

www.IrelandSacredTours.com

This is a photo I took in 2007 when I was home in Ireland doing a photography collection of Ireland and the start of planning the Maria's Ireland Sacred Tours. So this photo holds a special place in my heart. It is in Co. Wicklow and the cross was on a bridge railing over this beautiful river in an enchanted woods. It was then i just knew I wanted to show people the hidden gems of Ireland. The first tour was launched in 2012. Since then we have brought 100's of people who have joined us in connecting with the land, the trees & river and the many sacred thin places in Ireland. www.IrelandSacredTours.com

 Magical Journeys to Ireland with Maria.

During our tour to Ireland, I felt very looked after by Maria.  Even before I left home, Maria sent tips that helped a lot and that I would not have thought of myself, especially, bring a washcloth, and notify our credit card company that we’d be in Ireland.  Logistics were a breeze because Maria chose ideally located hotels, checked us in when we got there, matched me with a lovely roommate, brought water bottles on the bus, kept us on time, and even asked if I had someone to sit with during a meal.  In large and small ways, our guides noticed and cared.  Most of all, their interpretations at sacred sites we visited made the aliveness and sacredness of the land very real for me.   

 Janet K,  Crozet, VA, USA

Welcome to my new newsletter