Irish Monastic Tours is a small tour company based in Belfast, owned and founded by Dr Thérèse Cullen. It offers a variety of tours exploring the archaeology and history of monastic Ireland and its saints. Tours can be tailored to suit the needs of individual travellers or large groups. It provides a number of tour options, including personalized privately guided day tours and extended tours up to 14 days.
Dr Thérèse Cullen recently completed her PhD in Irish Studies, at Queen’s University, Belfast. Her dissertation focused on St Patrick’s links to Downpatrick, Co Down. Her academic background is situated in the fields of theology and cultural history. She has given many lectures on the Irish Saints. She has been trained by some of the best historians of Celtic Christianity, including Dr John J. Ó Ríordáin, CSSR.
Despite being an academic, Thérèse is also a practitioner. She has led several groups to the European Continent to retrace the footsteps of St. Columbanus and to Iona. Thérèse grew up in Dublin and rural Co Galway, in the shadow of Clonfert and Clonmacnoise. It was from visiting these ancient sites and hearing the stories, that Thérèse first learned about Irish monasticism.
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I am of Four Provinces of Ireland
Crossing the great plain from Sligo to Galway, I am reminded that I am of the four provinces of Ireland. Munster by birth, Leinster by heritage and early youth. On the fields of Connacht as a teenager I was raised in the spirit of Saint Brendan. Ulster in my mid to late 30s, I was educated in the tradition of Saint Patrick.
“I am of Ireland”. These provinces have given me their traditions, their histories, their stories, their people. And here I am a blend of all these places, mingled in these cross border Celtic traditions making my own way. The land calling out to me, beckoning me to remember the past, and urging me to pass on that knowledge to others in my new venture called Irish Monastic Tours.
© Thérèse Cullen
16 February 2014