Catholic Mass on Sunday -Newmarket on Fergus
We will be taking the "A Week in Ireland" tour in the beginning of October 2016. We arrive in Shannon at 6 AM and the tour doesn't officially begin until 6 PM that evening. I have checked online on mass times.org for Catholic Churches nearby but have no idea of distance. Has anyone any recommendations for attending Sunday Mass in Newmarket on Fergus? Would the church be within walking distance from Dromoland Castle? Also would appreciate any recommendations for same in Dublin for the following Sunday. Thanks!
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Probably the easiest way to find out is to ask the hotels directly. If you go to the website for the hotels you're staying at they should have a contact email address or inquiry form. Send them a note, tell when you'll be arriving and a recommendation for the nearest church and mass times.
In general if I'm looking for something near a particular location I use Google. Type "Dromoland Castle" into google search. A small map of the hotel will pop up. Click on that. It enlarges then on the left hand side there will be several items - look for the "Nearby" icon. Click on that and type in "catholic church". The map will show some of those available in the area and have a scale icon on the map so you can get a rough estimate.
If you know the name or address of a church, click on the "Directions" icon. On the top left a place to type in the name or address will pop up above Dromoland Castle. Fill it in and select the mode of transport icon - car, bike, public transport, walking, etc. If you want to use public transport, you'll need to reverse the starting and ending locations so you get the right bus.
I've used this to find nearby restaurants, a laundromat, shopping, etc.
When you land at Shannon, after clearing customs your Tauck driver will take you directly to the hotel. Unless your room is ready they will store your luggage until later but will help you with public transport, ideas on what to do, etc. If you do contact them, you can ask to be assigned a room that will be ready when you arrive. We did this before our trip to Amsterdam and were told there was an huge fee to guarantee it. We opted not to have the guarantee but low and behold were given a room as soon as we arrived. Others who checked in later had to wait. No guarantee, but it can't hurt to ask.
Sounds like our party of four will be on your tour also. We don't get to Shannon till after 7am but the four of us are Catholic as well. Let me know if you find a church close.
I did receive a response from Tauck, who contacted Dromoland Castle for the information. Apparently there is a church, St. Peter and Paul's Cathedral right across the street from the hotel. Can't get much closer than that! When I searched online for that church, it appears it is also known by another name, Ennis Cathedral. Tauck added that currently Sunday Masses are at 9 AM, 10:30 AM and 12 noon. Hope to see you there!
UPDATE: Returned from our trip. There is a Catholic Church within walking distance of Dromoland Castle Hotel that currently has an 11 AM Mass on Sunday. The Church is BVM (Blessed Virgin Mary) of the Rosary church and if you walk out the main gate of the Castle and go left, there is a pathway that takes you into town ( you never have to walk on the narrow street). Stay to left in town and you will see the Church. Walk takes about 25 minutes. Also, in Dublin we stayed at the Shelbourne Hotel. There is a Catholic Church that is on a side street off of Grafton street, St.Therese's, that has several masses on Sunday. If you go, look up and to the left on Grafton Street for a sign post for the Church.