Our 40th Anniversary
2026 marks 40 years since two friends established a small travel company with the wish that some discerning travellers would experience a hidden Ireland.
Widely seen as a pioneer in its field, four decades later, inspired by a growing demand for authentic travel and empowered by a new generation, Hidden Ireland Tours continues to provide experiences far from the beaten track that nourish body and soul.
The beginnings…
Arising out of efforts in the 1980’s by Ireland’s tourism authorities to promote the country as a modern ‘activity holiday’ destination, a travel agent from Alabama in the southern US signed up to join a three-person hiking trip. The journey was led by Con Moriarty and after what turned out to be a life-changing experience, Binky Oswalt returned home wishing that close friends and others might connect with the Ireland she’d experienced.
It was the beginning of deep connection to the country for this southern belle and returning few months later, the Hidden Ireland Tours with Con Moriarty was set up with the skinniest of marketing budgets which bought a few classified adverts in a handful of specialty travel magazines. The ads were simple invitations for curious souls open to exploring a largely unseen Ireland to call Binky. That year hiking friends and AT&T colleagues Diane Schwilling and Jean Hurt became our first clients, the first people to put cheques in the post made out to ‘Hidden Ireland’!
The backstory in Ireland…
Co-founder Con Moriarty grew up in the Gap of Dunloe adjacent to the famed Killarney lake-valley in the heart of County Kerry, a region in which his ancestors – the Ó Muircheartaigh in Irish, have lived since the dawn of history.
The beauty of this area had attracted some of the earliest ‘leisure travellers’ stretching back to the mid-1700’s. Then, a privileged few from the apex of British imperial society inspired by their grand tour experiences on mainland Europe, crossed the Irish Sea to explore the Killarney Valley and surrounds where on sojourns into the hills arranged by the local gentry, some of Con Moriarty’s direct ancestors were among those employed as guides to relatively small numbers of visitors.
From these first intrepid travellers, a great library of travel books emerged which along with early painters and poets, inspired a growing numbers of visitors. In the wake of Queen Victoria’s visit in 1861, the travel enthusiast and entrepreneur Thomas Cook launched group tours to the more accessible sites of the region, establishing an industry with powerful economic and social effects.
Away from the beaten track…
But away from the ‘tourist routes’ that developed, Kerry and indeed the rugged Atlantic regions of Ireland held many secret and wild places, accessible only to those called to poke out such realms.
As a boy, Con Moriarty was deeply drawn to these magical places, captivated from childhood by incredible shapes and nature, to the rugged cliffs of the coast and sidewalls of spectacular valleys and hills empty of footprints; a ‘middle earth’ matched only by a cultural and spiritual history etched in the land itself its extraordinary story.
Before hundreds could summit Everest in a day...
Adventure tourism as we know it today had yet to become fashionable and across the globe, outdoor recreation was still something of a fringe leisure activity. Queues near the sacred summit of Everest were still a few decades in the future and the world of Con’s wanderings as a boy were still largely empty spaces, experienced by keen hillwalkers and locals and occasional overseas hikers, some of whom Con was sharing the McGillycuddy Reeks and elsewhere with from his late teens
The Age of Instagram…
Sacred secret places..
From Con...
From the outset sharing these places and our world was deeply personal and limited. We never wanted a lot of guests as by its nature, like the great little cheese-making enterprises in West Cork – it was always about quality over quantity.
Today, somehow four decades on in vastly different Ireland and World, remarkably Binky and I are still going+. Word-of-mouth references are the core of our business as we host new friends while still dealing with many the same family businesses we began with forty years ago. And of course now boosted by the fact my son Naoise and daughter Liadh along with a number of their friends are now part of our team unlocking a different but still magical Ireland. I feel deeply greatly for this incredible journey.
From Ireland, call us on: +353 87 221 4002 From USA & Rest of the World, call us on: +1 251 751 3087
or request a callback >>
“Con, thank you so much for leading our Irish tour and sharing the great history of Ireland. It’s a wonderful experience to see and hear someone who is so passionate about their Country as you are. Thank you for a fantastic experience.”
RUTH & DAVID HAYES, OREGON, USA