Essential Ireland
COST EFFECTIVE VIP TRAVEL FOR SMALL GROUPS
‘Essential Ireland Tours’ strive to ensure you don’t have a generic ‘tourist’ experience. Our founders, Patrick Wade & Stephen McPhilemy, are passionate about ensuring you meet the locals! So important. We want you to experience the heart of Ireland.
.png)
Authentic Irish Experiences:
We promise to never have you feel like a tourist. Our small groups guarantee this, we have 8 - 16 people max on each tour. When we enter a pub in the evening, we filter away, we don’t dominate the space like big groups do. Big groups change the dynamic of the pub, restaurant, village or historic site that they arrive into, its not their fault - they can’t help it. But Essential Ireland Tours are subtle and because of our small group-size we blend in easily and have a much more authentic Irish experience. We also cannot be beaten on price! Fact.
Your Guide to Ireland
STEPHEN MCPHILEMY
Stephen is one of Ireland's most experienced tour-guide, he began his career in 1995, the first summer after the IRA ceasefire and a new dawn for tourism in Ireland. He became the Marketing Director for Paddywagon Tours and enjoyed ten fun-filled years helping to build their brand and guiding their backpacker tours.
Stephen has learned valuable tour techniques from 3 decades working in every area of Irish tourism, from 19 year old broke backpackers to high-end VIPs. He has equally enjoyed guiding them all, as someone once said - “from the King on his throne to the beggar alone”.
He is an Irish History & Politics Graduate from QUB (Queens University, Belfast) and for post-grad attended the acclaimed Journalism School at Ulster University. Most importantly he is the youngest graduate of the Irish Tour-Guide Academy!
He is a regular guest on TV, radio and the National press as an expert on Touring and travel in his beloved Motherland. In 2015 the National newspaper, the Irish times, invited Stephen to be a judge on the ‘Best Place to Holiday in Ireland’ competition
Your Guide
STEPHEN MCPHILEMY OF ESSENTIAL IRELAND
He is a regular guest on TV, radio and the National press as an expert on Touring and travel in his beloved Motherland. In 2015 the National newspaper, the Irish times, invited Stephen to be a judge on the ‘Best Place to Holiday in Ireland’ competition.
For 20 years Stephhen has been the right-hand man and Irish protege of American travel TV star Rick Steves, appearing many times on Rick Steves PBS TV Show and NPR Radio programme. Stephen still enjoys guiding a few Rick Steves tours of Ireland each summer.
Stephen was born in Historic Derry and spent his formative years growing up in beautiful Donegal. In 2013 he and Patrick bought Milltown House, a luxury guesthouse on Dingle Harbour, (this is now our Essential Ireland Travel HQ) so Stephen divides his time between his beloved Ulster and his cherished second-home in the Kingdom of Kerry in Irelands magical South-West coast.
Your Guide to Ireland
PATRICK WADE
Patrick is an Irish-American entrepreneur and world-traveller who cherishes his Irish ancestry and has been to Ireland possibly more than any other American of his generation.
He is one of those Americans who relishes history and politics. He cherishes his passport and utilities it as often as he can to experience every corner of Europe and beyond.
His favourite destination however is the land of his ancestors, Ireland. Patricks Great-Grandfather, Hugh Patrick Curran, left County Tyrone just after the Great Famine of 1845-49 and landed in New York, where he used his skills as a brick-maker to earn a living before travelling on and finally settling in Bakersfield, in the then ‘wild west’ of California.
Patrick has a burning pride for both his Irish and Californian roots.
Co-Founder
PATRICK WADE OF ESSENTIAL IRELAND
After graduating from UCLA, Patrick found success in the pharmaceutical industry, where among other things he now makes drugs for race-horses at the Kentucky Derby.
His business interests range from producing Hollywood movies to passionate Irish Hotelier
He has traveled extensively in all 4 Irish provinces and relishes every opportunity to explore every part of Ireland on his many anual
Our passion
Our passion, professionalism and patriotism enhance the Irish vacations of hundreds of tour guests each year. We welcome only a few hundred guests, our tours are exclusive and we take pride in our attention to detail
OUR STORY
From Derry to Bakersfield: How Stephen and Patrick came together to form Essential Ireland Tours
1995
Stephen begins leading Walking Tours of Historic Derry, Patrick and the few other Irish kids in Bakersfield, California join together to form the ‘East-side Irish”.
1998
Stephen becomes first guide from ‘Northern Ireland’ to graduate from the Irish Tour-Guide Academy and begins his life-long connection with his Mentor and friend Rick Steves.
2003
Stephen filming in West Belfast with his good friend and mentor Rick Steves. Stephen has conducted hundreds of tours for Rick and his frequent guest on his NPR radio show, a 20 year travel relationship that continues to this day.
2004
Patrick Graduates from UCLA and rewards himself with a trip to Ireland for St. Patricks Day. 30 minutes before departure decides to hop on a 6 Day Backpacker Adventure, with Stephen as the tour-guide
2006
Stephen tour-guide career and stories begin their appearances on Irish National TV & Radio.
2007
Stephen helps Patrick organise their first group-tour of Ireland, for 20 of Patricks best friends. They realise an amazing co-incidence that Stephens Great-Uncle was Patricks Priest in far-off Bakersfield and is buried years from Patricks grandfather in a US military cemetery (both men were WW2 Veterans).
2008
Stephen organises and guides his 500th tour of Ireland. Champagne (and Guinness flows). He meets the President of Ireland, Her Excellency Mary McAleese in Aras an Uachtarain.
2013
To cater for the amount of guests they are introducing to Ireland, Stephen and Patrick purchase beautiful Milltown House on Dingle Harbour, the former home of Hollywood Star Robert Mitchum. They also acquire Seamus, a gentle-giant Irish Wolfhound.
2014
2014 Stephen and Patrick consolidate their Irish touring services into our tour-company ‘Essential Ireland’ to cater for the select but steady amount of groups wishing to travel with the man enjoy authentic and fun Irish experiences. The highlight of the first year is hosting 40 of our friends and family from the US, Ireland and abroad.
.jpg)
2016
In addition to our various tour activities and a year long celebration of the 1916 Rising (we change our logo for the year to remember with pride), we create our ‘Travel Bursaries’ to ensure deserving travellers with a love for Ireland get to enjoy our Motherland despite busy schedules or other commitments.
2018
Stephen and Patrick welcome their 1,000th Guest to Ireland, to enjoy their award winning tours and hospitality. Plans are in place to welcome many more guests to Ireland. They launched a new range of tours to the North of Ireland along with a luxury VIP castle tour
Testimonials
Don't take our word for how great our Tours are: here what some of our many guests say about us
GET IN TOUCH
WITH US
If you have any queries or questions, or would like to custom build a special itinerary for your own private group of family or friends, drop us a line here