Belfast and Beyond on a Budget

I am a 65 year old former college lecturer who has been a professional tour guide for over 25 years whose tours rank in the top 1% of 5 star rated tours in the world. I teach tour guide to qualification level and create tours for cruise ships but prefer private exclusive tours. Married to Angela for 45 years, I have two children Clare and Francis and two grandsons Fionn and Harley. I am an expert in Irish and ancient history to Honours Degree level and a Master's in History focusing on the Holocaust and the history of the state of Israel (I worked as a guide at Auschwitz there for 3 years whilst researching WWII. ) I teach tour guiding to academic level and have the highest qualification in experience guiding in Ireland and am an advisor to the government on Troubles related tours including Peacewalls and Murals. My interests include the culture and people of Ireland centering on places of special interest such as the Giant's Causeway, Carrick-a-Rede and the North Antrim Coast (where I holidayed as a child. ) I take my guests to all my tour locations in a luxury Mercedes SUV fitted with enhanced audio systems so that you will hear the tour commentary throughout the day and also stop for regular conform breaks along the way. I also stop for lunch and refreshments at 'out of the way' real Irish restaurants and fish and chip shops well off the 'tourist' trail and are frequented by locals. Throughout your time with me you will be covered by comprehensive insurance whilst travelling and also at the many stops along the way. I am a partner of an international cruise ship tour company and my team are currently contracted to deliver five of the premium tours delivered from the cruise ships visiting Belfast in 2024 which I have helped create and still administer with a team of specially trained and accredited guides. Yet it is the individual tours that are offered by ToursByLocals that are my passion and interest and why my ratings are so high. I am the guide for the most historical pubs in Belfast and deliver history tours from their premises that will now also include food tours for cruise ship passengers in 2024. I am an award winning author and historian and have written books of the history of Belfast, Harland & Wolff Shipyard (where the RMS Titanic was built), the Troubles (that began in the street where I grew up ) and the myths and legends of Ireland. The forward to my historical books is provided by US academics and the books are used as reference works in many universities worldwide. My next work will be on the history of the US Rangers in WWII (they were formed in Belfast in 1942. ) My research also includes the historic links of the North of Ireland to North America and the creation of the US and Canada (including the US Presidential links and creation of the Declaration of Independence and Revolutionary War. ) I did not plan to become a tour guide as a profession however I was a volunteer during the Irish Peace Process that involved cross community lecturing and learning visits to sites of cultural memory across Europe. I won the Irish Award for community relations in 2010 for my work in this field which was delivered by my internationally accredited training company. I also won the National and Northern Ireland Training awards along the way becoming a special advisor to the UK, Irish, EU and Polish Governments whilst working in this complicated an important field. I helped create the first Titanic Historical Society at Harland & Wolff in 1990 and am a specialist guide at the Titanic Museum Belfast taking small groups and individuals around the exhibits and have some of my preserved photographs now included in the museum's artifacts. To date I have been an expert guide in the following: -The Giant's Causeway -Dunluce Castle -Carrick-a-Rede -The North Antrim Coast -Titanic Belfast -Scots-Irish Links and Heritage -Genealogical Research and Visits/Tours of Homelands -Irish Peace Process -Troubles and Murals -Belfast Castle(s) -Belfast Pubs and Heritage -Dublin History -The Jews in Europe -The Holocaust and movement of the Jews to Palestine (1908-1948) -US Presidents Heritage in Ireland -The US Rangers BA (Hons) Open Degree (OU) MA in History (OU) Post Grad Certificate in Tour Guiding (Distinction) University of Ulster Post Grad Certificate in Education (Belfast Metropolitan College) English Tour Guide at Auschwitz/Birkenau Post Grad in Marketing (Chartered Institute of Marketing) Irish School (Queen's University) Post Grad Johns Hopkins University (International Travel Preparation, Safety, & Wellness) I