Paddywagon Tours

An Irish coach tour company running since 1998

Paddywagon Tours is an Irish company that runs its own coach day tours, multi-day tours, private hire and shore excursions around the island of Ireland. Its About page, signed by founder and president Cathal O'Connell, says the company started in 1998 and has become "the nation's leading tour outfitter", with departures 52 weeks a year. The homepage lists departure points in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Belfast, Killarney, Galway, Dingle and Dunmore East, and destinations including the Cliffs of Moher, Giant's Causeway, Blarney Castle, Wicklow, Kilkenny, Belfast and Cork cities, the Ring of Kerry, the Dingle Peninsula, Waterford Crystal and the Wild Atlantic Way. Shore excursions serve cruise ships docking at Dublin, Dun Laoghaire, Cork, Cobh, Belfast and Waterford. Prices are in euros.

The Blarney page says its premium small-group Blarney tours are run by a sister company, Elegant Irish Tours, which the About page calls "upscale" and the Blarney page calls a "5 Star Sister firm". The homepage shows TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice badges for 2015 to 2020, 2023 and 2024, and the Blarney page shows an aggregate rating of 4.4 based on 11211 first-party reviews.

The tour range

The tours page groups departures by city. From Dublin, the Cliffs of Moher Tour carries 11,682 reviews and the Giant's Causeway Tour is €80. The Glendalough and Wicklow Mountains half-day tour runs in the morning and the afternoon at €33, a Wicklow and Kilkenny day is €40, the Belfast tour including the Titanic Experience is €69 and the Kerry tour is €89. Small Group versions of the Cliffs of Moher, Giant's Causeway and Blarney tours are €129, and a small-group World Famous Pubs and Whiskey Distilleries Tour is €195. There are also two Spanish-language excursions from Dublin and Christmas Day tours, such as a Christmas Day Cliffs of Moher tour at €115.

Regional departures include Giant's Causeway half-day tours from Belfast at €30, a Cliffs of Moher tour from Cork at €74, a Cliffs of Moher tour from Limerick at €64, a Ring of Kerry tour from Limerick at €55 and a Ring of Kerry tour from Killarney at €45. Shore tours come in coach and small-group versions, for example a coach tour from Dublin of the Wicklow Mountains and Dublin at €79, a small-group Dublin shore tour at €109 and a small-group Cork shore tour at €135. Multi-day tours include a 3 Day Tour of Southern Ireland at €389, a 3 Day Tour of Northern Ireland at €399, a 4 Day Tour of Northern Ireland at €499, a 6 Day All Ireland tour at €899 and an 8 Day All Ireland tour at €975. The About page says multi-day guests choose between B&B or guesthouse and youth hostel accommodation, with time split between touring, free exploration and evenings at leisure.

A day on the Blarney Castle tour

The Blarney Castle Tour from Dublin shows how a day runs. It leaves at 08:00 from 5 Beresford Pl, Mountjoy, Dublin 1, drives through the Golden Vale to the Rock of Cashel, gives 90 minutes in Cork city around the English Market, and ends at Blarney Castle and the Blarney Woollen Mills before returning to Dublin at about 20:00. Prices are €85 for adults, €75 for students with valid ID and seniors aged 65+, and €60 for children aged 0 to 12. The ticket includes skip-the-line entry to Blarney Castle and Gardens, which the page values at EUR 24.00 for adults, and to the Rock of Cashel at EUR 8.00; the page says skip-the-line means a separate entrance. Food, drinks and gratuities are not included. Commentary is live and onboard, and the page says this tour is exclusively in English. Tickets arrive by email and can be shown on a phone.

The FAQ on that page is candid about access: there is no lift at Blarney Castle, and kissing the Blarney Stone means climbing over 100 narrow, steep and uneven steps. The small-group Blarney alternative, run by Elegant Irish Tours from 1st May, limits groups to 25 passengers per van and includes hotel pickup and drop-off for €129.00 per seat. The Blarney page lists free 4G WiFi and USB ports on board.

Booking and cancellation

Tours are booked on the site, where each tour page offers pickup points, dates and traveler types, and the Blarney page says bookings are possible up to 60 minutes before departure if seats remain. The About page adds that tours can be booked at hotel concierge desks, Official Irish Government Tourist Offices and the company's own Paddywagon Tourist Stores. Direct bookings come with what the site calls a Best Price Guarantee. Private hire, with sedans, MPVs, vans and coaches, is quoted on request, and the About page says Elegant Irish Tours can arrange private trips from budget up to 5 star.

The cancellation terms are stated plainly. The homepage says guests "receive a full refund if you cancel at least 24 hours in advance of most experiences". The Blarney page gives the detail: cancel at least 24 hours before the start time for a full refund; cancel later and nothing is refunded; changes within 24 hours are not accepted; and cut-off times use Irish local time. The page also warns that prices will rise for peak season 2026.

What the pages leave open, and who it suits

The homepage's wording, "most experiences", leaves open which tours fall outside the 24-hour rule, and the site does not name them on its overview pages. Group sizes for the standard coach tours are not given, only the 25-passenger cap on small-group vans. Multi-day itineraries, hostel versus B&B pricing and departure days sit on the individual tour pages rather than the overview. The Blarney page values the castle entry at EUR 24.00 in one place and €18.00 in its inclusions list.

Paddywagon suits travelers who want a fixed-price, full-day coach trip from Dublin, Belfast, Cork or Killarney to Ireland's best-known sights, with a clear 24-hour cancellation rule and tickets on a phone. Cruise passengers get a wide choice of shore tours at several ports. Travelers wanting a small group or hotel pickup should look at the small-group versions, and anyone with mobility limits should read each tour's FAQ first, as the Blarney page does.