The Flyers Alumni Association took Alumni members and Flyers fans on a once-in-a-lifetime golfing and site-seeing tour of Ireland in August 2025. The trip was arranged through Executive Global Tours. Participating Flyers Alumni included John LeClair, Mark Recchi, Joe Watson, Orest Kindrachuk, Tom Bladon, Bill Clement, Lindsay Carson, Steve Coates and Alumni Association president Brad Marsh. Gritty also came along for the trip.
Newark International Airport
Air travel is always subject to unanticipated challenges that are beyond a travel party’s (or travel organizer’s) ability to control.
The luggage tag printer/dispenser at the check-in kiosk was out of paper. The airport employee attending to the issue saw the Flyers luggage tag on Alumni content manager Bill Meltzer’s suitcase.
“A Flyers fan? I shouldn’t even help you,” he joked, and then (of course) rendered his assistance to replace the stickers in the dispenser. After bag drop, there were a few hours to kill until flight time.
Meanwhile, the earlier DUblin-bound flight from Newark was delayed and then eventually canceled. That the later flight (scheduled for 11:30 p.m. EDT) ended up being delayed by maintenance. It finally left shortly after 1:00 a.m. EDT. The original earlier flight group departed for Ireland on Saturday night.
August 2, 2025: First Day in Dublin
Due to flight delays and cancellation, part of the traveling group arrived in Dublin on Saturday, August 2 and the rest the next day. Upon arrival at the Portmarnock Resort, the travelers who weren’t out on the Jameson links set their bags down in their rooms and soon reconvened in the lobby.
Portmarnock is one of the truly great golf courses in Ireland. Opened in December 1894 as a nine-hole course, then extended in 1896 and 1971, it is classic links golf.
The party traveled into the heart of Dublin to tour the multi-level Guinness Storehouse, and sample some of the company’s world-famous stout beer. From there, the group went over the Jameson Whiskey distillery tour, tasting and whiskey-making educational presentation.
After returning to Portmarnock, everyone got together for drinks and a welcome buffet dinner. The most popular choice among many was the Irish beef stew. On the flip side, the filet of hake missed the mark. Dessert was good.
August 3, 2025: Day Two
The second day of the trip saw the whole group finally united in Ireland. The entire day was packed with activities.
Brad Marsh “King of the Castle” Bike Ride
Avid cyclist Marsh did a 120-kilometer bike ride on Sunday, beginning and ending at Malahide Castle, nine miles north of Dublin. Marshy did the ride not just for the sake of the challenge and the scenario. Rather, he also did it for a good cause: The Cycle Against Suicide.
Cycle Against Suicide seeks to address the culture of silence by encouraging emotional expression and promoting resilience. By tackling stigmas, especially those related to male vulnerability and the higher rates of suicide among men, we provide a platform for men to articulate their struggles without fear of judgment.
The event was organized by world-famous champion Irish road cyclist Sean Kelly.
At the end of his ride, Marsh was greeted by Bill Clement. Thereafter, Marshy took a celebratory (cold) dip in the sea.
Golf at K Club: Palmer North
Teeing off at 10:40 a.m. local time, a host of Flyers Alumni and Flyers fans on the trip spent the day on the world famous golf course in Kildare. The K Club is the home of the Ryder Cup. Even the notoriously fickle Irish weather cooperated. After starting out overcast and a bit chilly, the sun came out and the temperatures warmed up. It turned into a perfect day for golf and great company.
Kildare Shopping Village and walking tour of Kildare
Departing at 9:30 a.m. local time, the non-golf group on the tour spent the entire day in Kildare. After driving past some of the most beautiful coast scenery in Ireland, the group did a walking tour of the heart of Kildare.
Throughout the ride, driver Sean (“Seany Mac”) sang, explained local history and sites of interest, and answered questions honestly and patiently. He was outstanding!
The group visited two of Ireland’s most historic and visually spectacular church complexes: The Carmelites White Abbey (first founded in the year 1292) and Saint Brigid’s Cathedral (13th century) from the Church of Ireland Diocese of Kildare. The church officials were very welcoming to us — overseas visitors to their congregation — and extremely knowledgeable and generous in highlighting its respective histories.
From there, the group walked around the downtown area and then spent a little over an hour browsing the Kildare Shopping Village. Then it was time for the main event of the day: an expert guided tour of the Irish National Stud and Gardens in Tully (located in County Kildare). The Japanese Gardens were breathtaking and the champion stallions and mares were truly special the behold.
Seaview Restaurant
After returning to Portmarnock, most of the traveling group gathered at the beautiful Seaview Restaurant on the second floor to eat dinner and hoist a few pints. Thereafter, one of the Flyers Alumni Association’s most loyal supporters, Dan Maggiani, arranged to meet up with the group at a downtown Dublin pub. It was a wonderful end to a brilliant day and early evening.
August 4,2025: Day Three
The third day of the Ireland trip took the traveling group from the charm of Portmornock to the spectacular golf course at Druids Glen and the breathtaking beauty of Powerscourt Garden and up into the Wicklow Mountains for the ancient and captivating sites of Glendalough.
7:30 AM Breakfast at the Portmornock Resort: This was our second breakfast at the resort. It was obvious even on the previous morning that there were choices for a massive array of breakfast preferences. Want a simple meal? Grab some fresh fruit or a bowl of porridge. Is breakfast your preferred main meal of the day, with all sorts of meats, cheeses and eggs of different preparations? On the other hand, if you’re a carb/ continental breakfast fanatic (croissants, toast, muffins, et al). Load up if you want.
Want to try something that’s a little — or a lot — more daring and traditionally Irish? There’s a black and white pudding station. Both are made with oatmeal, suet, and spices. The difference is what is or isn’t added into the recipe.
Black pudding is a bit similar to the blood sausage found in England, Scandinavia and other locales. The addition of pork blood to the pudding gives black pudding a darker color. The blood component bring a vaguely metallic flavor. Meanwhile, white pudding is lighter in color and has a milder but oniony. Black and white pudding are traditional staples of the Irish diet but even many Irish stay away from black pudding in particular.
After breakfast, the golf group and the site-seeing groups split up for the rest of the day.
Golfing at Druids Glen, Wicklow
To a person, the golf participants who went to Druids Glen ranked it among the best courses — fantastic attention to detail, quite challenging, meticulously maintained — on which they ever played. The weather was sunny but exceptionally windy on this day, too.
Meanwhile, Flyers mascot Gritty showed up, as if by magic, halfway around the world. Sporting manners and refinement aren’t Gritty’s style but he managed to make the rounds without causing too much chaos, at least by the “Gritty scale.”
Powerscourt House and Gardens, Wicklow
A friend from Chester County, Pennsylvania, who traveled to Ireland several years ago described the Powerscourt House and Gardens experience as being like “Longwood Gardens on steroids”. That’s not a bad starting framework but even that doesn’t fully capture what’s in store for visitors.
What makes Powerscourt truly special is what Mother Nature provided: The wonder and beauty of the Wicklow mountains — and a natural waterfall in close driving distance — to complete the backdrop vista of the expansive gardens themselves. As someone who loves Longwood (in fact, got engaged to my wife there), I can honestly say that Powerscourt is the more once-in-a-lifetime destination that I wish everyone could visit at least once.
Side note: I was advised, when in Ireland, try some fresh Irish strawberries, because they might be the best in the world. They sell loc strawberries (as well as blueberries and raspberries) at Powerscourt. It’s not just hype. The strawberries looked like something from a postcard — the reddest of shades, the sweetest of taste. No sugar needed. Not meant as a garnishment to accentuate other foods.Just eat them as is.
Oh, and by the way, that Gritty chap showed up again. He became instant buddies with our expert driver and site guide, Seany Mac. He also managed to make some young Powerscourt visitors (an English brother-and-sister duo who had no idea of Gritty’s Fame or infamy and approached him with no hesitation) belly laugh. “Look, mummy! He’s shaking his bum!” the boy exclaimed as his younger sister giggled.
Glendalough, Wicklow Mountains
The story of Glendalough — an ancient monastery founded by St. Kevin in the sixth century — is the history of Ireland itself from a pagan land into Christianity. It is ancient. It is naturally beautiful and spiritual: the air is fresh, the view unspoiled and timeless but equally rugged and patina, Its mysterious yet tangible. Most of all, it spans the centuries of Ireland from antiquity to modern day, yet can be appreciated by anyone from anywhere.
“God’s Gift to Ireland and Ireland’s gift to the world” is a frequent description of Glendalough. I’ll add this: a thousand photos or 10,000 thousand words couldn’t fully capture what makes Glendalough so special. However,one doesn’t need words or photo galleries to appreciate Glenalough and Wicklow.
Amid the sheep and cattle pastures on the drive back toward Portmarnock, Seany Mac made a brief stop at Wicklow Gap, the most sprawling of all views of the Wicklow Mountains.
Drinks, Dinner and Dessert Back at Portmarnock
Monday was a bank holiday in Ireland. The Jameson bar and restaurant were exceptionally crowded on this night. Even so, the food was very good: even a simple fish-and-chips supper or cheeseburger stood out as high quality. Meanwhile, we started the meal with a charcuterie board for the table and finished it off with creme brulee and/or an Irish coffee.
If Monday can be summed up in two words: sensory heaven.
Tuesday, August 5, 2025: Day Four
After our now-familiar breakfast stop at the 1780 restaurant in the Portmarnock Hotel resort, our golfing contingent headed out on the Jameson golf links. For the site seeing group, Tuesday was a free day. Most decided to head into Dublin. Others chose instead to stay in the Portmarnock parish and walk to the beach.
At the end of the day, everyone gathered at the Hotel Shebeen for a barbecue. There were burgers, chicken, salmon, Irish potato salad, dessert and, in the Shebeen, lots and lots of Guinness. Dallas Stars owner Tom Gagliardi owns the Shebeen. Because of the common connections in the hockey world, he treated the Flyers Alumni to the beer as his special guests.
After the barbecue, there was an in-person edition of Coatesy Corner and a Hot Stove Q&A panel session with Stanley Cup winning Flyers Alumni members Watson, Clement, Kindrachuk, and Bladon.
Gaelic Signs
Throughout Ireland, signs are posted both in English and Gaelic. Seany Mac explained that very few people (less than two percent)in Ireland still speak the traditional native language on a daily basis. However, roughly 38 percent have at least some knowledge of it. Ireland natives themselves refer to their Celtic language as Irish but is also sometimes written properly as Gaelige or called Irish Gaelic (to different it from the Scottish dialect) by non-Irish.
Seany Mac said Gaelic is maintained mostly for historic and cultural preservation.
A Flyers Family Affair: Part 1
In similar fashion to how the annual Flyers Alumni Fantasy Camp typically features players who attend with their dads, brother(s), cousins or other relatives, the Alumni Ireland trip presented an opportunity for some of the Alumni to enjoy the trip as father and son. For example, Mark Recchi came with his son, Cam. Likewise,John LeClair was accompanied by son Calvin.
Wednesday, August 6, 2025: Day 5
Our golf group made their final stop of the whirlwind tour of famous Irish courses. They headed to the links at Seaport for a 9:30 a.m. tee-off time. During breakfast at the hotel, the Flyers Alumni met famed Gaelic footballer John Divilly.
Mr. Divilly was unfailingly modest but has made major contributions to his sport. During his active playing career, he played for the Kilkerrin-Clonberne club, winning the All-Ireland in 1998, Later,he became the manager of the NUIM Sigerson Cup team which was victorious over UUJ in February 2010. Divilly became selector and backs coach of the Galway senior football team in October 2019.
Approximately an hour after golf group heading out, the site-seeing group headed into Dublin. We visited the Trinity College area and the Irish Emigration Museum: a very well-designed and interactive series of exhibits to recount the diverse stories, challenges, triumphs and societal contributions of generations of Irish people across all walks of life. The common connection is that they (or an ancestor) who left their Irish homeland to make a new life in other countries.
When the golfing group returned to Portmarnock, Lindsay Carson led the way out to the beach. The group took a (very chilly) plunge into the ocean.
Sean Helped Make the Trip Special
Our driver,Sean (Seany Mac), was a big reason why every trip to and from the resort was worthwhile. He sang Irish songs. He recounted stories from both history and modern time, pointing out slices of life (good and not-so-good) and generally bringing to life what lay before our eyes. His level of knowledge about scores of subjects — literature and the arts, politics, industry, films, and much more — was both educational and highly entertaining. He is a skillful driver,maneuvering a large Kerry Coaches tour bus into and through some very tight spaces.
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Lastly, he kept an eye on Gritty to keep him out of trouble. That isn’t easy!
A Flyers Family Affair Part 2: Meeting the Lord Mayor of Dublin
Longtime Flyers fan Bill Carabasi has one of the most interesting back stories of anyone who came along for the trip to Ireland. His grandfather, the late Matthew McCloskey, was the United States’ ambassador to Ireland during John Kennedy’s administration. Mr. McCloskey served in that post for two years.
There is also a Flyers-related angle to the story. Mr. McCloskey owned the McCloskey and Company construction company in Philadelphia. The company built the Spectrum arena in Philadelphia; the team’s home venue from its 1967 inaugural season until the end of the 1995 season. McCloskey also built Veterans Stadium (the longtime homes of the Philadelphia Phillies and Philadelphia Eagles). Bill Calabasi’s uncle, Thomas McCloskey, directed the day-to-day planning of Spectrum construction project under the auspices of Matthew McCloskey.
Bill Carabasi simply enjoyed the trip to Ireland; he didn’t come to brag about his late grandfather’s stature as the American ambassador to his ancestral homeland. However,after the Lord Major of Dublin, Ray McAdam, learned the backstory, a personal visit to meet the Flyers Alumni and Bill Carabasi was arranged through Global Executive Tours.
Mr. McAdam is the 38th Lord Mayor of Dublin in the city’s history. The Lord Mayor in Irish municipalities is a bit different from its countpart in the United States. In Ireland, the Lord Mayor is elected by City Council on an annual basis. Mr.McAdam is the council chairperson.
Party at Gibney’s Pub
To celebrate our final night in Ireland before we had to say goodbye, the entire group went to the nearby Gibney’s Pub for one last get-together. Seany Mac drove us one last time.
Everyone got one round included in the fixed price. Dinner itself was standard pub fare — fish and chips, a cheeseburger, pan-fried chicken or a vegetarian option. Several of us watched a cricket match on the big-screen TV. We even (somewhat) figured out the basic rules. We figured out “balls” (no strikes, no outs), how many runs a certain type of hit generates (0,1,2,4, or 6) and the general idea of what the pitcher (or whatever he’s called in cricket) wants to do in order to get the batter to miss the ball or at least settle for one run. But don’t ask what’s a wicket… still not entirely sure!
Meanwhile, the Alumni made yet another new friend: a youngster from Canada (Newfoundland to be precise). Over where a group played darts, a patron wore a Philadelphia Eagles t-shirt.
Small world, eh?
