Richard Pena cordially invites you to join him on the customized and unique  Rule of Law and Road to Peace delegation to Ireland. Visit Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and marvel at the beauty of the Emerald Isle and warm welcome of its people.    

Richard writes "I hope you will consider coming with us on this unforgettable delegation to Ireland. The itinerary has been carefully crafted to meet two goals. 

- One goal  is to learn about these two separate countries and, the conflicts they have endured and how they now work together. We will delve into Ireland's history, the violent conflict known as the Troubles which began in the 1960‘s and mostly took place in Northern Ireland. Areas of discussion will include the Good Friday Agreement, the roles of the IRA (Irish Republican Army) and the British security forces such as the British Army. The numerous cease fires and agreements will be discussed as will Bloody Sunday, Downing Street mortar attack, the political process, and the Shoot to Kill allegations. We will meet with participants of the bloody conflict and with policy makers and current leaders in Ireland. We will hear of the uneasy peace between the two countries and how both sides are committed to making the peace work. 

There is much that American lawyers and their guest can learn from the Irish experience and from their people. The lawyers will view the Peace Process and the reluctant participants as a series of high stakes mediations. They accomplished what many said could not be done. As a result Ireland is the winner as the fighting has ceased.

- The second goal is for the delegates and guest to experience the cultural beauties and magic of Ireland and to interact with the Irish people. Ireland is known as the Emerald Isle because of its marvelous views and its vibrant cities and majestic countryside. We will, of course, be exposed to things Ireland is famous for such as: the castles, the shades of green, Irish coffee, shamrocks, and Irish Whiskey, and of course Guinness! 

The time has been allocated so the delegates and their guest can enjoy experiencing both of these goals. In our travels through Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland we will see firsthand the charm of Ireland and of its people. 

Please come an join me in Ireland to experience the journey of a lifetime where you are sure to make new friends, broaden your professional network, and have stories to tell forever more". 

Richard Pena

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Fly from from a New York area airport and make your way to Dublin, Ireland.  

Professional Highlights

 ✓ The key focus of this program is to learn about the Rule of Law in Ireland and specifically the “Troubles” in Northern Ireland lasting from the 1960-1998. Hear from lawyers & community members about the road to peace and the conflict resolution process in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Your professional hosts will share the history, successes, failures and current modern-day challenges that face the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. Professional Connections & Peer Engagement 

✓ Meaningful interaction and collaboration between program participants and professionals in Ireland will include meetings with high level officials, university faculty and those whose families were personally involved in the conflicts. 

✓ Meet with faculty and possibly students at local universities like Queens University School of Law in Belfast and Trinity College Law School in Dublin.

Cultural Immersion & Exploration

✓ Explore the Epic Museum of Irish Emigration. The exhibits cover the history of the Irish diaspora and emigration to other countries. 

✓ Visits Pearse Lyons Distillery, with over eight hundred years of history, awaken your senses with a private whiskey tour and tasting. 

✓ Immerse yourself in daily life and learn about Ireland’s unique culture and history with hands on experiences including a breadmaking class in a family home. 

Accompanying guest program – guests will enjoy privately guided cultural activities while professional members of the group are in scheduled meeting 

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After clearing Immigration and Customs procedures in Dublin, the group will be met by your national guide for the transfer to city center. Lunch is on your own this afternoon. 

On arrival enjoy a panoramic tour of Dublin City. Discover the north and south side of the river Liffey. This area offers great striking monuments such as the GPO (General Post Office) on the city main thoroughfare, O'Connell Street, or the Custom House along the quays, as well as the Phoenix Park, the largest public park in Europe. The south side appears more sophisticated with its vast Georgian squares, such as Merrion Square, where Oscar Wilde’s House can still be found (today owned by an American College), its colorful doors, along with Grafton Street and its quality shops. Not so far from St. Stephen’s Green, in Kildare St., you will see the house of Bram Stoker, the author of Dracula. 

This afternoon, visit the award-winning GPO Museum. The General Post Office is one of Ireland’s most famous buildings because of its role in the 1916 Easter Rising as it served as the headquarters for the Easter Rising and got heavily damaged in the fighting. Heralded as a symbol of Irish independence the General Post Office houses a small museum on the building’s places in Irish life. 

Enjoy an orientation and welcome meeting with your local guide and leader before enjoying a welcome dinner at your hotel.

Gresham Hotel is in the heart of Dublin, in a historic building on the famous O’Connell Street. Surrounded by the main shopping area in Grafton Street and Henry Street, it is near Gate Theatre, Croke Park and Temple Bar. The hotel is a stone's throw away from Abbey Street tram station which will easily take you to any other point of the city for your convenience.

Overnight:  Gresham Hotel (or similar) 

Included meals: Dinner 

Please Note: Breakfast is included daily at your hotels.

After a leisurely breakfast discover This morning visit EPIC, The Museum of Irish Emigration. EPIC is a state-of-the-art interactive experience located in the beautiful vaults of the 1820 Custom House Quarter building in Dublin’s Docklands, the original departure point for so many of Ireland’s emigrants. It will inspire and guide you on a journey to discover the stories of Irish emigration around the world, from early times to the modern day.

Lunch will be provided at a local restaurant.

Later today visit the Pearse Lyons Distillery. With over eight hundred years of history, awaken your senses with a whiskey tour and tasting. Located in the former St. James’ Church in Dublin’s city center, this small and intimate family-owned distillery offers guests a unique blend of Irish history, culture and the very best of whiskeys. See how Pearse small batch Irish Whiskey is made and chat with the team of distillers.

Enjoy some free time later this afternoon to explore the city, do some shopping and dine at one of Dublin’s fine restaurants or lively Irish Pubs on your own arrangement. Your guide will be able to provide his/her recommendations.

Overnight:  Gresham Hotel (or similar)  

Included meals: Breakfast & Lunch

This morning a meeting has been sent to Trinity College School of Law or similar. The plan is to meet with a law school faculty member to discuss the rule of law and conflict resolution in Ireland. Learn about the Republic of Ireland in comparison to Northern Ireland and the conflicts they have endured and how they now work together.

Guest program: This morning is free to relax and get packed and checked out of the hotel. 

Depart for Belfast with a packed lunch. In route to Belfast, stop to enjoy a hands-on farmhouse baking experience with Tracey in her 18th century thatched cottage on the shores of Strangford Lough. She will teach you all about traditional Irish baking and walk you through the steps to make your very own Irish local favorite like soda bread. 

Later this afternoon you will meet with Martina Purdy and Elaine Kelly, two nuns based in Downpatrick who specialize in the subject of peace and reconciliation. Martina was a former high-profile reporter for the BBC reporting on the Good Friday Agreement and it’s signing at close quarters. Martina also wrote a book Room 21: Stormont Behind Closed Doors, which explores the rise and fall of the power-sharing assembly with interviews of the key ministers. Elaine was previously a leading barrister in Ireland before becoming a nun and was involved in a number of Troubles related inquest and cases. They will be speaking, in part, on the Peace talks and peace process with you today.

Check into your hotel in Belfast and enjoy the night with dinner on your own.

Overnight: Malone Hotel  (or similar)

Included meals: Breakfast & Lunch

Today the group will enjoy a panoramic tour of Belfast. Admire the leaning Albert Memorial Clock tower (Irelands answer to the Tower of Pisa) and the Opera House, City Hall, The Crown Bar, Queens University, the Botanic Gardens and see the Harland and Wolfe Shipyard where the Titanic was built and launched in 1912.

Together you will enjoy lunch with President of society Brian Archer and Chief Executive David Lavery from the Law Society of Northern Ireland. They will have a short presentation and then can chat about topics such as their history and their role as a professional body for solicitor’ in Northern Ireland. 

This afternoon professional members will meet with Professor Louise Mallinder, Kieran McEvoy, Dr. Cheryl Lawther and the Head of the Law School Professor Joan Loughrey at the Queens University School of Law. Discuss education and training for lawyers in Northern Ireland. Continue discussions around the conflicts and how that has influenced their curriculum. Law has been studied and taught here since 1845 and has seen many changes and challenges over the years. 

Guest program: This afternoon accompanying guests will enjoy afternoon tea at the Merchant Hotel. Experience fine dining at its best in this stunning space with its original Victorian interior, glass cupola and truly remarkable chandelier. Time permitting stop for a self-guided walk around the Botanic Gardens. The Gardens were established in 1828 by the Belfast Botanic and Horticultural Society in response to public interest in horticulture and botany. 

Return to the hotel where dinner is on your own this evening.

Overnight: Malone Hotel (or similar)

Included meals: Breakfast & Lunch

No visit to Ireland would be complete without a visit to Derry, Londonderry. Nationalists refer to the city as Derry, viewing the “London” prefix as a colonial imposition, while unionists view the prefix as an important part of their identity and have resisted attempts to officially rename the city as Derry.

Upon arrival enjoy a walking tour of the Derry Walls which date back to the early part of the seventeenth century and have been a place of several sieges. 

After lunch at a local pub or restaurant the group will visit the Museum of Free Derry. The main signature project of the Bloody Sunday Trust is the Museum of Free Derry, opened in 2007 to tell the story of what happened in the city during the period 1968 – 1972. Popularly known as ‘Free Derry’, the timeframe spans the civil rights era, Battle of the Bogside, Internment, Bloody Sunday, and Operation Motorman. Their story is told from the point of view of those who were most involved in and affected by these events – the Free Derry community. Situated in the heart of where these events took place, in a once-derelict housing block in Glenfada Park, the museum sits in the middle of what was the Bloody Sunday killing zone.

This afternoon after your museum tour you will be joined by a local representative directly impacted by Bloody Sunday. The person/people the group meets depends on who is available, and this will be known closer to the time. John Kelly who lost his younger brother Michael Kelly on Bloody Sunday and has been heavily involved in the justice campaign, Jean Hegarty who lost her younger brother Kevin McEhinney on Bloody Sunday or two eyewitnesses, James Toye and Noel Doherty, who both witnessed what took place that day. 

Guest program: This afternoon you are welcome to explore independently in the area. 

Return to Belfast where dinner is by individual arrangement. 

Overnight: Malone Hotel  (or similar) 

Included meals: Breakfast & Lunch

This morning the group will learn about the conflicts with a 3-hour walking tour of the Shankill and Falls Road. You’ll meet with two different guides, both are former political prisoners, one from the republican community and the other one from the loyalist community. They offer their own personal perspective over the local history and the recent conflict. 

Start at Divis Tower in the nationalist area of Falls Road where they will hear about the colonization of Ireland by England, and how the conflict started in 1969. Continue up the road to see the international wall and the Remembrance Garden commemorating local people who died during the conflict, if time allows, they will stop in the republican museum which gathered artefacts from Armagh jail and the H-Blocks. 

The next main stop is the famous Bobby Sands mural where the guide will explain the hunger strike of 1981. 

Most of our guides were in jail at that time and some of them even knew Bobby - this is usually a particularly emotional moment for the guides to share.

Travel next to Lanark Way where you will meet the loyalist guide. He will show you the "peace line", a big wall dividing nationalist and loyalist/unionist areas. He will then take you to see Shankill Road to see the famous loyalist murals before you finish in the garden commemorating local soldiers who went to France to fight during WW1. 

Enjoy lunch today with your two guides at Little Mill Bistro. 20 years ago, seeing a former republican prisoner shaking hands and chatting in a friendly manner with a loyalist ex-prisoner was completely unseen and unimaginable.

This afternoon take part in a panel discussion session with participants like former members of the British army who served in Ireland during the conflict, former republican prisoners and loyalist representatives, MLAs, members of the police forces, politicians, and human rights lawyers. Several panel members have advised interest and tentative availability but will confirm closer to travel.

Guest program: 

This afternoon accompanying guests will tour Hillsborough Castle and Gardens. Hillsborough Castle holds a unique place in the history of Northern Ireland. Since it was built in the 18th century the castle has gone from being a simple country house for the Hill family to becoming the official royal residence in Northern Ireland and the place where many of the formal and informal stages of the Peace Process happened. Enjoy a little free time in the village of Royal Hillsborough before returning to the hotel.

Dinner is on your own this evening.

 Overnight: Malone Hotel  (or similar)  

Included meals: Breakfast & Lunch

This morning a visit to Stormont Estate of the Parliament of the Northern Ireland Assembly has been formally requested. The goal of this visit is to not only visit their lovely estate but to have a meeting with an assembly member to share information on current political structure (power sharing with London), relations with the Republic of Ireland, their role in the good Friday Agreement and learn about any role they had in the road to Peace and those mediations.

Guest program: 

Accompanying guests will visit Titanic Belfast this morning. Located in the heart of Belfast, the Titanic Experience recreates the story of the world’s most famous ship in an iconic, six floor building right beside the historic site of the original ship’s construction. As you journey through the nine large galleries of the interactive exhibition, you will uncover the true story of the Titanic, from her conception in Belfast in the early 1900's, through her construction and launch, to her famous maiden voyage and subsequent place in history.

Lunch will be by individual arrangement today.

Professional delegates and guests will reconnect to visit Crumlin Road Gaol “prison” for a tour. The prison dates to 1845 and closed its doors as a working prison in 1996. After extensive renovations the gaol has reopened as a visitor attraction and conference center. Today you can explore the prison to learn about the history of the site from when women and children were held within its walls through to the political segregation of republican and loyalist prisoners and learn about why the decision was taken to close the prison. 

Visit the underground tunnel that used to connect the gaol to the Crumlin Road Courthouse, view all the wings from the circle and of course pay a visit to the condemned man’s cell before seeing the execution cell where the majority of the 17 men were executed.

Say goodbye as you reflect and share memories over a farewell dinner at a local restaurant. 

Overnight: Malone Hotel  (or similar)  

Included meals: Breakfast & Dinner

Drive to the airport for check in for your flight home. Depending on the flight time, lunch is by individual arrangement.

Included meals: Breakfast

Professional Participants - As this Nanda Journey is focused primarily on professional development, costs associated with your participation on the program may be tax deductible as an ordinary and necessary business expense. Consult with a tax professional to determine eligibility.

Please note: All itineraries are subject to change based on availability of hotels, flights and hosting organizations at the time of finalization of booking. Comparable meetings and activities will be arranged should an itinerary change be necessary. 30 days before departure, a finalized itinerary will be available and reflect final details.

Program Leader: Richard Pena, Law Office of Richard Pena P.C., Austin, Texas 

We are excited to have Richard Pena leading this legal delegation. Richard is a veteran delegation leader, having led 19 legal delegations to countries throughout the world, including one to Ireland. He has received the Eisenhower Achievement Award for being an outstanding legal delegation leader and is a national leader in the legal field. 

Richard has served as the President of the State Bar of Texas , President of the American Bar Foundation,  Past President of the Austin Bar Association, is a former Chair of the Texas Bar Foundation, and former Chair of the Fellows of the American Bar Foundation. Richard has received three Presidential Citations from the State Bar of Texas for is meritorious service to the profession. He has received the Distinguished Lawyer Award presented by the Austin Bar Association as well as the Difference Maker Award by the ABA General Practice , Solo and Small Firm Division.  He has also received the Spirit of Excellence Award in the ABA Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession. The Texas Bar Journal recognized him as a  legal “trailblazer” in its February 2014 issue. Richard has the highest rating in the legal profession based on his AV Preeminent rating by Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory. 

He is a Vietnam Veteran and is co-author of the book Last Plane Out of Vietnam. 

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