This was my families first trip to Ireland and I decided to try a few days with John after finding him online. So we did a big bus day tour that felt very rushed and we couldn't stop wherever we wanted. We also did a few days on our own as well.

I have to tell you John was fantastic! He was the best part of our trip. We told him what we wanted to do and just sat back relaxed and enjoyed the view and sights. My mother said she felt like we had our own personal bodyguard who was always watching out for us and helping to make sure we were all ok. John was funny, very personable, knowledgeable about the sights we went to and we learned so much from him I just can't say enough good things about him. If you are considering hiring John do it! He is so worth it and our trip would not have been so great without him. It was like family showing us around. I was hoping John was nice but he far exceeded my expectations. John was really the best part of our trip. We Just arrived home and we all already miss him! John thank you so much for making our first trip to Ireland spectacular and you are just a wonderful person we can't wait to make it back to Ireland to do another tour with you!

My wife and I spent eleven days traveling around south and southwest Ireland. The first half of the trip we used transportation that we had arranged (train, bus, local cabs). The last half we used Cork Luxury Travel, and John O'Connell, and this was the best part of our trip. John lives in Cork and grew up in southwest Ireland, is from a very large extended family, and used to play Gaelic football -- it seemed like everywhere we went, we ran into someone who was a cousin or who knew him from school or football. This allowed us much more intimate access to people and things than we would ever have had if we were on a bus or on our own. He showed us the small house on the Atlantic where he was born and raised. He got us special access to centuries-old stone houses in a village that was home to 230 people before everyone died or moved away during the Famine (it's now being restored for use as an artists' colony). John is exceptionally knowledgeable and willing to talk about anything of interest. It was easy and enjoyable to leave large parts of our days unstructured, and just "go with the flow" of whatever we liked out of John's suggestions. Super high recommendation.