About Us
Archaeology Tours Ireland has been ‘a long time in the making’.
Founded by Hogan Magee, a native Dubliner with a life-long fascination with archaeology, we provide unique access to sites, experiences and unmatched levels of expertise in archaeology-focussed tourism.
Small Group Private Tour Specialists
We specialise in small-group private tours, for groups of 1 to 8 guests.
All our small-group tours are delivered in luxury vehicles which are licensed limousines, all our guides are experts in their field, and every driver is an Official Tour Guide, recognised by Fáilte Ireland, the Irish Tourist Board.
Larger Group Private Tours
Many of our tours and experiences are also available for larger groups, subject to the capacity of sites ad access for larger vehicles. Please contact us if you’d like to discuss what might be possible for your group.
Muiris O’Sullivan
Professor Emeritus, BA, MA, PhD
Muiris O’Sullivan is Emeritus Professor of Archaeology at University College Dublin where he lectured for many years before his retirement, serving at different times as Head of the School of Archaeology (2004-2008), Director of the International Summer School in Irish Studies (1999-2002) and Dean of Arts (2004-2005).
He has published on a wide variety of topics in Irish heritage, his archaeological expertise enriched with a lifelong interest in history, mythology and the Irish language. His academic specialisation in passage tombs and prehistoric rock art is reflected, for example, in a much-referenced monograph on the excavation of the Mound of the Hostages, a passage tomb on the legendary Hill of Tara in county Meath, and several influential publications on Irish megalithic art. As a graduate student, he participated in the excavations at Knowth in the Boyne Valley and, later, he directed five seasons of archaeological excavations at Knockroe Passage Tomb in county Kilkenny. He was the lead archaeological consultant for the current visitor experience at Brú na Bóinne, a UNESCO World Heritage Site incorporating the great passage tomb complexes at Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth. He also serves on the scientific committee for the successful proposal of the megalithic alignments and tombs in the Carnac region of France for World Heritage listing (formally inscribed 2025).
His specialised research has been published extensively in monographs, book chapters, conference proceedings and academic journals, and he has also produced a variety of reading of more general interest, such as site guides and short introductory articles on various topics. He is a popular speaker with both academic audiences and interested amateurs.
Tadhg O’Keeffe
Full Professor, BA, MA, DEA, PhD
Tadhg O’Keeffe is sitting Full Professor of Medieval Archaeology and Architectural History at UCD’s School of Archaeology. He is the recipient of multiple academic awards in Ireland, England and France, and has published extensively in academic journals, books and monographs, as well as popular archaeology periodicals. He has been a permanent member of staff at the School of Archaeology since 1998, a Professor since 2006, and Full Professor since 2017.
He has served as Head of School, Deputy Principal of the College of Arts & Celtic Studies, and Director of UCD International Summer School, and his committee memberships have included the Faculty Promotions Committee, the Humanities Institute of Ireland Management Committee, the Academic Council Committee on Examinations, and the Academic Council Committee on Discipline. Service to the School of Archaeology includes co-chairing the EDI Committee and co-ordinating the Athena Swan Bronze Renewal.
He has supervised or examined more than 25 PhD projects, has served on the editorial boards of many archaeological journals, and has been referee on grant proposals for 6 national grant-agencies outside Ireland and 2 cross-border (international) grant-agencies.
Tadhg’s expertise in Medieval Archaeology and in Architectural History is unparalleled, and he delights in taking ‘received wisdom’ and turning it on its head!
Hogan Magee
B. Comm, MSc
Hogan Magee is the middle of three generations of archaeologists in his family – as he says himself, ‘in our family archaeology is a hereditary disease’!
He grew up immersed in Ireland’s great wealth of archaeology, and his childhood was spent being brought from one archaeological site to another by his mother, Eileen, herself a graduate of University College Dublin’s School of Archaeology.
He first joined the Royal Society of Irish Antiquaries in 1984, and with the occasional interval, has been a member ever since. Having worked on several excavations, and archaeological surveying work including soil-resistivity studies of Mesolithic sites and ground-penetrating radar surveying work in the UNESCO World Heritage landscape of the Boyne Valley in Co Meath, he graduated from UCD’s School of Archaeology with an MSc in Experimental Archaeology & Material Culture in 2024.
He is a fluent Irish language speaker, with a wide range of interests in heritage-related subjects, and an official National Tour Guide, recognised by Fáilte Ireland, the Irish Tourist Board.
He has been bringing guests to archaeological sites all over Ireland for more than 30 years, and to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Brú na Bóinne/Newgrange for almost 40 years!
He is a licensed chauffeur, guiding in his own private limousines.