Embark on the Historic Irish Emigration Trail

A 10th Anniversary Journey at Sea

Jagged rocks at Kilclief (County Down, Northern Ireland), on the coastline of Strangford Lough. In the distance, on the horizon, out of focus, is the outline of a sailing ship or schooner.

Round-trip cruise from New York • New England • Halifax, Canada — October 2027

Keegan Celtic Tours was founded in 2017 by Irish and Scottish musicians Colm & Laura Keegan. What began as a side project alongside touring quickly grew into a meaningful extension of their work, blending music, history, and education with a deep love of hosting and connection.

Through bus tours, river cruises, and cultural journeys across Ireland, Scotland, England, and Wales, Colm & Laura have welcomed thousands of travelers into what has become a close-knit and ever-growing community. To mark ten years of shared journeys, they wanted to do something truly special, following the historic route taken by so many Irish and Scots-Irish families to the New World.

At the heart of every Keegan Celtic Tours journey is a shared curiosity about where we come from and how those stories continue to shape us. This anniversary voyage was designed as an opportunity to reflect on a journey that changed countless lives, and, in many ways, still defines who we are today.

Today, we know more about traveling to the moon than our ancestors ever knew about crossing the Atlantic Ocean.

For the Irish, Scottish, and Scots-Irish men, women, and children who left their homes in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the New World was not a destination measured in miles, but a rumor carried on the wind. They boarded small wooden ships with no charts they could trust, no certainty of arrival, and no assurance they would survive the crossing. Weeks at sea stretched into months. Storms tore at canvas and timber. Disease moved through cramped quarters. Families slept shoulder to shoulder, unsure what the morning would bring, or whether land would ever appear at all.

And yet, they came.

They came ashore at places whose names now sound familiar, Newport, Boston, and Portland, harbors that once marked the end of peril and the beginning of something entirely unknown. In New York and Halifax, many first felt solid ground beneath their feet after weeks at sea, stepping into a climate and culture as foreign as the journey itself. These ports were thresholds. From them, Irish and Scottish families scattered inland, carrying little more than determination and memory.

Today, we follow those same routes in comfort aboard the modern Regal Princess cruise ship. We sail from New York, once a crowded gateway of arrival and departure, past the rocky coasts of New England, across waters our ancestors crossed in fear and endurance. We sleep in warm cabins, dine together, and gather by choice rather than necessity. Yet the ocean remains unchanged, and the distance is the same.

This journey is not about reenacting hardship. It is about understanding it. By sailing the path our ancestors once took, we gain a clearer sense of the courage it required to leave everything familiar behind, and a deeper appreciation for the lives that journey made possible.

If this story is part of your own, or if you yearn to learn more, I invite you to join me on this voyage by following a route many of our ancestors once took, reflecting together, and celebrating the journey that shaped who we are today.

Protecting Our Group Space

A dedicated block of cabins has been secured for Keegan Celtic Tours. Group availability is expected to be held for approximately 90 days, after which any remaining space may be released to the general public. Availability and group pricing cannot be guaranteed after that time.

Reserve Your Place on the Journey