Operator Testimonials

Marty Carr, Director, Carr Golf Travel

Buckley’s Tours (Kerry Coaches) have been a key partner to Carr Golf Travel for over 20 years. Our two family company’s share the same ethos of personal service and looking after the customer. Buckley’s offers a great fleet, a great service and a good team of personal and reliable drivers. In our business, reliability is the most important element and the Kerry Coaches team are second to none. Thanks for your continued partnership. All the best.

Crothur Murphy Director, Custom Ireland

As a leading Destination Management Company, Custom Ireland delivers customised travel solutions to Ireland for corporate and leisure clients from around the world. Our clients expect the very best in quality and service, and to this end, we select our suppliers based on that expectation.

We have been working with Mike Buckley and the team at Kerry Coaches since our foundation in 1996 and our continuous business relationship since that time is testament to their product quality, professionalism and flexibility.Kerry Coaches engage in regular fleet upgrades and offer a wide variety of vehicles to cater for the ever changing needs of our clients. The vehicles are spotless and the drivers they employ are professional, courteous and always punctual.

Many of the drivers are also professionally qualified guides, which adds value to their service, with many clients regularly requesting specific drivers year after year.Our requirements range from incentive programmes for hundreds, to individual client travel and our clients originate from diverse countries and cultures. All are treated with the same amount of consideration, professionalism and flexibility to ensure an unforgettable experience in Ireland. We will continue to work with Kerry Coaches and I would have no hesitation in recommending their services.

Jerry Quinlan, Director, Celtic Golf

The relationship between the Quinlan Family (Celtic Golf) and the Buckley Family (Buckley Tours and Kerry Coaches) started in February 1990 when I met with Mary Buckley (Mary B ) and her son Mike to discuss the various requirements and vehicles to transport groups of American Golfers that we were bringing to Ireland later that year.

During the past two decades the two family owned companies have teamed up to provide a very professional element of luxury ground transportation for the world’s most discerning clientele including Golf professionals travelling with their members and family groups who share their passion of golf as well as the top corporate groups who wish to entertain their customers, with an Ireland golf experience that is second to none. The modern fleet of luxury coaches are enhanced by the most professional coach driver/ guides who provide our clients with an unforgettable overall experience in Ireland, many of whom return year after year and spread the word about our respective companies.

Our history has included special events like the 2006 Ryder Cup, Annual Father & Son Tournaments and the 1996 and 2012 Notre Dame vs Navy Games. As well as various PGA Section Pro~Ams and Collegiate Golf Programs.

Pat Kerr, Director, Odyssey International

As one of the Ireland’s leading DMC’s, primarily involved in the Incentive, Conference and Business Travel markets our need for, and reliance on our business partners to provide 5 Star quality of service and product is hugely important to our continuing growth and success. With Kerry Coaches we have such a Partner.

From its foundation in 1990 we have worked with Mike and his team at Kerry Coaches. Whether our requirements were a simple airport transfer for a few individuals to a complicated and intensive transport programme for multi-national Incentive groups of up to 3000 people, Kerry Coaches at all times provided a first class service, using modern top of the range vehicles and driven by knowledgeable and professional drivers who were at all times eager to please and happy to help in ensuring each assignment was a 100% success.

All at Kerry Coaches have a real understanding of what it takes and means to deliver a 5 star service and we are happy to recommend them as a Transport Company to anyone looking for the best. They always have, and will continue to be an integral part and trusted Partner in our development plans for the future.

Marc Kavanagh, President, GCS Groups Inc.

Global Consolidated Services is a travel service provider for several US based travel brands such as Sceptre Tours, The Aer Lingus Vacation Store, and Great Value Vacations. Since 2008, it has been our pleasure to work with Mike and the true professionals at Kerry Coaches on our group and specialty travel programs throughout Ireland . Programs include – Chauffeur, Golf, Escorted and Custom Group travel movements.

Their modern fleet, extensive experience and knowledge are essential components and resources that are fundamental to our success. Outstanding professional driver guides and their attention to detail, assures us that all our clients will be impressed by the personal services they receive throughout their touring experience. As partners we believe that our mutual success comes from putting our clients’ interest first, and our high repeat client factor is testimony to that belief.

Kerry Coaches loyalty and reliability have been key elements in our success and we look forward our continued strategic partnership for the years to come.

Gary Fochesto, July 2018

Hi

My name is Gary Fochesto and I have just recently returned from a 9 day trip to Ireland with my family.  Our travel advisor in the US, Sceptre Tours of Rockville Centre, NY, arranged for ground transportation through your company.  We had an exceptional time during our vacation and a trip we will never forget.  Ireland is a beautiful land, with scenery & friendly people to match. I wanted you to know that one of the most important factors in making this trip so wonderful was our driver.  Aodan Griffin made our experience in Ireland so enjoyable.  He was extremely professional, very very knowledgeable, helpful, and friendly.  His guidance and information made our trip so successful.  He always made us feel comfortable and we came to view him not only as a guide but as a friend.  As a small business owner here in the States, I know the value to a company of an excellent employee.  You have one in Aodan and I wish you both continued success.  Thanks for reading this note and please pass on our thanks to Aodan.

Yours truly,

 

Gary Fochesto.

Roanne Barron, September 2017

 

 

Just got home from a fabulous 11 day trip in Ireland. We had Martin Farrell as our driver for the first four days.  Martin made those four days the BEST part of our trip. He just made us laugh and showed us parts of Ireland, that gave us a nice feel for the counrty and people. He also paid special attention to my husband,  who has a little trouble moving around. I cannot say enough about Martin.

We were lucky to have him.

HE'S a gem!!

Roanne Barron

Christine Maestri, September 2017

 

 

Hello Kerry Coaches,

We had one of your drivers for 5 days, September 4-8, inclusive for the Maestri Party, pick up in Dublin at the Brooks Hotel and drop off at the Grand Hotel in Malahide.  Just want you to know what an outstanding job this driver did for us.  We previously used your company for a driver 4 years ago and he was satisfactory, but the person this year went above and beyond, did an outstanding job.  Tadhg Monayhan (I hope I have not destroyed the spelling there) was the best driver we could have had.  When he picked us up he asked what we were interested in seeing, adjusted the trip accordingly and got us to each of the spots we wanted to see most.  He added some things, like the 9-11 Remembrance Tribute in Kinsale which we had no idea of, but all of us really appreciated this stop immensely.  Also, he would tell us special things like when we stopped in Cashel that it was windy, " don't forget your jackets".  He was a fountain of knowledge for great restaurants in both Lahinch and Kinsale.  We did have one member of our party who seemed to always be a bit late in the morning or shopped a bit longer than we had hoped, but he never lost his patience and never called her out. 

He was truly outstanding and we were so lucky to have had him, Tadhg helped to make the trip for all five of us a big success.  He should be a valued employee at Kerry.

Thank you for your time and all of our group wishes him well.

Sincerely,

Christine Maestri

Wayne Freeman, September 2017

 

 

Just returned from a wonderful golf trip to Ireland planned by me and ITC Golf Tours in Calif. 

    Martin was our driver for the entire trip and we couldn\'t have asked for more.  He was so prompt and

   attentive and helpful in every way.  I can\'t say enough about him and his attitude.  He is so pleasant to

   talk to and gave us terrific suggestions for restaurants.    We always felt very safe and I would give him

  my highest recommendation.

Thank you.                        

Dr. Wayne Freeman

Bruce Laing, September 2017

 

 

To whom it may concern

I have returned from a golf excursion with eleven others to Ireland last week.  I have to say, Roy, our driver was incredible.  This is the seventh time I have been on one of these adventures, and have never had a nicer, smarter, more pleasant driver and guide than Roy.  He was impressive!

In fact, the entire group felt the same way.

He went out of his way on numerous occasions to ensure the happiness of the crew.

I own a business, and always want to know how our customer experience is graded.  In this case, Roy exceeded our expectations.

Best regards,

Bruce Laing

Joan K Glunk, September 2017



 

On August 31st we had the good fortune of meeting John Tynan our driver for our 10 days while in Ireland.   I travel using cars and drivers in many places all over the world but these 10 days will remain in my memory for many years.  John was a professional, punctual, informative and engaging tour guide bringing us to more places in Ireland then I have ever seen before.  He was able to complete our list of "must sees" and then added to that lis t with his knowledge of the island and gauging our particular interests.  There was no question that we had that John did not have an answer to.  

He also went above and beyond when we encountered a problem with one of our hotels by returning later in the evening to pick us up and bring us to our new accommodations.  Always with a smile...  He provided wonderful weather reports daily allowing us to carry only that "equipment" that we would need for that day.  His patience was unending especially with the needs of 3 women!   We could not have chosen a more perfect person than John Tynan to share many miles, laughs and stories.  Kerry Coaches, I'm sure, knows how lucky they are to have such an excellent associate representing their company.

I will recommend Kerry Coaches to anyone that I know is traveling to Ireland.  Your company is exemplary!  Joan K. Glunk

Kelly Walens, August 2017


 

To whom it May Concern:

We (two couples) spent an amazing 11 days with Gher Kelleher.  We went from Dublin to Kinsale to Killarney to Lahinch.  Gher absolutely made this trip perfect.  It felt far more as if a close friend was showing us around than a "tour driver".  

Gher was knowledgeable, considerate, thoughtful, interesting, personable and fun!  Two of our group were golfing 6 of the days, so Gher would drive them to the course, then turn around to get the other two of us.  He would then go back to pick up the golfers and the two of us behind would either go with him or he would come back for us, depending upon the rest of the day's agenda.  At no time did he make it seem like an inconvenience to double back for us.  When it started raining while two of us were touring, he met us at the entrance to the castle with an umbrella.  He volunteered to take pictures for us and pointed out the local points of interest (pubs, bakeries, cafes :-)).  Every evening we would ask where he thought we should go or what we should do the next day and he not only made suggestions but helped us decide what we would like versus what was most popular.  Our trip would not have been the same without him and anyone that gets him as a driver is very lucky.

Rebecca Fair, August 2017



 

We really appreciated our driver, Jerry, during our recent trip.  He drove for us on July 27-29 for the last 3 days of our 5 day trip.  He did a great job facilitating whatever we were interested in doing - horseback riding, walks, shopping, photo stops, restaurant reservations.  We couldn't have been more pleased.  He was patient and accommodating and a safe driver.  Thanks for a great trip!

John Kauzlarich, August 2017



 

 

Just got back to the USA  from our trip to Ireland. You provided us with a driver Charlie Nelligan.  Our group of 8 gents had the best experience with your Company. Thank you for providing us with a great gentleman in Charlie , he made our trip an experience of a life time!!!

Justin Bynum, July 2017



 

Good afternoon. I am writing this email in review of our guide/friend Roy Clarke. I just returned home 7/29. I had the pleasure of spending 7-8 days in the company of Roy and 17 of my friends.

      To say that Roy made our incredible trip even better would be an understatement. His knowledge, humor, and wit about Ireland and all it has to offer are second to none. I believe my friends would allow me to speak for them as well when I say that, Roy became one of us along this journey. This trip was phenomenal. Roy was outstanding. I plan on returning next summer with my family and Roy will be my first call to plan the trip and hopefully he will have time to spend a week or so with us.

Again, Roy was one of the highlights of this trip and I strongly encourage anyone considering a tour guide to request him. You will not be disappointed.

John Mahoney, July 2017




Figured I'd give you a quick note to give you an idea of how the trip went, little bit of feedback.
On a scale of 1-10, trip was a 12! No sugar coating here: first of all, the weather was outrageous!!! Not a drop of rain, sun...I got wind-burned at Ballybunion one day, sunburned the next day!! Never thought I would've needed my big hat, and sleeves to protect my Lousy Irish Skin( LIS,) but could've used them!!
Accommodations were excellent, with The Malton being my #1 pick( plus my cousins came by a few times, which was an objective of my trip.) Where do I begin with our driver, Johnny Whelan? Absolutely awesome!! Humorous, full of great history, and really bonded with us! He made the trip!!!
If I had to REALLY nitpick( microscopic!) I'd have to say the caddies could be a crapshoot; I had great luck with mine, except for one day. The caddies definitely work hard: as hard as those courses are, I only found ball in the rough. They're better than bird dogs; I noticed one of my caddies upset with himself because he couldn't find my ball( just as well, that rough is brutal!!)
Real great trip, thank you!

Tom Woinoski, July 2017



 

Hello Kerry Coaches,

A few weeks ago (July 1st to July 7th) myself and 3 others were on a golf package through Old Country Golf and Tours.

We had the privilege of having Tony as our driver for the week. We can honestly say that he made our week. He went above and beyond our expectations.

He is a great ambassador for your company and country. We had a great time and we will definably come back to Ireland.

Please give Tony a thank you from all of us

Gilbert Martin, M.D. July 2017



 

We just completed a seven day golf and touring vacation in  Ireland set up by Worldwide Golf Adventures.  Our guide, historian, driver and "commentator" was Ger Kelleher.  We have traveled all over the world and have had many guides in different countries.

 

He was the "best guide" we have ever had and his presence only added to the enjoyment of the trip.  We will return to Ireland within the next year or two and hope that he will be still part of the Kerry Coach team

Lee Weinstein, July 2017



 

I just returned from a father/son golf trip to Ireland (7/2-7/8/17) and wanted to share our wonderful experience with one of your drivers.  We (my father, my friend and his father) have never been to Ireland before but knew that it was going to be an incredible experience the second that we met Martin Farrell.  His passion and energy was contagious.  Martin took the reins and made our trip one that will never be forgotten.  I am a history buff and enjoyed his knowledge shared during every turn taken on our journey.    His sense of humor was off the charts and made us belly laugh regularly.  We all looked forward to hearing his voice every morning and couldn’t wait to see what was in store.  Our trip was a 10+ because of Martin.  We were so lucky to have had Martin Farrell show us the beauty of Ireland.  An incredible country filled with incredible people.  He taught us to not say goodbye but shared…”until next time”.  

 

So…”Until next time, my friend!"

Jubelier Party, May 2017 

A GUIDE FOR ALL SEASONS

My husband and I toured Ireland this May, excluding the North, with the best driver/guide we've ever had.  There are many very positive characteristics that differentiate Tony from other guides, at least in our experience. He was a delight to be with for eight days, always on time,very sensitive to our needs and capable of many an intelligent discussion.  His love of Irish history and culture is remarkable. We learned a lot. His suggestions for changes to our itinerary were improvements and well considered.  And he knows the best restaurants, sweets and coffee all over the island!

 Alison Fooks, Athlone Golf and Sports

Good morning All,

 

I wanted to follow up with you and sing the praises for Kerry Coaches and specifically your driver Martin. Our clients were very impressed with the service and Martin truly left a favourable impression. I am looking forward to using your services again.

 

Many thanks and we look forward to working with Kerry Coaches again,

Alison

Barry Cooper

Dear Sir,

 

My family and I recently completed a golf tour organized by Pioneer Golf out of Austin, Texas.

We had an amazing trip…..it was just awesome, and one of the elements that made it so good was our driver Derry O’Keeffe.  He was a wonderful guide, seemed to know everybody and went out of his way to make our stay an incredible success.

He organized dinners, tours, and was full of fun and knowledge and became an integral part of the group.

We just wanted you to know what a Gem you have in Derry. 

On behalf of the entire Cooper Party, copied above, we just want you to know how much we appreciated having Derry as our guide, driver and in the end …friend.

Mary Chevalier
Louisiana, USA

Mike Buckley-

As the manager, my husband Fred and I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for providing us with Tommy Buckley as our driver on our recent trip to Ireland.  We have never been to Ireland before, but fell in love with your country, largely because of Tommy.  He made sure we saw the most important, beautiful sights, visited the most incredible monuments and dined in wonderful restaurants!   He is an extraordinarily hard worker with an incredible work ethic, while having a GREAT sense of humor.   He can carry an Irish tune pretty well too J

Nothing was too much trouble for him as he worked to ensure we experienced one of the very best vacations we have EVER taken (--- and we have taken many.)

We hope to visit Ireland again to see other parts of your beautiful country.  When we do, we will want Tommy as our driver again --- he is an incredible fellow and terrific representative of your company.

Deanna Myres, Sublette

I am writing to let you know that we were so very pleased with the service that Kerry Coaches provided us this past week while in Ireland. There were three of us "girlfriends" celebrating our 70th birthdays, and we felt very blessed to be able to travel to Ireland to do that. Tommy was our guide and he couldn't have been nicer; he made Ireland really come alive! The two days traveling with him were the highlight of our trip! Please give him our thanks once more.

If your company ever needs a recommendation, please let me know; I would be more than happy to do that! Again, we thank you, and especially thank Tommy for making our birthday celebration so special!

Michael Slattery, Kansas

Our Slattery Family trip to Ireland from September 22-29, 2016 was an absolute success due to the exceptional service provided by our excellent coach driver Don O’ Donoghue. I asked each person in our family to send me an email listing 3-4 highlights of the trip and one of the constants in each response was our coach driver, Don O’ Donoghue. Here are a few of the responses I received regarding Don’s valuable contribution to the success of our trip:

  • My absolute top highlight was spending time on the bus with Don. Those Bill Clinton imitations, historical facts and Irish dialects were hilarious! “Bless his little Heart!”
  • It was such a joy seeing so many smiling faces that sincerely seem to enjoy life! This including Don how he went above and beyond to make our trip the very best!
  • Of course I will never forget Don. He is a great guy with a great Irish personality! Bless his little heart!
  • I’m sure Don will be on everyone’s list. I enjoyed all the facts he provided and his quick wit.
  • And Don, he will always have a special place in my heart and bless his.
  • Can’t think what the trip would have been like without Don and his incredible knowledge, sense of humor and caring for each of us.
  • “What a hoot!” Don was absolutely amazing, especially his knowledge of Irish history, story-telling, sense of humor, and his willingness to go the extra mile for any of us during the trip. What a great blessing it was to have Don escort us throughout Ireland

Thank you again Don for all you did to make our family trip such a success! It was truly a trip of a lifetime for each of us and you were such a huge part of that success.

Ken, Fran, & Jo Ann

Tommy, we wanted to let you know that we arrived safe & sound back in the Washington, DC, area late yesterday afternoon.

We very much appreciated our tour of Ireland that you took us on and the many insights on the places we visited. Also, your upbeat personality & genuine concern for us was most welcome. We definitely enjoyed our time with you.

Per our discussion as to how big Ireland actually is, I did a bit of research here that would put that question into a context most Americans could probably understand. It turns our that Ireland is very close in size to the U.S. State of Indiana, which has about 12% more land area than Ireland and about 2% more population and has a shape similar to Ireland in that it is taller than it is wide.

Again, many thanks for showing us so much of Ireland’s beauty and history.

Hal Cail

I just wanted to let Kerry Coaches and Hidden Links know what a tremendous asset our driver Ger O’Brien was to our entire trip. He was professional, informative, humorous and helpful beyond the call of duty. We all talked throughout the trip and on our way home how much fun Ger added to our experience. The trip was a ten but Ger made it 10 Plus Plus Plus.

A Customer

Rachel, again we had a fabulous trip. Although we are a pretty good group to travel together, Chris Threader was unbelievable. He fit-in like “one of the girls”, he is truly a keeper for Kerry Coaches and Carr Golf. Not sure who he really works for but please pass along our strongest outstanding compliments. We had Mike one day (EU rules and all) he too was wonderful and was a good fit. It may just be that all of the driver/guides are that good, but we do think Chris is a great pick for groups of women

.

Anthony W. Patten

I wanted to take a minute to express my sincere gratitude and thanks to one of your drivers, Ger Kelleher, who we had the pleasure of driving us around and keeping us company from Thursday, 22 Sept. thru Sunday, 25 Sept. 2016. He was a gentlemen in every sense of the word, a class act, and top-shelf. I honestly can not say enough good tings about this wonderful person and his responsible driving, while educating us about Ireland every mile of the way. Three business partners and myself were visiting Ireland for the first time for a long weekend to play three rounds of golf and Ger added to the magnificence of our Irish experience and in many ways, I am sure responsible for it. You are lucky to have Ger as an employee. With the Grace of God, should I have the opportunity to visit your fine, beautiful country, I can imagine it without Ger / Kerry Coaches at my side. Thank you, Ger!

Brendan J Contant

We had the pleasure of working with Martin Farrell this past week/weekend. He is absolutely terrific, and made our stay in Ireland that much more enjoyable. From coordinating our food/beverage, to getting us to our tee-times on schedule…and providing critical golf tips, he was the best!

Were you to ask a member of our group of 5 golfers to name the highlights of our trip, meeting Martin, would definitely be one of them. Having never used a coach service in the past, we are sure to book through you again and hope to have Martin look after us.

Keep up the terrific work!

Mike,

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for all your support across Cycle Against Suicide 2017. The fact that we had a coach as our mobile office allowed us the freedom to achieve what otherwise would have been impossible. The sight of the Coach driving get across Ireland filled me with pride every day as I realised how important the Cycle had become. I hope, going forward, we can continue our unique relationship with Kerry Coaches.

Regards,

Colm Hayes.
Interim Chief Executive,

Cycle Against Suicide.