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FRANCIS BRENNAN’S GRAND INDIAN TOUR

Nurse Karen Hurley with Francis Brennan, Francis Brennan's Grand Indian Tour, RTÉ One Image Name: Nurse Karen Hurley with Francis Brennan, Francis Brennan's Grand Indian Tour, RTÉ One Description: Nurse Karen Hurley with Francis Brennan, Francis Brennan's Grand Indian Tour
Francis Brennan's Grand Indian Tour, RTÉ One Image Name: Francis Brennan's Grand Indian Tour, RTÉ One Description: Andrew McKenna, Nollaig McAndrew, Eddie Mc Daid, Edel Corcoran, David Martin, Francis Brennan, Josephine Walsh, Sean O’Mahony, Jo Coughlan, Kathleen Mac Donald, Karen Hurley, Deirdre McDonagh and Noreen Coughlan - Francis Brennan's Grand Tour, RTÉ One
Francis Brennan's Grand Indian Tour, RTÉ One Image Name: Francis Brennan's Grand Indian Tour, RTÉ One Description: (LtoR) Nollaig McAndrew, Eddie Mc Daid, Andrew McKenna, Deirdre McDonagh,Karen Hurley, Francis Brennan, Jo Coughlan, Edel Corcoran and Sean O'Mahony - Francis Brennan's Grand Tour, RTÉ One
Francis Brennan's Grand Indian Tour, RTÉ One Image Name: Francis Brennan's Grand Indian Tour, RTÉ One Description: Deirdre McDonagh, Eddie Mc Daid, Kathleen Mac Donald, Karen Hurley, Nollaig McAndrew, Andrew McKenna, Tour guide Davinder Singh, Francis Brennan, Josephine Walsh, David Martin, Sean O'Mahony, Jo and Noreen Coughlan and Edel Corcoran. Francis Brennan's Grand Tour, RTÉ One
Francis Brennan's Grand Indian Tour, RTÉ One Image Name: Francis Brennan's Grand Indian Tour, RTÉ One Description: (LtoR) Andrew McKenna, Edel Corcoran, Karen Hurley, Noreen Coughlan, Kathleen Mac Donald, Jo Coughlan, Nollaig McAndrew, David Martin, Josephine Walsh, Eddie Mc Daid, Francis Brennan, Deirdre McDonagh and Sean O’Mahony - Francis Brennan's Grand Tour, RTÉ One
Francis Brennan's Grand Indian Tour, RTÉ One Image Name: Francis Brennan's Grand Indian Tour, RTÉ One
Francis Brennan's Grand Indian Tour, RTÉ One Image Name: Francis Brennan's Grand Indian Tour, RTÉ One
Francis Brennan's Grand Indian Tour, RTÉ One Image Name: Francis Brennan's Grand Indian Tour, RTÉ One Description: Nollaig McAndrew, Kathleen Mac Donald, Jo Coughlan, Edel Corcoran, Deirdre McDonagh, Francis Brennan, Noreen Coughlan, Eddie Mc Daid, David Martin and Andrew McKenna. - Francis Brennan's Grand Tour, RTÉ One
Francis Brennan's Grand Indian Tour, RTÉ One Image Name: Francis Brennan's Grand Indian Tour, RTÉ One

Francis Brennan’s Grand Indian Tour – series 1, episode 2

BILLING

This summer Francis Brennan is putting his 5 star day job on hold and taking 12 paying guests on the surprise trip of a lifetime – to India! This week Francis’s tourists experience the extremes of this incredible country with a walking tour of the backstreets of Delhi, followed by a visit to the majestic Taj Mahal. But how do they cope with the searing 51 degrees heat?

 SYNPOSIS – episode 2 – AGRA 

This summer Francis Brennan is putting his 5 star day job on hold as he takes 12 paying guests on a surprise trip of a lifetime to India’s Golden Triangle.

Before leaving Delhi, Francis takes the group on a street tour with the Salaam Baalak Trust. The charity helps provide a safe and caring environment for Delhi’s street children. To raise funds they take tourists on walking tours through the back streets of the old city. The trip is an eye opener and many in the group are moved when they meet some of the young people for whom the Trust has been life changing.

Financial Advisor Sean O’Mahony from Co Cork admits: “I’m going to go home a changed person”. Pre-school teacher Kathleen Macdonald from Co Dublin admits being taken aback by the poverty, saying: “I didn’t think it would be as poor … it was quite shocking”.

Later the group is on the move and Delhi is left behind as they take a 4 hour coach journey to Agra, home of the world famous monument to love, the Taj Mahal.

But first stop is the impressive Agra Fort. Agra was once the capital city of the Mughal Emperors, who ruled India from the 16th to 19th century. However, not all of Francis’s group are impressed by a trip to a fort. Surely the next port of call, the majestic Taj Mahal, won’t disappoint!

One of the world’s most famous buildings, the Taj Mahal attracts over 8 million visitors a year. It was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a monument to love following the death of his beloved wife.

The monument visit evokes deep emotion from the tourists. Eddie McDaid from Donegal has thrown himself into work since the death of his wife Christine, but now says that he will return home and make some big changes; “I’m going to retire and have a life”. Cancer survivor Deirdre McDonagh from Co Dublin said; “The fact that I am alive and here is great”.  The Taj Mahal is rightly one of the highlights of Francis Brennan’s Grand Indian Tour.

 

 

Francis Brennan’s Grand Indian Tour is a brand new 6-part series, airing on RTÉ One, beginning Sunday 17 July 2016 at 8.30pm.

Francis Brennan, star of RTÉ’s At Your Service, is Ireland’s best-known hotelier. He’s also a man with a serious passion for travel.

This summer he’s putting his 5 star day job on hold and taking 12 paying guests on a surprise trip of a lifetime – to India!

Francis has planned a 1000km round trip of India’s Golden Triangle – beginning in the capital city Delhi, then onto Agra, home of the majestic Taj Mahal. From there the group travels onto the ‘Pink City’ of Jaipur, followed by a tiger safari in Ranthambhore National Park.

With temperatures hitting a record breaking 51 degrees the heat is on for Francis. Can he stay cool as he deals with fistfuls of facts and figures and a jam-packed 24/7 schedule that leaves no room for error? Not to mention the threat of Delhi belly!

 

Guests on Francis Brennan’s Grand Indian Tour:

Deirdre Mc Donagh & Kathleen Macdonald

53 & 52,  Co.Dublin

Deirdre and Kathleen are lifelong best friends who met at primary school and are now neighbours. They are also Scout leaders and both have a long list of hobbies including knitting, golf, walking, book clubs, backwoods cooking, cycling – and even stained-glass making. They brought the knitting needles on the Tour and had the bus making friendship bracelets!

Deirdre works as a credit controller for Car Zone.ie, and Kathleen is a Montessori Pre-School teacher.  Deirdre and Kathleen went to India leaving their husbands, teenage children and brown Labradors (another shared interest) back at home.

Noreen & Jo Coughlan

53 , Charleville Co.Cork &  45 Bruree Co.limerick.

Noreen and Jo are sisters and best friends. Both sisters are married with no children and they both help look after their elderly parents. Noreen is a full-time carer for their mother, and Jo works as a part-time hairdresser / part-time farmer, working on the family’s cattle farm.

The sisters really wanted to go on the Grand Tour as it had been 17 years since their last “wild” holiday together! They are both fashion mad and both sport some great outfits in India, with lots of bling, including silver shorts!

Josephine Walsh

53, Bantry, Co.Cork

Prior to going on the Tour Josephine had never travelled on her own without her husband.  As a B&B owner she rarely gets the opportunity to travel as she is tied up with the running of the business 24/7.

Once Francis broke the news to this charismatic landlady that the mystery destination was India, Josephine immediately called her husband, proclaiming; “India! India! You’d never book a holiday to India!”

 

Karen Hurley

24, Co.Cork

The baby of the group is 24 year old nurse Karen from Ballincollig.  Karen lives at home with her two parents and brother. She works night shifts, and joined the Tour as she wanted a completely different experience. She is also a huge fan of Francis Brennan!

As a nurse Karen came in very handy in India to help Francis deal with his tourists maladies, which for many included the notorious “Delhi Belly”!

Eddie McDaid

66, Co.Donegal.

Eddie is the eldest in the group. He runs his own painting and decorating business. He is a widower as his wife Catherine died of cancer ten years ago. They had plans to travel after they retired but sadly that was not to be.

Eddie is the least well travelled in the group – his travel abroad is limited to  Benidorm in 1971 for his honeymoon, and then spent 4 days in Italy many years ago.  He loved going on the Tour as it meant he didn’t have to travel alone.  When on the trip Eddie came to a realization that when he returns home he is “going to take it handy and consider retiring”.

 

Edel Corcoran & Nollaig McAndrew

Both 28, both Gardaí

Friends Edel & Nollaig met during the fitness test when applying for the Gardaí Síochanna.  Nollaig is originally from Ballina, Co.Mayo, but is currently placed in the Galway Garda Station. Edel is from Newcastle Co Dublin and is based in Dublin.  Edel describes herself on her application form as an ‘easy on the eye Garda’. The Gardaí had done their investigative work before leaving and correctly guessed that their mystery destination was India!

Sean O’Mahony

43, Co.Cork

Sean is a Financial Advisor from Mallow in Co.Cork. Sean is an animal lover, and was one of the few in the group lucky enough to see a tiger in the Ranthambhore National Park (episode 5).

In episode 2 we see Sean with the Salaam Baalak Trust who run a street walking tour (the same tour that Prince William and Kate Middleton took recently when visiting India). Sean was very moved by the poverty and the inspirational work done by the charity, “I’m going to go back a changed person, because we have so much at home compared to what they have here”.

David Martin & Andrew McKenna

40 & 41,  Wicklow

The hairdressing husbands met online on a dating app 5 years ago, and have been married (civil partnership) for the last 2 years. They work together in their  salon.

The couple admit that the Grand Tour really brought them out of their comfort zone. In episode 1 they describe how they feared for their lives on their first day in Delhi when Francis organised a rickshaw ride along Delhi’s chaotic streets and around the hectic Chandni Chowk market. Andrew said “for me it was like a warzone”.