“You won’t forget your first time.”

We’ve incorporated that aphorism in our ongoing travel initiative and contest, titled “The ‘Wild West’ of Ireland,” now in Day 12 of 25. According to one recent visitor to the ‘Wild West,’ NCGrandma, this may be equally true of your first time traveling with our partner Wild West Irish Tours.

Photos: Tourers walking on Sligo's Inishmurray Island, and happy 'Wild Westies' checking in with their feelings.

Ten days ago, NCGrandma posted her review of a just-completed tour led by Wild West Irish Tours’ Michael Waugh on TripAdvisor.com’s Irish Travel Forum. She wrote the headline “Wild West Irish Tours - the experience of a lifetime.” It seems Michael and Trish, his partner in business and life, have made yet another raving fan of both his tours and the rugged West of Ireland.

NCGrandma drove herself and a friend around Ireland a few years ago, so she has a benchmark for comparison. I found her praise not only heartfelt, but remarkable.

“People ask me what my favorite part of the trip was and I cannot answer,” NCGrandma writes. “The depth of this tour is unreal. You see the beautiful land, you feel the stones that date back to 5,000 bc, you smell the peat burning in the stoves, you taste the local specialties, and you hear of the true Ireland, her history and her music, from HER people.”

I’ve often felt that the most vivid imprint of my life’s journeys are left by the people I’ve encountered, so I have to nod my head in accord. I can still remember a freckle-faced redhead I saw on a bus in Dublin in October 1973. I was 20, new to Ireland, abroad for the first time in my life, and a sucker for redheads with freckles. I wanted to chat her up, but girls, especially beautiful girls, terrified me. I demurred. But I’ve never forgotten that encounter, and count it a highlight of my remarkable nine-month sojourn living in Dublin.

Photo: Film star Maureen O'Hara, another Irish ginger that turned quite a few heads.

NCGrandma further writes, referring to her newly completed Wild West Irish Tour: “Our heads were full but our hearts were even fuller. . . . We learned of the great famine. We learned so much. We felt so much. We cried when we left our b&b. We cried when we left each other.”

‘Nuff said!

Tell us why YOU want to experience the ‘Wild West’ of Ireland, and you might win a free 9-day trip there, courtesy of Wild West Irish Tours and WOW Air. Get the details!