General Questions about the 2018 Clan Gathering
1. When will the Clan Gathering be held?
The 2018 O’Dea Clan Gathering will be held from Thursday 10 May 2018 to Sunday 13 May 2018.
2. Where will the Clan Gathering be held?
- The main location for the event will be the Old Ground Hotel, O’Connell Street, Clonroad Beg, Ennis, Co. Clare, Ireland. A map of the location is available here:
3. Where can I find information about the programme for the Clan Gathering?
- A printer-friendly version of the programme is available here: ODea Clan Gathering 2018 – Programme
- You can view the event details here: Event Details
4. How much does it cost to attend the Clan Gathering?
- €180 per person for paid up members of the O’Dea Clan Association – 28 February 2018 closing date for member rate applies.
- €210 per person for non-members and all registrations from 1 March 2018.
- Under 12s free / Under 16s half price – please note prices for trips and medieval banquet for children are the same as adult prices.
- Registration Fee includes: registration, receptions, lectures, entertainment, day trip to Dysert O’Dea, farewell banquet.
5. How can I plan and organize my travel to and from Ennis?
We suggest that you contact your travel agent.
6. How can I find accommodation in and around Ennis?
Information about accommodation establishments in and around Ennis can be found here: Accommodation Information for the Clan Gathering – Ireland – 2018
Your travel agent may also be able to assist.
7. What if I have some more questions about the Clan Gathering to be held in May 2018?
If you have any further questions about the Clan Gathering, please contact the organizers by email: Contact the Organizing Committee
Questions about Registering for the 2018 Clan Gathering
8. Do I have to be a member of the Dysert O’Dea Clan Association in order to register for the Clan Gathering?
No. Anyone can register for the Clan Gathering. You do not have to be a member of the Dysert O’Dea Clan Association to register for the Clan Gathering.
9. Can I register for the Clan Gathering and pay later?
Unfortunately not. The organizers can only accept a booking if payment is made with the booking.
If you are booking online, the booking will only be completed once the online payment has been processed.
If you are planning to pay by Check/Cheque/Bank Draft/Postal Order, your payment must be submitted with your booking form. Only Checks/Cheques/Bank Drafts/Postal Orders in Euro can be accepted.
10. Can I reserve a place at the Clan Gathering and pay later?
Unfortunately not. The organizers can only accept a booking if payment is made with the booking.
Questions about Membership of the Clan Association
11. I am a current member the Dysert O’Dea Clan Association. Can I get a discount when I register for the Clan Gathering to be held in May 2018?
Yes. There is discount on your Clan Gathering registration fee if you submit your booking by 28 February 2018.
12. I am a member the Dysert O’Dea Clan Association. Can I get a discount for other members of my household when I register for the Clan Gathering to be held in May 2018?
Yes. If one person within a household is a member of the Dysert O’Dea Clan Association, then all members of the household can register at the special rate for members as long as the registration is received by 28 February 2018.
13. I am not a current member the Dysert O’Dea Clan Association. Can I join the Clan Association and then submit my registration for the Clan Gathering to be held in May 2018?
Yes. You can join the Clan Association online. The process is quick and simple and your membership will take effect immediately: Online Membership Form – New Membership
Once you have joined the Clan Association, you can then submit your registration for the Clan Gathering to be held in May 2018 at the discounted rate as long as your registration is received by the closing date of 28 February 2018.
14. I’m not sure if I am a financial member of the Dysert O’Dea Clan Association. What should I do?
If you are not sure about whether you are a financial member of the Dysert O’Dea Clan Association, please contact the organizers here: Contact the Organizing Committee
Questions about How to Register for the 2018 Clan Gathering
15. How do I register for the Clan Gathering?
If you wish to attend the Clan Gathering in Ennis, you can submit your registration online and pay online via PayPal using your credit card or debit card, or your PayPal account, or you can complete a registration form and pay by check/cheque. Only checks/cheques in Euro can be accepted.
If you wish to register online and pay online, you can do so here: Register and Pay Online
If you wish to pay by Check/Cheque/Bank Draft/Postal Order, you can download a Registration Form here: Registration Form
Once the form has been completed, you will need a Check/Cheque/Bank Draft/Postal Order in Euro for the total amount owing made payable to O’Dea Clan Gathering.
Please mail your Registration Form together with your remittance to:
James O’Dea, 91 Blackheath Park, Clontarf, Dublin 3, D03 X594, Ireland
16. Do I need to logon to the Clan web site with a web site username and password to make a booking?
No. There is no need to logon to the web site with your web site username and password to make a booking.
Questions about Booking Online
17. How do I make an online booking?
If you wish to register online and pay online, you can do so here: Register and Pay Online
The online booking system consists of 2 forms:
- An order entry form where you enter the details of your booking.
- A payments form where you enter your payment details.
On the order entry form, please select the options you wish to book for and enter the name(s) of those who will be attending. You may also enter details of any special dietary requirements and/or any special requests.
Once you have made all your selections and entered the necessary information about your booking, you can press the Submit button to proceed to the payments form.
NOTE: There is no need to logon to the web site with your web site username and password to make a booking.
18. What if I make a mistake with my online booking or I change my mind?
If you need to change your booking before you complete your payment, press the Back button on your browser to return to your order entry form. You will then be able to make the necessary corrections before you press the Submit button.
If you need to change your booking after you have completed your payment, or if you have any questions about your booking, please contact the organizers here: Contact the Organising Committee
19. Can I book for any of the optional activities after I’ve submitted my booking?
Yes. If you discover that you have omitted an optional activity from your booking or if you later decide that you want to participate in one or more of the optional activities which were not part of your original booking, you can submit another booking for just those optional activities.
20. What if I encounter problems when trying to submit an online booking?
If you have any difficulties using the online system or if you have any questions about booking online or paying online, please contact the Webmaster: Contact the Webmaster
21. If I have to cancel my booking for any reason, can I get a refund?
You can send a cancellation request by contacting the Organizing Committee here: Contact the Organizing Committee
Please note refunds will not be possible after 1 February 2018.
Questions about Paying Online
22. When I submit an online booking, what options do I have for paying for my booking?
Online payments are processed by PayPal. This means that we can accept credit card and debit card payments without the need to become a credit card merchant.
When you submit your payment using PayPal, you have 4 payment options:
- If you have a PayPal account, you can transfer funds from your PayPal account.
- If you have a PayPal account and you have a bank account linked to your PayPal account, you can pay by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) from your bank account.
- Credit Card (Visa, MasterCard, etc. depending on your home country).
- Debit Card (Visa, MasterCard, etc. depending on your home country).
In order to pay using a credit card or debit card, you don’t have to have a PayPal account before you make the payment but PayPal will invite you to create a PayPal account after you enter your credit card/debit card details.
23. Why has PayPal been chosen to handle the online payments?
PayPal has been chosen because it best meets our key requirements:
- Safety and security.
- Cost-effective way of handling a small volume of transactions.
- Inexpensive way of handling small amounts.
- Provides the customer with a choice of payment methods (funds transfer, credit card, debit card).
- Enables the Clan to accept credit card and debit card payments without the need to become a credit card merchant thus avoiding the high costs that this entails.
- Easy to integrate with our own web site to make it easier for the user.
- Simple to use.
- Ability to handle multiple currencies.
In addition, the Clan Association has been using PayPal for several years now to enable members to pay their membership subscriptions online and we’ve successfully used PayPal to handle the payments for online bookings for the 2nd Australian Clan Gathering held in Adelaide in 2010, the 3rd Australian Clan Gathering held in Adelaide in 2013, the 9th International Clan Gathering held in Ennis in 2014, and the 3rd American Clan Gathering held in Niagara Falls in 2016.
24. Do I have to pay any extra fees for making an online payment via PayPal?
No. There are no extra fees charged by PayPal to you, the consumer, for making an online payment. You may find that there are certain fees charged by your bank or your credit card provider but these would the same fees that apply to any transaction of that type.
The only fees charged by PayPal are transaction fees which are charged to the merchant, not the consumer. These fees are paid by the organizers of the Clan Gathering.
25. How is this different from the Clan Association operating as a credit card merchant?
If the Clan Association was to become a credit card merchant, there would be many other fees in addition to a transaction fee for each transaction such as establishment fees, joining fees, annual administration fees, monthly access fees, minimum merchant service fees, and credit card authorization fees.
26. Do I need to have a PayPal account to use PayPal?
If you are using your credit card or debit card you don’t need to have a PayPal account to use PayPal. However, if you wish to make payment by transferring funds from your PayPal account or your bank account, you will need to open a PayPal account.
27. Is it safe to use PayPal?
Yes, it’s very safe. The likelihood of fraud occurring when you submit an online payment via PayPal is very small. This is because of the high level of security that is employed. For example, sensitive data transmitted over the Internet is protected by the SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) protocol with an encryption key length of 168 bits (the highest level commercially available).
In any event, PayPal provides a 100% protection against unauthorized payments sent from your account. As a fraud-prevention measure, PayPal sends an email confirmation for every online PayPal payment that you make. If you receive an email confirmation for a transaction that you didn’t approve, you can contact PayPal to report the issue — you won’t be responsible for any unauthorized charges.
28. What happens once my payment has been submitted?
Your payment will be processed by PayPal. Once your payment has been processed you will receive a receipt by email. This email is sent automatically by PayPal. This will contain details of your booking and your payment. This is your booking confirmation.
29. What if I don’t receive an email from PayPal?
It normally takes a few minutes for the email receipt from PayPal to arrive. If you don’t receive an email within an hour after you have submitted your payment, you should first check your Junk email folder to see if it has been flagged as suspicious. If you can’t find it anywhere, please contact the Organizing Committee: Contact the Organizing Committee
Questions about Other Payment Options
30. I’m not comfortable about booking online or paying online. Are there any other options open to me?
Yes. If, for any reason you do not wish to book online and pay online, you can download and print a registration form and pay by Check/Cheque/Bank Draft/Postal Order. Only Checks/Cheques/Bank Drafts/Postal Orders in Euro can be accepted.
If you wish to pay by Check/Cheque/Bank Draft/Postal Order, you can download a Registration Form here: Registration Form
Once the form has been completed, you will need a Check/Cheque/Bank Draft/Postal Order in Euro for the total amount owing made payable to O’Dea Clan Gathering.
Please mail your Registration Form together with your remittance to:
James O’Dea, 91 Blackheath Park, Clontarf, Dublin 3, D03 X594, Ireland
31. If I decide to download the Registration Form, what should I do next?
The Registration Form you download from the web site is an interactive PDF (Portable Document Format) form. This form can be used as a “fill-and-print” form or a “print-and-fill” form. A “fill-and-print” form means that you can enter your information in the form and then print it. A “print-and-fill” form means that you can print a blank form and complete the form by hand.
Once the form has been completed, you will need a Check/Cheque/Bank Draft/Postal Order in Euro for the total amount owing made payable to O’Dea Clan Gathering.
Please mail your Registration Form together with your remittance to:
James O’Dea, 91 Blackheath Park, Clontarf, Dublin 3, D03 X594, Ireland
32. If I download the PDF file containing the Registration Form and I fill in the form by typing the required information into the file, will my booking be accepted if I send the file to the organizers by email?
Unfortunately not. The organizers can only accept a booking if payment is made with the booking.
33. If I wish to pay by Check/Cheque/Bank Draft/Postal Order, can I choose a currency other than Euro?
Unfortunately not. Past experience has shown that currency exchange rate volatility can have an adverse impact on the budget for the Clan Gathering so we need all payments to be made in Euro. No other currencies can be accepted.