Some 2020 highlights include: A Connemara mountain landscape will be illuminated as an epic spectacle by Finnish light artist Kari Kola. Druid Theatre takes Ireland’s greatest 20th century one-act plays to towns and villages across Galway county. American artist David Best, of Burning Man fame, will create a major new work with young people from Derry and Galway. Giant Mirror Pavilion by Irish artist John Gerrard, set first in the Claddagh basin and later in 4,000 year-old Connemara bog. Dramatic new interpretation of literary epic Gilgamesh by Galway master storytellers Macnas, written by Marina Carr and designed by Julian Crouch. Margaret Atwood as part of t International Women’s Day celebrations. […]
Fab Fermanagh: Is this Northern Ireland’s best-kept secret? Year of Food & Drink 2016 5Finn Lough’s transparent domes. From delicious cafés to domes under the stars, Lorraine Courtney says Fermanagh makes a super short break. Fancy seeing the heavenly bodies peppering Fermanagh’s ink-black skies from one of Ireland’s quirkiest new hotel rooms (above)? I spent a January night counting shooting stars in the middle of a Fermanagh woodland – and all while snuggled under the duvet. Designed by Belleek’s Ronan Lowery, Finn Lough’s transparent domes are very snazzy with four-poster beds crafted from local oak, a Nespresso machine, two cosy armchairs, fluffy robes and a telescope for gazing at the […]
Travel TV: Ireland’s most romantic settings for Valentine’s Day Destination V-Day Pól Ó Conghaile Twitter EMAIL PUBLISHED01/02/2016 | 19:30 SHARE Travel TV: Six of Ireland’s most romantic settings for Valentines Day Video by: Donal Corkery 360p high 00:00 / 03:00 Looking for a romantic setting for a getaway, canoodle, or to pop a certain question? Here are our 10 top suggestions! SHARE 1. Galway City The City of the Tribes (see video) beat off stiff competition from Dublin, Kerry, Cork and Kilkenny to be named Ireland’s most romantic spot by Swizzel’s Love Hearts last year, and there’s certainly no shortage of ways to dance with romance here. Steal a kiss […]
Happy birthday, brew you: Guinness Storehouse toasts 15th anniversary Deirdre Reynolds PUBLISHED02/12/2015 | 12:18 SHARE 4The Guinness Storehouse. Photo: Deposit Happy birthday, brew you – the Guinness Storehouse toasts its 15th anniversary in the capital today. SHARE The former fermentation plant famously underwent a massive €42 million facelift in 2000. A decade and a half on, the St James’s Gate attraction is expected to welcome its 14th million visitor this year. Celebrating the occasion, Guinness Storehouse Managing Director Paul Carty told Independent.ie: “When we first opened, our target was to welcome one million visitors. I saw that as very far off in the distance and stretching things to say the […]
Happy birthday, brew you: Guinness Storehouse toasts 15th anniversary Deirdre Reynolds PUBLISHED02/12/2015 | 12:18 SHARE 4The Guinness Storehouse. Photo: Deposit Happy birthday, brew you – the Guinness Storehouse toasts its 15th anniversary in the capital today. SHARE The former fermentation plant famously underwent a massive €42 million facelift in 2000. A decade and a half on, the St James’s Gate attraction is expected to welcome its 14th million visitor this year. Celebrating the occasion, Guinness Storehouse Managing Director Paul Carty told Independent.ie: “When we first opened, our target was to welcome one million visitors. I saw that as very far off in the distance and stretching things to say the […]
Delphi Resort: At peace after banishing my fear of yoga Connemara Elle Gordon PUBLISHED23/11/2015 | 02:30 SHARE 1Delphi Adventure Resort Wellness Room An entire weekend of yoga. Sounds like a dream to most people. However, I felt chills down my spine at the thought. SHARE That is because I’m just not . . . how do I put it . . . bendy. I had visions of myself sweaty and frazzled, surrounded by a room full of smug people smoothly moving into pretzel-like positions. Yet my weekend of yoga turned out to be among the most enjoyable and peaceful few days that I have had in a long time – […]
Ireland by Instagram: Top travel photographers showcase Ireland to 3.5 million followers #TalesOfIreland Online Editors PUBLISHED04/12/2015 | 12:20 SHARE 8Dún Briste, Co. Mayo. Photo: Conor MacNeil Four of Britain’s top travel photographers have been sharing images of Ireland with millions of fans on Instagram. SHARE The snapshots of iconic landscapes, buildings and hidden gems were shared by Ruairidh McGlynn, James Wright, Allan Hinton and Conor MacNeil as they ventured along some of the country’s most spectacular driving routes this autumn. The #TalesOfIreland campaign, a collaboration between Stena Line and Tourism Ireland, saw the photographers split into pairs and hit the road in classic 1973 VW campervans for an action-packed weekend. […]
Ireland’s 100 Best Places to Stay – and they’re surprisingly affordable “It’s about authenticity” Pól Ó Conghaile Twitter EMAIL PUBLISHED12/03/2015 | 06:48 SHARE 7Newforge House, Co. Armagh McKennas’ Guides has published its 100 Best Places to Stay in Ireland, with some fascinating inclusions… and exclusions. SHARE The influential guide features 12 new entries this year, ranging from Dublin’s five-star Marker Hotel to Glencarrig Farmhouse B&B on Co. Clare’s Loop Head peninsula. Ard Na Sidhe in Co. Kerry – recently voted one of the world’s best affordable places to stay by Condé Nast Traveler – also makes the cut for the first time. Cork City’s River Lee Hotel is new to […]
666 years in the making, is this Ireland’s most haunted house? Loftus Hall’s devil in the detail Pól Ó Conghaile Twitter EMAIL PUBLISHED30/03/2015 | 22:46 SHARE 5Loftus Hall at Halloween. A group of paranormal investigators claims to have encountered “major temperature drops” and electro-magnetic field spikes at a house said to be Ireland’s most haunted. SHARE Irish Ghost Hunters (IGH) visited Loftus Hall on Wexford’s Hook Peninsula to carry out several paranormal investigations this March. The spectre-seekers found “major temperature drops” as well as “significant spikes” in electro-magnetic fields (EMF) in some areas of the house, they say. “Our team is scientific, we don’t work with psychics or mediums,” […]
The terrifying – but funny – world of the disgruntled TripAdvisor reviewer Ireland’s grumpiest visitors Joe O’Shea PUBLISHED12/08/2015 | 02:30 SHARE 7The Rock of Cashel at sunset. They’re our top attractions, but to some caustic critics, the Cliffs of Moher are ‘just cliffs with vicious parking fees’ and the Book of Kells is ‘old and dirty’. Joe O’Shea unearths the funniest TripAdvisor reviews… SHARE The Rock of Cashel is “just a rock and some ruins”, Blarney Castle is “basically hell on earth” and Cork’s famed English Market is “full of smelly fish shops”. Don’t even think about going to the Cliffs Of Moher, all you will see is “fog and […]