Cycle the Great Western Greenway, Co. Mayo If you’re wondering what all the fuss is about cycling, take this short off-road trip at a leisurely pace along the old railway line from Westport to Achill Island. You’ll pass over and under bridges, meet wandering sheep and enjoy the colours of the Nephin Mountains along the way. The 42km-trail can be done in a day, but we stopped off in Mulranny for a night. There, what seems like an ordinary roadside pub, Daly’s, opens up to the most magnificent views across Clew Bay from the back. Leave time to explore Achill Island too – YG While you’re at it: Don’t miss […]
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 […]
Tralee and Lismore named as the best tourism towns in Ireland In their annual Tourism Towns Awards, Fáilte Ireland awarded Tralee and Lismore with a certificate and a grant of €5,000 towards further tourism development Wed, Nov 25, 2015, 16:00 Updated: Wed, Nov 25, 2015, 16:04 Joan Scales Tralee and Lismore have been crowned the top large and small tourism towns, respectively, by Michael Ring, TD Minister for State for Tourism and Sports. The Fáilte Ireland annual tourism awards recognise those towns that do their best for tourism and where all sectors have supported the strengthening of their local welcome. Each town will receive a certificate and a grant […]
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,” […]
Barfly: Porterhouse Temple Bar, Dublin Nineteen years after it opened, the chain’s first Dublin pub is thriving Porterhouse Temple Bar: walls are heavy with craft beer bottles, the stairwell lined with awards. It’s 19 years since Porterhouse opened their brewhouse on Parliament Street in Dublin 2. It wasn’t such a busy spot then: craft beer was foreign, Temple Bar was in its infancy, the boom was a pipe dream and a group of young men taking on the might of the brewing industry seemed like a crazy waste of time. Nearly two decades, six bars, a devoted customer base and multiple awards later and they seem to have made their […]