If walls could talk, they’d whisper stories, putting tales and characters into your head: which is, of course, exactly what a good book does. Books inspire, provoke, inform, excite. They set down histories, and make markers for their times. So, as the new Museum of Literature Ireland (MoLI) opens its doors to the public on Culture Night, what exactly will it do that a good book can’t? When you’re lost in a book, the characters come alive. We all know the feeling, when a TV or film adaptation just doesn’t cut it. The hero’s hair isn’t how you imagined it. That’s not the street you pictured. Jane Austen was clever: […]
A whistlestop tour of Donegal’s Inishowen Peninsula on the Wild Atlantic Way Sitting at the table beside us in Farran’s bar, the most northerly pub in Ireland, was a group of tourists from Atlanta, Georgia. Like us, they had come for comfort food after exploring the breathtaking scenery on a blustery day in Malin Head. One tells the server: “I ordered a chicken and ‘tomayto’ sandwich.” “Tom-Ato, you mean,” quips the friendly barman as he lays the dish in front of the American. “You won’t find any tomaytos ‘round here…” It’s this inimitable Irish charm that makes our brilliant little island one of a kind… After a little chuckle to […]
Get to a festival in Galway In summer, it seems like every weekend is host to a fiesta of some sort, whether it’s a ginormous music festival or a tiny village bash. But Galway is the king of festival season – from the summer races to the Film Fleadh, from the September Oyster Festival to the explosion of theatrics, music and art that is the annual Arts Festival. The streets are alive with performance, with illuminated puppetry taking centre stage. There’s a cracking food scene in Galway all year round, so keep an eye out for the April food festival too – NB While you’re at it: Grab a bite […]
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 […]
Travel Writer, Mayo: “Because it wasn’t vineyards and bistros we initially had a feeling of being hard done by. We were, of course, entirely wrong.” Emma Sides chooses Belmullet over Bordeaux and discovers a holiday she didn’t know she would appreciate “Blind Harbour’s secret beach within a beach, reached by clambering through a small cave, still gave me a thrill and brought me back to boogie boarding on wooden surfboards (purchased in Cornwall in the 1950s) and cartwheels and handstands on the sand to warm up after.” Last summer, trying to save money, we ditched our plans for a continental holiday and exchanged Bordeaux for Belmullet, pretty much as far […]
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 […]
Skellig Michael: Is 6th-century rock star selling out to a galaxy far, far away? The Force Awakens Graham Clifford PUBLISHED06/09/2015 | 02:30 SHARE ‘Star Wars’ is coming back, but should it be a welcome guest on ancient Skellig, asks our reporter. SHARE Just days old, the little bird would easily fit into the palm of my hand. Nestled between the stone walls of a monastic beehive hut, the grey, fluffy storm petrel chick is sheltered from the elements. In another corner I hear a Manx shearwater cooing as the winds roll in from the Atlantic. This is Skellig Michael, monastic rock, ecological paradise and since last year, a film set. […]
It was an exciting and successful weekend of competitions, concerts, céilithe and sessions as the Comhaltas 64th Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann was celebrated by an estimated 400,000 throughout Sligo. The biggest event to have ever been hosted in Sligo, organisers estimate that attendance was up 30% on the previous year. Sligo seemed to pulse with Irish rhythm and revelry as age-old traditions were celebrated by fresh generations. The Fleadh Cheoil featured a week-long festival of fun with over 250 events and in excess of 8,000 competitors taking part in the All Ireland Fleadh competitions. Sligo spared no effort ensuring an entertaining event-packed programme that brought the world’s premier festival of […]