Guest Posts
Galway Sea Festival June Bank Holiday Weekend
If you find yourself in Ireland on the June Bank Holiday weekend (May 31st- June 3rd) why not head to Galway, on the west coast where all things maritime will be celebrated in a new festival? The new four day festival is family friendly and all events are either affordable for families to attend or free. From beach safaris to seafood trails, sandcastle competitions & sand sculpting workshops to windsurfing, day cruises and tours of the Irish Naval vessel LE Aoife, there is something for everybody. Don’t miss the spectacular Parade of...
read moreAlong the beautiful Barrow towpath
Do you have a grá (Irish for love!) for the hidden gems of Ireland? Would you like to enjoy nature, scenic beauty, mystery & history, romantic ruins, cozy stone-built buildings, plus a nice cup of coffee & a bite to eat after a gentle bit of exploring? Then Graiguenamanagh & St. Mullins are for you!
read moreThe Secret Life of Inishmaan By Sophie Moss
The Secret Life of Inishmaan By Sophie Moss Author of the Seal Island Trilogy “Don’t go to Inishmaan,” a pink-cheeked Irishman warned early Sunday morning outside the ticket booth in Galway. “There’s nothin’ to do there.” Twenty minutes later, bumping over the hillsides of Connemara in a bus, a Dubliner asked, “Why are you goin’ to Inishmaan? “There’s nothin’ there.” Inishmaan is a small island, thirty miles off the west coast of Ireland. It’s the middle island in a strand of three that make up the Aran...
read moreHiring a car in Ireland…a must for seeing the country
When my daughter picked us up from the airport in Dublin, speeding off onto the motorways of Ireland, my dad and I were second guessing our plans to hire a car on our own. First off if you’re not familiar with a right hand drive on the left side of the road, you may be a bit daunted but don’t be!! Hiring a car in Ireland was one of the highlights of our 3 week trip and we only wished we had done it sooner than during the latter portion of our stay. We decided on beginning our journey in Cork and hired the car from the airport. It...
read morePodcasts.ie ~ Bringing voices from Ireland to the world
Press Release Podcasts.ie ~ Bringing voices from Ireland to the world. Lovers of Irish Literature, Music, Culture, Heritage and the Arts might like to know about a podcasting website developed by a Sligo based media company. Podcasts.ie ~ Voices from Ireland, is a website delivering high quality free audio content from Irish writers of poetry, prose and song as well as documentaries, story telling and radio style programmes about our culture, heritage and the arts. Podcasts.ie is the brainchild of Jho Harris and Sinéad McClure of All Points...
read moreAnd It’s Straight I Will Repair To the Curragh of Kildare
Often seen by visitors from their train seat or through their car window, Kildare is a county that rewards the visitor who stops and spends some time. Overlooked by the magnificent mountains of Wicklow to the East, the flat boglands of Kildare are rich with biodiversity. Here you will see the ancient craft of turf (peat) cutting, still done by hand using a ‘Sleán’ as well as modern mechanised cutting. Plants that grow here include Bog Cotton (Eriophorum vaginatum and Eriophorum angustifolium – Irish Ceannbhán) and the carnivorous...
read moreSt. Patrick’s Day Memories
The 17th of March signifies so much for me; obviously being Irish it’s filled with all the razzmatazz of our national holiday. However it wasn’t always such a glitzy affair; long before it was recognised as a the proverbial tourism pot of gold, St. Patrick’s Day was a temperate holy day of obligation. However, I like to think that despite the current big-budget blitz, its essence as our national day is as strong as ever. When I was a kid we viewed St. Patrick’s Day as welcome break in the sweet and sugar drought that is the forty long...
read moreIreland Top 5 golf courses
Although Scotland is more commonly associated with world class golf, Ireland boasts some epic courses of its own and in some quarters it is actually considered to be the home of the best links courses in the world. Of course the sheer beauty of both the Irish coastline and the tranquil surrounds of the inland countryside lend themselves to the construction of some great golf courses and with so many up and down the Emerald Isle, we thought we’d narrow it down to five of the best. So from North to South, East to West, here are five Irish...
read moreDublin with a Difference: 5 Special Places to Stay
If you travel a lot, chances are you’ve had enough of bland hotels and identikit accommodation. Fortunately for those travelling to Dublin, Ireland’s capital city has a range of hotels, B&B, and self-catering as full of character and personality as a true blue Dubliner. Here are some of our favourite places to stay in Dublin: No 25 Eustace Street One of the first things every visitor to Dublin notices is the abundance of graceful Georgian buildings, with their elegant lines and beautiful architectural features. Well, now you can stay...
read moreBuild your Irish road trip with MyDiscoverIreland
MyDiscoverIreland is a new website that travellers can use to plan their road trips. The free trip planner helps travellers to personalise their road trips in Republic of Ireland & Northern Ireland with the benefits of finding the tourist hotspots include cultural attractions, museums, outdoor attractions, historic hotpots and scenic areas on either side of the direct route. MyDiscoverIreland is different to other route planners, with normal route planners directing tourists along the A – B routes. MyDiscoverIreland will display...
read moreHidden Walks in Limerick City
It is not immediately evident to Limerick’s visitors that the city possesses quite a few walkways where it is possible to find a peaceful sanctuary within the confines of bustling city life. Below we will describe how to locate these hidden treasures, and how each one has its own unique style. Each of these walks can be completed in half an hour or can be expanded to take a few hours. The Canal and Beyond As you are leaving the city from the direction of the Dublin Road, just after the turn off to the Abbey Bridge, the pathway...
read moreContent Needed! Do You Have What It Takes?
Picture me, sitting at home, browsing the web, poring over pictures of Ireland, reading Irish history, delving into my memories, doing my best to muster up pieces of information that people visiting Ireland might find useful. Now picture you doing it! Yeah, that’s right – I want YOU to contribute to this blog! I’m looking for people who, like me, want to promote a little piece of Ireland. If you live in Ireland, or you’ve spent time in Ireland, and you have something to share that others might benefit from, then get in touch. Here are...
read moreTen Great Reasons to Visit Killarney
If you’ve ever been tempted to skip Killarney because you thought it was too much of a tourist trap, it’s time to dig a little deeper. True, Killarney has more experience with visitors than any other town in Ireland, but this does not mean you will be assailed with neon leprechauns, overpriced accommodation, or inedible “Irish” food on your arrival. The simple reason why the tourist industry is so developed in Killarney is that few other places in the world offer such an incredible wealth of things to see and do. Here are...
read moreTraditional Irish Breads – Soda Bread Recipe
In Ireland in the 1800s, bread making was a very important part of everyday life. More often than not, bread was made in the house by the housewife; it was never bought from bakeries. Over the many years of bread making in Ireland, two similar breads became the most popular. Soda bread, most popular in Southern Ireland, is made with soft flour and baking soda instead of yeast. Brown bread, more popular in northern part of Ireland, is made the same way but uses stone ground whole grain flour instead of white. Both breads are to this day very...
read moreIrish Road Trips – 5 Of The Best
The entire island of Ireland is full of delightful and spectacular places. There are historic locations, tourist attractions, and natural wonders everywhere. If you are not in Ireland for long enough to explore it all, then you need to pare down your itinerary to just the best trips. Read on to discover PassSmart’s top five Irish road trips, to help you get the most out of your adventure in Ireland. 1) County Clare Drive through County Clare for a road trip that combines natural splendor with many points of historical interest. Drive...
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