Posts filed under 'Ireland'
On a very hot and humid Thursday, July 17, 2008, I was fortunate enough to attend a reception for An Taoiseach Brian Cowen, TD, in New York. It was held at the residence of Niall Burgess (consul general of Ireland in New York) and was in honor of the first official visit of Mr. Cowen to the US as prime minister. The event I attended was to introduce the leader of the Republic of Ireland to the travel trade in the USA who specialize in tourism to Ireland and also served as an opportunity for Mr. Cowen to reiterate the importance of tourism to the island of Ireland and the commitment of his administration to support tourism during such a challenging time.
July 26th, 2008
The Galway Races has become the greatest of all Irish Racing Festivals and probably the most lavish, colourful and sociable fixtures in the Irish Racing World. It is not only a great sporting event, but also a unique social occasion filled with atmosphere, passion and craic, and attracts both the true racegoer and socialites alike.
The excellent racing, oyster bars, champagne and beer tents, jazz bands, trade stands, race card competitions and even a best-dressed lady competition on Thursday, combine to ensure there is something for everyone and be part of what is truly an unforgettable experience.
Buses to and from Galway City to Race Course during races.
July 23rd, 2008
A report on RTE states how the CEO of Ireland based airline Ryanair (Europe’s largest air carrier) forsees major changes in the airline industry in the short term future.
Here’s what he had to say:
Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O’Leary says he believes in the next five years all European airlines will have merged with the big five airlines.
He said there would be no independent airlines such as Aer Lingus.
Mr O’Leary was appearing before the Joint Committee on Transport, which is considering air access to regions outside Dublin and fuel increase charges.
‘It would be better for Aer Lingus to be owned by a man from Mullingar who guarantees no fuel surcharges, than some anonymous person in Frankfurt or Paris’, he said.
July 16th, 2008
It may be a very small village in northern Donegal, but Ballyliffin Golf Club will certainly put this village on the world Golfing map this coming weekend when it hosts the Irish Seniors Open from Thursday to Sunday. According to the European Tour, this year’s event will be contested by the strongest field in the event’s 12 year history.
Among the competitors are last year’s winner Constantino Rocca and 2008 Wales Seniors Open runner up Ian Woosnam along with Sandy Lyle and Sam Torrance from Scotland, Seji Ebihara of Japan, Carl Mason of England and Des Smyth, Eamonn D’Arcy, Denis O’Sullivan and Joe McDermott of Ireland.
Woosnam and Lyle are Seniors Rookies, both reaching the 50 mark this year and have shown considerable form to date.
June 16th, 2008
You may say that I am biased but I believe that Ireland is probably one of the best places on planet earth for a vacation or holiday. Ireland will never provide us with the sunshine and balmy days of Florida or Italy but nobody travels to Ireland for that type of experience. When the sun shines it’s a very welcome added bonus and gives the wonderful features of the real Ireland an even better ambiance.
If only to boost my view, last week I read an article in the New York Times where DAN BARRY (the NYTimes This Land columnist) shares an experience that confirms Ireland as a destination not to be missed
May 27th, 2008
These past few days have been a reckoning for the aviation industry as no less than three air carriers have gone belly up, with a few more probably to follow. Apparently, the environment to operate an airline now is pretty tough, with rising fuel prices and a softening economy exacerbating other factors such as aircraft efficiency and labor costs to the point where several carriers have just shut their doors without warning and at least one more (Champion Air) plans to do so shortly.
April 5th, 2008
As we approach the traditional feast day of Ireland’s patron Saint, Patrick, on March 17, it is interesting to note that in 2008 the religious celebration of it was moved by the Church to Saturday, March 15 to avoid a conflict with the start of Holy Week. Arguably one of the most famous saints (along with probably Saint Nicholas and Saint Valentine), Saint Patrick’s Day is celebrated worldwide in both religious and secular fashion. Even though Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, the first public celebration of his feast day was actually organized by the Charitable Irish Society in Boston and held in 1737. Today, celebration of the day has turned into a week long affair in Dublin with parades, parties, dancing and much more. Indeed, most of the world has embraced the day and added to it in their own special way. Nevertheless, it remains the quintessential Irish day of celebration by the Irish, Ireland’s diaspora and the Irish for a day.
March 16th, 2008
The Irish National Caucus based in Washing ton DC in a post dated 11 Jan 2008 titled National Geographic Loses Its Way on Ireland has forced that fine organisation to change how it refers to the British Isles.
In its Travel Catalog 2008- 2009 National Geographic gets lost even before it embarks on its guided tour of Ireland, May 11-24.
“Who wants to go with a travel company that is so geographically
confused and disoriented?” asked Fr. Sean Mc Manus, president of the
Capitol Hill-based Irish National Caucus.
January 27th, 2008
As someone who has travelled extensively and passed through Dublin Airport a few times a month over the last few years, I certainly welcomed the announcements of the development of Pier D and of the second terminal. While the extension of the baggage hall a few years ago took some pressure off for arriving passengers, here was a real opportunity to solve some of the problems caused by the over-crowding that has been so prevalent for so many years. That’s the theory.
In October of this year, the Dublin Airport Authority acclaimed the opening of Pier D
Finally some progress? I would have thought so.
In my new role with myguideTravel, based in West Cork, I have fewer occasions to use Dublin Airport however the story of one of our valued Guests on Tuesday last, December 11th makes me think that some things never change:
December 13th, 2007
Thursday, November 1st, 2007 was a day of celebration in the myguideTravel offices. It wasn’t that we enjoyed a record haul of candy on Halloween but rather that our contract with the Scottish airline flyGlobespan expired. For those of you unfamiliar with them, please allow me to explain why it was such a joyous occasion. In late 2006, we partnered with Ireland West Airport Knock to establish the first scheduled trans-Atlantic air services from it to the USA. The team at IWA Knock worked tirelessly to get the service up and r
unning and we supported the launch of the non-stop flights to Boston Logan and New York JFK airports by taking a hard block of inventory from flyGlobespan on all their departures. It was a massive financial commitment for us but we felt that it was a prudent investment and that we were entering into a mutually beneficial partnership with the airport authority and airline to ensure the success of the endeavor. There was plenty of enthusiasm on both sides of the Atlantic and, with Tourism Ireland also offering support, we were convinced it was going to be a success. Boy, were we wrong!
November 11th, 2007
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