Celebrate Chinese New Year in Dublin

Dublin City are celebrating the Chinese New Year with a festival that runs from the 12th to the 21st February. 2010 is the year of the Tiger and in Chinese culture the Tiger is characterised by vigour, bravery, loyalty and sometimes unpredictability. While the Irish economy can do with some vigour and bravery, we may hope for less of the unpredictability.

Many major cultural institutions are taking part in the celebrations, including the Hugh Lane Gallery, National Museum, National Library and Dublin Zoo.
The Chester Beatty Library will host "Telling Images of China" an exhibition of Chinese paintings from the Shanghai Museum.
Dublin Zoo has been graced with the birth of two new tiger cubs "Wyneta" and "Emas" and will host a variety of events to celebrate the year of the Tiger.
Check out details of the full programme on Dublin City Councils website.

Trinity Capital Hotel is doing a special Bed and Breakfast rate for people attending the Festival, check availability on www.trinitycapital-hotel.com Promo code is CHINANY, rates start at 99 Euro per night.

Changes to Dublins Docklands

With the opening of the Samuel Beckett Bridge done in December last year, the Grand Canal Theatre opening in March and the Convention Centre Dublin opening in September this year things have definitely changed in Dublin City Centre. The stunning and modern bridge provides a new link between the two river banks, it has 2 lanes for traffic in each direction as well as ample space for pedestrians and push bikes. The bridge is in a perfect location for anyone going to the O2, Grand Canal Theatre and the Convention Centre.

The 2000+ capacity Grand Canal Theatre is scheduled to open in March 2010 and will host ballet , music concerts as well as musicals and theatre performances. The opening event will be the Russian State Ballet performing "Swan Lake" with 70 dancers it is sure to be an experience to remember for anyone in the audience.

The Convention Centre Dublin is set to open in September 2010, and with capacity for up to 8000 participants it is going to bring thousands of people to Dublin in the years to come.

Strike at Dublin, Shannon and Cork Airports

Strike action that will ground more than 150 flights in and out of the country today is set to escalate, aviation authorities warned.
Dublin, Shannon and Cork airports are expected to shut down for up to four hours despite airport chiefs and airlines calling for the stoppage by air traffic controllers to be called off.

Aer Lingus said 64 services in and out of Ireland have been cancelled although most of the carrier’s long-haul and transatlantic flights survived the disruption.
Ryanair, which is cancelling 48 flights affecting 6,000 passengers, called on military air traffic controllers to step in and keep the airports open.

Read more: www.Breakingnews.ie

Photographic Exhibition from the war of Independence

The National Photographic Archive in Temple Bar is showing a special exhibition of pictures taken between 1920 and 1923 by WD Hogan. The photographs in the exhibition include action shots of military activity as well as images of famous figures like Arthur Griffith and Michael Collins. The exhibition starts on the 16th January and is open Mon-Fri 10am - 5pm and Sat 10am - 2pm

See more details on their website: www.nli.ie

We are offering low rates at the moment, so why not stay the night in Dublin as well? Check out our website for rates as low as 55 Euros in the Grafton Capital and 75 Euros in the Trinity Capital. www.capital-hotels.com

Trad Fest in Temple Bar

Temple Bar Trad Fest is back from the 27th until 31st January.
It was launched yesterday with a performance by the Kilfenora Ceili band on the roof of the Clarence Hotel.
Listen to this for a taster of what to expect in Temple Bar at the end of the month:


More details on the Temple Bar Trad Fest website: www.templebartrad.com

Christmas Market in Dublin

"12 Days of Christmas" returns to the Dublin Docklands this December from the 12th to the 23rd December. Food Stalls that offer every thing from BBQ'd German sausages to a Choclate Fountain. Gift shops that offer jewellery, picture frames and handicrafts. All to the sound of the Blanchardstown Brass Band, carol singers and other music.
A Santas Grotto is set up in the Chq building to let the little ones tell Santa what they want!

Check out their website at: 12daysofchristmas for more information.

If you are going and need somewhere to stay the Trinity Capital Hotel is only a 10 minute walk away and are doing great offers this December: www.trinitycapital-hotel.com

Christmas at Trinity Capital Hotel

We offer Christmas Lunch and Christmas dinner for parties of 10-80 people. Check out our menus and prices on http://tinyurl.com/yatstoj
We offer private dining in "No 26" for parties of 20 or more. Call us on 01 648 1071 to check availability for your event.

Total Xposure at the Trinity Capital

Sean Munsanje, the winner of TV3's Total Xposure, was in the Trinity Capital Hotel for an interview with Vip magazine. We were delighted to welcome him and his parents to the newly opened rooms, and wish him all the best in his new career!

The Trinity Capital Hotel expands again!

The Trinity Capital now has 195 bedrooms!

We are proud to open 23 sumptious new bedrooms, all spacious and with high ceilings. Some have exposed brickwork from the old fire station that used to be housed in the building. The striking colour scheme that the Trinity Capital is known for is continued in the new rooms, with artwork that will definitely catch your eye. All the new rooms are air-conditioned and have free wireless internet access.



Make your next reservation direct with the hotel and mention the blog and we will give you a free upgrade to one of these rooms! email sales@capital-hotels.com to avail of this offer or book on our website www.trinitycapital-hotel.com

Decline in tourism to Dublin

As the dreaded financial crises continues the number of people travelling to Dublin is in decline. For the first time since 1952 the number of overseas trips by the Irish is outnumbering the number of visitors coming in to Ireland. Occupancy in Dublin dropped to 66% in 2008 from 72% in 2007.

The good news for people travelling is that this is resulting in great value offers as competition increases. Check out our website www.capital-hotels.com for more information.