Thursday, September 1, 2011

Croke Park

September is the month for sport fans!
All Ireland finals are held in Football and Hurling at the GAA stadium, Croke Park. Croke Park is the largest stadium in Ireland and holds 82 300 spectators.

The stadium was the scene of a bloody massacre in 1920, when the British backed Royal Irish Constabulary entered the stadium during a Dublin-Tipperary match and killed or fatally wounded 14 spectators and players. In the spirit of reconciliation Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II visited Croke Park during her state visit to Ireland in May 2011.

But Croke Park is much more than just a sports stadium, it also hosts international music superstars like U2, Westlife and Take That. Croke Park offers world class meeting rooms and offers a comprehensive conference package. One of the latest and maybe most unexpected developments has been that you can now get married on the hallowed pitch!
The GAA Museum is hosted in the Croke Park stadium, in all fairness there is no better place for it. The museum traces the birth and growth of the GAA in Ireland and abroad, and shows the unique role the GAA has in the national movement and cultural revival in Ireland. The GAA museum was refurbished in 2010 and is bigger and better than ever!

Check out their website Croke Park for more information.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Glasnevin Museum

What to do when you think you’ve done it all?


Glasnevin Museum opened at Glasnevin cemetery in April 2010. It quickly got a reputation as a worthwhile destination for a day out. It is a must see Dublin attraction for anyone interested in Irish Heritage & Genealogy. The exhibitions show the social, historical, political and artistic development of modern Ireland through the lives of the generations buried in Ireland’s Necropolis – 1.5 million people have been buried here.

The cemetery is the largest in Ireland , it opened in 1832 as somewhere Irish people of all religions could bury their dead – it has developed to become a national monument of historical importance.

The Museum is modern and shows the heritage of past generations – showing us and future generations the legacy they have left us.

There is a large permanent exhibition that shows the burial practices and religious beliefs that lie behind this important ceremony. With such a large number of burials and the large expanse of space covered by the cemetery a meticulous record keeping is essential and the exhibition shows you how this is managed.
There is also two galleries with a succession of special exhibitions. Currently the census from 1911 is featured in a specific show until the end of August – so go now to make sure you don’t miss it! The census from 100 years ago shows the way Dublin was, how people lived and died.
Heritage Week is on this year from 20th to 28th August, in Glasnevin they are offering free admission from 5 pm to 9 pm. There is also a free tour of the cemetery at 5.30 pm. There are also 2 free talks, one on 23rd August at 7.3 pm about the census 1911. On the 25th August there is a talk on Michael Collins.

Find more information and details on the museum check out their website glasnevinmuseum.ie

Monday, July 4, 2011

A good day out for the summer holiday!

The kids are off school – what do you do to fill the days?
Dublin and the surrounding counties have a plethora of choice when it comes to family attractions.
One of the newer additions is Tayto Park. Located outside Ashbourne, Co Meath, it is easily accessible from Dublin in a car or by train. Family tickets and season tickets are available.
Check out their website here

The main attraction for the slightly older children is the exciting “sky adventure zone” that includes a climbing wall, a sky walk and air jumpers – all very popular so if you are in the park early go here first to avoid the queues. 
There is a large playground, a factory tour, pets corner and falconry displays at weekends.
For your mealtimes there are picnic tables if you want to bring your own lunch, there is also a lovely restaurant that serves sandwiches and dinners – all at reasonable prices. The cute “tea house in the tree house” serves coffees and ice cream.
The native American village has teepees where children gather around for story time – at weekends there is face painting and balloon animals for the children to enjoy.

It might sound strange, but a potato in a jacket has built a pretty good adventure park for the whole family!

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

St Patrick's Day

Saint Patrick's Day (Lá Fhéile Pádraig) is a religious holiday celebrated throughout the world on 17 March. It is named after Saint Patrick (c. AD 387–461), the most commonly recognised of the patron saints of Ireland. It originated as a Catholic holiday and has been an official feast day since the early 17th century.

Over the years the colour green and its association with Saint Patrick's day has grown, green ribbons and shamrocks were worn in celebration of St Patrick's Day as early as the 17th century. He is said to have used the shamrock, a three-leaved plant, to explain the Holy Trinity to the pagan Irish, and the wearing and display of shamrocks and shamrock-inspired designs have become an ever-present feature of the day.

In 1903, Saint Patrick's Day became an official public holiday in Ireland and the first Saint Patrick's Day parade held in the Irish Free State was held in Dublin in. Although secular celebrations now exist, the holiday remains a religious observance in Ireland, for both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland.

The first Saint Patrick's Festival was held on 17 March 1996. In 1997, it became a three-day event, and by 2000 it was a four-day event. By 2006, the festival was five days long; more than 675,000 people attended the 2009 parade. Overall 2009's five-day festival saw close to 1 million visitors, who took part in festivities that included concerts, outdoor theatre performances, and fireworks.

So, what does the St Patrick’s Day Festival have in store for us in 2011? Running from Wednesday the 16th to Sunday the 20th of March they have a vast array of events for young and old!

There’ll be Funfairs in Merrion Square, Wolfe Tone Park and Custom House Quay to light up the city with top-notch carnival attractions, from carousels to roller coasters, family attractions to ferris wheels!

Where: Merrion Square
Date: Wednesday 16th of March - Sunday 20th of March
Time: Wednesday 18:00 - 23:00, Thurs - Sun 11:00 - 23:00


Where: Wolfe Tone Park
Date: Wednesday 16th of March - Sunday 20th of March
Time: Wednesday 17:00 - 20:00, Thurs - Sun 11:00 - 20:00


Where: Custom House Quay
Date: Thursday 17th of March
                                                                  Time: 10:00 - 20:00


There will be Comedy Nights on Friday the 18th and Saturday the 19th in the Laughter Lounge on Eden Quay. For St Patrick’s weekend The Laughter Lounge have 3 top class Irish comics; Paul Tylak, Ian Coppinger and Joe Rooney ‘Father Damo’ from Father Ted. ‘Text in the City’ - The audience begins the night by texting in suggestions to the comedians on stage who have a huge mobile phone screen behind them – and then it is up to the comedians to make these text messages as funny as possible!
Dates: Friday 18th and Saturday 19th March
Time: Doors 7pm.  Show 8.30pm
Tickets: €25 available


We Irish love the Craic so needless to say there’ll be a Céilí or two around the city (so be sure to bring your dancing shoes!!)

In the Stephen’s Green expert callers will lead you through dances such as the Siege of Ennis, the Walls of Limerick and lots more. The Céilí is open to all - young and old, beginners and self proclaimed pro’s. Watch, learn and dance; you’ll be doing jigs and reels in no time!!
Date:                Wed, 16th March
Where:             St. Stephen's Green, Dublin 2
Time:                4:30 pm

Kilfenora Céilí band will also feature in the National Concert Hall. 102 years and still on the road! From village parties in the early 1900s to bigger dances in the ‘30s, broadcasts in the ‘40s, commercial recordings in the ‘50s, foreign tours in the ‘60s right down to their current international profile, each new generation of Musicians slots in seamlessly. The Kilfenora features fiddles, flutes, banjo, and squeezeboxes, they have consolidated their position as one of the world’s greatest and longest running Irish céilí bands.
Date:                Wed, 16th & Thurs, 17th March
Where:             National Concert Hall
Time:                8:00 pm

And, lets face it, St Patrick’s day just wouldn’t be St Patrick’s day without the Festival Parade!
The St. Patrick’s Parade will open the festival with a dazzling display from street theatre troupes, artists, dancers and marching bands.  Thousands of onlookers will line the parade route as many millions more can tune in to the RTE 1 broadcast on TV and live streaming on-line.

Date:                 Thu, 17 Mar
Where:             City Centre, starting at Parnell Square, Dublin 1
Time:                12:00pm