Posts by rosa

Closed in April 2014 to allow for a scheme of works the reopening of Mellifont is welcome news. The reopening, running weeks overdue on the initial scheduled opening date of July 1st, has now taken place and the Abbey will remain open until 24th September. Mellifont Abbey in County Louth, was the first Cistercian Monastery…

Fáilte Ireland has this month released its list of Ireland’s top visitor attractions in 2013 with lists for fee charging attractions and free attractions.  Rankings are based on the figures gathered in the Fáilte Ireland Visitor Attractions Survey 2013 with the Guinness Storehouse once more topping the bill for the most visitors. Former Minister for Transport,…

The iconic Maureen O’Hara, star of such films as The Quiet Man, Miracle on 34th Street, The Black Swan and the Hunchback of Notredame may soon be granted the freedom of Dublin City if a recent request from the O’Hara family is accepted. Born Maureen FitzSimons on August 17th 1920 in Dublin, she often speaks…

Archaeologists in Scotland investigating the 2005 discovery of ancient skeletal remains in East Lothian are working on a theory that the remains could belong to the Irish Viking King Olaf Guthfrithsson. The excavated human remains are that of a young adult male who was buried with a number of items indicating his high rank, these…

A new book by Jheni Osman for Lonely Planet lists the Giant’s Causeway among the top show-stopping naturally occurring wonders of the world.  The book “The World’s Great Wonders” features the top natural wonders and the top man made wonders along with photographs and details on how the wonders were made and what makes them…

The inaugural flight by Aer Lingus from Dublin to Toronto took off this month.  This new service offers the first direct Dublin to Toronto flight by Aer Lingus allowing them to facilitate a growing number of visitors from Canada.  The service is planned to operate throughout the year with daily flights between Dublin and Toronto during…

The European Tour, subsequent to an agreement between the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, the Northern Ireland Executive and the European Tour, have announced the Irish Open venues for 2015 and 2017. The tournament will be played in Northern Ireland in both 2015 and again in 2017 giving immense momentum to a rota system that would…

Born in Dublin in 1923 Behan was a poet, novelist and playwright who penned works in the Irish and English languages.  He died on 20th March 1964 at the age of 41, a decade after his first play “The Quare Fellow” was produced in Dublin. Other well known works of Behan’s  include the Play “An…

In 2014 the St. Patrick’s Festival will take place from Friday 14th March to Monday 17th March. There is no place better to be on St. Patrick’s day than in Ireland.  The day itself, always on the 17th March, is a national holiday in Ireland and parades take place in all major cities and dozens…