It’s the giddy first day of your holiday, you suck in a tantalising first breath of your exciting new surroundings, and bound into the hotel lobby with the springing step of someone whose office is thousands of miles away. Key card in the slot and open sesame! You’re in your deliciously calm, crisp-sheeted room. What [...]

Imagine, for a second, the most powerful man in the world is coming to your house for tea. What – on earth ­– do you cook? Well, Mary Ryan went for homemade bread and salmon sandwiches when President John F. Kennedy came round. He brought quite an entourage of security and admirers, not to mention [...]

With years of gracing the covers of travel brochures and magazines, Carrick-a-Rede has to be the supermodel of bridges. It has a classic striking profile: light rope bridge hanging precariously over a chasm of rocky cliffs and blue-green waters. It’s tall, like any leggy model, at 23 metres above the crashing Atlantic. And it has [...]

Standing outside the red brick Holywood Arches library in East Belfast is a rather peculiar statue. The piece consists of a well-dressed man opening a wardrobe like he’s looking for a pair of clean socks. But he’s not looking for socks, reader – he’s looking for another world. Step around to the other side of [...]

Now you all know us Irish are humble to the bone, and are loath to ever mention our accomplishments. (Except for when we pointed out that we make the best bartenders, and when we highlighted our rugby prowess, oh and when we just stated the fact that our wit is so sharp we’re practically an [...]

Bet you thought all the best Irish festivals happen during the summer. And bet you thought live Irish music was mostly Céilís and Bodhráns, with the odd sell-out U2 stadium affair or screaming-tweens Westlife gig. Well have we got an October for you. The tuxedos and sparkling gowned-ticket-holders tottering around will be your first clue [...]

It’s 100 years ago. The Manhattan Bridge has just connected Canal St to Brooklyn, Henry Ford has already sold 10,000 cars and the young aviation industry has yet to ‘take off’. In Belfast, the noise of the hammering of rivets echoes around the city from the Harland & Wolff shipyard. There, a local workforce of [...]

Readers, I’m warning you: I’m about to say something painfully geeky and tech-obsessed. I reckon there are two distinct phases in a person’s life, divided by the discovery of the magical world of Apps. When a person is Before Apps (B.A.) their phone is just a communication device; it makes calls, sends messages, and they [...]

“I burn fat not fuel!” Words of wisdom from cyclists buzzing around Ireland’s cities. They’re totally right, of course; there they are saving the planet, beating traffic and getting great exercise in a pleasant, wind-in-your-face, world-at-your-feet type of way. And if you, too, are a committed member of the two-wheeled tribe, listen up. Our neatly-sized, [...]

County Clare is preparing for the tide of dancing and romancing that rushes in with the upcoming Matchmaking Festival Picture, for a moment, an Irish farmer in September, carefully reviewing his To Do list and scratching off his tasks: 1. Gather harvest Tick. 2. Shoe horses Tick His eyes fall to the final line: 3. [...]