Ireland claims tantalising cuisine, mind-blowing scenery and some of the wittiest locals you will ever meet – but alas none of these treasures will fit in your suitcase. Lucky for you we also channel our creativity into design, with some quite brilliant results. From hand-blown crystal to hand-thrown pottery to hand-shot (they use a gun) rugs, [...]

Nope, you are absolutely NOT dreaming. Your eyes are merely adjusting to what happens when a photographic genius like Peter Gordon plants himself in the multicoloured Wicklow Mountains. We’re quite literally speechless so it’s over to Peter the images from his new book and .                     [...]

It’s the depths of winter on a windswept peninsula jutting out into the fierce Atlantic. In a small fishing village, the streets of pastel, button-cute shop fronts are quiet… except for the faint whisper of an acoustic guitar. The strumming grows louder approaching the village’s tiny, 200-year old church, where inside, holding the guitar, is [...]

“Exquisite”, “visually stunning”, “as funny, free and beautiful a piece of theatrical entertainment as you will ever see”;  the reviews of ‘Donka: A Letter To Chekhov’ had me itching to see it. Critics were light-headed with delight after the dreamy, spectacular Cirque de Soleil-style show and I wanted to join them. One small problem: its [...]

We’ve got a secret to tell you. You know those big, chunky Aran sweaters that make Ireland’s farmers so snug when they’re bringing in the sheep from their field on the windswept Atlantic coast? Well, they’re magnetic. You see, wearing one of these wooly wonders makes you a thousand times more likely to be hugged [...]

“What’s the best thing about Galway?” My taxi driver is the latest local I’m mining for an insider take on the city du jour. “The best thing about …” he taps the steering wheel thoughtfully, “is that it’s so laid-back”. Too true. If this beacon of bohemian was anymore laid-back it would roll right off [...]

When Colorado student Sarah McNaughton planned her four month trip to Ireland, she was prepared for all the clichés. ‘Friendly locals’, ‘green hills’, ‘the craic’ – but ‘home is where the heart is’ she wasn’t expecting. I used to think ‘home’ was easy to define. It didn’t even require thought; every time a new acquaintance [...]

He may not be the talk of the dinner table, but we owe a huge debt of gratitude to the Frenchman Joseph Nicéphore Niépce. He’s the brainy chap who devoted his life’s work to invention and ultimately (well, with a little help from some Italian brainboxes a few years previous) took the world’s first ever [...]

Ok, yes – we are in love with our Summer Festivals. It’s a love that demands to be expressed through song – and not just any song either. Summer festivals had us a blast, but summer festivals happen so fast… So with sincerest apologies to Mr Travolta, Ms Newton John, assembled cast, musicians and writers [...]

Galleries and museums line our lovely streets, packed with art, artifacts and exhibits, from the modern to the ancient. Open their doors and you’ll find a veritable library’s worth of stories that’ll keep you as enchanted as any of our myths and legends… Yes, if we’re honest, we find the tales behind each of these [...]