Who needs a sat nav in Ireland when you have the wonderful Irish way of calculating distance: it all depends on when you have to be there. Guest Blogger and regular visitor Gerard Britt explains. One of the many things that fascinated me about Ireland was its monastic history. And the site that fascinated me [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

It’s no secret our little island is quite adept at ‘the craic’. It might seem we never shut up about our year-round festivals, buzzing pubs, dashing sports… But even we fancy a good get-away-from-it-all sometimes. Taking off into the countryside with a yoga mat, easel, fishing rod or a simple picnic tucked under our arm, [...]

I’m blogging live from the big bus leading Dublin’s St Patrick’s Day parade, and providing minute-by-minute updates of all the madness from the very heart of it! The other guys on the bus, by the way, are media people from across the globe, and they seem to be loving it! They’re all on the top [...]

Readers and St Patrick’s revellers, prepare yourself for a shock: Ireland was not actually the first place to host a St Patrick’s Day parade. We have the wonderful city of Boston, Massachusetts, to thank for starting that, now legendary, tradition. It was back in 1737 when a group of homesick Irish immigrants marched through the [...]

There’s a saying in Ireland that you may or may not have heard. It goes ‘The craic was mighty!’ and it means  you’ve had a great time somewhere. It’s also a phrase that Micheál Ó Domhnaill is well used to hearing. Music group Dervish making beautiful music on Livetrad Micheál is the musical maestro behind [...]

With days getting longer and the sun making a welcome return, our minds have turned to sport. Gaelic Games to be precise. So to get the lowdown, we asked sports journalist and all-round mega-fan Paul Rowley to tell us exactly what he knows about these great games… We’ve heard hurling can look like a cross [...]

Here are a few of the random facts I knew about Belfast up until today – The Titanic was built there It’s home to the chiseled architectural beauty that is Queen’s University St Anne’s Cathedral has the largest Celtic Cross in Ireland The actor Liam Neeson and writer C.S. Lewis were born there (okay, in [...]

There have been many visitors to Ireland who have admitted to leaving their heart behind. When guest blogger Charles Berkoff visited, he didn’t misplace his heart, but he did misplace his glasses. Little did he know that leaving his specs on a Dublin bus would tell him all he needed to know about Irish hospitality… [...]