One look at your calendar and you know – ’tis the season. No, not of giving, or even goodwill. It’s the season of greening. You all know St Patrick’s Day reaches well beyond Ireland these days, with March 17th celebrated as the day the world goes green. The spirit of St Patrick’s Day has essentially [...]

While we were all singing Auld Lang Syne and shaking the last drops from the supermarket champagne bottle on New Year’s eve, Derry-Londonderry became the first ever UK City of Culture. In times past on the blog, we have whisked our minds to the medium of song in order to convey a hint of the [...]

Before you even consider the January blues, get yourself a ticket to Dublin’s Tradfest (22-27 January) and let the toe-tapping fun begin What better way to survive the Christmas come-down than a festival with a six-day schedule promising over 200 free events and performances by some of the best known faces (and voices) in traditional [...]

So you’ve already heard about The Gathering. The “year-long, country-wide party”, the “celebration of all things Irish and of celebration itself” and “the best reason there’s ever been to come to Ireland”. You’ve heard golfer Padraig Harrington introduce it, the Celtic Tenors enthuse about it, even Conan O’Brien on how he’s joining the party. You [...]

In nine months and 39,000 nautical miles, the crews of the Volvo Ocean Race will have met gale-force winds, treacherous seas and sleep deprivation. After completing this ‘Everest of Sailing’, we can all agree that they deserve a party. Lucky  that knows just what to do. Ireland’s button-cute bastion of the wild west will welcome the race [...]

NI2012 does not think small. Exhibit A being the curtain rising on the Titanic Belfast visitor centre, with a city-wide Titanic Festival and extraordinary light show to mark the occasion. Seems they’ve only just begun too. The summer sees another three whopper events being wheeled out in typical overachieving style. From Jude Law, to ocean [...]

You expect to smell salt in sea air. You expect sea air to blow your hair back like your hairdryer never could. You might even expect sea air to carry Johnny Depp swinging into port with a rose between his teeth. This summer in Galway, the sea air will be carrying something even more special; [...]

Titanic Belfast is one of the most distinctive structures of this century – and it’s only 2012. The largest Titanic visitor experience in the world, Titanic Belfast is also the biggest ever investment project in Northern Ireland. Since it began taking shape almost two years ago, its distinctive angles have been a glittering and exciting [...]

I’m blogging right from the heart of the madness of St Patrick’s Parade in Dublin. I’ve got an eagle eye view from the bus and I’ll be keeping you updated throughout… stay tuned! 11.45 St Patrick’s Day has meant parades for as long as I can remember. But there’s another new tradition raising its cheerful [...]