The effect of St Patrick’s Day reaches well beyond Ireland these days, with March 17th celebrated as the day the world goes green. There are 70 million people all over the world claiming links with our fair isle (and sure who could blame them?) and they want to join in the craic. That carefree St [...]

“There is a sense that something big is on the horizon”, says Belfast author Susie Millar. I’ve asked her about the atmosphere in the city at the moment. Belfast of course built the legendary Titanic and plans to mark the 100-year anniversary with nothing less than a festival, firework-laced opening of a Titanic visitor centre [...]

It’s almost that time again. The time to wrap up warm, grab a gloved-handful of coins and your closest friend, and pay a seasonal visit to Ireland’s sensational Christmas Markets. By Caitlyn Johnson. Let us set the scene: cinnamon-scented streets, rows of can’t-go-home-without-it stocking fillers, live festive music wafting along with the smells of mulled [...]

You know how Hollywood movies always portray Halloween as this amazing city-wide fiasco? Perfectly-carved pumpkins flicker grotesque grins, candy appears by the bucket-load, ghosts and goblins creep out of every corner and every character has an amazing costume (the studio costume department probably helps). How sad that life is never how it appears in the [...]

You’ve probably been hearing about Belfast lately. I know I had. All ‘Snow Patrol’ this and ‘Duke Special on the Waterfront’ that and ‘Oh that’s just Rihanna shooting a music video’ – it felt like it was about time I listened up. My iPod ticking with appropriate soundtrack (Snow Patrol, Two Door Cinema Club, Cashier [...]

Picture it: you’re astride a late model BMW motorcycle feeling the wind play about your face as you slice through the fragrant Irish countryside. The lush, verdant landscape opens before you, stretching on for miles in every direction. A patchwork of rolling hills, sparkling seas, and emerald pastures meets an expansive sky. A feeling of [...]

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 [...]

As the Tall Ships Race prepares to dock in Waterford City again this June, guest blogger David Power recalls the tastes, sights and sounds as everything sea comes on land for a special four days. Now, it’s not every day that you stroll down your city’s promenade to see the place transformed into the set [...]

Horse racing in Ireland is what you would call ‘edge-of-the-seat’ entertainment. So, with the Punchestown Horse Racing Festival just around the corner, we asked sports fanatic Paul Rowley to take us through a day at the races and see if he could break even… A racehorse is an animal that can take several thousand people for [...]

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 [...]