Ireland Travel and Vacation News

Four Star Hotels in Ireland -The official List

seamus.white — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 12:35:13 +0000

Following last week’s listing of 5 Star Hotels in Ireland , the full Fáilte Ireland list of Irish 4 Star hotels is below.

Five Star Hotels in Ireland - The Full Official List

seamus.white — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 16:08:05 +0000

We often get questions about the official Star Ratings of hotels in Ireland.
It is often much easier to find the many other ratings that are voted for by hotel Guests including on sites like Tripadvisor and, indeed, on our own website from genuine Guests that have booked the hotel through us.

Today I got the official list from Fáilte Ireland and decided that it would be a good idea to share with our readers. I’ll start with the five star properties and list other classifications in the coming days:

Supporting SAREN’s petition to retain West Cork Today radio program

seamus.white — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 13:21:36 +0000

SAREN, the Skibbereen And Region Economic Network, has today launched a petition asking UTV-Media to reverse its decision to scrap the West Cork Today program presented by David Young on its C103 station.

Being based in Skibbereen in West Cork we have seen the importance of this vital piece of social infrastructure first hand in the past few months.

There are two key communications resources that really matter in West Cork and ‘West Cork today’ is one of them along with the Southern Star. Two initiatives that I have watched closely in the past months have been the launch of SAREN and the creation of the West Cork Tourism Co-Operative Ltd to buy a ferry and relaunch the Cork-Swansea Ferry.

I contend strongly that without these two communication resources, the success of these initiatives would not have been achieved.
With their help, the people and businesses of West Cork could not have missed the key messages of both initiatives.

These are just 2 of the countless examples of how these resources are a vital element of the social fabric of the region. The Southern Star will continue to be an integral part of West Cork but it is a weekly publication and, for the elderly in particular, the West Cork Today show was their daily interaction with what was going on in their areas.

This petition by SAREN is only step 1.
If the decision is not reversed they should be calling on the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) to review the license that was rewarded to UTV Media for the West Cork station. It is not enough to have a mast broadcasting a signal in West Cork and have all the programming homogenised across the county. Surely the reason for a broadcasting license for West Cork was that it would serve a public interest in West Cork?

Read more on the http://www.skibbereen.ie website or sign the petition at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/westcorktoday/

Saint Patrick’s day is Ireland Week

seamus.white — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 10:46:27 +0000

St. Patrick’s Day isn’t until Tuesday next March 17, but the USA is feeling a wee bit Irish already, and you certainly don’t need to travel to Ireland for Ireland’s national day to experience some St. Patrick’s day fun.

Known in parts of the USA as Saint Paddy’s day or St. Patty’s day, the celebration of Irishness sees events take place far beyond the 24 hour confines of the day itself.

While New York and Boston are famous for their St. Patrick’s day celebrations, many cities in the USA celebrate St. Patrick’s day as part of Irish Week.

Today’s Seattle Times outlines a list of festivities taking place in the Washington state city over the week:

Irish Week

Irish Week Proclamation Luncheon:Noon Friday, F.X. McRory’s Steak, Chop & Oyster House, 419 Occidental Ave. S., Seattle; $ 30, advance registration required, space limited (206-361-1713 or www.irishclub.org).

Green stripe laying:Truck leaves 6:30 p.m. from F.X. McRory’s, 419 Occidental Ave. S., Seattle, to start stripe laying at Fourth Avenue and Jefferson Street at 7 p.m. Friday.

St. Patrick’s Day Parade:12:30 p.m. Saturday, on Fourth Avenue from Jefferson Street northward to Westlake Park (between Pike and Pine streets), Seattle.

Irish Festival:: 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday, Seattle Center, free. 206-684-7200. More information: 206-242-5140 or www.irishclub.org.

Other St. Patrick’s Day events

St. Patty’s Day Dinner:Comerford Irish Dancers, Irish stew, green beer, 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Southeast Seattle Senior Center, 4655 S. Holly St., Seattle; $15, reservations preferred (206-722-0317).

Friends of St. Patrick Banquet: Black-tie dinner and dance with Irish entertainment, 6 p.m. Saturday, Washington Athletic Club, 1325 Sixth Ave., Seattle; $95, reservations required, space limited (425-290-7839 or www.fosp.org).

St. Patrick’s Day, Meeker Mansion:Corned beef, cabbage and a jig, noon-4 p.m. Saturday, Meeker Mansion, 312 Spring St., Puyallup; $8. 253-848-1770 or www.meekermansion.org.

St. Patrick’s Day Dash: 4-mile run with costume contest, kids’ Leprechaun Lap, post-race bash, 8:30 a.m. Sunday, no day-of-race registration. 800-343-4411 or stpatsdash.com.

St. Patrick’s Day Brunch Cruise:Family cruise tour with Irish brunch buffet, 11 a.m. Sunday, Waterways Cruises, 2501 N. Northlake Way, Seattle; $19-$49, reservations required by 5 p.m. Friday (206-223-2060 or www.waterwayscruises.com).

St. Patty’s Day walk: Music, walking laps around the track, sponsored by Seattle Parks and Recreation Sound Steps walking program, 10 a.m. Sunday, West Seattle Stadium, 4432 35th Ave. S.W., Seattle; $10 minimum suggested donation (206-684-4664).

St. Patty’s Day Run: 5K run and costume contest, post-race party, 9 a.m. Saturday, Thea Park, 535 Dock St., Tacoma; $30-$32.50, register 7-8:30 a.m. day of race. 253-862-8890

Ashford Castle to celebrate 70th Birthday as Hotel

seamus.white — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 21:25:21 +0000

Ashford Castle in Cong, County Mayo, will celebrate 70 years as a hotel in May of this year.

The majestic Ashford Castle, set on 350 acres, is located in the beautiful west of Ireland north of Galway and dates back to 1228.
Situated on the confluence of Lough Corrib and the River Cong, and once a summer home of the Guinness family, Ashford Castle has captivated visitors since being converted to a hotel in May 1939.

While the Equestrian Centre is over-rated, the 350 acre estate is renowned for having Ireland’s first Falconry School offering a rare opportunity to handle birds of prey and the grounds provide ample opportunity to wander and relax.

Dining at Ashford Castle is an unparalleled culinary experience. The George ‘V’ Room offers elegant dining amid period decor with a world-class menu. For a more traditional and casual dining experience, Cullen’s Cottage is located within the grounds less than a 2 minute walk from the Castle’s main entrance.

Swansea to Cork Ferry is nearly there but one final push is needed

robert.carpenter — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:47:28 +0000

Fundraising efforts to reintroduce the sorely missed Swansea to Cork Ferry are now entering a crucial period where time is running out and donations are quickly needed.

The West Cork Tourism Co-Op are aiming for one final push to re-establish the Swansea to Cork Ferry service which aims to revive the ailing tourism industry in the area.

Over €2 million has already been successfully raised from all over Cork and Kerry but they still need one final push to reach the magic €3 million figure that will see the Ferry active again.

More Roadshows announced and Kerry hotline established for fundraising

On its dedicated website www.bringbacktheswanseacorkferry.com , further details have been released on new roadshows as well as a Kerry hotline set up for ferry share pledges - details can be be found here

The Ferry service between Cork and Swansea is estimated to be worth €35 million annually to the South West region and its loss is being sorely felt amongst its business owners.

Here at myguideIreland, we wish organisers all the best and lets hope they prove successful in seeing their enormous effort get over the line and bring prosperity back to this beautiful part of Ireland.

Ryanair launch inflight mobile phone service

seamus.white — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 15:07:44 +0000

Ryanair have launched their much heralded onboard inflight mobile phone service.

While phones will be billed by the users mobile phone company, the service, provided by OnAir, will cost approximately €0.50 to send a text message and between €2.00 and €3.00 per minute to make and receive calls.

Switching on your phone and receiving text messages will be free.

The service will also provide internet connectivity for email via Blackberry, iPhone etc.

New 4 star hotel for Belfast

seamus.white — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 17:55:58 +0000

The Fitzwilliam Hotel in Dublin is about to get a sister in Belfast. The new 4 star deluxe Fitzwilliam Hotel Belfast will be opening in the centre of the city in March of this yera.
The hotel will be located adjacent to the Grand Opera House on Great Victoria Street. The hotel comprises 130 bedrooms and suites in addition to a penthouse suite overlooking the city.
The interiors will replicate the look and style of its sister Dublin hotel.

The hotel will be able to use the Grand Opera House meeting space including the main 1000-seat auditorium, the 130 seat ‘Baby Grand’ room plus the smaller ‘Shakespeare’ rooms for private dining.

The hotel is just a short walk to Belfast City Hall, the Old Museum Arts Centre and the Victoria Square complex which is to open in the very near future.

The hotel will be a welcome addition to Northern Ireland’s tourist capacity

Flights to Ireland at great prices

seamus.white — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 15:27:18 +0000

Today is the last day of Ryanair’s latest special offer for flights to Ireland.
Book by midnight tonight to avail of 75% off their fares.

There are some great value rates available.
I just did a quick survey right now on the London Stanstead to Cork Airport Route: There are flights available for travel in March (even for St. Patrick’s day) for less than stg £50 return including all taxes.

If you have any plans to come to Ireland this Spring, I’d get booking my flights today!

Cork Airport has record year

seamus.white — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 13:22:04 +0000

A record 3.25m passengers passed through Cork Airport in 2008 setting a new record.
This was a 2.5% increase over 2007 and represents an additional 80,000 passengers through Cork during the year.

Traffic between Cork and London grew by 4% to 927 thousand with traffic to and from provincial UK airports growing 26% to 669,000.
Continental European passenger numbers were static versus 2007 at 869,000 while domestic traffic within Ireland suffered a 10% decline to 443,00 passengers during the year.