How to get there, how to get around, where to find stuff and how to ask for it. These are tips from the local insider to make your stay here a breeze
In Ireland there is always an awful lot of talk about the weather. It’s the natural perogative. After all, there is an Irish saying,
“If you don’t like the weather, just wait a few minutes.”
Aside from being generally wetter than other places, the Irish climate’s consistency consists of its inconsistency. However, as you may have noticed from the many blog entries here on the weather as of late, there has been a lot more to talk about lately than normal.
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Yes, the rest of the world is doing it and Ireland is no exception. Last night at midnight the local corporate bookshop held a Harry Potter release giving away free t-shirts, books and, most importantly, copies of the final installment of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series at half price.
At 5pm there was a queue forming in front of the book shop in Athlone’s Golden Island shopping centre.
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Just look at that. Those are the triathletes this afternoon beginning the first leg of the triAthlone triathalon, swimming against the current up the river Shannon. After that they bike, run and then feel really good about what they’ve done I guess.
Crazy athletic types.
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Well, there they are - the inflatable pontoons on the Shannon just under Athlone town bridge. Those pontoons mark the swimming lanes for this weekend’s triathlone race. Last year - the first year of the race - an unexpected stormy day happened on the event - lashing rain and wind. This year isn’t looking good either. Forecasts are for clouds and rain - possibly heavy - throughout Friday.
A friend of mine who did the triathlone last year said that the rain wasn’t too bad - when one is exerting …
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Ah, last year when I started the blog the extremely long summer of 2006 was finally fading into gray September skies. I had noticed that the flower baskets seemed to have gone up late last year and stayed into autumn.
This year summer seems determined to bide its time. Either that or it made an appearance in April and has decided to wait a while before returning. In any case, the baskets are back - like a floral offering to the sun gods to bring on the summer - and …
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It’s not something the Irish have traditionally been known for. Even today, it’s fairly rare to find an “adult shop” in an Irish town. Off the cuff I’d venture to say Athlone may be the only midlands town with a dedicated “adult” shop.
When the first one opened up a couple of years ago there were protests - signs, pickets and the like. This time the second opening of an adult shop in Athlone - right around the corner from the first, I might add - there wasn’t so much as peep about it.
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I really don’t know where the tradition got started, but for some reason there is an association between Irish stout and oysters.
Stateside I have seen a few of these stout and oyster festivals, usually sponsored by the Diageo boys and their Guinness brand. But hey, why not another Irish stout, one more southerly in inclination, like Murphy’s?
It would seem that the oldest pub in Ireland has an association with Murphy’s because once a year there is a mini Oyster and Murphy’s party in Sean’s Bar.
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Despite the lousy weather, it’s festival season in Ireland.
Aside from this weekend’s TriAthlone here in town and the Phoenix Festival in Tullamore, Ballinasloe is getting in on the action with their Arts & River festival this weekend. Oxygen just finished, The World Feadh has just been announced and the Midlands Music Festival is around the corner. With all the goings-on, I thought I’d make ye a list of some of the stuff that’s on:
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Yes, today is the 231st birthday of the United States of America.
They say that today there are more Irish people in the US than in Ireland itself. Be that as it may, the US would certainly be a different place without its Irish. The most wonderful thing is that after all the years of the Irish pursuing an Irish-American identity, there are now a few of us swelling the ranks of the American-Irish here on the shamrock shores.
For the past years, we have always done something on the Fourth of July.
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