Articles tagged ‘Miscellanea’
United Ireland by 2027? What are the odds?
By Seán | August 30th, 2007 |
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Ten to one by the year 2027, according to Paddy Power.
Yes, one of the many cultural twists that still befuddles me is the legality and casual practice of gambling in Ireland. There are gambling shops everywhere in this country and, apparently, one can simply walk into one of these places and bet on . . [...]
Sushi in Ireland, a dó!
By Seán | August 19th, 2007 | Add a Comment »
(that’s “two” in Irish, by the way)
What you see there is the proud new table setting last Wednesday before we all tucked into some scrumptious sushi. The cause of the swanky table setting is the arrival of sushi place settings in our local Lidl (just €7!). Ever since our first attempt at sushi we have [...]
Roma if you want to - Roma around the town
By Seán | August 18th, 2007 | Add a Comment »
They’ve arrived.
Or maybe it would be more accurate to say that Ireland has arrived.
Yes, there was a time when no one who didn’t have to came to our little rain-soaked island and the locals were all dying to get out to places more prosperous. In today’s celtic tiger world, however, Ireland is becoming a destination [...]
Wage war in Ireland
By Seán | August 11th, 2007 | Add a Comment »
Welcome to the war zone. There you are, staring across the battle plain somewhere in Athlone (Blyry estate, actually). Ancient, gnarled oaks punctuated the horizon as if they had been placed there purposefully. Bright, roughly-painted shields dangle from soldiers’ arms, as if a giant’s brush had done the artwork. Suddenly, huge gemlike cubes fall from [...]
Ireland vs Chile
By Seán | August 10th, 2007 | Add a Comment »
Last night I went to my first match in Athlone Town Soccer Stadium to see the Irish under-19 team play the Chilean under-19 team in an international friendly match.
The Irish hate Guinness?
By Seán | August 10th, 2007 | 1 Comment »
No they don’t. With 10 million pints poured a day, Guinness is still very popular.
However, many younger tourists get this impression when visiting Ireland and drinking with the 20-something Irish population. I was reading today on vagabondish.com about an experience blogger Mike had when visiting Ireland a couple of years ago that gave him the [...]
Quiet week in Athlone
By Seán | August 4th, 2007 | Add a Comment »
What’s wrong with this picture? Well, it’s a bank holiday weekend in the middle of the summer for one. This is the HEIGHT of tourist season. Normally there would be so many rental boats here in Athlone town they’d be moored out 4 deep along the western quay wall of the Shannon.
Look up at that [...]
Newest swans on the Shannon
By Seán | August 2nd, 2007 | Add a Comment »
As I mentioned a few posts ago that feeding adult swans might not be the best idea, I thought I’d follow up on how those little swanlings are doing.
As you can see from the picture here I took last week, they’re no longer quite so little! Yes, the Shannon swan family is safe and healthy, [...]
On feeding swans
By Seán | August 1st, 2007 | Add a Comment »
It’s probably not the best thing to be feeding them at all, but it’s REALLY not a great idea to stroll right up to them and stick out your hand, folks.
It’s not like they’re going to sprout fangs, horns and claws and tear a man to shreds or anything - but those wings can [...]
Finally some sun in Athlone!
By Seán | July 31st, 2007 | Add a Comment »
It’s about bloody time! Just look at that lovely, sunny blue sky there!
The funny thing is not the sunny blue sky, but what lies beneath it: the water level on Shannon Weir. You may recall last December when the water level rose over the weir (it later flooded the town, actually) and it’s currently [...]
