Articles tagged ‘Places to Go’
Flannery’s Session
By Seán | October 30th, 2006 |
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It’s been a while since my last post about Flannery’s and this last Saturday night I made it a point to stop in. The evening was well-attended as usual and music was varied. I was especially pleased to capture this rendition of the transit van song, as it is one of my favourites. One of [...]
Cork’s English Market
By Seán | October 22nd, 2006 | Add a Comment »
One of the coolest features of Cork city is the presence of the English Market in the centre of the flat of the city.
It’s a magical little piece of old world shopping. Stalls crammed next to each other in a quaintly architectured (can you say that?) building in the middle of Cork. Prices are good [...]
McNeill’s Pub, Athlone
By Seán | October 15th, 2006 | 3 Comments »
This is another one of the those old, authentic bars that seem to be on the verge of dying out here in Ireland. This pub has been owned and run by the same family for at least the last 100 years. McNeill’s used to be the first pub that farmers and traders would come across [...]
Ballinasloe Horse Fair
By Seán | October 10th, 2006 | Add a Comment »
The 2006 Ballinasloe horse fair ended Sunday with the dramatic annual tug-of-war competitions filling the weekend. The streets are blocked off for the evening and local businesses and groups compete against each other under the streetlamps to the cheering of the crowds.
Personally, my weekend was chock-a-block; hardly was I back from Kinsale but I was [...]
The Franciscan Well
By Seán | October 9th, 2006 | 1 Comment »
The Franciscan Well is a rarity in Ireland: a real Irish Microbrewery.
There has been a pub on this site for as long as people can remember. It’s also protected, as it’s an historical site with an ancient well on the premises of what used to be a Franciscan abbey (hence the name). Truth be told, [...]
The Rock of Cashel
By Seán | October 5th, 2006 | Add a Comment »
A bristling fist of stone rising strikingly from the surrounding plains, the Rock of Cashel is one of Ireland’s most distinctive landmarks.
One of the ancient celtic strongholds, Cashel rivaled Tara for a good portion of Irish history. Highly defensible, built as it is on a remarkable limestone plateau, it appears suddenly from the motorway as [...]
Statue of Richard Harris
By Seán | October 3rd, 2006 | Add a Comment »
A statue of deceased actor Richard Harris was erected last week in Kilkee and a speech was made by Russell Crowe. Russell had befriended Harris before his death when they were both filming Gladiator. Apparently, they were kindred souls – good-looking hollywood types who were fond of a good time. Poingnantly, Crowe says they planned [...]
Off to Cork!
By Seán | October 2nd, 2006 | Add a Comment »
Well, tomorrow we’re off for a week to Cork and Kinsale.
I’ll be doing my best to keep the blog up on the road. Unlike a few years ago, internet cafes are quite common in Ireland now. I’m pretty stoked about the trip, actually. The primary reason for my visit is to interview the brewers [...]
Ballinasloe Horse Fair
By Seán | October 2nd, 2006 | Add a Comment »
Every year there is a huge horse fair in Ballinasloe. Midland balladeer Brendan Shine wrote a song about it about, oh, a million years ago. If you think that’s old, just think: this Irish festival is older.
As Brendan says, the king of the fair used to be chosen by fistfight. Now the king is
an spailpíni ifteach sa Sean’s Bar
By Seán | October 1st, 2006 | Add a Comment »
I was in Sean’s Bar recently and met up with the three strangely dressed people pictured above. They are travelling journeymen from Germany following an ancient tradition wherein apprentices to a trade must travel for three years seeking work. At the end of the three years, they must return home as they left: penniless and [...]
