Articles tagged ‘What to Do’
The Giant’s Causeway
By Seán | November 18th, 2006 |
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Okay, so when modern man discovered the bizarre, meticulous rock formations at the Giant’s Causeway there were serious theories floated by learned men that the shoreline was man-made.
No wonder, the stones are hexagonal and almost perfectly symmetrical; it’s hard to believe they’re anything but deliberate. Standing among them, it doesn’t take a real leap of [...]
Ireland by rail
By Seán | November 1st, 2006 | Add a Comment »
So if you’re thinking about visiting Ireland you’re probably wondering how to get around. Despite the deceptively small scale of this country, it takes quite a bit of doing to get from place to place and, if you’re headed from Dublin to another major city, you could do a lot worse than to take the [...]
Flannery’s Session
By Seán | October 30th, 2006 | Add a Comment »
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 [...]
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 [...]
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, [...]
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
Brideswell Session
By Seán | September 29th, 2006 | 2 Comments »
Last night was the fabulous Brideswell traditional Irish music session. This session is, quite possibly, the best traditional session in the midlands.
I almost didn’t go, but then I reflected that it had been some weeks since I last attended. It was a wet drive out under the overhanging trees to Brideswell. The village of [...]
Damien Dempsey Tonight!
By Seán | September 27th, 2006 | Add a Comment »
So I play a bit of music myself. Like most musicians, I’ve amassed the necessary equipment with which to carry out a successful show. I received a call recently from a good friend in Ballymahon who is coordinating a show for Damien Dempsey and was asked if I could do sound on the night.
The thing [...]
Shack session
By Seán | September 27th, 2006 | Add a Comment »
This Tuesday’s Shack session was a pretty excellent one. Thanks to visiting in-laws, the wifey was able to put in an appearance, which was an excellent thing. The musical complement this week was Bill, Des, Pads, the Bean, Anne-Marie and wifey.
Pads provided transportation to ourselves with a quick stop by Alfredos for some dirty, dirty [...]
The Irish Macaroon Bar
By Seán | September 24th, 2006 | 1 Comment »
This is a celebration of a little known, but potent, piece of Irishness.
The Irish Macaroon bar.
Its manufacture is steeped in mystery. It says there right on the label: “secret recipe”. That’s right, SECRET. Well, your faithful author can reveal that, whatever else is used, our extensive tests have revealed the definate presence of CHOCOLATE!
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