DoChara's Ireland Blog
Random Writings about Ireland and the Irish
Blog Archive for April 2007
Why I Love Kilkenny
Monday, April 30 2007
I came to Kilkenny 21 years ago last month, taking a job I intended to stay in for a year or so before moving on. My plan then was to eventually settle somewhere with a view of the sea, close to Dublin and all its theatres, galleries, shops and... [More]
A Wooly Dog Story
Friday, April 27 2007
This has nothing to do with Ireland - but you just have to laugh! Over 2000 Japanese have apparantly paid around $1600 each for a lamb - believing they were buying Poodles!! In their defense, sheep are apparantly rare in Japan and hardly anyone... [More]
Too much of a Good Thing?
Thursday, April 26 2007
A friend of mine just won a weekend away at a luxury spa hotel in Ireland. Another person I know won a similar prize two weeks ago and I won a day at a hotel spa last month. Remarkable co-incidence? No, it's just that there are so many of these... [More]
Cheaper Transatlantic Flights to Ireland
Wednesday, April 18 2007
When Ryanair express their intention to enter any market, the incumbants had better sit up and listen. Over the last 10 years their no-frills bargain flights, mainly to secondary airports, have seen them grow from a small regional airline to one of Europe's... [More]
Around Dublin by Bike
Wednesday, April 11 2007
Visitors to Dublin this year will have a new option for getting around the city - a rickshaw! Far from the traditional kind, these are Velotaxis - sleek, modern machines, built to be ecologically friendly, safe and fun to travel in. They are already... [More]
Sell out? I'll pass on that thanks
Tuesday, April 10 2007
Success, even in a small way, brings strange things in its wake and not just nasty emails. This site isn't exactly a world beater, but it has certainly grown far more popular than I ever imagined it would. Which occasionally raises interesting... [More]
The Streets of Dublin
Monday, April 9 2007
Browse through Flickr on any Ireland related subject and you are sure to come across photographs by William Murphy, aka infomatique. He is engaged in a fascinating and ambitious project to create a photographic record of the Streets of Dublin and... [More]
Sometimes I Wonder Why I Bother.
Saturday, April 7 2007
Now and again I get an irate email from someone involved in some tourist industry sector in Ireland complaining that this site doesn't say enough (or anything) about their product or service, or that we are not 'promoting' some part of Ireland... [More]
Getting Older in Ireland has Some Advantages
Wednesday, April 4 2007
It's always been a pretty cool boon of becoming a pensioner in Ireland that you automatically qualify for free travel on all public transportation - trains, buses, Luas trams, even some ferry services. It got better this week when those who are entitled... [More]
The Burlington Hotel is Sold
Tuesday, April 3 2007
It's really not just a hotel the Burlington, it's an institution and for both Dubliners and regular visitors to the city it has been a meeting place, a home from home and a centre of social life for years. The cast of characters... [More]
No Smoking - Three Years Later
Tuesday, April 3 2007
Time was when an evening in an Irish pub meant a dense smoky atmosphere and smelly clothes the following morning. When the smoking ban was introduced just over 3 years ago it seemed incomprehensible that it would actually work, that pubs would have... [More]
