There are many reviews on car rentals from Dublin airport, both good and bad, mostly bad. Do you have an opinion on which is the best company?

Regards,

Paul

I know this must be frustrating for those who take the time to post a question, and I regret that and apologise if you are one of those people.

I’ve recently had a few not very friendly emails from people expressing their frustration at a question not being promptly answered. It’s clear from these emails that some people believe the site is an arm of some official  tourist organisation or at least has a paid army of people available who are inexplicably not doing their job well. But it isn’t, it’s just my own little side project and I’m just one person. The time I can spend on it – given my need to, you know, earn a living – is very limited.

So, I am going to start leaving this section to sort of fend for itself when I can’t give the time to answers. I’ll post questions with a less stringent moderating process (or at least see how that goes), and tweet them when they are asked, in the hope that those who have time when I don’t will pop in and answer. We’ll see how it goes.

Photo:  © Colin Park

The mill was built by Joseph Hunter but the family most associated with its history are the Gallaghers, who became the owners in 1892 and remained at the helm until the mill closed in  the 1960s. They were evidently an ambitious lot and built up a very impressive complex indeed. In addition to the mill they also owned a large farm, a grocery store, a pub and a forge and a ‘scutcher’s cottage’, where workers labouriously separated out the parts of the flax stems valuable for producing linen.

All of these buildings, plus the old Gallagher family home, are now owned by the state, which ensures they will be conserved as a unique example of the kind of multi-purpose complex that was once common in Ireland but has long disappeared. I was born into a mini version of something similar myself – a pub and grocery store with petrol pumps at the front and a farm supply shop out the back. It no longer exists either, gone more than 40 years.

What you will see

@ Dr Neil Clifton

The 25 ft waterwheel here is one of the largest working wheels in the country and sits in a millrace almost 1km long. It easily produces sufficient power for two mills working simultaneously  one grinding flax, the other mainly oats but also barley and maize, all of which were, and still are, grown locally.

All the original apparatus of a working mill,  the stones, sieves, bucket elevators, fans, sack hoists and more, are still on site, and at certain times can be seen working.

Work at the mill went on year round, from late summer to April or May the of following year grinding locally grown barley and flax, then during the summer months, preparing animal feeds from a mix of maize and oats.

The Work of the Mill

@ Kenneth Allen

Grain delivered after the harvest went first to the drying floor, where it was spread on perforated metal plates heated from below by a kiln. Each day about 2 tonnes of dried grain were processed through the mill  The grain went first to shelling stones where the husk was removed before the kernal went to the milling stones to be ground to meal or flour.

These stones, made from French Burr, were raised or lowered according to the fineness of meal required. After milling, the meal was cleaned, winnowed and sieved before being bagged and taken to the storage area to await collection.

While this all sounds like a hugely labour intensive procedure, in fact a combination of mechanised hoists, belts, pulleys and elevators of which Heath Robinson would have been proud meant the entire process could be managed without too much difficulty by a single man.

 Visiting Newmills

The mill is open to visitors daily from late May late September from 10.00am – 18.00pm. Allow about an hour to visit, and if possible call ahead so that you an schedule your visit for a time when the mill is working.

There is no restaurant on site, but if the weather is nice bring a picnic to enjoy while sitting alongside the millrace.

Map and Location

The economic element is not light weight either, there are some well known names and some serious heavy hitters on the programme. Each event sees a mix of economists and those who report on economics take to the stage together for a discussion moderated by a comedian, with much audience participation involved also.

Among the big names on the programme are Max Keiser, a former Wall Stree who has made quite an impact as a TV economics commentator, George Anders, author and commentator on the US economy and Heiner Flassbeck, chief economist at the United Nations Agency for World Trade and Development.

Other familiar names and faces include David McWilliams, who was the first person to call out the Irish boom for the bubble it was, Faisel Islan, from Channel  new and Matina Stevis is a financial journalist for Dow Jones and regular contributer to RTE news.

The comedians who will attempt to moderate these heavy hitters include Eleanor Tiernan, Colm O’Regan, David O’Doherty and Des Bishop.

In honour of the event Kikenny will have its very own currency for the weekend. The Marble will trade 1:1 with the euro, except you’ll get discounts when you spend it. Hopefully it’ll survive the weekend without crisis.

This video will give you a taste of what the whole thing is about.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Event information and Location Map

Most events take place in the Set Theatre at Langtons (A) on John St or the Ormonde Hotel (B). There are also events in Cleere’s Theatre (C) and the Hole in the Wall(D) and the Pembroke Hotel (E).

Information and tickets at the Kilkenomics website.

On Saturday Aprés Match star Barry Murphy and Karl Spain will provide live commentary on the Arsenal Vs Chelsea premiership game while on Sunday there is a live recording for TV of a show entitled ‘Tribes’, which features comedians Bernard O’Shea, Neil Delamere and Eleanor Tiernan along with a panel of GAA players.

There are two shows most nights, culminating in a Hallowe’en Howls Fancy Dress Comedy Gala on Monday night, with Colum McDonnell, Eric Lalor, Gearoid Farrelly, Willie White, Andrew Stanley & Damo Clark

Others on the line up include Dead Cat Bounce, John Lynn, Colin Murphy, Colm O’Regan, Paul Tylak, Mark Doheny, David O’Doherty, Fred Cooke, Des Bishop, Aidan Bishop, Damian Clark and Gearoid Farrelly. It’s a great line up with plenty of less well known comedians to discover alongside some of the top names in Irish comedy.

Details & Location Map for Halloween Howls

Full programme information at the website. Some shows are likely to book out in advance so if there is one you particularly want to see, booking is recommended.

All the action is at Kavanagh’s pub, which is marked on the map below.

Latest Twitter Updates

The festival is a major showcase for Irish film production, with a wide-ranging programme that includes an eclectic mix of big budget pictures, world cinema, innovative independent films, documentaries and short films from all over the globe.

The  ‘Best International Short’ Award is an internationally recognised award which attracts very high quality entrants, with 46 shorts from 22 countries competing in 2011. The ‘Made In Cork’ has been expanded this year from two to three programmes, so it’s clear that film-making is alive and well here despite these recessionary time.

A varied programme of documentaries has films dealing with social, cultural and environmental issues. A special strand this year is Films from Romania, which includes both features and documentaries and will see guests from Romania attend the festival.

People Like Us – British artist Vicki Bennett – is a hugely influential artist in the field of audio visual collage, mixing, manipulating and reworking original sources from both the experimental and popular worlds of music, film, television and radio. With work previously shown work at Tate Modern, The Barbican, Sydney Opera House and the Pompidou Centre, her appearance in Cork is sure to be a fascinating and thought provoking addition to the Festival.

Festival Details and Location Map

There are details of events at the festival website, though they are presented in a screen reader format that is quite irritating and difficult to read, though it’s probably lovely if you are using an iPad. Otherwise, it’s easier to go to the ticket booking section and find events there. Many events take place at Cork Opera House, others at cinemas around the city.

Latest Twitter Updates

The Festival will kick off in 2011 with  cookery demonstration by well know TV chef and cookery writer Catherine Fulvio who will show how to create easy tasty home meals that have the wow factor.

The rest of the week is packed with demonstations, tastings, competitions and workshops. Competitions include ones for the public – the one for best home baker in Kerry is sure to be hotly contested – and commercial food producers.   A literary and food Taste Trail will take visitors around various venues to sample both the food and the culture of Listowel, while guided Wild Food Walks will teach how to find and eat delicious foods freely available in the countryside, without poisoning yourself!

The don’t miss dinner of the week is definitely the ‘opulent’  four course Georgian Feast at the Listowel Arms, a hotel which itself dates from the Georgian era.

There are a number of awards presented during the fair, the big one being the Kerry Food Hero award, which is presented annually to a small-scale food producer, food retailer, farmer’s market stallholder, chef or restaurateur to recognise outstanding commitment to food and consistent excellence. It says a lot for food in the region that this award is so hotly contested and there are so many potential winners.

Listowel is not always on the itinerary of visitors to Kerry, who tend to stick to Killarney and the Ring, but it’s definitely worth a detour for the Food Fair.

Listowel Food Fair Information & Location Map

More information at the Food Fair website or Facebook page.

Events range from drama productions, historical tours, classical recitals, jazz, musicals and light opera to antique and second hand book fairs, and takes in sporting events like the Open Festival Golf Cup and Wexford Races, as well as  a huge number of  art and photography exhibitions.

Always popular is the Singing & Swinging Pubs contest, where the towns many pubs and bars complete to provide the best entertainment, which means that practically every bar in town has nightly entertainment from local singers, musicians and comedians…and occasionally even a visiting opera singer!

 Event and Location Information for Wexford Fringe

The programme is vast, and no matter what day or days you show up in Wexford there will be lots to see and do. There is more information at the Festival website or you can download the programme as a PDF.

Mainly looking for a hostel/b&b where music and characters are plentiful. Don’t have a car and will probably be going it alone, but well able to use these two legs!=D If anyone has any suggestions/ recommendations from where they’ve stayed or had a lethal session t’wud be greatly appreciated!

We get into Shannon Saturday (10/29) and leave from Shannon on Sunday morning (11/6). We are renting a car, so we’ll have transportation.

The only thing we really know we want to see is Dublin. We are completely unfamiliar with the rest of Ireland. I realize now we should have booked our flight into Dublin (or booked out of Dublin) but, like I said, we are total noob travelers. Oh well, we’ll know for next time!

Does anybody have any suggestions for us? I was thinking we could meander our way to Dublin (maybe get there around Tuesday?), hitting some sights on the way, then weave our way back on Thursday or Friday, hitting a few more sights. Does this seem doable?

Also, should I book B&B’s before I get there, or is it ok to wing it and book B&B’s the same day?

I’m sorry if this post is overly long! I’m just excited but also overwhelmed. Thanks so much for all your help!! It is very appreciated

Map of Itinerary outlined below

Most people celebrate Christmas with their families, leading to some of the heaviest traffic of the year on Irish roads in the days leading up to Christmas Day as people make their way home.

Airports and ferry ports are very busy too with many Irish people who work and live abroad returning for the holiday season.

Main image: Tower in the Mist at Carton House, by bbusschots

Shopping Frenzy

Christmas on Grafton St, Dublin by infomatique

Those who think of Ireland as a place where the commercialisation of Christmas could be avoided may be sorely disappointed – the ‘ker-ching’ of the cash register is at least as typical a Christmas sound as the carol singers on the streets!

The main streets of Ireland’s towns and cities are crammed with shoppers in a frenzy of seasonal buying, which starts officially on December 8th but in reality quite a bit earlier than that.

Most schools are closed on December 8th, and traditionally it was a day when rural families traveled to Dublin to do their Christmas shopping. That is less common nowadays, since most regional towns have much better shopping facilities than in the past.

Most shops, streets and malls make a good effort with lights, decorations and window displays, and there is a very festive feeling about it all, especially as the day draws closer.

However this year, 2011, is likely to be at least a bit quieter than it has been in the past  - Ireland is in recession and people everywhere are feeling the pinch.

Irish Christmas Traditions

Many of the older Christmas traditions still endure in Ireland, and Christmas remains a time when friends and family get together to celebrate the season with those closest to them. Some of the more widespead and commonly observed traditions, along with some new ones and special Christmas events, are described in this page.