In June 2007 we spent a great week exploring the Spas of Ireland. Check back here in the months ahead for our articles from the trip and an episode of Talkintravel TV on the "Spas of Ireland."
Street corner in rural IRELAND
Valley Life Quarterly Fall 2007
Valley Life Quarterly Fall 2007
Ireland's stealing Silicon Valley stars
Ireland's trade minister visits Silicon Valley to encourage start ups
New Group to Promote Irish Start-ups
By: Ruth Wertzberger
Ireland’s trade minister, Mr. Michael Martin, visited Palo Alto October 26 to inaugurate the Irish Technology Leadership Group. This organization is made up of high-level technology leaders in Silicon Valley, who are originally from Ireland. They want to ensure their homeland remains the top spot for American firms to base their European headquarters and also to encourage Irish start-ups.
The brainchild of John Hartnett, Senior VP of global markets with Palm, Inc, he started the group after wondering why “…two grads from TrinityCollege in Ireland, (part of the University of Dublin), can’t start a Goggle or a Facebook.” Hartnett says ITLG will act as “…angels to Irish companies that want to expand to the U.S.” The founders are impressive: in addition to Hartnett, it includes John Gilmore COO of Sling Media, Brian Fitzgerald, former VP of Operations at Intuit, Inc, Niall O’Connor, CIO of Apple Computer, Inc, Rory McKiernan, Director of engineering at Intel, Inc., Barry O'Sullivan, Sr. VP at Cisco, and Tony Redmond, Chief Technology Officer at Hewlett Packard.
ITLG is supported by IDA, the Irish Industrial Development Agency led by Dermot Tuohy in Mountain View, CA. “We’ve been aware for some time that there’s been some Irish expatriates who have made their way to senior positions in Silicon Valley,” says Tuohy. “These people are in an ideal position to see what’s going on in Silicon Valley and provide us with valuable feedback.”
ITLG plans to meet on a regular basis to discuss issues such as the scarcity of high quality engineers. “It’s a world-wide shortage,” admits Tuohy. “The Irish government is addressing the problem by spending huge amounts on educating engineering students. They made a pledge five years ago to double the number of PhDs in Ireland.” The Emerald Isle also formed a science foundation based on the United States National Science Foundation, says Samara McCarthy with IDA Ireland.
“We offer U.S. companies an opportunity to expand in the European arena,” says Tuohy, “and they give us new big foreign investments. We get the Apples and the Goggles, the HP’s and Ciscos. For them, Ireland is a great place from a tax point of view and we offer a very well educated, English speaking workforce.” Ireland also recently made it easier for Americans to obtain work permit visas.
The recent hi-tech success has strained the Irish infrastructure. “The Minister knows we have serious problems in fiber optics and the country has adopted a National Development Plan to spend serious amounts of money upgrading electricity and fast tracking client companies,” says Tuohy.
Although Seagate Technologies, based in ScotsValley, just laid off 900 workers in its Northern Ireland operations, Hartnett says it’s just a sign of the times. “Ireland can’t compete with Asia and Eastern Europe in manufacturing due to cost factors. We have to go up the food chain into research and development. We have every strength to pull that off. Ireland won’t be the first choice for manufacturing and in many respects Silicon Valley is going through the same thing. The Irish economy has been booming for 10 years and the great thing is that the employee’s expertise and skill sets have gone up during that decade. Ireland’s success is based on our ability to be nimble and we’ve made the change from manufacturing to r and d.”
“We want to ensure that Ireland is at cutting edge of technology by helping the education system,” says Hartnett. “Silicon Valley companies are looking at the global perspective and Ireland is a top place. We want to help U.S. companies succeed in Ireland and our second goal is to provide guidance and expertise to Irish companies that do business in the U.S.”
The future for both finding key employees looks promising. “Dublin is a cool trendy place for young people to live and travel to,” says McCarthy.For those traveling the other direction, Aer Lingus airline just started new non-stop flights from SFO to Ireland.
-END-
Ireland’s Stealing Silicon Valley Stars
By: Ruth Wertzberger
The proverbial pot of gold the lucky leprechaun finds at the end of a rainbow appears to be located in Silicon Valley. The Irish, who are experiencing unprecedented wealth largely due to high tech companies basing their European headquarters on the Emerald Isle, are now trying to raid our employees.
An ad hoc group called PaddysValley is arranging meetings with high tech leaders in December, pitching VCs as well as encouraging Americans and expat Irish citizens to relocate and fill critical vacancies. James Corbett, Damien Mulley and Conor O'Neill, who are all involved in the start-up and technology scene in Ireland, proposed the visit on web2ireland.org and so far 25 people have signed up.
PaddysValley is recruiting people like Donal Murphy who left Cork County in 1991 after graduating college. “The only job I could get was pumping gas, which is what I did in college for beer money, so I went to the U.S.” He married a San Jose native and now lives in Capitola where they both work for a company that organizes conferences around the world. Despite the new career opportunities in his home country, he doubts he’ll move back. “My wife and I may change our minds when we have children, (Irish citizens can attend college for free), but for now I’m enjoying the Bay Area.”
For every Irish native who would rather stay here, there appear to be Valley residents anxious to move overseas. Former San Jose resident Reeves Little is thriving in Ireland. A Microsoft program manager, he requested a transfer to Dublin and moved there in July 2006. Although Little says he misses the Bay Area weather and calls Silicon Valley “geek heaven,” he and his wife love Ireland’s slower pace. “Now we can walk to our local pub where people gather; not to booze it up, but to talk and catch up on each other’s lives.”
“The stereotype of the jovial Irish is true,” Little says. “It’s a cultural thing. The Irish people want to interact and know your story. We had to wait eight weeks for our furniture to arrive and our neighbors offered to lend us a sofa and the guy who cleaned our carpet offered us some chairs. We’re used to people offering us hedge trimmers, but not large pieces of furniture!”
If Valley residents decide the grass is greener in Ireland, (Ruth Moran with the Irish tourism office, www.discoverireland.com, claims they have forty different shades of green), Silicon Valley has only themselves to blame. According to Dermot Tuohy with IDA, Industrial Development Agency in Mountain View, (www.idaireland.com), all of the big high-tech firms have their European headquarters based in Ireland, primarily Dublin, but increasingly Shannon. Ireland has worked hard to became business friendly, offering the lowest corporate tax rates in the European Union, 12%, and an educated, English-speaking workforce that openly welcomes Americans, during a time when most U.S. citizens find themselves unpopular since the war on terrorism.
Largely due to Silicon Valley’s investments, Tuohy says that per capita, more Irish people own homes than anywhere else in the world, and the average resident’s income is now higher than the U.S. The downside to success is that they are having trouble filling key positions even though the European Union has opened up the job market. Silicon Valley still has certain skilled workers unavailable elsewhere.
Recently, the Irish government made it easier for Americans to work in Ireland. Ben Sykes, who works for Microsoft in Seattle, says he began researching moving to Ireland several years ago. “I put my resume on monster.com in Ireland, but I kept running into the same problem—-needing a work permit. Suddenly last February I started getting lots of interest from companies and they told me the obstacle had been removed. Now I get cold-called by headhunters every day. Having a quick look at IrishJobs.ie, I see 129 web design jobs and 258 web development jobs available. Plus over a hundred other categories.” He wants to move there eventually because, “I like the family life I see in Ireland and I hope to settle down with an Irish lass and have a big family.”
PaddysValley admits it may be going after the same people SV is trying to keep. “From what I’ve been hearing, San Jose is having an even harder time than Ireland attracting and retaining top talent,” says O’Neill. “Companies around the world are exhausting the talent pool in their general vicinity and can’t get enough visas,” says Little. “Companies need to think about how to fix it and not wait for the government.”
Linda Gold, CEO of M3iWorks in San Jose concurs. “I made great friends in Ireland two years ago and this is a huge issue for them. The horrible economy in Ireland’s past caused a brain drain and today the movers and shakers are not willing to stay there. Ireland is a very small country and the population is young. They are all leaving in pursuit of better opportunities.” Gold loved her visit to Ireland so much that if she were in the market for a vacation home, Ireland would
be her first choice.
Santa Cruz resident Dave McDonnell recently bought a second home at the Doonbeg Golf Course (www.doonbeggolfclub.com) in County Clare, Ireland. Surprisingly, half of the members are Americans! A former Hewlett Packard and Agilent employee, he traveled frequently to Ireland for business and fell in love with the country. “Ireland is unlike any place in the world,” he says. “I play piano in the pubs so I’ve gotten to know the community.” Ireland already boasts the largest number of golf courses per capita in the world, yet new ones are springing up so quickly McDonnell says he can’t keep up with them.
The new lodges usually include designer hotels, restaurants and spas. Expats who have not been home recently may be in for a shock at the modern changes. The old sawhorse of a seven-course meal in Ireland being a six-pack of beer and potatoes is laughable. New chefs, inspired by the Bay Area, are creating imaginative menus using organic, local products. Irish native Noel McMeel headed for the San Francisco Culinary Academy intent on working for Alice Waters, creator of “California cuisine.” Naively he turned up at the doorstep of Chez Panisse only to be turned away by a fierce receptionist. After several attempts to storm the gates of this foodie temple, his schoolmate Mark Miller, owner of the famed Coyote Cafe in Sante Fe, helped him get a job with Waters. Today McMeel is using her lessons to teach “cookery” classes and prepare fresh meals at Castle Leslie, the site of Sir Paul McCartney’s
recent wedding. (www.castleleslie.com).
In addition to fine dining, the Irish have added spa treatments to their menus. Doonbeg’s most expensive treatment is hour and a half caviar facial featuring real fish eggs. Farnham Estate, the largest spa in Ireland, (www.farnhamestate.ie), is currently building a golf course. In the meantime, guests keep busy using the amethyst-salt inhalation room, a water-mint thermal suite and swimming under the infinity pool. A submersion in the dry flotation device for 20 minutes is reputedly the same as a three-hour nap, the perfect antidote to jet lags.
To meet the growing demand for business and tourist travel, Ireland’s Aer Lingus airline is adding new non-stop flights from San Francisco to Dublin this fall. Due to a high demand from business traveler’s Shannon, Ireland tried to begin a non-stop from San Jose, but the deal fell through.
In addition to golf, fine dining and spas, Ireland has a great location. “When the weather is wet on a Friday, my wife and I look online at airline tickets and for only $100 euro we fly somewhere sunny like Rome,” says Little. Ryan Air and other low fare airlines offer last minute deals where flights can
actually cost a penny!
It’s nice to know that while Ireland is embracing their new advantages they’re also holding on to their traditions. If you take a tour of Castle Leslie, for instance, don’t be surprised if you’re greeted by 90-year-old Sir Jack Leslie, who might wear his flannel pajamas and a jaunty black beret while telling you about sightings of his ancient relatives roaming the hallways.
Maybe there is something to those Irish superstitions. Just a few years ago, who would have predicted that Ireland would be a worldwide economic force ready to take on Silicon Valley? It couldn’t hurt to look for a four-leaf clover, throw salt over your shoulder and give your employees a bonus. It’s tough to compete with the luck of the Irish.
WEST COAST GOLFER FALL 2007
West Coast Golfer
Ireland West Coast Golfer
Ireland West Coast Golfer
IRELAND: The Other West Coast By: Ruth Carlson Golf in Ireland is more exciting than in the U.S., says West Coast resident Dave McDonnell. He loves playing on this island so much that he recently bought a second home at the Doonbeg Golf Club in County Clare, Ireland. (His primary home is on the Pasatiempo golf course in Santa Cruz, California.) “The links courses in Ireland are wild and woolly,” he explains. “In the states, golf courses are much more manicured and the game is played in the air. You try to hit it high and land on the green. In Ireland it’s a game on the ground. Unless you’re extremely good, the wind can play havoc with your ball so you try to keep it low and it bounces around the hills and dales, nooks and crannies, mounds and bunkers. It’s just as easy to get a good bounce as a bad bounce, so the opportunity for drama on a links course is very high.” McDonnell says he found about the Doonbeg course, designed by Greg Norman, while visiting Ireland on a business trip for Agilent Technologies. About ten years ago, most Silicon Valley high tech firms started basing their European headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, creating a new Silicon Valley. Suddenlty the locals had disposable income As one watitrees remarked, “It wasn’t that long ago that the Irish were worried about paying groceries, much less thinking about visiting golf resorts.” and business travelers returned to Ireladn with their families for vacation. For instance, half of the Doonbeg Golf Club members are Americans! To meet the growing demand for busiens and oturist travel, Ireland’s Aer Lingus airline is adding new non-stop flights from San Francisco to Dublin this fall. Golf clubs have also responded the economic growth. New courses are springing up so quickly McDonnell says he can’t keep track of them and established ones are being refurbished. Most courses have accompanying designer hotels, restaurants and spas. Ireland boasts the largest number of golf courses per capita in the world, and while many rank among the highest internationally, the majority are public, “duffer” ranges. “The great thing about Ireland is that all walks of life bag off,” says Ruth Moran, Director of Marketing for the Irish Tourism Board, a great free resource to check out before your visit. (www.tourismireland.com) My husband Rich and I experienced a low-key links course in Sligo County while staying at the Arnolds Hotel (the only hotel in Donfanaghy, County Donegal). The proprietor not only lent us his clubs, he drove us to the course in his car! The greens were a tad weather beaten but the price was far cheaper than the members’ only courses, and the breathtaking views of the waves crashing on rocks just below each () are unrivaled. Every course seems to have a “wee” village nearby with welcoming pubs. The town of Cong, next to the Ashford Castle golf course, is justifiably proud of being the setting for the “Quiet Man” movie starring John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara. Formerly owned by the
Guinness beer family, the 13th century Ashford Castle is located a half-hour from Galway on the shores of Lough Corrib, Ireland's second largest lake. If you stay at the Ashford Castle, the price includes golf lessons and rounds on the nine-hole course. You can peek in the front door to see the knight’s suit of armor, but to enter the Castle, you have to be a guest. The Castle was too subdued for Rich and me, so we opted for the more relaxed atmosphere of the Lisloughrey Lodge, located a short walk away. It’s modern eclectic look with red walls and primary-colored bespoke furniture is typical of Ireland’s new wave of designers. Lounging in the hanging bubble chair, sipping my Power’s whisky, I was transported back to the swinging sixties. Here’s a tip: If you drive to Ashford Castle you have to pay a fee to tour the grounds, but if you walk from the village or the Lisloughrey Lodge, it’s free. You can peek inside the front door to see the medieval suit of armor, but to go any further you must be staying at Ashford Castle. Spas are the latest addition to Irish golf resorts--perfect for that massage after a strenuous game or a facial to refresh your wind-chapped face. Doonbeg’s most expensive treatment is hour and a half caviar facial featuring real fish eggs that soaked into my face. It seemed a shame not to eat the caviar, but there was some compensation: weeks later I am still receiving compliments on looking younger. For spa lovers who also golf, there is good news. The largest spa in Ireland, located at the Radisson SAS Farnham Estate Hotel in Cavan, is building an 18-hole championship golf course due to open next year. General Manager Shelia Gray says if you’re conducting business during your trip to Ireland, schedule a golf game. It’s where she says important contacts are made and in Ireland, “people do business with people.” The spa includes an infinity pool and a variety of saunas and steam rooms, such as an amethyst-salt inhalation room and a water-mint thermal suite. Try the dry flotation where you are wrapped in a blanket and submerged in a water tank. The technicians claim 20 minutes in this luxurious waterbed is the same as a three-hour nap, the perfect antidote to jet lag. Formerly a royal family castle, Farhnam Estate has been artfully converted into a high-end luxury hotel, combining the best of the historic design with modern, clean aesthetics. As you walk in the lobby you’re greeted by four huge pillars from the entrance of the original estate. Plastic boxes filled with pinecones, wheat shafts and leaves line the hallways leading to rooms with views of the adjacent hiking trails and lake. Spas, golf courses and four-star restaurants are enticing new visitors to Ireland, but the overwhelming reason most people tourists return is the warmth of the locals. McDonnell, who is single and often visits Ireland alone, says he’s never lonely. “I have so many friends there, “ he says. “Everyone is down home and friendly. I like to play the piano in the pubs so I’ve gotten to know the community.” The Doonbeg staff uniformly calls McDonnell a “lovely gent,” although they consider him a little daft for leaving the perneilaly mild weather of Santa Cruz to brave Ireland’s iffy forecasts. But McDonnell says the wild weather not only creates the beaitufl lush landscape, it provideds the conditions for a dramatic golf game. “Some courses in the U.S. pretend to be links courses,” says MdDonnell, but the Irish courses are far different from what you see in America. Ireland is unlike any place in the world,” he says contentedly. “I just love it there.” -END- Websites: www.tourismireland.com www.aerlingus.com www.doonbeggolfclub.com www.arnoldshotel.com www.lisloughreylodge.ie www.farnhamestate.ie
For lovers of Guinness Beer, I mean the real stuff right out of the tap that can't compare to what's available in America... good news. Aer Lingus is adding four new non-stop flights a week from San Francisco to Dublin, Ireland starting in October. For travelers who have never been to Ireland or if it's been awhile, things have changed. To think of Ireland as a "foodie" destination was once an oxymoron (remember the joke about a seven course Irish meal...a potato and a six pack), but now Irish chefs are winning international awards and topping the list is chef Noel McMeel. He trained with the creators of California cuisine--Alice Waters of Chez Panisse and Jeremiah Tower, also of Chez Panisse and later founder of the Stars restaurants.
A typical McMeel meal might start with a warm goat cheese tart with caramelized red onion, baby salad and wild garlic dressing followed by pan fried halibut with Dublin Bay prawns, lime tomato, fennel essence with oysters and julienne of vegetables, and a dessert of Bushmills Whiskey and armagh apple custard with baked oat crumble and rhubarb ice cream. The best part of enjoying this dinner by this master chef is that you'll be staying at the Castle Leslie Estates (www.castleleslie.com) located in County Monaghan, Ireland, just 90 minutes from the Dublin Airport. It's a hunting lodge restored to 35 bedrooms, twelve cottages, a Victorian spa, a cellar bar, and an equestrian playground of over 1,000 acres with 21 miles of bridleway. You can even take classes in a "cookery" school run by McMeel, so you can relive your Irish experience at home. Before you leave Ireland, be sure and head over to the Guinness Storehouse (www.guinness-storehouse.com) situated in the heart of the St. James's Brewery in Dublin, where Guinness has been brewed since 1759. Since opening to the public in 2000, it has become Ireland's most popular tourist attraction. Maybe it's the free glass of Guinness they give you at the end of the tour. Story and photos by Rich Carlson/www.talkintravel.com
Read the story below for Ruth Carlson's article on Ireland from EAST WEST MAGAZINE Volume 3 Issue 4 "Bollywood's New Backdrop" and a breakdown on where to go and what to see in theNorth West region of Ireland
Are you ready for Dollywood? Dublin and other Irish cities court India's move machine
By: Ruth Carlson
Ireland's income per capita is among the highest in the world. The government wants to let the good times roll so they're reaching out to India's movie makers, high tech workers, travelers and students.
The campaign appears to be working. As many as 11 Indian movies were shot in Ireland last year, Queens University in Belfast had a 68% rise in Indian students and an “Invest in Northern Ireland” trade mission resulted in 158 new jobs offered by India's Polariis Software Lab.
Ireland's largest industries are agriculture, software development and tourism. “India is such a massive country it can be difficult to reach tourists, says Jim Paul, Director of New and Developing Markets for Tourism Ireland. “We don't have the budget to launch a big advertising campaign, but for a relatively small amount of money invested in Bollywood movies, you can gain awareness.”
Exotic locations, experienced film crews and tax breaks are among the incentives being offered by Ireland to filmmakers in Bombay, home to the Indian film industry known as Bollywood. Indian producers save time and money in overseas locations because fans don't disturb shoots. Bollywood producers have already used Irish locations to shoot song and dance sequences for about a dozen films, but that is only a fraction of the number of Indian films shot abroad.
Filming Indian movies in Ireland has a two-pronged effect, the production helps the economy and Bollywood fans tend to visit the countries featured in the movies. Paul says Switzerland has been wooing India for years and at least 100 Bollywood films have been filmed there. As result, the number of Indian tourists to Switzerland has soared to 75,000 annually.
Tourism is one of the largest industries in Ireland but it's not receiving a large share of Indian visitors. Around 7,000 Indian tourists visit Ireland annually whereas nearly 5,00,000 visit the United Kingdom. Around 8 million tourists from all over Europe visited Ireland last year, but it is largely an unknown quantity to most Indians, says Paul.
No film is off limits to beautiful settings. Paul tells the story of a director of a suspense movie who said he would film in the beautiful Irish countryside. “When I asked him how that would work in a thriller the director said he would write a dream sequence that would incorporate waterfalls and the green fields of Ireland.”
John O'Donoghue, Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism says, “In terms of volume of films made annually, the Indian film industry is bigger than Hollywood. The Irish Film Board wants to ensure that Bollywood films scouting international locations will consider the beautiful Irish landscape as an option.” He says Indian directors choose Ireland for several reasons: cheaper production costs, beautiful rural locations - the period country houses are very popular, a highly developed local Irish film industry, a film-friendly working environment with a minimum of red-tape and an interest in Irish culture. Indian films shot in Ireland have even used Irish & Indian traditional music and dance, says O'Donoghue.
Paul is excited to announce that the world's biggest TV production company, based in India, is coming to Ireland in the next six weeks to film a popular soap opera, with an audience of several million. He accomplished this coup despite stiff competition from countries with cheaper production costs such as Malaysia and Thailand.
“India is a fascinating country,” comments Paul. “Only two percent of country can travel out of the 20 million population but that's still a lot of tourists.” Those that can afford to travel often want to golf. “We are certainly promoting golf in a big way,” says O'Donoghue. “Links golf is closer to the traditional origins of golf and Ireland has some of the top links courses in the world. As far as we are concerned, playing an Irish links course is one of the essential experiences for a real golfer. This year we will host the Ryder Cup, (a prestigious international golf tournament) which will give a further boost to our golf product.” Golf is an easy sell for most tourists since Ireland reportedly has more golf courses per person than any other spot in the world.
In addition to movie stars and tourists, Ireland is enticing Indian students at an opportune time. The Indian Government has recently announced quotas for university spots, forcing many students to go overseas to obtain a degree at the same time, a growing middle class means more students can afford an overseas education.
“India is an important market for Ireland for the obvious reasons; i.e. it is a fast emerging economy and the second most populous country in the world,” says Rosemary McAlonan, International Office for Queen's University in Belfast. She says Indian students tend to major in these areas: Information Technology, Engineering, Business, Biomedical Sciences, Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
Queens University is forming partnerships with the University of Chennai and IIT-Delhi which they hope will attract more post-graduate and doctoral students.
Ireland is depending on these Indian students to help fill it's high tech vacancies. “There are less than four million people in Ireland and India has a huge population. It's also a hotbed of high-tech skills,” says John Kennedy, an Irish business writer. “The government knows that it needs to bring people in to meet demands. If they want good R&D (Research and Development) people, India's the perfect place. They are renowned for mathematical skills.”
Ireland and India share the distinction of being two of the largest exporters of software in the world. Ireland has been lucky in the past decade with companies like Intel and Hewlett Packard and Microsoft hiring locals, says Kennedy Roughly one third of the total amount of American investment in electronics is concentrated in Ireland. “They knew they could hire skilled graduates that didn't cost a lot, says Kennedy. “Ten years later, salaries are more expensive, but Ireland has major established high tech hubs. India is where we were 35 years ago.”
To entice Indian workers, the government is easing up on some if it's outdated immigration laws, says Kennedy. For example an immigrant's spouse currently can't work in Ireland but that's due to change. Kennedy claims immigrants assimilate very quickly in Ireland and there is some evidence they are thriving. A recent report from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency indicated that the Indian community is considered one of the most successful sections of society in Northern Ireland. Among ethnic groups, it has the highest proportion of professionals and a large percentage own their own home.
-end-
Culture Light
By: Ruth Carlson
Even if you're not a Bollywood star, Ireland will still welcome you with open arms. Start your journey by visiting www.tourismireland.com, a free, government sponsored website with tips on everything from the best place to buy a tweed cap to the nearest seaweed bath. (No, this isn't a typo-just a cheap move to get your attention. Keep reading for details.)
No time to research where to go and what to do? Relax; I did your homework for you. Your friends will expect you to come home and talk about the historical sites in Europe so I've planned a trip that delivers the culture without the pain.
Dublin, the capitol city, is great for a short stay, but you'll discover the real Emerald Isle in the Northwest region, often referred to as the most beautiful part of the country. This unspoiled area of Ireland has preserved a traditional, rural way of life and it's common to find inns and stores managed by generations of the same family. It must be desirable… Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick have a home in Donegal and Pierce Brosnon got married in a country castle nearby. To get there, fly Aer Lingus to the Shannon airport.
Nearby, the town of Bunratty has the oldest operating pub in Ireland, Durty Nelly's. You must go…where else will you get credit for visiting a historic site while enjoying a Guinness! If this beer is too heavy for you, ask the bartender to add some black currant syrup-it's a trick I learned from my Irish friend. She also told me it's not customary to tip the bartender. Pubs are a family place in Europe and the day we visited kids played on the lawn while adults sipped drinks at picnic tables and an elderly gentleman treated us to an impromptu accordion concert. Durty Nelly's has a great view of the Burnatty Castle from their outside picnic tables. The castle is worth touring and the enjoining folk park is a good children's attraction.
Next up, Sligo County, where people in the know check into the insane asylum. Relax, the Clarion Hotel is a former psychiatric hospital that has been transformed into a sleek hotel with rooms that are mini- suites.
Irish people make sure they don't become mental cases by relaxing in a seaweed bath. The Celtic Seaweed Baths in Strandhill has taken recycling to a new level. They pick up seaweed off the beach at dawn, clean it and have you pay money to soak in it! I was a little freaked out by the possibility of bugs in my bathtub but my skin was as soft as a baby for days afterward. (www.celticseaweedbaths.com)
County Sligo has been immortalized by the Nobel Prize winning poet W.B. Yeats and a local resident makes his poems come alive at literary dinners. Damian Brennan and his wife Paula, a physician, open their modern, architectural digest style home to tourists. While he read Yeats, she prepared a five-course gourmet meal that was the best dinner I had in Ireland. I don't know about you, but I'm not accustomed to home cooking like this, much less being served by a doctor! (www.discoverytours.ws)
You can pay respects to your relatives by visiting Carrowmore, a 6000-year-old burial site. Anthropologists say there were so few people in the stone age that we are all related to these ancestors. The passage graves and stone circles are one of the oldest and largest cemeteries in Europe and I'm not touchie feelie but there was an aura in that field.
After all this newly gained knowledge of literature, culture and history, I felt entitled to some fun and for me that's shopping. In Ireland, you even get a history lesson in the boutiques, so I got bonus points! Magee Clothing Co. in Donegal, established in 1866, is one of the few places in the world that still employs people who sit in cottages handweaving fabrics in the traditional method. A certain Sex in the City star has been known to frequent Magee, probably because she knows high-end designers like Max Mara use their tweeds. I snagged one of the men's fedoras for myself. Made from scraps of leftover patterned tweed, it was one of a kind, but less expensive because it didn't match. (www.mageeclothing.com).
You'll be glad you purchased that tweed hat while walking on the chilly beaches of Donfanaghy. The only place to stay in this one street town is the Arnold's Hotel, (www.arnoldshotel.com). Luckily it's a real find. Established in 1922, it's a family run operation and most of the local populace seems to work there and perform multiple jobs. It's not unusual for the barkeep to step away from his job to help guests access wireless Internet access. The innkeepers go out of their way to make you feel like part of the family and will gladly arrange any activity, from biking to horseback riding. The owner lent us his personal golf clubs, made us a tee time, and drove us to the course! Check their website for schedules of painting and writing workshops.
For dinner, visit the Mill House overlooking a lake. It's a country setting overlooking a lake with sophisticated dining, specializing in local seafood. Be sure and try the black Guinness bread the Irish cheese plate for dessert. (www.themillrestaurant.com).
There, that didn't hurt too much-did it?
East West Magazine Vol3 Issue4
Ireland THUMPS UP!! you bet
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