It’s the hottest ticket in town at the start of the English summer when it’s everyone for tennis.
And although you might not associate the Irish with the All-England Club the same might have been said for the Scots before Andy and Jamie Murray started sweeping up and Judy extended her sideboard.
But back in the Ninenties (OK the 1990s) the Irish ruled the hallowed turf of London SW19.
Green, set and match
Still going strong: Andy Murray
With Willoughby Hamilton from Kildare winning the men’s singles in 1890, Bray’s Joshua Pim from my old stomping ground of Wicklow winning in 1893 and 1894 and Kerry‘s Harold Mahony taking the title in 1896.
While Tipperary‘s Lena Rice was Ladies’ champion in 1890 and Pim and the Dubliner Frank Stoker picking up the men’s doubles title taht year too.
Now we can’t promise Irish tennis fans will see the shamrock around. either the pot with the pineapple or the plate.
As the song goes it’s as simple as ABC… of stag and hen parties in Europe (OK, a bit of poetic licence here, but you try doing this every day!)
The rather clumsy lead-in just gives us an excuse to highlight the charms of our continent’s cities and its appeal to stags and hens.
Now you’ll have your own pick of the pubs but the A-1 for us before we tied the knot was our old stomping ground at the time, Aberdeen, in the north-east of Scotland.
Where the jokers, mostly those who have never been to the Granite or Silver City by the North Sea, will tar the locals with a parsimony that is misplaced.
But for those who have lived there (eight years for me) it is welcoming and best of all the pubs are hubs of good craic.
Too much so on the night in question when I was persuaded by my usher into drinking too much which forced me to retreat from my own do when we got to the Chinese restaurant.
Thankfully we had decided in advance not to have the stag the night before and I’d recovered by the following week.
This could be Amsterdam or Rotterdam
Can I be trusted on a bike? In Amsterdam
Our survey suppliers today Bonusetu (no, us neither) have inexplicably bypassed Aberdeen on their ABC… of stag and hen parties in Europe.
But they do give us some of our favourite cities, starting off with one of the masters, Amsterdam.
And it would be a mistake for revellers to descend on the Red Light district… far better to seek out the cosy, narrow, canalside bars.
The Dutch capital takes top spot for restaurants featured in the Michelin Guide per capita with 70 restaurants making for more than six per 100k population.
Ranking fifth in casinos per capita, sixth for number of five star hotels, and fourth for five star nightlife locations, the Dutch capital has it all.
Now we all have our ideas of romantic getaways and I won brownie points for taking Mrs M to the Dylan where George and Amal go when in Amsterdam.
But just as good I find is taking your loved one down to Rotterdam to see the Dutch Oranje play Greece I find too.
The upside of Continental Europe for your stag or hen is that it’s proper beer and the Belgians make theirs a matter of national honour as we found out in Ieper and Bruges.
Antwerp or Bucharest
Bucks on tour: Bucharest
But the same goes too for Bonusetu’s pick Antwerp where old friends from Dublin (and more of the Fair City later) await.
They tell us that it contains the second most Michelin Guide restaurants per capita at just over five per 100k, whilst ranking 12th relatively for five starred nightlife locations.
Now, full reveal here, and we’d have imagined that the B Bonusetu would have in mind might have been Barcelona or Berlin or Budapest.
But our guides have pointed us in the direction of Bucharest.
The Romanian capital has a huge amount of top class nightlife with more than 50 bars, clubs and comedy clubs rated over five stars on TripAdvisor.
And it has by far the most casinos with 160 which equates to nearly 9 per 100k residents.
Now you bet that we say where Bonusetu are going with this and what they want us to do when we’re abroad, but we’ll go with it.
Fairytale cities
Walking on air in Copenhagen
Heading north Bonusetu clearly know what they think is wonderful about Copenhagen.
The Danish capital sports just over 1.5 casinos per 100k residents, and more than four Michelin restaurants per 100k.
And it has almost 40 five star rated nightlife locations… but the abiding beauty is, of course, the Little Mermaid.
Prague has a fairytale aspect too and its mix of quirky David Cerny Piss Sculpture and historic erections (steady).
But most importantly it claims to have the most beer drinkers per capita in the world.
Bonsusetu helpfully tells us the Czechia capital has the most five star rated nightlife locations per capita of all cities in Europe with 162 across the city.
And that equates to more than 12 per 100k of the population.
Prague also sports the second highest number of casinos with 56 they inevitably tell us.
Eternal cities
I’ll be back: The Trevi Fountain in Rome
Rome needs little build-up and drinking Chianti with a pezzo on the Spanish Steps or Cakestand is to be recommended (guilty).
And our guides tell us of their 124 five-star rated nightlife locations across the city.
As the city with the most top notch hotels per capita in Europe with almost two for every 100k of its population, it’s a sure spot for a fantastic stag/hen do.
As is Lisbon, the jewel of Portugal. Sporting the third most five star hotels per capita at just over one and a half, it maintains a good rank for nightlife.
And we’d of course recommend the Vinho Verde and the sardines whichever fado bar you go into… and a Port to finish.
For those in these island where I live, of course, your question is bound to be which of Britain or Ireland comes out on top in the Bonusetu survey?
London or Dublin
The Travel pack in Dublin
And this time, it’s Laaandon, although we do know that’s because of the Irish influence.
London’s 163 five star hotels puts it second in the per capita rankings with this making for 1.75 per 100k people.
It also features the third highest number of casinos with 53, and an abundance of Michelin Guide restaurants put it at ninth in this category with 0.57 per 100k population.
The Bachelor Boy himself, my own Son and Heir, would only partake in someone else’s stag.
Our own old playground of Dublin has long been on the map for stag and hen revellers, particularly around Temple Bar.
The Fair City ranks third in terms of casinos per capita of these European cities with almost two for every 100k residents, and again in the top ten for five star hotels per capita.
So there you are the ABC… of stag and hen parties in Europe.
I mean you know your safe when you can take off all your clothes and sweat it out together in a sauna together.
Hello from the Low Countries
Can I be trusted on a bike? In Amsterdam
Where the crime rates are low and the approval ratings are always high.
In Luxembourg where despite its miniature size you’ll feel free as a bird surrounded by forests, gorges and the Moselle river valley.
Or the liberal Netherlands where they stay cool, cycling along canals, eating crepes or getting high in brown cafes.
A hundred thousand welcomes
With queen of Spain Teresa, Eoghan Corry and Sharon Jordan in Dublin
And it would surprise absolutely nobody to see Ireland up there as one of the safest countries in Europe.
Where you can still stop and talk to strangers in the streets of its capital Dublin and get the craic.
While out in the country, often called Real Ireland, and certainly my Dear Old Mum’s heartland of Co. Donegal there’s always a welcome in the hillside.
And quirkily where there is no rail service, getting about requires a lift from Maura.
And she’ll drop you off at Seamus’s who will take you as far as Breid who is going your way.
And so Switzerland is as safe as chalets and across Europe too.
Clerys’ return to O’Connell Street removes an eyesore facade from the landscape.
And it breathes new life and a much-needed elegance into the capital’s thoroughfare.
Like many a main street around the world O’Connell Street has fallen prey.
To the tacky, tawdry and tasteless over the decades.
But this Clerys renovation will revive some of the street’s glitz in keeping with its statues down the spine of the street and we do love to put deserving people of pedestals.
The redevelopment has involved restoring the collonaded facade, internal staircases, columns and ceilings… and the clock.
Rare gold times
Streets ahead: The great Dublin street
We expect the Great and the Good who reside on O’Connell Street, the heroes of Irish history…
Daniel O’Connell, Jim Larkin, Charles Stewart Parnell will all look across at the new Clerys with pride.
And because the dial always moves forward.
Then we can celebrate Dublin in the rare gold times.
When St Mungo witnessed what would become my home city he hailed it Glasgow, but what of the other Dear Green Places?
It’s not recorded why Mungo didn’t venture eastwards to Edinburgh, perhaps Glaswegians were more in need of saving.
But he’d have found an even greener place.
And it had a name already, Edwin’s Fort, after King Edwin of Northumberland.
Some would say it’s still populated by Geordies… on the stag do’s.
Green Paree
Tree bien: Jardin des Tuileries
Green as they are, alas, our cities aren’t as verdant as our friends around Europe.
And some researchers even believe England’s green and pleasant land is merde compared to France’s vert.
Paris for Fiftysomethings and above was oft-called Gay Paree before its meaning changed and maybe now it should be called Green Paree .
A study by Drinking Straw analysed the number of parks, gardens, wildlife areas, forests, playgrounds and bodies of water compared to the size of the population.
To see which areas have the most green spaces per 100,000 people.
Paris is the greenest of any capital, with 325 total green spaces made up of 171 parks, 127 gardens, one wildlife area, 16 playgrounds and ten bodies of water.
Their Lux in
When accounting for population, it has 7.62 parks and 5.66 gardens per 100,000 people.
Little Luxembourg City comes in second with 13 green spaces despite its smaller population, comprised of eight parks, one garden and four playgrounds.
There were 8.51 parks per 100,000 people, the highest of any city in the study.
Rare oul’ limes
Feast of Stephen: St Stephen’s Green
And our own fave capital, Dublin takes third on the list.
With 66 green spaces comprised of 34 parks, 15 gardens, seven nature and wildlife areas, three playgrounds, one forest and six bodies of water.
The study found it to have 6.47 parks and 2.86 gardens per 100,000 people when population was accounted for.
London’s falling
Princes among princes: Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh
My own nearest city, Edinburgh, comes in 17th with a total of 31 green spaces when adjusting for population.
The Big Smoke London comes in 24th place with 356 in total, but when taking into account the city’s population it falls out of the top ten.
The final straw
So who are Drinking Straw?
Well, they are a distributor, wholesaler, and supplier of drinking straws in Europe, offering flexible, eco-friendly and plastic-free wholesale stock.
And they are right to keep on at us.
And they are ably supported by our airlines, cruises and hotels and the Mother Turtles, my old friend Ingrid out in the Maldives.
It’s the final straw what’s been happening all around us.
Let’s hang onto our Dear Green Places before we lose them altogether.
And because Leopold Bloom didn’t have this option back in 1904.. bloomin’ eck it’s a Dublin airport breakfast on Bloomsday.
Bloomsday is a celebration of the mythical day in the life of James Joyce‘s great creation Leopold Bloom, June 16th 1904.
And this year is a special Bloomsday.
And not just because the day of Joyce japes is back after being put on hold these last couple of years because of Covid.
You have to wonder too if Leopold’s famous breakfast of ‘grilled mutton kidneys which gave to his palate a fine tang of faintly scented urine’ would have been a cure-all for coronavirus.
While Joycers reenacted the Great Man’s Day, minus the naughty bits, in his native Dublin.
This one-time English Lit graduate spent the morning in that most modern-day of pursuits.
Waiting at the airport.
Red-eye, must fly
Hat’s the boy: James Joyce
The 6.25am Ryanair red-eye from Dublin back to Edinburgh is a bit of a marathon.
And you can get caught between two stools of whether to get an overnighter or take a nap at the airport.
The pod bubbles will contort you in a bit of an unnatural position.
But then they are more comfortable than lying across the seats or trying to nod off when you’re sat up.
The boy in the bubble: In Dublin Airport
Equally, it came as a bit of a surprise to discover that the Aircoach doesn’t go right through the night.
Instead it now finishes at 12.30am, and meaning I had to get a taxi back from O’Connell Street, but hey-ho.
I had spent only £25 and a couple of £6 extras for seat selection and early check-ins so I had saved already…
Of course, in the early hours the food outlets are closed but start opening up, I’m thinking about 4am/4.30am or after.
So if you can hold out there are enticing food variations.
Now, for the day that’s in it it’s worth pointing out Leopold Coffee House.
It serves fresh coffee, teas, breakfast and a selection of baked goods, pastries and sandwiches.
Airport drinks
What’s going on here:? Hammer time
Now, this is Ireland after all so there is a culture of airport drinks.
But, and this will be the last time you’ll hear this, I’m pretty much a good boy around this.
And I prefering to keep any boozing until when I get there (wherever there is).
But if you’ve got a thirst on you then you might want to check out the Tap + Brew Craft Beer + Kitchen, the specs of which read thus…
‘A contemporary kitchen and bar offering a range of local artisan beers paired with gourmet hot dogs, loaded nachos, and tasty waffles.’
And so you get bacon waffles and the like, although at prices in the mid-teens I gave it a miss.
Of course, for coffee lovers, then there are the usual branded stores.
What the Butler saw
Blast from the past: A Joyce lookalike
But when in Ireland you should check out Butler’s, a favourite of ours. and with that little touch of a comp chocolate.
Now this is by no mean a definitive guide and there are a lot more choices to explore in the hours you have in the airport.
As well as the kerching and retail stores.
But as we’re creatures of habit, and I’m still kicking myself over shelling out more on the taxi after missing the Aircoach, I went back to an old staple.
The WH Smith meal deal, and I’m thinking about €6.50 for a packaged sandwich, drink (water or fizzy) and a bag of crips. It’s £5 in Edinburgh.
Bloomin’ heck it’s a Dublin airport breakfast on Bloomsday but it’ll do for me.
And, of course, the hick with the stick (Dubs have a more earthy nickname) was right to eulogise his home city.
With his epic day in the life odyssey. It’s become my signature trip.
I have a very particular set of skills I have acquired over a very long career. Not me (well, yes me) but another superstar.. Liam Neeson promoting Ireland and he will find you.
The big Ballymena man has that distinction which all the greats possess…
You can instantly recognise that it is him as soon as you hear his voice.
And he also possesses the gravitas and charisma which means that he can act as an ambassador both for his native Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Heck, he sees it the way he feels it, very Bryan Mills, as an Irishman and he wants to promote the island on which he was born and which developed him.
Because for as much as we on these islands know about the challenges and divisions that the two parts of the island of Ireland have had.
The rest of the world doesn’t want to make a traveller’s distinction.
They want to visit them both… and why not?
Taken star Liam has lent his voice to a new giant-screen documentary film.
It’s called Ireland which is produced by McGillivray Freeman Films and is sponsored by Tourism Ireland.
And it will go on release in select IMAX and giant-screen theatres across the US in February.
This is your pilot Liam talking
In another’s tongue it might sound cliched to talk of emerald islands and paradise but when it comes from Liam Neeson.
The Neesonathon celebrates the island’s rich history, culture, arts and music, as well as Ireland’s spectacular scenery.
It takes its American audience across Ireland.
Following writer Manchán Magan and others on an action-packed journey from Dublin to Belfast.
And from Kilkenny to Cong.
Viewers will see breath-taking footage of places like the Cliffs of Moher, the Giant’s Causeway and the Skellig Islands.
Ireland’s call
The Big Man and big-time Ireland rugby fan said: ‘There is a movement in Ireland to reconnect with our heritage, to rediscover what it means to be Irish.
“And I am delighted to help bring the joy and diversity of all that Ireland has to offer.
“Both the old and the new, to IMAX and giant-screen audiences worldwide.
‘As viewers experience Ireland’s great beauty and humanity on the world’s largest screens, they will fall in love all over again.’
And
A previous film produced by MacGillivray Freeman Films for Brand USA (destination marketing organisation for the US), called Natural Parks Adventure, was seen by around 8 million people in IMAX and giant-screen theatres.
And a sneak preview
And for those who want to get a flick of the vid and drown in Liam’s voice here’s a taster.
