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.
We’d been seduced by a rooftop viewing over Cannes but I baulked at a $16.50 Aperol Spritz… before I learned this week about Cocktail Millionaire Hour.
They must have heard about me at Pay Day Loans because why else send me news of a $22,600 cocktail, Diamonds Are Forever?
And so if you’ve got that down the back of a sofa then get yourself over to Ritz-Carlton in Tokyo.
What a sparkler
Glitzy: The Ritz-Carlton
We’re told the DAR in the skyscraper hotel is a Grey Goose vodka and a twist of lime…
And a $16,000 diamond on the side of the glass, and helpfully they advise not to swallow the diamond.
Not wanting to stymie any future chances of a stay at the Ritz-Carlton but that’s one expensive voddie and lime at $6,600.
It is made from a 1778 Clos de Griffier Vieux Cognac, 1770 Kummel Liqueur, Dubb Orange Curacao circa 1860 and two dashes of Angostura Bitters circa 1900s.
We don’t know what the tip is here but at 10% that’s $700 so be prepared when you hit the Big Smoke.
And the others
What every woman wants: The fast set
We’ve just extended our knowledge of Connecticut following our trip to Dublin for the VisitUSA Thanksgiving get-together.
And they were keen to flag up their rich casino tradition.
Usually if you’re gambling you’ll be offered a comp drink, but not alas a Sapphire Martini at the Foxwoods Resort Casino.
Now Hemingway sure loved his cocktails and the Bar Hemingway in Paris channels the Great Man.
Through its $1,670 Sidecars.
And one we made earlier: With my Cocktail Girl
When I go high set in Belfast I head for the Grand Central Hotel and the highest bar in Ireland, the Observatory.
It has been a favoured hangout for journos all that time.
Back in the day the Irish Times Belfast office relocated there (to work!) after their offices were gutted following a car bomb.
While there have been a pantheon of celebrated journalists who have frequented the Europa.
And those who reported on The Troubles are Trevor McDonald, Kate Adie and John Sergeant.
And yours truly and a group of journos from south of the Border.
Your only man
The Penthouse Poppets: Belfast’s bunny girls
We got bombed too (drinks!).
And don’t get all PC on me as our Nordie pals are all about the gallows humour.
The night was a Van Morrison cabaret dinner and the drink was flowing.
While there was also the obligatory stumble across to Belfast institution the Crown for a nightcap or two.
In this instant orange stout, and I kid you not.
The Europa has been owned by the inimitable Hastings family for the past 30 years..
And as you would expect they’re laying out the red carpet for the big 50th anniversary celebrations.
Hastings the last word
Former US President, Bill Clinton with concierge Martin Mulholland.
They have invested over £40m in renovations and have added 88 new luxurious bedrooms to the existing 184.
A new renovation programme is currently underway.
It will see the 90 front-facing superior bedrooms, 85 classic bedrooms and six suites redesigned and upgraded.
Of course, there will always be some rooms which are kept for Presidents (and Travel Editors of the Year).
Clinton fits the bill
Survivor: The Europa Hotel
And as well as yours truly, Bill Clinton has been a visitor, in 1995.
He booked 110 rooms for his entourage. He returned to stay in 1998.
The Europa story was told in a book published ten years ago called In The Headlines because it always was.
Julie noted
The bould boys: At the Europa
And CEO Julie Hastings proudly recalled: ‘My father had the courage and optimism to buy it when nobody else wanted to.
‘He invested heavily at the time despite the bombings that followed over the next three years.
‘It was his confidence and that of many others that led to Belfast, and Northern Ireland, to begin its journey, to become the well-loved tourist destination that it is today.’
The Europa has launched a Golden Moments package from £115 per room which includes a plush stay, full Irish, signature cocktail in the Piano Lounge, signature truffles and exclusive golden Hastings duck.
And for those of you who haven’t stayed in a Hastings hotel, and if not why not, then you’ll know that rubber ducks are their signature.
Eider expect Julie will have one lined up with a typically punny name to join the likes of her others in the past such as Rory Quackilroy.
Stiff Little Fingers (Alternative Ulster): And first up is the pride of Ulster punk.
Belfast boys SLF used the backdrop of The Troubles for material and recorded the first single Suspect Device disguised as a suspect bomb.
The producer thought it was real and contacted the band for a real one. Instead we give you the brilliant Alternative Ulster.
Get your kicks
Call them up on the telephone: The Undertones
The Undertones (Teenage Kicks): It is the stuff of punk legend that SLF and Derry’s finest The Undertones did not get on.
The Undertones accused SLF of sensationalising The Troubles and the violence.
Teenage Kicks famously initially had the line: ‘I wanna hold it, hold it tight’.
An Ode to Derry
Star composer: Phil Coulter
Phil Coulter (The Town I Loved SoWell): When a composer speaks with honesty and experience about his world (Derry)then the results are memorable.
Phil, of course, had musical pedigree before this, his signature song, having written Eurovision classics Congratulations and Puppet On A String.
Comedy classic
Harmon harmonies: Divine Comedy
The Divine Comedy (National Express): And you’ve got to love a band with a lyric: ‘And it’s hard to get by/when your arse is the size of a small country.
Derry’s Neil Harmon also penned an album The Duckworth Lewis Method. Geinius.
Van the Belfast Man
Hat’s the boy: Van the Man
Van Morrison (Madame George): The poet laureate of Belfast, Van may be a grumpy old sod but he’s never forgotten his roots.
You can still see him at one of his legendary cabarets at the Europa Hotel although, alas, characters like Madame George are long gone,
And a special mention too to the three Ulster counties in the Republic of Ireland…
When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation. And take me home what joy shall fill my heart. Then I shall bow in humble adoration. And then proclaim, my God how great thou art – ElvisPresley
And it is worth remembering that Elvis first learned to sing in church.
And during his residencies in Las Vegas he would invite his friends up to his room for impromptu Gospel singalongs
It’s better to imagine Elvis’s heart being joyful at the moment God came to take him home that day in Graceland.
Whenever God shines his light on me. Opens up my eyes so I can see. When I look up in the darkest night. And I know that everything is going to be all right – Van Morrison/Cliff Richard
And aren’t we all God’s children anyway even Van the Man, the grumpiest man in rock?
Religion is all around you in Belfast where Van is known to put on occasional jazz cabaret shows at the Europa Hotel.
Guide me, O thou great Redeemer, Pilgrim through this barren land. I am weak but thou art mighty. Hold me with thy powerful hand. Bread of Heaven, Bread of Heaven. Feed me till I want no more. – Bryn Terfel, Cardiff
And Cwm Rhondda (The Rhondda) is the unofficial anthem of Wales.
Now the screw was peeping, as the lag lay sleeping. Dreaming about his girl Sal. And that auld triangle went jingle-jangle. All along the banks of the Royal Canal – The Auld Triangle, The Dubliners
Luke Kelly drolled that ‘in the female prison there are 75 women and among them I wish I did dwell, and that auld triangle could go jingle-jangle all along the banks of the Royal Canal.’
And if you know this song, penned by Brendan Behan (and if you don’t then you’ve been missing out) you’ll walk along the Royal Canal in the north of Dublin singing it aloud.
Or if you’re cycling too as I have done, all the time hoping that the broken bottles wouldn’t puncture my tyres.
The Beardie Boys: The Dubliners
That was then, and this is now, and the announcement of the €12m scenic 130km Royal Canal Greenway is to be welcomed.
If you do the lot you’ll have chalked off 90 bridges, 30 locks, 17 harbours and four aqueducts.
And take in Co. Dublin, Kildare, Meath, Westmeath and Longford.
So as a preamble let’s get on with our Rainy Days and Songdays six of the best songs with Irish landmarks.
What a Corker!
Jim and Alan at the Phil Lynott statue in Dublin
As I was goin’ over the Cork and Kerry Mountains, I met with Captain Farrell and his money he was countin’. I first produced my pistol, and then produced my rapier. I said ‘stand and deliver, or the devil he may take ye – Whiskey in the Jar, Thin Lizzy
Musha rain, dum a doo, dum a da.
The Cork and Kerry Mountains have always held a special affection for me as the first travel assignment when a cub reporter in Reading.
Going over said mountains in our Citroen cars was not helped by a bout of seasickness going over on the Swansea-Cork ferry.
But nothing that the local tipple, Murphy’s Stout and the craic didn’t put right.
Low lie those fields
Those low-lying fields: Athenry
Low lie the Fields of Athenry, where once we watched the small birds fly. Our love was on the wing. We had dreams and songs to sing. It’s so lonely round the Fields of Athenry – Fields of Athenry, The High Kings
Lowing, or maybe braying, around those Fields of Athenry were our four donkeys which came with the rented cottage.
I can’t remember what la famiglia called the three others but mine was Oaty as in Donkey Oaty!
I was maybe just tilting at windmills.
And as for stealing Trevelyan’s corn… we just bought some from the Centra for the donkeys.
The Band is back together
Neat little town they call Belfast
In a neat little town they call Belfast, apprentice to tradeI was bound…, a sad misfortune came over me which caused me to stray from the land, far away from my friends and relations, betrayed by the Black Velvet Band – Black Velvet Band, Peaky Blinders
It was more good fortune that came over me… to take me away from my friends and relations to the States after university.
And work, no not on the Black Velvet Band’s pitch, Broadway, but Boston where I inevitably served tables at an Irish pub.
Where every night among the most requested songs was Black Velvet Band.
And yes, of course, like our gullible hero of the song ‘many an hour’s sweet happiness I spent I spent in this neat little town Belfast.
As for a black velvet band, or any colour for that matter, try as I may I never persuaded one… i wonder if she’ll be there when I return.
Where the Dark Mourne sweeps…
London’s got nothing on this
Oh Mary this London’s a wonderful sight with people here working by day and by night, they don’t sow potatoes, nor barley, nor wheat. But there’s gangs of them dogging for gold in the street. At least when I asked them that’s what I was told so I just took a hand at this diggin’ for gold. But for all that I found there I might as well be in the place where the Dark Mourne sweeps down to the sea – Mountains o’ Mourne, Don McLean
Mourne Mountains, Co. Down: It’s always a thrill to see the Mountains of Mourne, my Dear Old Mum’s home province, when driving either north or south.
Mountains of Mourne this sweeping range, has a special place in our hearts as the lullaby I would sing to Daddy’s Little Girl.
It was round by Brockagh’s corner
Harkin’s Bar, Donegal
It was down by Brockagh Corner one morning I did stray, I met a fellow rebel and this to me did say, he had orders from our captain to assemble at Dunbar. But how were we to get there without a car – The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem
Beockagh, Co. Donegal: And still on lullabies this gentle little ditty about the Irish War of Independence is an alternative to nursery rhymes.
If your mother is from Nationalistic north-west Donegal that is.
Well it got me through childhood… give three cheers to the Teasy and Johnson’s Motor Car.
Meeting of minds in Wicklow
Moore Wicklow please
Sweet vale of Avoca! How calm could I rest. In thy bosom of shade with the friends I love best. Where the storms that we feel in this cold world should cease. And thy hearts, like thy waters, be mingled on peace. – The Meetings of the Waters,John McCormack
And my beloved old homestead of Co. Wicklow and its poet laureate, Thomas Moore.
The Meetings is a family favourite, going back to the days when my Donegal Granny and Grandpa honeymooned here.
We would often return there in our Thirteen Years in Ireland on family day trips.
And skim stones which can be more of a danger sport than you might imagine.
Particularly if you’re that young boy on the other side of the bank who ducks just as a stone is jumping up out of the water.
Just like watching the detectives don’t get cute, just like watching the detectives, I get so angry when the teardrops start, But he can’t be wounded ’cause he got no heart. – Elvis Costello, Watching the Detectives
And with apologies to the Poet Laureate of New Wave.
But it’s not the bespectacled one but the new run of Line of Duty, shot in Belfast, which has got me thinking.
About my favourite detectives in the cities they are associated with.
So here are seven deadly detective shows, their music and their cities.
Excitement is building to fever pitch ahead of the resumption of police drama Line of Duty on March 21 which allows us to explore police dramas around the world.
Hastings’ landscape
Europa living In Belfast
Belfast: I can’t find evidence but it must be true that Superintendent Ted Hastings is named after Belfast’s faves Hastings Hotels.
The seahorse on the wall of the Great Central Hotel is your compass wherever you go in the Northern Irish capital.
That is if you can drag yourself out of the Observatory bar atop the hotel where you get the best views.
And where James Nesbitt opens his Bloodlands detective drama.
Adrian Dunbar on the Graham Norton Show watches Vicky McLure at his Line of Duty mural
Hastings, aka Adrian Dunbar in Line of Duty has been immortalised.
As are all they take to their heart and allow to film in their city.
By having their image set as a mural… and be sure to take a black taxi tour around Belfast.
Check in at the Europa Hotel, part of the story, and get ready for a potted history of The Troubles.
Mob rules
Vegas baby
Once upon a crime in America: And everywhere there is an American dream there is a big job to realise that dream.
Can I be trusted on a bike? In Amsterdam
Nylon Pool, Tobago
