Tag: www.visitbelfast.com

Countries, Europe, Ireland, UK

Thirteen years an Irishman – My five Irish homes

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Growing up in Scotland to an Irish mother, and father with Irish roots, I was tagged Irish, or at least Irish-Scots.

Even after 13 years in Ireland I’m still seen as Scottish. I don’t know why, was it the accent, the kilt…?

But, in truth, I will always have two homes.

So, on the day we move out of the home we have filled for 13 and a half hours here are my five Irish homes:

Herself at her favourite Glendalough

Co. Wicklow: The Son and Heir and Daddy’s Little Girl both agree that growing up by the sea in Greystones was a privilege.

And you can ALWAYS get a coffee or hot chocolate. Some happily queue for veggies’ heaven Happy Pear https://thehappypear.ie.

Me? I prefer the eccentric Tomasso and Caffe Delle Stelle https://greystones.ie/caffe-delle-stelle/.

Greystones is framed by Bray Head and the town harbour. Great cliff walk and train ride through the Brunel tunnel.

Also Glendalough, the Meeting of the Waters, Avoca. the inspiration for Ballykissangel, and the spectacular Powerscourt with its waterfalls.

Visit http://visitwicklow.ie, https://www.irelandsancienteast.com and when we stayed… Flowerscourt.

Brill in Belfast City

Belfast boys

Belfast: The aforementioned Son and Heir has relocated to Belfast, another excuse to go up north, as if I needed any.

Myself and the Scary One have obviously been up to see him.

And also the Game of Thrones door, the tapestry in the Ulster Museum https://www.nmni.com/Home.aspx and the Titanic Museum https://www.titanicbelfast.com.

We stayed and can recommend the https://www.fitzwilliamhotelbelfast.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIxO6shb615wIVArDtCh0Zyw_DEAAYASAAEgJ_LvD_BwE.

While when I get the chance to zip up there for, say The Open at Royal Portrush, with Discover Northern Ireland https://discovernorthernireland.com/about-northern-ireland/19-reasons-to-visit-northern-ireland/, or Van Morrison at the Europa http://europa-belfast.hotel-rv.com/index.htm?lbl=ggl-en&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI7taG1L615wIVFODtCh0c2Q-dEAAYAyAAEgKsnPD_BwE and staying at the Grand Central Hotel https://www.grandcentralhotelbelfast.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIjvK297615wIVR7DtCh3wmA7kEAAYASAAEgIb-fD_BwE.

Also check out https://visitbelfast.com and Belfast Chilled.

Monaghan country life

Rolling hills

Teamwork? I find the destination and I leave Herself to organise us getting there, so is it my fault if I give her the wrong dates?

So when we turned up in Monaghan one week early we had to rely on the kindness of the townfolk… Justin Asian Street Food, Monaghan County Museum and Brehon Brewery.

We did make our high tea meeting a couple of weeks later at Castle Leslie where Paul and Heather Mills got married. Let It Be!

Visit https://monaghantourism.com and read Monaghan’s country roads.

Donegal land of my mother

Double trouble

I’ve been going to Donegal all my life… to visit my grandparents, my auntie, and doing an annual pilgrimage with my Mum since.

We always stay in the hotel in the nearest town to her Brockagh homestead, Jackson’s http://www.jacksonshotel.ie in Ballybofey where the Irish Coffee was born.

My mum was the first intake of the Brockagh school which is now home to the patriot Isaac Butt Heritage Centre https://www.discoverireland.ie/Arts-Culture-Heritage/isaac-butt-heritage-centre/10716.

Where photos of her and her family is up on the boards.

While we also love to visit Portnoo with its deserted island and The Flight of the Earls Memorial and Doon Well holy site in Rathmullan.

Visit https://www.govisitdonegal.com.

My rare oul’ times in Dublin

Flagging it up: Temple Bar

Twelve and a half years of it I spent in a soulless, friendless office… but thankfully my pal Nicky runs the iconic InterContinental next door… The InterCon… what a Ledge!

Temple Bar is where the tourists come but you can pick and choose and get away from it all at the Gibson Hotel https://www.thegibsonhotel.ie/?nst=0&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIwoCdtd615wIViLTtCh0WCwqCEAAYAiAAEgLDsfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds.

I’ve spent many of the best days of my life in Dublin…

Mary’s Bar and Hardware Shop off Grafton Street https://marysbar.ie/?utm_source=maps&utm_campaign=gmb is the pick of my pubs although I’d be shot if I didn’t mention The Workshop Gastro Pub http://www.theworkshopgastropub.com.

Chapter One https://www.chapteronerestaurant.com does the best steaks while Chai Yo Teppanyaki https://www.chaiyo.ie the best Chinese while Wendy Wu Tours http://www.wendywutours.ie the best Chinese New Year spread.

Raising the bar: with Herself

You want museums? Yes, there are the obvious attractions, the Book of Kells in Trinity College Dublin and Dublin Castle.

But I give you The Little Museum of Dublin https://www.littlemuseum.ie/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5-2-u_y15wIViKztCh2XGQ6dEAAYASAAEgJYS_D_BwE, the Hugh Lane Gallery http://www.hughlane.ie with Francis Bacon’s recreated studio.

And Kilmainham Jail http://kilmainhamgaolmuseum.ie where the 1916 leaders were executed including the gangrenous Scot James Connollly, strapped to his chair.

And for more on Dublin, visit https://www.visitdublin.com and https://www.tourismireland.com.

MEET YOU BACK IN IRELAND

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Moanday Morning… football, ship jobs

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The football season is back… abroad! Here in Ireland it’s been going all summer.

But football fans will ditch Cork City for Manchester City, Galway United for Manchester United, Longford Town for Liverpool.

And there is, of course, a rich business in ferrying and flying fans out to see their favourite foreign clubs.

Manchester United v Chelsea is one of the blue-riband games of the season (or red if that’s your colour).

And Celtic Horizon Tours offers the fixture on August 11 for €259pp for adults and €239pp for children.

Including transport by coach and ferry, hotel stay at the Holiday Inn Express, Manchester Airport, and tickets. Visit www.celtichorizons.com

And before you jump all over me, they do offer deals for your team too.

The good news is that you won’t have to show your passport to get the tickets.

It helps if you have them: Photo by Omar Markhieh on Pexels.com

And that’s my Monday Mourning Moan…. having to show your passport abroad at the ticket office.

I still owe the Son and Heir a match in Rome after turning up at the ticket office without a passport.

And then having to take the bus back into the city against the traffic of football fans coming the other way.

Passports to get tickets for football matches… did I not need one of them to get into the country in the first place?

Harland & Wolff – shipping jobs

Belfast people have a natural wit, not dissimilar to Glaswegians, of whom I am one, just across the water.

And they too built their wealth on shipbuilding.

And so they will cheerily try to convince you that H&W lettering on the Harland And Wolff cranes that tower over Belfast stand for Hello and Welcome.

Harland and Wolff’s impact on the city is as large as those cranes, ‘Samson and Goliath’, but today it stands to lose its famous shipyard.

The administrators have been called in.

And where once it shipped goods and people, now it is shipping jobs.

Legacy: Titanic Photo by Steven Hylands on Pexels.com

Harland and Wolff’s skilled workmen erected the Titanic.

And which has been around since 1861.

It was a bastion of Protestant rule in its day but then that was in those days and Belfast has changed and evolved.

I know the world has moved on too, they build ships cheaper abroad, and Brexit must be a part of it as well.

But why have we just thrown our hands up and meekly relinquished our once unequalled position as the shipbuilders of the world?

I can only take solace in the fact that the Titanic Exhibition Centre has become such a huge success.

And has among its many awards been named the World’s Leading Tourist Attraction at the World Travel Awards.

Belfast has rebuilt itself before – it will again.

Visit www.visitbelfast.com. And www.titanicbelfast.com.

And read my review of the city where the Son and Heir has made his home.

And Van Morrison has chosen among all the places in the world to return to. https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/belfastvanmorrison/