Discovering Irish Seaweed on the Ring of Kerry
There are lots of reasons to visit County Kerry, in the south-west of Ireland, but you might not have thought that seaweed was one of them… I was lucky enough to meet John and Kerryann Fitzgerald of Atlantic Irish Seaweed (based near the beautiful Derrynane Beach) on...
read more
Blarney Castle: More Than Just a Kissing Stone
Why do more than 400,000 people a year visit Blarney Castle, in the south-west of Ireland? I’d always assumed that they all went to kiss the famous Blarney Stone, and not much more. Certainly that’s what I did, on a long ago visit to the nearby town of Cork. But I had...
read more
The Historic Places of County Kerry
Ireland may be modern and vibrant, with a lively social scene, but it is also an ancient country. The first people arrived almost 10,000 years ago, travelling by boat from the continent of Europe. They soon began to leave their mark and today you will find evidence of...
read more
My Top Five Reasons to Love Killarney and County Kerry
One reason I enjoy TBEX (Travel Bloggers Exchange) is that it lures me to destinations I might not otherwise have considered. Like the recent conference in Killarney, a part of Ireland I’d never visited before. It didn’t take long to be seduced by the place: it has...
read more
Books to Read Before You Visit Ireland
I’ve just booked my trip to Killarney in October, and I’ve been thinking about what books I’d recommend to anyone visiting Ireland for the first time. It’s not an easy task. Ireland’s long and sometimes troubled history, combined with a rich folklore, has provided...
read more
TBEX Killarney, A Sneak Preview
My first TBEX (Travel Bloggers Exchange) conference was in Ireland, in the capital city of Dublin. I enjoyed it so much that I’ve been to all the TBEX European conferences since, as well as this year’s TBEX International in Jerusalem. In October this year, TBEX is...
read more
Dublin, a UNESCO City of Literature
Dublin was the world’s 4th UNESCO City of Literature (after Edinburgh, Melbourne and Iowa City). But what does this actually mean? Well, it’s not just about having a rich literary heritage (although Dublin certainly has), but what all these cities also have in common...
read more
How I Learnt to Love Irish Whiskey – at the Jameson Distillery Bow Street, Dublin
I’ve never been much of a whisky drinker, although the occasional drop of single malt is always welcome on a cold day. And I’d always been told that the only type to drink was Scotch, so I was unreasonably prejudiced against the Irish variety. But all of that changed...
read more
A Magical Ride on Dublin’s Storytelling Bus
“Leprechauns can be tricky,” says Dylan as he bounces up the stairs of the Storytelling Bus. “You just need to be careful. There might even be some with us now...” A minute ago I was standing on a crowded street in the centre of Dublin, but now I had entered another...
read more
The Walls of Londonderry
I always like walled cities. There’s something about walking right round a town, peering over the walls into little back streets, that gives me a sense of connection with all the people that have gone that way before. Sentries keeping a lookout for unwanted visitors,...
read more