Recently, the world’s fastest growing airline, Emirates started a daily service between Dubai and Dublin. The long haul services of Emirates will connect Dublin not only to Dubai, but also connect Ireland to over 100 destinations throughout the world, including Asia and Australia. This means new Emirates flights to Dublin will add more to the Irish tourism and business as compared to Aer Lingus flights, which connects Dublin to Europe, North America and North Africa only.

Mr. Varadkar said, “Tourism Ireland and the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA), both of which fall under my remit, are working with Emirates to promote the route and Emirates Holidays has included Ireland in its holiday brochure for 2012.”

The arrival of Emirates on the grounds of Ireland will definitely to add competition to the services of Etihad Airways, which operates between Dublin and Abu Dhabi 10 times a week.

Currently, there are 28 International destinations on offer, including the recently announced services to Barcelona, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Milan and Paris which will be operated by Lufthansa and Ryanair. These new services will generate an additional spend of €23million on tourism for the West of Ireland region.

While Knock Airport has been focusing on growing routes, by comparison Shannon Airport has seen the number of routes offered fall dramatically. Passenger numbers at Shannon Airport have fallen from a peak of 3.6 million in 2007 to just over 1.6million in 2011. The fall in traffic is mainly as a result of Ryanair closing its base at Shannon Airport which consisted of six aircraft.

Commenting on the news, Joe Gilmore, MD Ireland West Airport Knock said:

“We are delighted to have had a record year in 2011 and whilst it was our busiest year ever, without doubt, 2012 will be a challenge for everyone in the region. We look forward to welcoming the thousands of European tourists to the West and North West of Ireland but more than ever we need the support of the trade and in particular key stakeholders at regional and national level as these new services will require even greater effort on all our behalf’s to ensure they are a success and are maintained for the longer term.”

Photo Credit: The Leading Photo, “Aer Lingus A320 EI-DEH” is copyright (c) Andy_Mitchell_UK and made available under a Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 license

Proclaimed as “one of the best golf courses in the world” by Darren Clarke who today welcomed the announcement as being “a huge day.” Similarly Graeme McDowell expressed his delight at the event being held in his home town by saying “we are 100% behind anything we can do to make the Irish Open in Portrush the best it can be.”

The Dunluce Links which will be used for the Irish Open is just over 6,530 meters long with a par of 72. The course contains several signature holes, including the fourth, fifth and fourteenth. The Dunluce Links has been voted the 12th best course in the world by Golf Magazine, and was described as a masterpiece of golf architecture.

If you would like to play a selection of top golf courses in Northern Ireland including Royal Portrush, Causeway Coast and Glens.com are have a fantastic offer. Play four golf courses (including Royal Portrush) for £199. Included in this package is one round at the famous Royal Portrush, one of the great courses of the world. In addition, there is a choice of playing one round at three out of the following four courses – Ballycastle with its great mix of Links and Parkland, Galgorm Castle one of Ireland’s 30 finest courses, Gracehill offering American style water hazards and Radisson Roe Park with its challenging water features and beautiful setting. For further details, click here.

Most toll stations around Ireland now operate a tag system whereby an electronic tag records your passing which is paid via an account set with the company you have got the tag from. This speeds up your transition through the toll station as the barrier lifts automatically on approach when it detects an active toll tag. It is highly recommended for people who go through toll stations regularly.

There are a couple of different companies who offer these tags but who is the best? We have listed your options below and links to their sites so you can make an informed decision on which toll tag suits you best. The discounted rates are the same across the board with the only difference we can see is the admin charges and fees each company has.

Eflow Tags

Eflow are the official body running the M50 and they offer two types of account. A video account serves the M50 only and operates by keeping your car registration on file and everytime you pass through the M50, a charge is made against your account. Eflow also offer their version of the toll tag which works on the M50 barrier free toll and all other toll stations in Ireland.

Your account will be charged a monthly Account Fee of €1.21 per Tag.

TollTag.ie

Tolltag/Park magic works on all toll roads including the M50 and their rates are listed as below. The cost per crossing are the same as the eflow tag costs listed above.

EasyTrip

EasyTrip toll crossing are again the same as the eflow base toll rates. The difference lies in the fees and admin charges list below:

Hello -Dia duit - pronounced “de-a gwich”.

How are you? – Conas atá tú – pronounced “cunas ataw too“.

Thank you (very much) -  Tá mé go maith, go raibh maith agat – pronounced “Taw may go maw, po rev maw agut”

This should be enough for most people. Simply making an effort will always indeer you to the native speakers. For those who want to go that little bit further, here are some more general sayings and useful phrases you might find useful.

 
I’m lost – Tá mé caillte

Can I help you? – An bhféadaim cuidiú a thabhairt duit?

Can you help me? -An bhféadann tú cuidiú a thabhairt dom?

One moment please! -Fan bomaite!

How much is this? – Cá mhéad atá air?

Excuse me! ( to pass by) – Gabh mo leithscéal!

Do you speak (English/ Irish)? – An bhfuil (Béarla / Gaeilge) agat?

What’s your name? – Cad is aimn duit?

My name is … – Is mise…..

We hope you find this helpful. I would even suggest printing this guide off and bring it with you. If there is something particular you would like to know, leave a comment and we will try and get the Gaelic for it.

This year may prove to be the biggest Halloween festival ever with lots of events running throughout the country from Mayo to Thurles and Roscommon.

Probably Ireland’s larget event this Halloween will be the Westport House’s Halloween Fest that will run from Oct 19th to November 6th and features face-painting and fireworks set in the grounds of the House itself dating back to the 18th century. The house itself will be transformed into a haunted manor with White Witch’s story time and the Lord of the Darkness. Learned the moved from Michael Jackson’s Thriller video.
Sunday the 30th will see a fireworks extravaganza and a scary haunted dance floor on the front lawn. Costume competitions will be running for the kids and adults too so dress to impress. Visit Westport Halloween Fest for more information.

You could also check out Castlecomer’s discovery park in County Kilkenny. From Friday the 28th to Monday the 31st of October there will be a ghost train that goes deep into the scary woodlands which will have lots of hidden surprises.  For the little ones there will be a bouncy castle, face painting, storytelling and fancy dress competitions. On Sunday there will be a trick or treat trail where the kids can explore the woods solving puzzles in order to obtain their treats. Visit Castlecomer discovery park for details.

For the older kids or young adults Kells dishes up a spooktacular attraction not to be missed. Strictly for over 16′s it is built as something from a horror movie featuring blood thirsty mutants and undead creatures. All is based in a quiet rural farm and boasts a eerie graveyard, haunted woodland and much much more. For more information go to Haunted Spooktacular Kells.

There is so much excitement about the world cup with Ireland having as good a chance as ever at winning their first world cup trophy. Keeping up to date with games and kick off times can be difficult. New Zealand being on the opposite side of the world means that most games a re very early in the morning in Ireland. Trips to the early houses in Dublin for some but most will be watching from home or even just checking the scores later on in the day.

Europcar’s rugby world cup fixture calendar is great at keeping you up date and has every game, team, pool and kick off time at this year’s world cup. To make it even better all games are set in your local timezone. No messing around trying to convert times. All at a click of a button.

The rugby world cup fixture guide is viewable in any flash friendly browser. Rugby World Cup Calendar.

Designed to take you on a voyage through the important moments and people in Irish history, you will discover recreations of scenes starring incredibly life-like wax sculptures that will amaze. It is also an educational experience that the kids will love as they can interact with the scenes to fuel their imagination and thirst for knowledge.

The Museum has eight attractions spread over four floors all themed differently with intense atmospheres.

The Writer’s Room pays tribute to the literary heritage of Ireland, laid out as a library to house the wax figures of some of the greatest writers to ever live. What better way to introduce your children to some of the greatest masterpieces in literature?

The Vaults of Irish History is an audio-visual voyage through, as the title suggests, the progression of Irish history. This educational experience provides an atmospheric backdrop as you may even learn a thing or two about what went on in the past. From Viking occupation to the times of famine to the early 20^th century, you will see the hardships and important figures that shaped the country.

Children’s Fantasy World rewards the vivid imaginations of youth as you come face-to-face with the heroes of children such as The Simpsons and Harry Potter. Set to a vibrantly colourful background, the kids could spend hours in this area (if their parents allowed them).

The Grand Hall is where the great talents from music and film are found. Among the realistic recreations are Thin Lizzy’s Phil Lynott, U2 and Schindler’s List star Liam Neeson, making you believe you are actually in the presence of their greatest.

Record in Wax gives visitors the opportunity to interact with actual music recording equipment that has been used in the past by the likes of REM and Snow Patrol. Let your imagination run wild as you picture how all the greatest albums were made and experience the environment that produced them.

Hall of Irish Legends is the setting for the most recognisable faces in sport and entertainment history, ranging from TV legend Gay Byrne to former coach of the national soccer team Jack Charlton, experiencing how they shaped modern day Irish pop culture.

The Chamber of Horrors takes visitors down to the chilling basement to test their bravery in the face of the likes of Hannibal Lector and Dracula. Your pulse will race as the convincing figures stare out at you.

Irish Heroes of Discovery are the greatest minds of our past and present, honouring the scientific achievements that have moved our society forwards. Technology is rightly present in this exhibit as interactive touchscreens help you learn about the work of the people on show, truly humbling you in their greatness.

The whole day provides much to do and many photo opportunities to remember the day for years to come. Located in the heart of Dublin, enjoy a weekend in any of Hotels Dublin locations and experience a great family break. The Wax Museum is located in temple Bar, Dublin 2

Today, two ferry companies operate from Dunquin to The Great Blasket Island with return trips sold at a cost of €20 per adult and €10 for children who are under 12. The ferries operate on the half hour and on the hour and offer returns on the same basis from the primitive pier on the Island. Ensure when booking your ticket you will be catching the next ferry to prevent an unnecessary wait. This is not necessarily advertised as the two ferry operators are competitors.

The pier where the boats depart from is situated at the foot of a cliff with stunning views of the Blasket Islands. The walk from the top of the cliffs to the harbour is an iconic walk, and it is hard not to cast your mind back to the residents of the Blasket Islands and the journeys they would have made.

The ferry trip across to The Great Blasket takes roughly 20 minutes. As you approach the Great Blasket Island, the old village which had a population of 150 people becomes apparent. The vast majority of the houses are now in ruins, but a number are well maintained and liveable in. Tomás Ó Criomthain in An tOileánach described the life of the islanders in the following famous quotation:

“I have written minutely of much that we did, for it was my wish that somewhere there should be a memorial of it all, and I have done my best to set down the character of the people about me so that some record of us might live after us, for the like of us will never be again.” An tOileánach, Tomás Ó Criomthain

Once on the island, there is much to explore, including the abandoned village, the beautiful beach which is clearly visible as you approach the island and walking paths. There are no facilities on the island whatsoever, so come prepared. For those looking to explore the full extent of the island, there is a 6.5km looped walk that follows well marked pathways around the island.

Departing the island is a strange sensation, knowing that once again the island will be deserted of all human occupants, as it was in 1953.