Alpacas are a hit with tourists in Clare

A herd of alpacas in Co. Clare is proving to be as big tourist attraction as such local sights as the Cliffs of Moher. Tour buses of US and European holidaymakers in the Burren region have been stopping off to take snaps of the animals, which are native to Peru but have been imported into the rugged limestone area. Academic-turned-farmer Damien Dyar now hopes to develop his farm to accommodate school trips. The psychologist wants to help schoolchildren to learn about the animals as well as the Burren landscape.

Guinness Tastes Better In Dublin

Guinness Tastes Better In Dublin
By Elisha Burberry

Guinness is the world’s most popular dark stout and is named after Arthur Guinness - the man who first brewed his Irish ale over 250 years ago at the St. James Gate brewery in Dublin. Ask any Irishman and they’ll tell you that there is no place like the Irish capital in which to drink Guinness; not only does it taste better than anywhere else in the world, but you also get to experience the legendary Irish ‘craic’!

St. James Gate sits close to the River Liffey and is a big stone arch that has been the symbolic entrance to the Guinness Brewery for almost two and a half centuries. The brewery in the heart of Dublin now extends over 64 acres and not only does it provide Guinness for the whole of Ireland, but also the USA and many other parts of the World. It is so much more than a working brewery as it also includes a spectacular visitor centre boasting two restaurants, three bars and a shop.

The founder of it all, Arthur Guinness, benefited from a £100 inheritance early in life and decided to invest that windfall in brewing. By the age of 31, he had established a successful brewery at Leixlip, just outside Dublin. However, the lure of the big city proved irresistible. Leaving the Leixlip brewery in the safe hands of his younger brother, Arthur Guinness set off for Dublin in 1759 with the ambition of hitting the big time. Seventeen years before the USA declared Independence from Britain, Guinness took out a 9,000 year lease on the St. James Gate brewery, providing an initial £100 deposit and promising to pay rent at £45 per year.

Arthur Guinness passed away in 1803 and his son Arthur Guinness II took over the reigns of running Ireland’s second most successful brewery. By the time Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes as the US flag in 1818, Guinness was already exporting barrels of its stout to Portugal, followed two years later by exports to Barbados, Sierra Leone, Trinidad and Guernsey. By the 1830s, output from the St. James Brewery overtook that of Beamish in Cork, making it Ireland’s biggest brewery. By 1886 it had become the largest brewery in the world producing 1.2 million barrels annually. The rest, as they say, is history!

Perhaps it was Arthur Guinness’ hunger for the big city and extensive knowledge of brewing that enabled him to perfectly brew a beer containing the legendary spirit of the craic? But whatever his secret, you’ll find many visitors from all over the world trying to find a hotel in Dublin that is ideally located to enjoy both the best of the city’s hospitality and Arthur’s magnificent brewery.

Elisha Burberry is a freelance writer who loves her job and the occasional glass of red wine.

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Spencer Tunick in Ireland

Around 2,700 people in Dublin shed their clothes in the early hours of this morning in the name of art! They all get naked to have their photograph taken by American photographer Spencer Tunick.

He is recognized worldwide for his elaborately posed still and video images of multiple nude figures in public settings. His temporary site-specific installations have taken place around the globe in cities including Montreal, Melbourne, Lyon, London, Newcastle-Gateshead, Santiago, New York, Mexico City and Barcelona to name a few. Tunick gathers volunteers to participate in the making of his work which, in the past, have totaled anywhere from 100 - 18,000 participants. The photograph from his Greenpeace project on Aletsch Glacier in Switzerland was named Time Magazine's Picture of the Year 2007.

18,000 people in Mexico city

While most of the city was asleep the participants gathered at 3am at South Wall in Dublin Docklands. The shoot was then done on the Pigeon House Road at the Docklands. People of different age, shape and size showed up to be part of this art work. It felt just a little bit awkward at the beginning but when you have 2,700 naked people the ones that are dressed look different. Despite the cold morning weather all people patiently waited naked for over an hour when Spencer was preparing the set. It then began to rain, but that did not deter about 500 from wading out ankle deep into water for second shoot. It all lasted from 3am until 7am. That’s unusual way to spend your Friday night/Saturday morning!

Another group of over 1,000 brave Irish people had posed on early Tuesday morning in the historic surroundings of Blarney Castle.

Gulliver comes to Dublin Docklands

The chosen book for this year's Dublin: "One City, One Book" is Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift, and the Docklands is the place to see Gulliver himself in form of a giant sand sculpture.

To celebrate Gulliver's visit to Dublin, sculptors Duthain Dealbh began carving in sand outside the chq building in the IFSC on April 2nd. Two weeks later and a 4-metre, giant Gulliver is resting under the arch on George's Dock.

Almost 20 events and exhibitions will be held throughout the capital in April for both adults and children. City Hall will play host to Gulliver's Dublin - Eamon Morrissey's acclaimed one man show which will run for four nights (15th - 18th April).

Other events taking place throughout April include adult's and children's film screenings at the Irish Film Institute; children's interactive theatrical workshops in Dublin City Libraries; academic talks on Swift and Dublin; and specially curated exhibitions in City Hall, the National Library of Ireland and Pearse Street Library and Archive.

For more information about these events, please visit www.dublinonecityonebook.ie

New car hire engine on Roadtoireland.eu!

We have just launched on our Independent Guide to Ireland, new CarTrawler's AJAX car hire booking engine engine, giving you access to the best car hire rates in Ireland. By using the latest technology you are able to retrieve pricing, availability and also confirm bookings as close to one hour before pickup time. Now you can choose from over 450 car hire suppliers in 134 countries, with one click.

Smithfield on ice

Apparently Smithfield on ice is no more! Dublin City Council announced yesterday that the popular ice-rink event, which has been held in Smithfield, Dublin during Christmas for the past five years, will not go ahead this year. The partnership which ran the event has dissolved and the remaining interest, RSVP Event Management, is not in a position to deliver the project, the council announced.

Adidas Dublin Marathon

Today, once the worst pain is hopefully gone, and our knees are bending again we can write few words about last Monday’s experience!

Before start

Eleven thousand people, a couple of comedians, few leprechauns, Blues Brothers and Donald Duck took to the streets of the city on Monday to be part of the 28th Adidas Dublin Marathon, and among them us. It may sound a bit mad – who, in their right mind, would want to rise early on Bank Holiday and run 26 miles through streets of Dublin? In realty we run Dublin Marathon for the same reasons other climb a mountain – because it’s there! The goal was simply to get to the top, to cross the finish line.

Start

Of course there is, within every city marathon, another event altogether, for competitors and athletes. But this is strictly minority affair of the concern to no more than 10%. The real hart of this spectacle were thousands of participants, all shapes and makes of ordinary people, running for as many different reasons, as there are participants.

The General Post Office
Dublin O'Connell Street

This year’s race started on Baggot Street, at 9am – 15 minutes before the start – the street was completely filled with marathon runners. We were somewhere at the end so we’ve started five minutes after the official start! The first few miles were nice and easy, everyone was in a good mood! It was more of a sightseeing trip around Dublin tourist attractions than anything else, running up O’Connell Street by The General Post Office, the focal point of the Easter Rising of 1916. We hit Phoenix Park around the four mile mark, and we got onto Chesterfield Avenue – over a mile long, straight and slightly uphill part of the course. The fact you can see so far ahead makes you fill less comfortable - but it was nothing comparing to the pure torture of a long, steady climb of the Crumlin Road!

Nearly there...

We saw, especially after the half way mark, parts of Dublin, we’ve never been to. It got really though on the last six miles, and only around the Trinity College, with the support of crowds on both sides of the street legs become a bit lighter, and the last 195 meters were pure pleasure! And in the end one great purpose of the marathon is to prepare you for one of the best pints of Guinness of your life!

Comedians Ed Byrne and Tommy Tiernan completed the course, with Ed coming first. We finished somewhere between them – we bit you Tommy!

Ireland top list for friendliness

According to Lonely Planet travel guide, Ireland is now the friendliest nation on planet!
“Centuries of turmoil, conquest and famine – and subsequent immigration – have certainly taken their toll on the Irish; it’s left them with a delicious dark sense of humor and a welcoming attitude towards strangers” claims the guide.
That famous ability of the Irish to find the craic (fun times with convivial company ;-) ) in bum or bust times – means you’re always in for a treat.”
And it isn’t just the lack of food or abundance of invaders, that according to the book, has made Irish so happy – the sorting out of that unfortunate business up north has boosted Irish moods to an all-time high.
“These days, after the end of “Troubles”, a cautious optimism reigns supreme, infecting the land once again with the sense that anything’s possible” it adds.
The tip-driven smiles of the Americans have landed the US in second place, though residents of few nations may not agree.
“Blamed for the coming of World War III, the Anti-Christ, Bon Jovi, Tom Cruise, Michael Jackson, rampant street crime, and noise pollution through overloud talking, Americans just take it all in their stride” says the guide, claiming Americans will do anything to make you feel welcome.
Poverty stricken Malawi was third on the list (they can’t afford not to be) while Scotland, Turkey, Samoa, Thailand, Fiji, Indonesia and Vietnam made up the rest.
Needless to say Ireland also made it into the top ten on the Best Brews Bluelist – cheers for that, Guinness!

Festival of World Cultures - Dun Laoghaire

The Festival of World Cultures 2007:

49 surfers on a single wave!

We were so excited about the Saturday’s race that we nearly missed it! On Saturday, surfers in Lahinch in County Clare once again smashed the world record for the largest number of people to ride the same wave simultaneously.

At about 5.45pm, 49 surfers managed to stay in formation for the required five seconds, thus breaking the previous record of 44, set on the very same beach a year ago. Lahinch will host another attempt to break it’s own record in May next year.