Supporting SAREN's petition to retain West Cork Today radio program

Posted on April 21, 2009 by Discovering Ireland

SAREN, the Skibbereen And Region Economic Network, has today launched a petition asking UTV-Media to reverse its decision to scrap the West Cork Today program presented by David Young on its C103 station.

Being based in Skibbereen in West Cork we have seen the importance of this vital piece of social infrastructure first hand in the past few months.

There are two key communications resources that really matter in West Cork and ‘West Cork today’ is one of them along with the Southern Star. Two initiatives that I have watched closely in the past months have been the launch of SAREN and the  creation of the West Cork Tourism Co-Operative Ltd to buy a ferry and relaunch the Cork-Swansea Ferry.

I contend strongly that without these two communication resources, the success of these initiatives would not have been achieved.
With their  help, the people and businesses of West Cork could not have missed the key messages of both initiatives.

These are just 2 of the countless examples of how these resources are a vital element of the social fabric of the region. The Southern Star will continue to be an integral part of West Cork but it is a weekly publication and, for the elderly in particular,  the West Cork Today show was their daily interaction with what was going on in their areas.

This petition by SAREN is only step 1.
If the decision is not reversed they should be calling on the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) to review the license that was rewarded to UTV Media for the West Cork station. It is not enough to have a mast broadcasting a signal in West Cork and have all the programming homogenised across the county. Surely the reason for a broadcasting license for West Cork was that it would serve a public interest in West Cork?

Read more on the http://www.skibbereen.ie website or sign the petition at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/westcorktoday/

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Saint Patrick's day is Ireland Week

Posted on March 12, 2009 by Discovering Ireland

St. Patrick’s Day isn’t until Tuesday next March 17, but the USA is feeling a wee bit Irish already, and you certainly don’t need to travel to Ireland for Ireland’s national day to experience some St. Patrick’s day fun.

Known in parts of the USA as Saint Paddy’s day or St. Patty’s day,  the celebration of Irishness sees events take place far beyond the 24 hour confines of the day itself.

While New York and Boston are famous for their St. Patrick’s day celebrations, many cities in the USA celebrate St. Patrick’s day as part of Irish Week.

Today’s Seattle Times outlines a list of festivities taking place in the Washington state city over the week:

Irish Week

Irish Week Proclamation Luncheon:Noon Friday, F.X. McRory’s Steak, Chop & Oyster House, 419 Occidental Ave. S., Seattle; $ 30, advance registration required, space limited (206-361-1713 or www.irishclub.org).

Green stripe laying:Truck leaves 6:30 p.m. from F.X. McRory’s, 419 Occidental Ave. S., Seattle, to start stripe laying at Fourth Avenue and Jefferson Street at 7 p.m. Friday.

St. Patrick’s Day Parade:12:30 p.m. Saturday, on Fourth Avenue from Jefferson Street northward to Westlake Park (between Pike and Pine streets), Seattle.

Irish Festival:: 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday, Seattle Center, free. 206-684-7200. More information: 206-242-5140 or www.irishclub.org.

Other St. Patrick’s Day events

St. Patty’s Day Dinner:Comerford Irish Dancers, Irish stew, green beer, 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Southeast Seattle Senior Center, 4655 S. Holly St., Seattle; $15, reservations preferred (206-722-0317).

Friends of St. Patrick Banquet: Black-tie dinner and dance with Irish entertainment, 6 p.m. Saturday, Washington Athletic Club, 1325 Sixth Ave., Seattle; $95, reservations required, space limited (425-290-7839 or www.fosp.org).

St. Patrick’s Day, Meeker Mansion:Corned beef, cabbage and a jig, noon-4 p.m. Saturday, Meeker Mansion, 312 Spring St., Puyallup; $8. 253-848-1770 or www.meekermansion.org.

St. Patrick’s Day Dash: 4-mile run with costume contest, kids’ Leprechaun Lap, post-race bash, 8:30 a.m. Sunday, no day-of-race registration. 800-343-4411 or stpatsdash.com.

St. Patrick’s Day Brunch Cruise:Family cruise tour with Irish brunch buffet, 11 a.m. Sunday, Waterways Cruises, 2501 N. Northlake Way, Seattle; $19-$49, reservations required by 5 p.m. Friday (206-223-2060 or www.waterwayscruises.com).

St. Patty’s Day walk: Music, walking laps around the track, sponsored by Seattle Parks and Recreation Sound Steps walking program, 10 a.m. Sunday, West Seattle Stadium, 4432 35th Ave. S.W., Seattle; $10 minimum suggested donation (206-684-4664).

St. Patty’s Day Run: 5K run and costume contest, post-race party, 9 a.m. Saturday, Thea Park, 535 Dock St., Tacoma; $30-$32.50, register 7-8:30 a.m. day of race. 253-862-8890

Posted in Festivals in ireland, Ireland, Ireland Travel | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Ashford Castle to celebrate 70th Birthday as Hotel

Posted on March 9, 2009 by DiscoveringIreland Travel Tips

Ashford Castle in Cong, County Mayo, will celebrate 70 years as a hotel in May of this year.

The majestic Ashford Castle, set on 350 acres, is located in the beautiful west of Ireland north of Galway and dates back to 1228.
Situated on the confluence of Lough Corrib and the River Cong, and once a summer home of the Guinness family, Ashford Castle has captivated visitors since being converted to a hotel in May 1939. Continue reading →

Posted in Ireland Travel, Irish Hotels, vacation to Ireland | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Swansea to Cork Ferry is nearly there but one final push is needed

Posted on February 23, 2009 by DiscoveringIreland

Fundraising efforts to reintroduce the sorely missed Swansea to Cork Ferry are now entering a crucial period where time is running out and donations are quickly needed.

The West Cork Tourism Co-Op are aiming for one final push to re-establish the Swansea to Cork Ferry service which aims to revive the ailing tourism industry in the area.

Over €2 million has already been successfully raised from all over Cork and Kerry but they still need one final push to reach the magic €3 million figure that will see the Ferry active again.

More Roadshows announced and Kerry hotline established  for fundraising

On its dedicated website www.bringbacktheswanseacorkferry.com ,  further details have been released on new roadshows as well as a Kerry hotline set up for ferry share pledges – details can be be found here

The Ferry service between Cork and Swansea is estimated to be worth €35 million annually to the South West region and its loss is being sorely felt amongst its business owners.

Here at DiscoveringIreland, we wish organisers all the best and lets hope they prove successful in seeing their enormous effort get over the line and bring prosperity back to this beautiful part of Ireland.

Posted in Ireland, Ireland Travel, Swansea to Cork Ferry Service | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Ryanair launch inflight mobile phone service

Posted on February 19, 2009 by DiscoveringIreland Travel Tips

logoRyanair have launched their much heralded onboard inflight mobile phone service.

While phones will be billed by the users mobile phone company, the service, provided by OnAir, will cost approximately €0.50 to send a text message and between €2.00 and €3.00 per minute to make and receive calls.

Switching on your phone and receiving text messages will be free.

The service will also provide internet connectivity for email via Blackberry, iPhone etc.

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New 4 star hotel for Belfast

Posted on February 4, 2009 by DiscoveringIreland Travel Tips

The Fitzwilliam Hotel in Dublin is about to get a sister in Belfast. The new 4 star deluxe Fitzwilliam Hotel Belfast will be opening in the centre of the city in March of this yera. 
The hotel will be located adjacent to the Grand Opera House on Great Victoria Street. The hotel comprises 130 bedrooms and suites in addition to a penthouse suite overlooking the city.
The interiors will replicate the look and style of its sister Dublin hotel.

The hotel will be able to use  the Grand Opera House meeting space including the main 1000-seat auditorium, the 130 seat ‘Baby Grand’ room plus the smaller ‘Shakespeare’ rooms for private dining.

The hotel is just a short walk to Belfast City Hall, the Old Museum Arts Centre and the Victoria Square complex which is to open in the very near future.

The hotel will be a welcome addition to Northern Ireland‘s tourist capacity

Posted in Ireland Travel | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Flights to Ireland at great prices

Posted on February 2, 2009 by Discovering Ireland

Today is the last day of Ryanair’s latest special offer for flights to Ireland.
Book by midnight tonight to avail of 75% off their fares.

There are some great value rates available.
I just did a quick survey right now on the London Stanstead to Cork Airport Route: There are flights available for travel in March (even for St. Patrick’s day) for less than Continue reading →

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Cork Airport has record year

Posted on January 30, 2009 by DiscoveringIreland Travel Tips

A record 3.25m passengers passed through Cork Airport in 2008 setting a new record.
This was a 2.5% increase over 2007 and represents an additional 80,000 passengers through Cork during the year.

Traffic between Cork and London grew by 4% to 927 thousand with traffic to and from provincial UK airports growing 26% to 669,000.
Continental European passenger numbers were static versus 2007 at 869,000 while domestic traffic within Ireland suffered a 10% decline to 443,00 passengers during the year.

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New Ryanair Routes to Knock and Derry Airports

Posted on January 14, 2009 by DiscoveringIreland Travel Tips

Ryanair have announced new routes from their Spanish hub in Alicante to Derry Airport and Knock Airport in the North and West of Ireland.

The budget airline said today that the services from City of Derry Airport and Ireland West Airport Knock would be operating twice weekly from June 4th of this year.

Alicante becomes the 7th Ryanair link to Derry Airport adding to Liverpool, London, Luton, Stansted, Glasgow and Birmingham. It will bring the number of Ryanair links to Knock to 3, in addition to Bristol and East Midlands.

The Mayor of Derry Gerard Diver said the new route was a fulfilment of a long-standing ambition stating that “A direct scheduled international flight is a long-standing ambition for the city and region and today’s announcement will create more choice and greater convenience for passengers.”

“It is a positive way forward for City of Derry Airport.”

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Ryanair issues official terms of bid to takeover Aer Lingus

Posted on December 16, 2008 by DiscoveringIreland Travel Tips

Aer Lingus Logo @ FlickRMichael O’Leary’s Ryanair officially presented its takeover bid to Aer Lingus investors yesterday, giving them until January 5th to accept the €1.40 ($1.87) per share offer.

Ryanair presented the opportunity to create “one leading, financially strong, Irish-run airline group.”

The offered share price represents a €748 million offer, a premium of approximately 28% over the average closing price for the 30 days ended Nov. 28 and considerably lower than the €2.80 per share that it offered two years ago.

Ryanair guaranteed that Aer Lingus would remain a separately operated company and that both its brand and its slots and connectivity at London Heathrow would remain.

It plans to double Aer Lingus’ short-haul fleet over the next five years to 66 aircraft, creating a additional 1,000 jobs.

It also promised the Aer Lingus chairman, Colm Barrington, a seat on the Ryanair board however, Mr barrington responded that the offer was “the usual stream of invective, spin and misrepresentation that we expect from the people at Ryanair.”

Ryanair currently holds 29.8% of Aer Lingus.

Aer Lingus has vowed to remain independent and CEO, Dermot Mannion, said on Sunday that Aer Lingus will respond to the offer document with a ” very positive, affirmative document that will set out an independent strategy for long-term growth on shorthaul and on longhaul in the business”

This will be intersting to watch and is likely to be ultimately  decided by the government who hold approx 25% of the airline’s shares. However, Ryanair are keen to also win support of the ESOP, who hold 14%, and have conceded that they will recognise union membership as part of the integration (something they do not do within Ryanair)

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