There’s so much to choose from when you want to take a break in Ireland. So, where do you start? Simple, right here. Whatever it is you’re looking for – family fun, romantic breaks, adventure weekends, relaxing with friends – you’ll find it all here.
The Irish culture has taken thousands of years to develop, so cherish every moment of your cultural discovery
The Irish love traditions. So much so, in fact, that the country is full of them – from eating colcannon (a mixture of cabbage and mashed potatoes) on Halloween to wearing something green on St. Patrick’s Day. Two of the most enduring and internationally famed, however, are traditional music and Irish dancing. Northern Ireland also has its own unique Ulster-Scots culture, which is prevalent throughout the counties and is often expressed through music and dance. The Lambeg Drum, fiddle, fife and flute are just some of the melodic accompaniments to sessions of Highland Dancing, Scottish Country Dancing, Ulster-Scots Square and Country Dancing. And with Ulster-Scots cultural events springing up all over the place, you can watch from the sidelines or give it a whirl yourself.
Temple Bar Trad, Irish Music and Culture Festival
A lively four day celebration of traditional Irish music and culture,featuring live performances from some of Ireland's top musicians, including the world renowned bands. Other festival events include workshops, photo exhibitions, Irish dance, story-telling, street theatre, children's events and a folk/trad music session trail throughout many of the bars and pubs in the area.
St. Patricks Day Festival
St. Patrick’s Festival is now by far the biggest annual event in the country providing entertainment for all interests and ages. The Festival programme has music, theatre, family carnivals, comedy, street arts, visual arts, dance, a treasure hunt, symposium, cavalcades of vintage cars….. 4000 performers – 1.5 million spectators and 5 days of fantastic festival fun for all! St. Patrick would be very proud!
Derry Jazz and Big Band Festival
From Thursday 29th April to Monday 3rd May, the City's pubs, clubs and venues come alive to the sound of music for the 9th City of Derry Jazz and Big Band Festival.
Visitors can also expect a weekend of top quality free music on the Guinness free jazz trail which has become a true festival favourite, featuring fantastic performances from some of the best local, national and international talent on the festival circuit today.
Ballyhoura Walking Festival
The annual Ballyhoura International Walking Festival takes place from 30th April to the 3rd May 2010. The festival offers over 30 guided walks, led by people from local communities and the Ballyhoura Bears Walking Club. The schedule offers walks for all levels of ability from the undulating green pastures, woodlands and rolling hills to the high peaks of the Galty Mountains. The area is a walkers paradise with unspoilt beauty and a variety of landscapes and there is something for everyone at this years festival, whether you enjoy a family day out or a serious hike.
The Iniscealtra Festival of Arts, Clare
The Iniscealtra Festival of Arts is an annual festival held at various locations in and around the beautiful lakeside village of Mountshannon in County Clare. The festival has been going from strength to strength and is now in its 11th year. Each year a theme is chosen which all of the varied events reflect, and this year the theme is Community.
The Cat Laughs Comedy Festival, Kilkenny
The 2010 Cat Laughs Comedy Festival will run from June 3rd - 7th with an international line up of comedians from Ireland, England, America, Canada, Australia and some from as far afield as Scotland.
Life Festival
"The beauty of Life" will bring you this year to an incredible virgin venue never used before for a Festival. The time for everyone to begin their plans for life has arrived ... aspirations... dreams...a journey of discovery...a project of Love and illusion, faith and hard work believing in something special with a vision that all that we have ever dreamed about can be possible in Life.
A 3 day international electronic and acoustic dance gathering will take place this July, the venue being one of Ireland's most beautiful Castles.
Kinsale Arts Week
Kinsale Arts Week is a multi-disciplinary Arts Festival being held in Kinsale, Co Cork, Ireland from 10th to 18th July 2010. Each year it brings the best of local, national and international talent to Kinsale. For nine days in July the town is electrified by performance, exhibition and installation.
Clonmel Junction Festival 10th Anniversary
The Clonmel Junction Festival is one of the most exciting and fastest growing festivals in Ireland. For nine days and nights Clonmel, Co. Tipperary is transformed and animated by hand painted banners, with flags bedecking the town centre, daily street theatre and free live music events. However the real heart of the festival is in the theatres and music venues which host over 50 performances of top class Irish and International acts.
Galway Arts Festival
Galway Arts Festival, Ireland's largest and most prestigious annual arts festival. Galway has long been considered a centre of cultural excellence with Galway Arts Festival the defining cultural expression of Galway. At the heart of all aspects of life in the city, Galway Arts Festival always promises a stunning fortnight of cultural activity and celebration.
This years festival features over 400 writers, artists, performers and musicians from Canada, England, France, Scotland and the USA joining those from Ireland creating theatre, spectacle, street art, music, comedy, literature and music.
Beast of Ballyhoura
The Beast of Ballyhoura Adventure Weekend takes place over the August Bank Holiday Weekend, Jul 30th–Aug 2nd 2010. The event features the Beast of Ballyhoura Adventure Race, a uniquely Irish 36 hour non-stop race across the ancient & magical surroundings of counties Cork, Limerick & Tipperary. Mixed teams of four mountain run, bike, kayak, abseil, orienteer & shoot, navigating the best route to win. Prepare to meet your demons during this event designed to push each team to their limits. The Beast of Ballyhoura incorporates the 6h All Ireland Inter Services Challenge to unearth Irelands toughest service men and women. The Blackrock Challenge is on Sunday August 1st and covers a distance of 80km, 15km hill running followed by 65km mountain biking with navigation for markers along the way. The race is for people seeking for a tough challenge & incorporates 2,000 meters of height gain, all mountain terrain & significant proportions of cross country single track riding.
The Ballyhoura Blitz is also on Sunday August 1st. The race is for individuals looking for the experience of adventure racing. The race will cover a distance of 30 Km consisting of a 10km hill run followed by 20km of mountain biking on the world class Ballyhoura Mountain Bike Trails. The race will involve some adventure terrain & competitors should be prepared to get wet.
Kilkenny Arts Festival
The 2010 Kilkenny Arts Festival will run from 6th to 15th August. Kilkenny Arts Festival 2009 was a huge success! Ground-breaking theatre, music, literature, visual art, children’s events and outdoor performances abounded, with record crowds attending over 100 events, featuring almost 300 international, Irish and local artists, in venues all over Kilkenny City and County, over the festival’s 10 days and nights.
Rose of Tralee Festival
The Rose of Tralee International Festival is one of Ireland's premier festivals. Over 200,000 visitors from throughout the world return year after year to Tralee in Kerry to enjoy the best in Irish and international music, parades, fireworks displays, nightly seisiuns, and of course the renowned Rose of Tralee Selection.
Festival of World Cultures
The Festival of World Cultures in Dun Laoghaire is an arts festival celebrating cultural diversity through an extravaganza of internationally acclaimed acts including music, film, circus, theatre, dance performances, club nights, markets, exhibitions, workshops & children's activities. Free events day and nights.
Galway Oyster Festival
Galway International Oyster Festival. This unique event is about friends, fun, fabulous seafood combined with World class non-stop entertainment in the charming medieval city of Galway. There are always a few pleasant surprises at the Galway Oyster Festival.
Ulster Bank Dublin Theatre Festival
The Dublin Theatre Festival in 2009 will showcase the best of International and Irish theatre work, and promises to be one of the most exciting years to date! The programme details will be launched in early summer, and all details will become available online.
Wexford Opera Festival
For over fifty years the Irish coastal town has been seducing the world with wonderful productions of rare opera presented as part of a unique festival. The warm and vivacious welcome, the narrow and ancient Viking streets and the tiny, atmospheric Theatre Royal add to pleasures which include over forty daytime events as well as the eighteen evening performances of three major productions.
Cork Jazz Festival
The Guinness Jazz Festival is Ireland's biggest and most prestigious jazz event and is one of the most important events on Ireland's arts and cultural calendar.
This year some 1,000 musicians from 25 countries will entertain the fans in over 75 venues citywide. The main concert venues are the Everyman Palace Theatre, Cork Opera House and the Triskel Arts Centre. The famous Guinness Festival Club at the Gresham Metropole Hotel offers world class jazz on five stages day and night ( daytime sessions have free admission) while the easy to find Guinness Jazz Trail offers entertainment in over 40 excellent pubs and clubs, most of it free of charge.
The Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen's
Embark on a mad dash through more than 250 events from around the world as the Belfast Festival at Queen's celebrates 40 years of full on festival magic.
Irish Castles
Irish Gardens
Irish cuisine isn't very fancy. There's no frogs legs or any of that stuff. The only way to describe Irish food is as traditional, healthy, farm style home cooking, made up of hearty soups and stews, home made breads and of course, potatoes that come roast, fried, boiled, mashed - every way imaginable.
Popular Irish dishes include Bacon and Cabbage, Dublin Coddle, Irish Pheasant, Dublin Bay Prawns, Crannach (seaweed) along with every kind of seafood under the sun. The west of Ireland, produces excellent seafood, most of it caught by traditional methods dating back centuries.
Ireland's best known whiskies include Jameson, Paddy and Bushmills. Guinness, Ireland's most famous stout, is often used as an ingredient in Irish recipies. It's also particularly popular with Oysters. The Clarinbridge Oyster Festival held in County Clare every year is an incredibly popular event.
Ireland's nightlife is world renowned. From cosy country pubs to lively city nightclubs and cafes there is something for everyone here. The pub is still the centre of the Irish nightlife and is a great place for talking, meeting people, catching up on some local gossip, eating, drinking and generally having a good time.
Traditional pubs are still the most common type in the country with the basic pleasures of good beer, good conversation and few frills. Local musicians often play at such places so if that's what you're after it's usually worth asking round.
The larger towns and cities also have more modern / cosmopolitan type places including some continental-style cafe-bars, disco-bars and of course nightclubs. Dublin, with its young working population has probably one of the most eventful nightlife scenes in Europe. Ireland's position as one of the wealthiest countries in EU has brought many new venues and types of clubs into the frame. In other cities such as Belfast, Galway and Cork with their young student populations there are always music events on all year round.
Ireland is green for a reason. The varying shades of green (some say over 50) can be attributed to the high level of precipitation. With any visit of more than a few days, it can be almost said for certain that rain will be experienced. As the Irish say "It never rains in the pub." The winter is wetter than the summer, and the western part of the island gets more rain than the eastern part, the southeast is the driest part of the country.
On the positive side though, despite its northerly latitude, Ireland rarely gets very cold, and snow and ice are relatively rare. When the sun does shine (and it does quite often) Ireland's magnificent coastline and beaches can be relished at their best.
Summer temperatures average between 15 to 20 degrees Celsius. Anything above that would be considered a hot day, and rarely does the temperature get as high as 30. Similarly winter is moderate and even in January and February the average temperature is between six and seven degrees.
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