Dublin Chinese New Year

2013 celebrates the year of the snake in Chinese culture. Dublin will be joining in with all the festivities from February 8th to the 22nd. The well established Dublin Chinese New Year Festival will showcase the best of the Sino Irish Culture. The 2013 festival not only marks the year of the snake, but it’s also the 6th year of the internationally recognised festival.

Snake Years are sixth in the cycle, following the Dragon Years, and recur every twelfth year. The Chinese New Year does not fall on a specific date, so it is essential to check the calendar to find the exact date on which each Snake Year actually begins.

Visit www.cny.ie for more information and a list of what’s on. For more information or to make a room booking call 01 646 1000 or go online to www.grandcanalhotel.ie

2 Days Holidays in Dublin

You may think that only 48 hours in Dublin is not very much time to get to see much of what the city has to offer, but we want to show you that it is.We have come up with some of the most important things to see in Dublin. Starting off day one with a visit to Kilmainham gaol, It is one of the largest unoccupied gaols in Europe, covering some of the most heroic and tragic events in Ireland's emergence as a modern nation from 1780s to the 1920s. Access to Kilmainham Gaol by Guided Tour Only. Duration: 60 minutes.

Only a short walk from Kilmainham Goal is the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA). The grounds of this building are absolutely amazing. The Gardens on this estate are free to walk around and hold some beautiful views of the city.

Moving on towards the city, your next stop is of course the Guinness store house. This major tourist attraction is located at St. James's Gate Brewery in Dublin, Ireland. Since opening in November 2000, it has received over four million visitors The Storehouse is laid out over seven floors surrounding a glass atrium shaped in the form of a pint of Guinness. The ground floor introduces the beer's four ingredients (water, barley, hops and yeast), and the brewery's founder, Arthur Guinness. Other floors feature the history of Guinness advertising and include an interactive exhibit on responsible drinking. The seventh floor houses the Gravity Bar with its fabulous views of Dublin city and the Wicklow Mountains is where visitors may drink a pint of Guinness included in the price of admission.

In the heart of the Viking district of Dublin you will find Christchurch cathedral. Christ Church Cathedral is located in the former heart of medieval Dublin, next to Wood Quay at the end of Lord Edward Street. Christ Church is the only one of the three cathedrals or acting cathedrals which can be seen clearly from the River Liffey. Another well Known cathedral a short walk from Christ church is the St Patrick’s Cathedral. Founded in 1191, is the larger of Dublin's two Church of Ireland cathedrals, and the largest church in Ireland with a 43 metre (140 feet) spire.

After a long day being a tourist you will want to head for something really nice to eat. We recommend Roly’s Restaurant in ballsbridge, Dublin 4. Roly’s comes highly recommended. If you wish to book a table, be sure to speak with one of our desk agents, they will be happy to help you out. Day two will start in the city centre at the Spire of Dublin on O’Connell Street. The Spire of Dublin, officially titled the Monument of Light[1] is a large, stainless steel, pin-like monument 121.2 metres (398 ft) in height, located on the site of the former Nelson's Pillar on O'Connell Street in Dublin, Ireland.

Beside the spire if the General Post Office (GPO), During the Easter Rising of 1916, the GPO served as the headquarters of the uprising's leaders. The assault by the British forces extensively damaged the building and it was not repaired until the Irish Free State government took up the task some years later. The original columns outside are still pocked with bullet-marks. Walking down Henry Street and crossing over the Ha’penny Bridge you will walk into what is known as the Temple bar district. Unlike the areas surrounding it, Temple Bar has preserved its medieval street pattern, with many narrow cobbled streets. It is promoted as "Dublin's cultural quarter" and has a lively nightlife that is popular with tourists.

Once you have enjoyed the sites and sounds that temple bar has to offer you can walk on through and on the other, passing the well known Bank of Ireland Building where Barack Obama made his speech while on his visit to Ireland you will come across Trinity College, the home of the book of Kells. The Book of Kells takes its name from the Abbey of Kells that was its home for centuries. Today, it is on permanent display at the Trinity College Library, Dublin. The library usually displays two of the current four volumes at a time, one showing a major illustration and the other showing typical text pages. While doing all this sightseeing you need to make sure you are well rested and that you have a perfect base in the centre of the city, that’s why The Grand Canal Hotel is you perfect option. To make a Booking at the Grand Canal Hotel Call 01 646 1000 or go to www.grandcanalhotel.ie

ST PATRICK'S DAY - STUFF YOU DID/DIDN'T KNOW

St Patrick’s Day is a uniquely Irish festival yet it is celebrated throughout the world. For those of you who are not totally tuned into what this special Irish day is about we’ve compiled some interesting facts.
1. St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, although he was born in Britain, around 385AD. His parents Calpurnius and Conchessa were Roman citizens living in either Scotland or Wales, according to different versions of his story.
2. As a boy of 14 he was captured and taken to Ireland where he spent six years in slavery herding sheep. He returned to Ireland in his 30s as a missionary among the Celtic pagans.
3. Legend has it that he used the native shamrock as a symbol of the holy trinity when preaching and brought the Latin alphabet to Ireland.
4. Miracles attributed to him include the driving of serpents out of Ireland. However, evidence suggests post-glacial Ireland never had any snakes in the first place.
5. Wearing green, eating green food and even drinking green beer, is said to commemorate St Patrick's use of the shamrock - although blue was the original colour of his vestments.
6. St Patrick was said to have proclaimed that everyone should have a drop of the "hard stuff" on his feast day after chastising an innkeeper who served a short measure of whiskey. In the custom known as "drowning the shamrock", the shamrock that has been worn on a lapel or hat is put in the last drink of the evening.
7. Popular Irish toasts on St Patrick's Day, include: may the roof above us never fall in, and may we friends beneath it never fall out.
8. St. Patrick's Day was first celebrated in America in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1737. Around 34 million modern Americans claim Irish ancestry.
9. It is believed that St Patrick died on March 17 in 461AD. It is a national holiday in Ireland, and on the island of Montserrat in the Caribbean, which was founded by Irish refugees. It is a bank holiday in Northern Ireland and a provincial holiday in the Canadian province of Newfoundland.
10. Dublin has a parade that attracts hundreds of thousands of people, while in Chicago the river is dyed green for a few hours. The biggest parade is normally held in New York, while the largest celebration in the southern hemisphere is in Sydney, Australia.
11. St. Patrick's Day is not just a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It is also a holiday in Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada, and in Montserrat in the West Indies.
12. St. Patrick's Day is the most widely celebrated saint's day in the world.
It is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion (especially the Church of Ireland)the Eastern Orthodox Church and Lutheran Church.
13. St Patrick’s Day color was originally blue.
Originally, the color associated with Saint Patrick was blue, but over the years the colour green and its association with Saint Patrick's day grew.
In the 1798 Irish rebellion, in order to make a political statement, Irish soldiers wore full green uniforms
14. Saint Patrick's feast day was already being celebrated by the Irish in Europe in the ninth and tenth centuries.
15. St Patrick’s Day made it onto the church calendar in the early 1600s thanks to Waterford Franciscan Luke Wadding.
16. In recent times, in 1940 and 2008, Saint Patrick's Day fell in Holy Week. It will not fall within Holy Week again until 2160. Hopefully they will still have Guinness, Jameson and parades then.
17. Birmingham, not the capital city, London, hosts the largest St.Patrick’s Day parade in Britain with a massive city centre parade over a two mile route through the city centre. The organisers describe it as the third biggest parade in the world after Dublin and New York.
18. The Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League used to be known as Toronto St. Patrick’s from 1919 to 1927 and wore green jerseys. In 1999, when they had a nationally televised game on St.Patrick’s night, they wore green again.
19. It is in Nome, Alaska, with a parade and a golf tournament. Everbody shoots over Brrrrr...!
20. Hot Springs Arkansas’s Bridge Street parade is the world's shortest because Bridge Street was named the shortest street in the world in the 1940s. The parade was declared "The Quirkiest St. Patrick's Day Parade on Earth" by Smithsonian Magazine in 2009.

Feel free to add anything that we've left out. Particular thanks to IrishCentral for helping with above info.

Ollie.

9/11 EXHIBITION COMES TO DUBLIN'S RDS

Irish audiences are in for a real treat this September with the arrival of Nicola McClean's Ground Zero 360 Exhibition to the RDS.
The 11th of September 2001 will always be remembered as the day that two jet liners crashed into the World Trade Centre in New York. The world was reviled, shocked, distraught and then enthralled by the heroism of the people of New York.
American based photographer McClean responded in the only way she knew how; she picked up her camera and took to the streets to try and capture the confusion and panic that surrounded her.
This September Irish audiences will get the opportunity to get a first hand account of the day that literally shook the world.
Through harrowing visuals, chilling audio clips and a unique panoramic installation, Ground Zero 360° invites you to step into the past and feel what eight million New Yorkers were feeling in the days that followed the attacks. The spectator will be able to discover, through Nicola’s eyes, the startling aftermath of one of the most tragic events in American history – seeing what she saw, hearing the stories she heard and meeting the people she met, particularly the heroic men and women of the New York City Emergency Services.
The city of New York continues to evolve and change, but the memory of those extraordinary days and weeks will always remain with us. Ground Zero 360° allows the onlooker to experience the enduring events of September 11th and celebrate the tremendous courage and dignity of a nation under fire.
The show runs in the RDS in Dublin 4 from the 1st of September through to the 30th...and it is free to the public.
Don't miss this opportunity to see one of the most stunning exhibitions likely to visit Dublin for some time.

LEINSTER AND KATIE TO LEAD US OUT OF DEPRESSION

There is a belief in Ireland that when we are on our knees and suffering that our artistic and sporting achievements come to the fore.
Following a thrilling weekend of sport it is not hard fall in behind this belief. Rory McIlroy, Ulster, Munster and of course Leinster all gave us something to believe in over the last number of days...but they are not the only ones flying the flag for Irish sport.
Rory is a young man who seems fazed by nothing. Even after his collapse at the Masters on Sunday he still held his head high, tweeting yesterday that "this day will make me stronger in the end."
He may not have won but the country was gripped by his efforts from Thursday on. It was just a shame that he didn't follow Padraig Harrington and Graeme McDowell to lift a major title.
It was also a massive rugby weekend with Munster kicking off proceedings on Saturday afternoon. The men in red had been written off earlier this season following their exit from the Heineken Cup but they could end up with both the Amlin and the Magners League trophies in their cabinet by start of the summer. Not a bad return for a team who it was said were finished.
Undoubtedly the game of the weekend was Leinster v Leiceter just a few hundred yards down the road from here. What a fantastic game and the best team won. Even Sky Sports, who can be notoriously biased toward the English clubs, admitted that Leinster had deserved their win.
Rob Kearney, Lions and Leinster's injured full back, tweeted that he thought it was the best atmosphere at a Leinster game he'd seen. And who'd disagree. Ulster tried valiantly in the other quarter final but just came up short. In fairness to the lads from the North, it has been a great year for them. Next season they should be challenging for the title.
So back to my point. Our economic difficulties really seem to be lifting our sporting achievements to new levels. Certain commentators highlight the Jack Charlton era as the real spark for the Celtic Tiger.
Step forward the Irish Cricket Team, Katie Taylor, Brian O'Dricsoll, Conor Niland or, fingers crossed, Trap's national soccer team. It is a good time for sport in Ireland, ironically when there is less money being pumped in.
So here's lookin forward to the 30th of April when Leinster battle Toulouse at the Aviva Stadium and give us a welcomed break from depressing economic headlines.
OMG.

CITY OF A THOUSAND WELCOMES

Fair play to Simon O'Connor and the guys down at the City of a Thousand Welcomes. This is a new site which is, on one hand asking Dubliners to become Ambassador's and with the other, offering visitors the chance to meet with one of the said Ambassadors for a pint to learn about the city.

This, well timed with the St Patrick's festival kicking off, project has plenty of merit. One of Ireland's greatest selling points is our culture and our people. We are famous throughout the globe for the Cead Mile Failte (a hundred thousand welcomes in Irish).

Some of Ireland's favourite sons and daughters have already signed up to be ambassadors, including Presidential hopeful Senator David Norris, actress Victoria Smurfit and former Miss World Rosanna Davison (how nice would it be if you could request the person to meet you!!!).

Tourism has slowed down in recent years, chiefly down to the world recession, but also, and not to the same degree, due to the perception that Ireland is expensive. Unfortunately we cannot control the first part of my last statement but we have made huge inroads into the latter statement.

But that message has to be gotten out there to the world's masses. I would suggest that if you were to ask anyone from outside Ireland what they think of when you mention the Emerald Isle, outside the usual steryotpes and movie/music stars, people will talk about scenery, craic and of course friendly people.

I was touched by a story, written by an Irish journalist who is covering the tsunami tragedy in Japan. He tells of how he was staying in a hotel near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant when he got a knock on his room door telling him they were evacuating everybody because of an explosion at the plant. He had now where to stay when a local, who didn't have a word of English, offered him a mattress in his family home. Irish people are a similar breed.

So why not get out there and sell one of our greatest tourism strengths...the people. So I've signed up to be an Ambassador.

Any visitors looking to take advantage of the new project go to www.cityofathousandwelcomes.com and of course...ask to meet OMG.

See you soon,

Ollie McGrath (OMG).

IRISH AMERICANS OUTNUMBER US 9:1

A very interesting article on www.irishcentral.com sheds some light on the level of the Irish infiltration into the US. Interesting facts from the US Census include that 24% of people in Massachusetts claim Irish ancestry and even more impressively 36.9 million US citizens claim to of Irish decent.

Here are some highlights:

Number of Irish Americans: 36.9 million
This number was more than eight times the population of Ireland itself (4.5 million). Irish was the nation's second most frequently reported ancestry, trailing only German. If Scots Irish are included the number rises to over 40 million.
Sources: 2009 American Community Survey & Ireland Central Statistics Office

Number of Irish-born in U.S.: 122,000
Number of Irish-born U.S. residents in 2009. Those from Ireland are much older (a median of 60 years old) and have a higher median household income ($56,158) than U.S. residents as a whole (37 years and $50,221, respectively).
Source: 2009 American Community Survey

Largest population of Irish: Massachusetts, 24%
Percent of Massachusetts residents who were of Irish ancestry in 2009. This compares with a rate of 12% for the nation as a whole.
Source: 2009 American Community Survey

Irish American education levels: 32% college graduates
Percentage of people of Irish ancestry, 25 or older, who had a bachelor's degree or higher. In addition, 92% of Irish Americans in this age group had at least a high school diploma. For the nation as a whole, the corresponding rates were 28% and 85% respectively.
Source: 2009 American Community Survey

Annual income: $56,383
Median income for households headed by an Irish American, higher than the $50,221 for all households. In addition, 10% of people of Irish ancestry were in poverty, lower than the rate of 14% for all Americans.
Source: 2009 American Community Survey


Numbers of professional Irish: 40% in management
Percentage of employed civilian Irish Americans 16 or older who worked in management, professional and related occupations. Additionally, 27% worked in sales and office occupations; 16% in service occupations; 9% in production, transportation and material moving occupations; and 8% in construction, extraction, maintenance and repair occupations.
Source: 2009 American Community Survey

Numbers of Irish owning their own home: 70%
Percentage of householders of Irish ancestry who owned the home in which they live, with the remainder renting. For the nation as a whole, the home ownership rate was 66%.
Source: 2009 American Community Survey

Places called Shamrock : 4
Number of places in the United States named Shamrock, the floral emblem of Ireland. Mount Gay-Shamrock, West Virginia, and Shamrock, Texas, were the most populous, with 2,623 and 1,828 residents, respectively. Shamrock Lakes, Indiana, had 152 residents and Shamrock, Oklahoma, 122. (Statistic for Mount Gay-Shamrock is from the 2000 Census; the other statistics are 2009 estimates.)
Sources: American FactFinder and population estimates

Number of places called Dublin: 9
Number of places in the United States that share the name of Ireland's capital, Dublin. Since the 2000 Census, Dublin, California has surpassed Dublin, Ohio, as the most populous of these places (44,541 compared with 39,310, respectively, as of July 1, 2009).

So there you have it. Any chance our cousins in the States can come back and help us with our economy. You'll have a great time...we promise.

DUBLIN HOTEL PRICES STILL DROPPING

Well if ever you needed proof that Dublin is now one of the best cities in Europe in terms of hotel value than have a read of today's article in the Irish Times.

Anyone who's stayed in the Grand Canal Hotel or taken an interest in any of our offers will already tell you that we strive to offer the best rates. Our friends over in Hotels.com like to monitor these things and their latest survey makes good reading for anyone wanting to travel to Ireland's capital.

Dublin now ranks as the tenth cheapest city for hotel prices among major holiday destinations worldwide, according to a new survey.

The latest Hotels.com Hotel Price Index shows that the average price per room in the capital fell 7 per cent from €78 in the second quarter of 2009 to €73 for the same three-month period this year. This means that Dublin continues to be the cheapest city for hotels in western Europe.

Monte Carlo, the city which is the playground of the rich and famous, is the world's most expensive city for holidaymakers with prices having risen by 6 per cent over the past year to an average of €180 per night.

Geneva in Switzerland is the second most expensive city for hotel accommodation with prices up 7 per cent year-on-year to €174 per night. Hotel prices in Rio de Janerio rose 22 per cent during the same time period to €166. New York and Moscow, formerly two of the world's most expensive destinations, make up the top five with prices at €153 and €150 respectively.

The most significant rise in hotel costs recorded in the year to the end of June was in Cape Town where prices increased by 35 per cent to €108 per night, due to the World Cup.

Singapore and London also saw substantial rises in room rates with prices up 20 per cent and 14 per cent respectively.

The Latvian capital Riga is ranked as the cheapest city for hotel prices wiht costs having fallen by 8 per cent over the year from €63 to €58.

Christchurch, Tallinn, Bangkok and Beijing make up the top five in terms of cheapest hotel prices with all offering accommodation at €66 per night or below on average.

Abu Dhabi was the city which experienced the largest fall in prices in the year to the end of June with room rates down 29 per cent to €136.

The Icelandic capital Reykjavik saw its room rates fall by 22 per cent due to the ash cloud crisis earlier in the year while room rates in Bucharest dropped by 27 per cent on average making it one of the least expensive destinations in the world.

So there you have it. Dublin, value and particularly the Grand Canal Hotel are synonymous. Check out www.grandcanalhotel.com for more info.