Cara Magazine

Cara Magazine April/May 2013

April/May 2013

Novelist Colum McCann

Customer magazine of the year

Irish Comedy Cork

A novel approach

Italy’s Lakes

Writer Colum McCann is flying high

Hook, line and sinker

Chicago

Learn to fish in Co Cork

Camino

Key Lagos

Explore Italy’s great lakes

Croatia

Razzle dazzle ‘em

Chicago’s best restaurants

Zurich

A pilgrim’s progress

Toulouse

Walk the Camino

Funny lady Comedian Aisling Bea has a laugh

complimentary copy

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Contents April/May 2013

28

Wordsmith Colum McCann

Great lakes

74

Chicago cook up

Check in

Regulars

Features

04 ARRIVALS Dublin’s T2 welcomes a new batch of jet-setters

10448 HOuRS IN ZuRICH Tamara Thiessen clocks in to the Swiss city

07 CHECK IN New restaurant, hotel, travel trends and events in April and May

107 AN INSIdER’S guIdE tO tOuLOuSE Resident Niall Moran’s stomping ground

18 WHAt’S IN My SuItCASE Tipperary actress Kerry Condon’s essentials

111 AER LINguS INfLIgHt Kick back with the latest movies, music and flight information

46 HOOK, LINE ANd SINKER Laura George goes Blackwater fishing in Cork

136 tRIP Of A LIfEtIME Hurling star Dónal Óg Cusack takes on Hurricane Sandy

60 LAKESIdE ROMANCE Lee Marshall explores Italy’s stunning lakes Como and Garda but falls for Orta

20 ON My tRAVELS The Lion King puppeteer Will Pearce’s wildest adventures 22 SHELf LIfE Bridget Hourican flicks through the latest reads 24 SMARt tRAVELLER Frequent flier Kira Walton connects with Orlando 26 tRAdINg PLACES Ben Webb reviews the UKTI’s latest trade mission project

28 fLyINg HIgH The NYC-based Irish novelist Colum McCann talks to Bridget Hourican about his new novel 34 tHE fuNNy BuSINESS Eoin Higgins’ ribs are tickled by Aisling Bea, Pauline McLynn and more

74 BEyONd tHE dEEP dISH Chicago’s food scene razzle-dazzles Julie Kramer

86

On the road to Santiago

86 WALK tHIS WAy Tamara Thiessen’s Santiago de Compostela odyssey 98 fIVE Of tHE BESt BEACHES IN CROAtIA Jane Foster chooses her favourites

Contributors

adVeRTising account director Clodagh Edwards +353 (0)1 271 9634, clodagh.edwards@image.ie advertising manager Noëlle O’Reilly +353 (0)1 271 9621, noelle.oreilly@image.ie advertising Copy Contact Derek Skehan +353 (0)1 855 3855, dereks@typeform.ie adminisTRaTion acting head of PR & Promotions Roisin Finnegan, +353 (0)1 271 9643, roisin.finnegan@image.ie office manager Lucy Watts accounts Olga Gordeychuk accounts assistant Lisa Dickenson BoaRd oF diReCToRs managing director & Publisher Richard Power, richard.power@image.ie Chairman Robert Power directors Ann Reihill, Gina Traynor, Patrick Dillon-Malone, Laura George PRinTing Boylan Print Group oRiginaTion Typeform Cara magazine is published on behalf of Aer Lingus by Image Publications, 22 Crofton Road, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin, Ireland, +353 (0)1 280 8415; advertising sales, +353 (0)1 271 9625; fax +353 (0)1 280 8309; image.ie, email info@image.ie.

Company registration number 56663 © Image Publications Ltd. All rights reserved. Editorial material and opinions expressed in Cara magazine do not necessarily reflect the views of Aer Lingus or IMAGE Publications Ltd. Aer Lingus and IMAGE Publications Ltd do not accept responsibility for the advertising content.

Please note that unsolicited manuscripts or submissions will not be returned. All material is strictly copyright and all rights are reserved. Production in whole or part is prohibited without prior permission from IMAGE Publications Ltd.

Chris Judge is an illustrator and author of children’s picture books The Lonely Beast and The Great Explorer. His third book The Brave Beast has just been published by Andersen Press. Chris has always had a mild obsession for old maps and creating his own illustrated versions of cities and places. “I really enjoy distilling a city or familiar landmark into a single illustration that the viewer can recognise at first glance. My map of the Italian lakes (see page 60) is one of a series I have been creating for Cara over the last year which are great fun to work on.”

Julia Kramer is a restaurant critic for Time Out Chicago magazine – so we can’t give away her identity! But we can say that she is a native of the Chicago suburbs and has been a picky eater from a young age. She has also contributed to Time Out Chicago Kids, Cooking Light and other publications. “Despite going out nearly every night to eat and drink (I know, cry me a river), I couldn’t believe how hard it was to condense Chicago’s food scene into a single article for Cara (see page 74)! It is so diverse, constantly evolving, wand really pushing the food scene forward not just nationally but internationally.”

Cara magazine is a member of Magazines Ireland.

IMAGE Publications Ltd is a member of the Press Council of Ireland and supports the Office of the Press Ombudsman. To contact the Press Ombudsman, visit pressombudsman.ie or presscouncil.ie

April/May 2013

Customer magazine of the year

A novel approach

Writer Colum McCann is flying high

Hook, line and sinker

Learn to fish in Co Cork

Key Lagos

Explore Italy’s great lakes

IMAGE Publications Ltd –

PUBLISHING COMPANY OF THE YEAR 2010 To adVeRTise PLEASE CALL NOËLLE O’REILLY ON +353 (0)1 271 9621 OR EMAIL NOELLE.OREILLY@IMAGE.IE

Razzle dazzle ‘em

Chicago’s best restaurants

A pilgrim’s progress

Walk the Camino

Funny lady Comedian aisling Bea has a laugh

complimentary copy

on The CoVeR

Comedian Aisling Bea photographed by Richard Gilligan

RADjA

aRT art director Clare Meredith

PHOTOGRAPH BY NICO LE

group editorial director Laura George

Lee Marshall has lived in Italy since 1984 and has covered the length and breadth of the country in 20 years of travel writing. But it’s Italy’s dazzling string of northern lakes that he reports on for Cara (see page 60). Even popular lakes like Como have their quiet corners, where the spirit of a less hurried era of travel prevails, he says. But his favourite is little Orta, the westernmost of the lakes, and its handsome main waterside town, Orta San Giulio. “The town, the lake and the island of San Giulio seem made for each other,” he says. “For maximum effect, come in autumn, when the leaves are turning gold.”

PHO OTO TOG GRA RAPH PH BY RICHARD GILLIGAN

ediToRial editor Frances Power deputy editor Lucy White editorial assistant Méabh McDonnell Contributors Sive O’Brien, Amanda Cochrane, Ellie Balfe

who Wesley Barnes Flying From London here For ... Daytripper Wesley is in Dublin for a quick meeting before he heads back to London.

who Lena Jorgese, left, and nele Davignon, right Flying From Brussels here For ... Hotel representatives Lena and nele arrive in Dublin for an early breakfast business meeting.

who David Knight Flying From London here For ... David returns home to Dublin after a few weeks’ work in London.

Arrivals

Dublin is a major hub for international commerce. Cara magazine visits the airport’s T2 to meet some of the Aer Lingus passengers arriving to, and from, work.

WorDs BY MéABH MCDonneLL. PHoToGrAPHs BY AnTHonY WooDs

who Catherine Verriet Flying From Brussels here For ... It’s academic Catherine’s first time in Ireland, starting a new job at University College Dublin. who Cathy Tutaj, left, and Michelle Keogh, right Flying From Amsterdam here For ...

Cathy and Michelle breeze in from their business trip in Holland.

who Louis Jolie Flying From Amsterdam here For ...

Graphics Projectt Manager Louis arrives for a business meetingg in Dublin.

who Yvette Quane Flying From Dusseldorf here For ... Yvette, who works in finance, returns home from a business trip to Germany. who Kenneth Tsun Flying From Hong Kong here For ... Kenneth is in Dublin for a new job training others in IT security.

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April/MAy 2013

Celebrating luxury, creativity, service and the very best Irish and international brands since 1849.

WELCOME TO

BROWN THOMAS GRAFTON STREET DUBLIN, PATRICK STREET CORK, O’CONNELL STREET LIMERICK, EGLINGTON BUILDINGS GALWAY WWW.BROWNTHOMAS.COM

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Find out what’s on, where and when in April and May

Desert Beauty There’s plenty to love about Isla Deserta, a storybook desert island a short ferry ride away from Faro in Portugal.

The network of marshland and lagoon all around that shelters rare birds and natural history, for starters. Or the first-class seafood restaurant that serves up the freshest catch.

Or even the 11 kilometres of sandy beach where the sunloungers beckon. Take a boat trip through Ria Formosa Natural Park to the island, from €25, +351 918 779 155; ilha-deserta.com AER LINGUS FlIes FROm DublIN, shaNNON, belFasT aND CORk TO FaRO weekly

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CULTURE

The Dutch master reopens It has taken an astonishing ten years of renovations but on April 13, Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum reopens its doors. Over the last decade visitors have had only a glimpse of what its collection has on offer as extensive repair work was carried out. Now though, 8,000 works of art and objects are displayed chronologically for the very first time, describing 800 years of Dutch art history, taking in Vermeer, Dürer, Rembrandt, Rubens and Van Gogh, across 80 galleries. It’ll also be the world’s first major national museum to be open to the public 365 days a year. rijksmuseum.nl AER LINGUS FLIES FROM DUBLIN AND CORK TO AMSTERDAM DAILY

STAY

4 marvellous art deco hotels

In celebration of the May release of Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby ...

Claridge’s

The Chatwal

The Raleigh Hotel

AER LINGUS FLIES FROM DUBLIN, BELFAST, CORK AND SHANNON TO LONDON DAILY.

AER LINGUS FLIES FROM DUBLIN TO NEW YORK DAILY AND FROM SHANNON, TUE, THUR AND SAT.

AER LINGUS FLIES FROM DUBLIN TO ORLANDO TWICE WEEKLY AND THRICE WEEKLY FROM APRIL 9.

Brook Street, Mayfair, London Jazz hands at the ready: London’s Art Deco icon is hosting Charleston workshops for budding Zelda Fitzgeralds.

Each class is priced at £125 per person and takes place between 6.30pm and 8.30pm. Runs April 15 and May 13. Sounds too much like hard work? Enjoy the hotel’s Deco splendour over afternoon tea instead, from £40pp. Rooms cost from £390 per night. +44 20 7629 8860, claridges.co.uk

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April/MAy 2013

130 West 44th Street, New York One could easily imagine Louise Brooks sipping a mint julep in this stunning 1904 property designed by Stanford White and revived in 2010 by architect Thierry Despont.

A Chiparus figurine’s throw away from Time’s Square, The Chatwal is a sophisticated reinterpretation of 1930s decadence but with mod-cons.

Rooms from $520. +1 212 764 6200, thechatwal.com

1775 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach, Florida Art Deco hotels abound on South Beach but The Raleigh is a star. From its handsome Martini Bar to its black-outlined pool, the 1940s property couldn’t be any more Deco if it had been dipped in chrome and given a Marcel Wave.

We have faith that new owners Sam Nazarian and David Edelstein will maintain its mystique. Rooms from $386 per night. +1 305 534 6300, raleighhotel.com

The Clarence

6–8 Wellington Quay, Dublin Best known as “the U2 hotel”, thanks to its famous proprietors Bono and The Edge, this fourstar city centre crash-pad is at the minimalist end of Art Deco, a movement notably absent in Georgian Dublin. The façade is faithful to the era, the Tea Room Restaurant set within an original ballroom and the wood-panelled Octagon Bar is a fine place to nurse a few award-winning cocktails – and star-spot, of course. Rooms from €139, 01 1407 0800. theclarence.ie

Paul Costello

Kilckity Yvonne Ryan

LOVE IRISH DESIGN Jennifer Rothwell

Dublin’s landmark department store and has been proudly, supporting, promoting and nurturing Irish Design since its opening in 1843.

Today you can look, feel and touch the work of over 60 talented Irish designers in fashion, beauty, home and giftware – alongside leading International names, all under one elegant roof.

Shop online www.arnotts.ie

Arnotts, 12 Henry St, Dublin 1 / 01 805 04400

Like us on Facebook Arnotts Department Store

Follow us on Twitter @arnottsdublin

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FOOD

Brotherly bites

The brainchild of brothers Kieran and Danny Clancy, Beagle in Shoreditch is fast becoming one of London’s most popular new restaurants. The siblings share their recommendations for hungry visitors with Eoin Higgins.

Kieran ...

Lahore (lahore-kebabhouse.com) and Tayyabs (tayyabs.co.uk), both in Whitechapel, are where I usually eat with big groups of friends.

The Pakistani food is fantastic in both; it’s cheap and BYOB. SPECIAL OCCASIONS I love Chez Bruce (chezbruce.co.uk) in Wandsworth. The food is fantastic and the service too.

For a treat, my brother and I hit Hawksmoor (thehawksmoor. com) for a big steak.

GREAT VALUE I love Song Que (songque.co.uk) for Vietnamese on Kingsland Road, or Lucky Chip (luckychipuk.com) for a massive burger.

SOCIAL MORES

NOSTALGIC EATS Le Gavroche (le-gavroche.co.uk) is an institution and has been creating some of the most exciting cooking in London since the late 1960s. It’s an inspirational place for restaurateurs.

CUTTING-EDGE I loved what the Young Turks crew achieved at the Ten Bells – James Lowe is a very exciting chef, I can’t wait to see his next step.

Danny ...

SOCIAL MORES I like going to the good old-fashioned boozers, especially on a Sunday – my favourites in London have got to be The Eagle on Farringdon Road and the Bull and Last

DIARy

NOSTALGIC EATS I feel like I have been going back to St John (stjohngroup.uk.com) in Farringdon for years now. It’s one of my all-time-favourite restaurants and I can remember some great boozy lunches there!

CUTTING-EDGE Ben Spalding is a friend and I’ll always trek across town to check out his latest venture. I also went to the kitchen table at the back of Bubbledogs last week. Twelve courses of the most sensational food, whilst hotdogs and champagne fly out in the front room.

SHOP

Music festival fun in Barcelona

As we get older, tolerance levels for leaky tents, muddy fields and noisy revellers get lower.

Which makes Barcelona’s urban music festival Primavera Sound a more agreeable prospect.

Held at the Parc del Forum, a purpose-built 30-hectare pavilion overlooking the sea, there is no campsite, which, happily, means no choice but to stay in bricks and mortar. Blur, above, Hot Chip, Grizzly Bear, The Knife, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and James Blake are performing, and all without the whiff of a damp welly. Runs May 22 to 26. primavera.com AER LINGUS FLIES FROM DUBLIN TO BARCELONA DAILY AND FROM CORK, MON, WED, FRI & SUN.

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(thebullandlast.co.uk) in Highgate. When I’m looking for a good cocktail I’ll go to Bar Nightjar (barnightjar.com).

SPECIAL OCCASIONS I love going to the Wolseley (thewolseley. com) for brunch, J Sheekey’s (j-sheekey.co.uk) for champagne and oysters at the bar, and Bocca Di Lupo (boccadilupo. com) or Barrafina (barrafina. co.uk) in Soho.

GREAT VALUE I live in Dalston and Mangal (mangal1.com) is my local Turkish ocakbasi restaurant. Everything is cooked over an open grill and it’s BYOB.

April/MAy 2013

4 weekend bags

Rock a mini-break with a chic overnight bag, says Sive O’Brien.

LARGE CAR TOTE BAG, Orla Kiely €146 at orlakiely.com

PERSLEy LEATHER BAG, BAG Radley, €375 at radley.co.uk dley.co.uk

WEEkENDER LEATHER BAG Boss, €549 at House of Fraser, Dundrum Town Centre, Dublin 16

ExPLORER LEATHER BAG €570 at tusting.co.uk

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FiLm

Pop-up film screenings

Cinemas are so last season. Lucy White spotlights film screenings in great spaces.

Walking into The Sugar Club, Dublin, on Film Fatale night is like travelling through time. From ladies diary and gents to mobsters and molls, every two months a Hollywood Street art goes pop in Bristol classic is celebrated in style. Movies so far include Some Like it Hot, It stands to reason that the home of Banksy should Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Rear Window play host to Europe’s biggest street art festival, and Singin’ in the Rain, cocktails Upfest. Over the May Bank Holiday weekend, more are themed, and resident DJs The than 20,000 visitors are expected to descend on Andrews Sisters’ Brothers play retro Bristol’s North Street, further proving that street art tunes long into the night. is no longer an underground scene. There’s a certain “There was a need to bring back irony in the 250 featured artists openly showcasing glamour to a night at the movies,” their considerable talents rather than hiding them at explains Anna Taylor, above right, nightfall. But then there is a huge difference between who, with Fernanda Parente, above artful typography and the illiterate, markerleft, launched Film Fatale two penned filth common to toilet cubicles. years ago. “We loved the idea Runs May 25 to 27. upfest.co.uk a Fresh of fusing film with a big aEr LiNGUS rEGiONaL FLIES FROM DUBLIN arrival AND CORK TO BriStOL DAILY. night out.”

Try out the new café from So successful has Avoca (avoca.ie) at Malahide their venture been Castle in north Co Dublin, that Parente took the where you will find plenty of the Festival Fever The concept to Berlin’s freshly prepared, artisan Irish West Waterford Festival food products and dishes we’ve Villa Neukölln – a come to expect from the swish cinema dating back to of Food, now in its sixth chain. They’ve also created erly 1918 – and rebranded year, has become an eag a very relaxing terrace for it as Kinostalgia. “It has the in anticipated date chatty bites when the been really well received,” dar. clouds clear.

Irish gastronomic calen she says. “And in Berlin we food keep going until the last person This year, international

from icon Fergus Henderson ndon joins St John restaurant in Lo highlight is the feast, while another held at the a unique cooking event The festival historic Lismore Castle. re details visit runs April 11-14, For mo om. waterfordfestivaloffood.c diary

Blooming lovely!

The RHS Chelsea Flower Show heralds its 100th birthday from May 21-25 (rhs.org.uk), comprising a centennial photographic exhibition alongside its spectacular show gardens and cutting edge exhibits.

And in Dublin’s Phoenix Park, some 80,000 budding gardeners are expected to attend the seventh annual Bloom festival (bloominthepark.com). Keeping our green-fingers crossed for good weather ...

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April/MAy 2013

leaves the dance floor …”

In Dublin, expect to join the conga, weaving in and out the cabaret seating. “People go to a lot of effort while still having fun with it,” smiles Taylor, whose next screening is Bonnie and Clyde on April 13, followed by a 1930s party. filmfataleevents.blogspot.com / facebook.com/kinostalgia

If you like this, try…

SiNG aLONG CiNEma Also at The Sugar Club – and at Galway’s Roisin Dubh – Sing Along Cinema is exactly what it says on the tin, a karaoke of sorts set to cult and/ or musical films. Their bi-monthly programme so far includes Dirty Dancing, Grease, and The Sound of Music. singalongcinema.com JamESON CULt FiLm CLUB

Launched in Ireland by Kevin Spacey for a pop-up warehouse screening of The Usual Suspects, the club has since rolled out Reservoir Dogs, Alien and Jaws. Free admission with online registration in advance. jamesoncultfilmclub.ie

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food

Milanese marvels

Boasting a verging-on-gluttonous 31 Michelin stars, Milan has a dizzying array of choices when it comes to unique dining destinations.

Eoin Higgins chooses his favourite Michelin one-star restaurants.

CULtURE

Travelling show

At the 20-storeys-high Unico (Viale Achille Papa 30, +39 023 926 1025; unicorestaurant.it), the only thing to compete for your attention from your plate is the view. From an ultramodern kitchen, chef Fabio Baldassarre creates dishes that sing and impress with ease. PS, there’s a great value €25 fixed price lunch menu weekdays.

Fine dining in the garden of gastronomic delights, is one way of describing the experience at Pierino Penati (Via XXIV Maggio 36, +39 956 020; pierinopenati.it). During the clement summer months, enjoy your meal in lush surroundings that are admittedly a little further outside Milan’s centre but well worth the trip.

Few vegetarian restaurants gain accolades from the little red book, never mind a star. Joia (Via Panfilo Castaldi 18, +39 022 952 2124; joia.it) is a testament to the variety of meatless tastes, textures and cuttingedge surprises that can spring forth from the hands of a highly talented chef.

AER LINGUS FLIES FROM DUBLIN TO MILAN MALPENSA DAILY.

e Cookery School, Co Cork, is TASTEFULLY DONE Ballymalo of food and wine writing from hosting LitFest, a celebration e r of Copenhagen’s Noma, win May 3-6. Claus Meyer, founde ibe scr es f and New York Tim expert Jancis Robinson and che st.ie. cial guests. Runs May 3-6; litfe David Tanis are among the spe

Dublin’s Rubicon Gallery has ventured out in the big wide world, specifically Belgium, to champion contemporary Irish artists. After spending 22.5 years overlooking St Stephen’s Green, the gallery is now located in a brand new exhibition space on Brussels’ fashionable Rue Tenbosch 74 for a three-month residency to coincide with Ireland’s EU Presidency tenure. Its inaugural group show has a “collapsing boundaries/ identity crisis” theme, and includes works by Anita Groener, above, Eithne Jordan, Nevan Lahart and Garrett Phelan, plus video pieces by Martin Healy and Jesse Jones. They will though be keeping an office and viewing space in Dublin for private appointments. Runs until May 30. rubicongallery.ie AER LINGUS FLIES FROM DUBLIN TO BRUSSELS DAILY AND FROM CORK, MON AND FRI.

dIARy

Calling all night owls: If you’ve ever dreamed of stalking the Catacombs by twilight or strutting the Palais de Tokyo or Musée D’Orsay, left, after dark, here’s your chance. More than 3,000 museums across Europe will be throwing open their doors for free, but the French capital is where the European Night of the Museums all started nine years ago and in 2013 boasts more tours, talks, concerts, family entertainment and film screenings than ever. Runs May 18, 6pm until midnight. nuitdesmusees.culture.fr AER LINGUS FLIES FROM DUBLIN AND CORK TO PARIS DAILY.

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April/MAy 2013

COMPILED BY LUCY WHITE, EOIN HIGGINS AND SIVE O’BRIEN

Night at the museum

S

et in the heart of Georgian Dublin, on the west side of historic St Stephen’s Green, award-winning Restaurant FortyOne embodies the best of Modern irish dining. Relish the output from one of the city’s most accomplished chefs in smart, comfortable surroundings, while savouring dishes that showcase world-class, gastronomic flair, combined with a desire to let the best of irish produce – much of which comes from the restaurant’s own organic gardens – shine. A sumptuous treat for visitors to Dublin looking to experience an unforgettable meal in a highly memorable setting.

I

“

RelY On modern saucing techniques to bring a dish together. there are no heavy starch sauces or, for that matter, an over reliance on double cream and fats. Vegetables and fruit juices are produced in our kitchen and grown in our own garden. Using the same principles, i integrate raw vegetables and cooked vegetables in dishes to maximise taste and texture. i want to create an environment which is surprising and inviting, where my food can create dialogue and discussion.”

Restaurant FortyOne Head Chef, Graham Neville.

“ReSTauRanT FORTyOne iS a Special place DeliveRinG excepTiOnal FOOD in excepTiOnal SuRROunDinGS.” Georgina Campbell, Restaurant of the Year 2012

41 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2. Open Tuesday to Saturday. For reservations call +353 (0)1 662 0000, www.restaurantfortyone.ie

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April/MAy 2013

Wish you were here Have you a stunning photograph of your trip to an Aer Lingus destination to share? Send it to us at cara.wishyouwerehere@ image.ie and we’ll publish our favourite shot in the October/November issue.

To inspire you, here’s our regular photographer Matthew Thompson’s knockout shot of the Széchenyi thermal baths in Budapest. He says, “I like the way water distorts and that you can see a little under the surface in this shot. That and the contrast with the crisp perfect architecture in the background.”

The technicals Photographs must be a 300-dpi high resolution file and accompanied by a portrait of yourself and 100 words about the story behind the shot.

The editor’s decision is final.

April/MAy 2013

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EyES TO KILL MASCARA Giorgio Gi gi Armani, Ar i, €29 att Brown B Thomas, Grafton Street, Dublin 2

PhOTOG RA

EARPHONES Logitech, €257 at amazon.co.uk

What’s in my

suitcase

Irish actress Kerry Condon is based in LA where she likes to wind down with her two horses and her dogs, up to her eyes in muck. Glamorous, maybe not, but then the day job does involve acting opposite the likes of Jude Law (in the upcoming Dom Hemingway) and James Nesbitt in Gold. Sive O’Brien takes a peek inside her luggage.

STRETCH DRESS Alexander Wang, €261 at net-a-porter.com

HAIRBRUSH €12.95 at tangleteezer.com

JUST WHITE WATCH €40 at Swatch, 55 Grafton Street, Dublin 2

HOODED TOP Marc Jacobs, €519 at mytheresa.com

JEANS €46 at

SWIMSUIT Missoni, €328 at boutique1.com

SUNGLASSES Ray-Ban, €143 at sunglasshut.com

SMITH’S ROSEBUD SALVE Rosebud Perfume Co, €8.05 at misebeauty.com

PADDOCK BOOTS Ariat, €230 at oxhouse.co.uk

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April/MAy 2013

TRAINERS Puma, €120 at puma.com

WASHBAG Orla Kiely, €55 at orlakiely.com

ck surround €253 Longines Conquest Diamonds amonds €1646

Tissot Luxury Luxur Automatic €959

Hamilton Jazzmaster Auto Chrono €1210

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On my travels

Creator and head of masks and puppets on Disney’s Lion King UK and Ireland tour, Will Pearce finds inspiration in all four corners of the globe. Sive O’Brien catches the highlights. ho doesn’t know the tale of Disney’s awardwinning musical based on the most successful 2D animated film of all time? The heartstringtwanging, soul-soaring story of lion cub Simba is brought to life by a cast of more than 50 singers, dancers, musicians, and a menagerie of ornate puppetry and masks created by British designer Will Pearce. As a touring member of Broadway’s highest grossing show, Pearce has visited more countries than Scar has had hot buffalo, each destination a potential source of inspiration for his theatre work.

W

The Lion King runs at The Bord Gaís Energy Theatre from April 27 to June 22, thelionking.ie.

I’ve been travelling with The Lion King for … seven years and was lucky enough to help set up the show in Singapore, Madrid and Sao Paulo. It has given me the chance to explore so many new places, which I adore.

While in Brazil … I spent some time in Rio and backpacked down the coast, then inland to the Iguazu Falls, which was incredible and definitely worth the trip.

The most magical place I have ever visited was … The Inca Trail in Peru.

We hiked for four days, ending at dawn looking over Machu Picchu. It was such an incredible experience – it took a few days to get acclimatised, but what a challenge.

The most bizarre thing that happened while travelling was … accidently swimming with a crocodile in the Northern Territory, Australia.

Honest! We swam across a lake we were told was safe, but halfway across an eye appeared above the water, just metres away, then disappeared below the surface. We didn’t hang around.

I’d definitely return to … New Zealand. It’s a stunning country with never-ending outdoor activities – rafting, bungee, hiking and the Tongariro Crossing in the North Island plus proper full-on crampon trekking across volcanos. I’d also go back to Tasmania – it’s worth climbing Cradle Mountain and discovering the relatively unexplored west.

The most amazing cultural thing I did was … stay with a local family on an island on Lake Titicaca in the Andes. I spent a few days with a family whose work and traditions

hadn’t changed in generations.

I helped to cook and fish, and all in traditional clothes. The markings on their livestock and tattoos are reminiscent of the patterns on the puppets and the make-up in The Lion King.

I wasted a few weeks … on Koh Phi Phi Island, off the west coast of Thailand where I dined on pancakes to save money.

Travelling is … forgetting preconceptions of a place. Like Moscow – I had such a different idea of the place, but it’s mysterious and has great people and nightlife.

Alcatraz Island and prison in San Francisco too, it’s a super-eerie place and the audio tour is fantastic.

Depending on your destination …

I recommend not booking transport or accommodation and to just go with the flow. You meet the most interesting people that way.

When I’m not working, I have to get out ... cycling, I do loads of big cycle treks, there’s a great trail along a disused railway, just outside of Manchester. I also recently did the Bristol to Bath cycle path. Stunning.

The best theatre I ever visited … was a little puppet theatre in Parity, a beautiful colonial Portuguese town past Rio that only holds 50 people.

Places on my wish list ... India and Argentina and really, anywhere in South America.

I grew up in … Cornwall, it’s on such a stunning coastline, I love the whole south coast, especially St Ives.

My next holiday is … in May, travelling down the west coast of Ireland for a week. I can’t wait.

3 top twitching tours

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Ibex, eagles and griffon vultures, left, can all be spotted while on a guided hike of Ronda’s western mountain range and the Grazalema National Park.

The seven-night Andalucian adventure includes up to six hours of walking a day against a stunning backdrop of white villages. onfootholidays.co.uk

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April/MAy 2013

2

Portugal’s rugged Algarve is a magnet for birds – and bird fanciers. Lisbon-based Birds and Nature Tours offers everything from half-day field trips to week-long treks, while also hosting photographic tours and running biodiversity conservation projects at the Sado estuary. birds.pt

3

May 19 is BirdWatch Ireland’s National Dawn Chorus Day – yes, really – and as such all its branches (pardon the pun) are hosting guided sunrise events across the length and breadth of the Emerald Isle. For a full calendar of walks and tours, visit their website or call 01 281 9878. birdwatchireland.ie.

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Shelf Life|

Lives well lived: Bridget Hourican picks out works of literary, artistic and historic reflections to brighten up your travels.

Who’s reading what?

Musician and author Willy Vlautin on why he likes to pair his travel reads.

WhaT are you reading?

Canada by Richard Ford.

BesT Book for a journey? Two, a crime novel and a classic. A crime novel for when you’re too tired to think and a classic for when you have hours to kill.

Book you Wish you’d lefT Behind?

I took a huge book on the history of mining in the United States on tour once. It was a monster of a book and seriously boring.

I lugged it around for a month. your lisToWel WriTers’ Week highlighTs? I’m a big fan of Colum with more than 20,000 images.

McCann and Colm Toibín. I’m hoping to see With historian Christine Kinealy, both of them. best known for her work on the on your musT-see lisT? For me, when Famine, he has selected 271 I land in Dublin I feel better about things images for this book. But a already. I always try to go to Whelan’s this isn’t just another neW leaf and the Long Hall for a couple of pints illustrated history of Looking for first editions of Guinness before I do anything. I’ve Ireland. The photos of Joyce, Beckett or Behan? never been to Listowel so I’m very are not merely Need a signed first edition of excited about that. decorative; they are Banville in a hurry? Excellent

Through The lens Take two images, two pieces of Irish social history: a livestock market, captioned 1920s – three sheep, two cows, many people, all male. Next, a reclining nude in the classic pose of a Boucher odalisque, captioned 1892. The photographer is Louis Jacob of the Jacob’s biscuits family. And the book containing both images is The Irish: A Photohistory by Sean Sexton and Christine Kinealy (Thames and Hudson, £12.95) Sean Sexton is a photo-historian who began collecting in 1973 and has amassed what he calls “the greatest private collection of Irish photos in the world”,

archival sources. new book shop, first editions, Willy Vlautin’s band, Richmond Fontaine, There are famous is at 7 Pembroke Lane, has produced nine studio albums. His first portraits – Parnell, Dublin 4. Browse stock novel, The Motel Life (2007) was made into a Joyce and a young at firsteditions.ie film starring Dakota Fanning and released last Wilde – but more often, November. His last novel is Lean on Pete (2010). He ordinary people, rich and will read at Listowel Writers’ Week, May 29 to June 2. poor, are captured in lively, and tragic, social scenes.

Best travel reads ...

Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris (Little Brown, Se £18.11) out April 23. £1 From French dentistry to Fr the eating habits of the th Australian kookaburra, Au the much-travelled much-trave and ever-witty David Sedaris brings his brand of benign absurdism to places, people and things.

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April/MAy 2013

The Globetrotter Diaries

by Michael Clinton (Glitterati, £19.95) out (G now. Clinton, publisher no of Hearst magazines, has spent 35 years travelling sp and photographing the an continents. Here continents Here, in a spin through 120 countries, he advises on not only what to see, but – always more important – ways to get there and survive.

Red Nile by Robert Twigger (Weidenfeld Tw & Nicolson, £25), out April 25. Explorer Robert Ap Twigger has sailed Tw Canada in a birch-bark Ca canoe and walked the ca Egyptian Sahara Sahara. Now, he explores the Nile, taking in traces left by Cleopatra, Moses, Agatha Christie and the world’s deadliest creature, the Nile crocodile.

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Smart Traveller|

Best spots for networking in Orlando and meeting in Copenhagen? Lisa Hughes finds out.

LittLe BLack Book OrlandO

5

As co-founder and creative director of Irish seaweed skincare company Voya, Kira Walton travels the world with her husband Mark. She tells us why it’s fun to do business in Florida’s chief resort.

Orlando is great for business because … everyone is having a fun time! We have clients in Florida and when we visit Orlando, we can easily touch base with all of them. The East Coast is important in the spa industry because several spa summits and conferences are held there, including this year’s International Spa Association conference in the Gaylord Hotel.

It’s essential for networking.

Best place for meetings … most hotels and restaurants provide great function spaces and rooms for meetings. My picks to really impress would be ritz-Carlton Grande lakes (4012 Central Florida Parkway, +1 407 206 2400; ritzcarlton.com), Waldorf astoria (14200 Bonnet Creek Resort Lane, +1 407 597 5500; waldorfastoriaorlando. com) and the Grand Bohemian Hotel (325 South Orange Avenue, +1 407 313 9000; grandbohemianhotel.com).

Business drinks … I tend to go for drinks in restaurants so we can grab a bite to eat too. Moon Fish (7525 West Sand Lake Road, +1 407 363 7262) has a fabulous happy hour and, if you’re a big sushi fan like me, a wonderful fish and sushi menu. Seasons 52 at The Plaza (Venezia 7700 Sand Lake Road, +1 407-354-5212; seasons52.com) is a

great wine bar and restaurant with live entertainment and a patio area for those hot nights.

Best business hotel … For me it’s the ritz-Carlton Grande lakes Orlando.

As well as being a superb hotel, the staff is always so accommodating no matter what you need.

Tip, tip, tip … 15 per cent is standard but 20 per cent is better. Always have a few bucks in your wallet for the bell hop or the taxi guy. Some hotels include a service charge for room service too. Recently I discovered a great app called “Tip Check” that works out how much you should tip.

Wi-Fi … It’s everywhere but if you can’t get it, I recommend a handy little gadget called a Hot Spot that works as your own personal Wi-Fi. Money saver … Rent a car as taxis can be quite expensive if you want to travel in and out of the city. And always pack light.

On your downtime … Go for a walk along Coco Beach or do a bit of shopping in the outlet malls. For the ultimate de-stress, Universal Studios is so much fun it should be illegal! Go off peak season and midweek, if you can, to avoid queues.

I can’t travel without … my yoga app. It’s perfect for when you’re on the go and you don’t have the luxury to go to a class.

Must-have travel gadget Blackberry Z10 BlackBerry’s latest offering, the all-touch Z10, features a micro HDMi port, 1.5 Ghz dual core processors with 2GB of RaM, 16GB of internal storage and a high density pixel screen (¤559). if you miss your keyboard, its sister product, the Q10, offers a slicker version of the original with all the innovative features of the Z10. available later in the year (ie.blackberry.com).

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Meetings in Copenhagen

Søren K Housed in the impressive “Black Diamond” building and named after Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, this stylish restaurant, above, offers Wi-Fi and outdoor seating along the harbour. Or head to its neighbouring espresso bar, øieblikket (“Moment”), for a premium coffee fix.

(Søren Kierkegaards Plads 1, +45 3347 4949; soerenk.dk) HIlTOn COPenHaGen aIrPOrT One of the city’s best business hotels, the Hilton is next to the airport and just 15 minutes from the city centre. Business travellers can choose from 29 fully equipped meeting rooms for larger meetings, or use the relaxed Axis bar as a less formal space to chat and have a snack. (Ellehammersvej 20, +45 3250 1501; hilton.dk) THe rOYal CaFÉ Tucked inside the flagship Royal Copenhagen museum and store, The Royal Café showcases the best in Danish food and design. Danish design icons, such as Bang and Olufsen and Fritz Hansen, have helped create a stylish meeting space.

(Amagertorv 6; theroyalcafe.dk) CaFÉ SeBaSTOPOl Think you can’t get a traditional French bistro experience in Copenhagen? Think again. If your clients fancy a bite to eat while talking shop, this cafe in Nørrebro serves up excellent breakfast, brunch and lunch in a relaxed, Parisian-inspired setting. (Sankt Hans Torv 32, +45 3536 3002; sebastopol.dk) CaFÉ 8TalleT Be inspired

by Danish design with a visit to 8TALLET, one of the city’s architectural delights. At the end of the building lies Café 8TALLET, known for both its quality brunch and terrific views.

(Richard Mortensens Vej 81 A, +45 3262 8628; cafe8tallet.dk)

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Trading places

UK firms eye up Ireland as a place to do business – and have fun in the process. Ben Webb reports. he sporting rivalry between Ireland and the UK – the result of a chequered history – contrasts sharply with the high level of commercial cooperation that promises to help these traditional foes create a brighter economic future. On the rugby pitch they trade blows, but in the business arena they just trade. A lot.

The numbers are amazing. Every man, woman and child spends an average £3,558 a year on British goods, which makes Ireland the UK’s fifth largest export market.

And that is one of the reasons more than 60 delegates from 56 UK companies recently landed in Dublin as part of a two-day Export Insight visit organised by UK Trade & Investment (UKTI).

It may sound very grand and serious, but the visitors were not all huge companies with lofty notions of expansion. Many were small businesses looking to drum up a few more sales. Elizabeth Addley, who runs the Liverpool Food and Craft School, wanted to attract a few Irish tourists to try out her courses for adults. “It was a fantastic occasion,” she says. “The Irish hospitality was out of this world. We visited the Jameson distillery – the cocktails were gorgeous – and had a lovely

T

four-course meal where we had a great time doing Irish dancing. And I can’t praise the event enough. I’ve already had some inquiries from some craft associations who are interested in coming to Liverpool.”

Dominick Chilcott, the British Ambassador, chaired the first seminar of a packed programme that included presentations outlining the nuts and bolts of the Irish commercial environment.

“The interest from Irish companies and speakers to get involved has been remarkable,” said Simon McKeever, Director of UK Trade and Investment Ireland. “It illustrates the expectation from many Irish businesses that there are opportunities for UK SMEs to do business here and there are many support services available.”

More trade creates a win-win situation. Sean Brodie, of PwC Ireland who spoke about “Business Opportunities in Ireland”, said he was impressed by the commitment of the delegates but warned a shared language could disguise some of the differences between the two countries. “There is a long history of trade between us so there is a wealth of experience that can be leveraged.

We have similar legal, taxation and commercial environments, but they are not identical and it should not be assumed all aspects of your

Business mixed with pleasure – and a visit to the Old Jameson Distillery, above – at the recent Export Insight event.

3 dates for the diary

1

Enterprise Ireland Trade Mission to China, September 2-6 (tbc), Beijing and Shanghai Not everything is made in China. This trade mission aims to assist clients who already export to China to market and develop their businesses there. They will get opportunities to network with key contacts and industry leaders. enterprise-ireland.com

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2

Medtec Ireland, October 9-10, Radisson Blu Hotel, Galway The largest event of its kind in the world. An estimated 1,500 suppliers to the medical device manufacturing industry will descend on Galway to try to tempt buyers from some of the globe’s most innovative medical manufacturing companies. medtecireland.com

business model will work identically in either territory.”

Martin Best, who runs Document Direct, a digital transcription agency based in Liverpool, said the mix of speakers gave an excellent insight into the “legal, financial and business landscape of Ireland” and that it had been “very well organised”. But he also highlighted the social side of the trip. “It was great fun and I had to keep reminding myself that the real purpose of the trip was business. Mind you,” he added, “I’ve never had a trip to Dublin that wasn’t fun.”

The next visit to the Irish market organised by UKTI is from the North East of England, June 4–7; for more, contact rebecca.wardell@fco.gov.uk

3

DataCentres Ireland, November 5-6, RDS, Dublin For the second year running this prestigious international event is already a sell-out. Exhibition director Hugh Robinson said it’s an opportunity to “view the country, network with both local and international industry leaders and assess the opportunities Ireland has to offer”. datacentres-ireland.com

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interview

Flying high

Author Colum McCann had a happy, middleclass upbringing in suburbia – hardly the grist for a writer’s mill. Bridget Hourican goes in search of his dark side. Photographs by Richard Gilligan.

tretch often; get up, walk around; drink lots of water; read, of course. It’s now one of the very few places where you’re not interrupted by the phone. It’s a really good place to read.” This is Colum McCann on transatlantic travel.

I’m not quite so clichéd as to ask every interviewee for Cara for their tips on transatlantic travel.

Even when, like McCann, they are seasoned long-haul flyers – he has lived in New York for 25 years but comes “home” to Dublin every few months. I’m asking him because his new book is called TransAtlantic, and – it’s not just a hip, random title – it’s about flight and the distance, literal and figurative, between Ireland and America.

TransAtlantic starts with Alcock and Brown’s famous 1919 flight – the first non-stop transatlantic flight, which went from Newfoundland to Connemara, winning the Daily

PhotograPhed at l’gueuleton, dublin

S

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April/MAy 2013

Mail award of £10,000. There is a fantastic, stomach-churning description of the tiny First World War bomber plane battling through snow, wind and cloud, losing fuel, losing height. And then the action switches abruptly back to 1845 and the arrival in Dublin (by boat obviously) of the not-yet-freed black slave and abolitionist Frederick Douglass. He travels by carriage to Cork, passing grisly sights: the beginning of the Great Hunger.

And then we’re forward to 1998 and George Mitchell, American statesman and broker of the Good Friday Agreement is taking one of his many transatlantic flights from JFK to Belfast.

This may all sound confusing; it’s true you don’t know what connects these three stories until halfway through the book, but there is thematic cohesion. Somehow McCann keeps it all aloft. “Aloft” is actually the last word in this book (in the acknowledgements), and

April/MAy 2013

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IntervIew

it’s a very McCann word – whether you’re talking about TransAtlantic, or Dancer (2003), on Rudolf Nureyev, or Let the Great World Spin (2009), on funambulism (tightrope walking), you could say McCann is interested in getting people aloft.

We meet in Dublin city centre on a Tuesday afternoon, in Brook’s Hotel. I’ve interviewed him before, but by phone. The first time was three weeks after Let the Great World Spin was released. It was then on its fourth print-run and I wrote circumspectly: “It’s looking like the breakthrough novel his publishers were hoping for.” Well, yes … It went on to win Dublin’s IMPAC award, the US National Book Award, has been translated into 30 languages and may be coming to a screen near you, although McCann, who has written the screenplay for producer J.J. Abrams, is sanguine: “If it gets made …”

The book catapulted him into the big league, but he remains as approachable and generous as last time we talked. In person he looks fit and younger than his age, 48 – he jogs daily in Central Park, or the Wicklow hills. There’s an intensity I didn’t catch on the phone. He can get riled. When the guy at the next table starts talking loudly into his mobile, he says: “You hear that?” and his accent, normally unreconstructed southside Dublin, suddenly comes over all New York, almost Joe Pesci in Goodfellas.

“When I’m on a train and people start talking really loud like that into their phones, I take out a book and start reading out loud.” (This is the writer’s version of reaching for the gun).

My goal, this interview and last, is to get him to reveal something dark or unsettling about his life.

This isn’t just me succumbing to the romantic cliché that writers should be tortured; he has a clear penchant in his books for marginalised, excessive types and I want to know where this comes from. Let the Great World Spin featured hookers and drug addicts. Dancer revels in the pre-AIDS New York bath-house bacchanalia. This Side of Brightness 30 |

April/MAy 2013

A charmed life, Colum McCann on Dublin’s Fade Street.

(1998) was about the homeless living in New York subway tunnels.

Zoli (2006) was about a Roma woman, marginalised by her own marginalised people.

McCann’s own life couldn’t be more different. He grew up, youngest of four children, in a happy, middle-class family in the Dublin suburb of Deansgrange; he has been married to an ItalianAmerican New Yorker, Allison, for 20 years and has three children aged nine, 14 and 16. They live in Manhattan’s upper east side and spend weekends in his wife’s family house in Long Island. He’s hung out with everyone – Gabriel Byrne, Richard Harris, Frank McCourt, Don DeLillo, Peter Carey. How, given this halcyon existence, does he channel his characters’ angst?

Where’s it coming from?

McCann is amusing about his charmed life: “I’m very uncool!

“I’m very uncool! All the cool young writers live in Brooklyn. On the upper east side, we’ve Tom Wolfe, and we used to have DeLillo but he moved to the Bronx. We’ve still got Woody Allen …”

All the cool young writers live in Brooklyn. On the upper east side, we’ve Tom Wolfe, and we used to have DeLillo but he moved to the Bronx. We’ve still got Woody Allen …” In our last interview he delivered a marvellous apercu of his childhood: “My father worked for the Evening Press and was home by 4pm. My mother actually cut the crust off our sandwiches. We had about 750 roses in the garden.

I used to rail at Frank [McCourt]: ‘You got all the misery!’” (The roses are still there – when I told a friend from Deansgrange who I was interviewing, she said “Oh, lovely roses!” Jeez, no man is a hero in his hometown! Forget the awards and the print-runs; he’s the kid from the lovely rose garden … No wonder he had to cross the ocean!)

But what hatched the writer he became? What was the worm in the rose? Finally, he gives a clue, or I think it’s a clue. He’s talking about a project he’s embarking on with his friend, Bosnian writer Aleksandar Hemon: “It’s for young people and it’s called Narrative4 – as in Narrative4Peace or Narrative4Belfast or Narrative4changing. We’ll be bringing in kids from Haiti, Haifa, Jerusalem, Belfast, Dublin …

“We get them all together and, after a few days, when they’re comfortable, we ask them to think of a story emblematic of themselves,

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IntervIew

a story that if they buried it in the ground, an archaeologist digging it up years later would know exactly who they were. They tell this story privately to one other person in the group. Then we all get back together and – this is where the magic happens – they tell each other’s story.

So you’d tell my story and I’d tell yours. And they start to understand the process – what a story means, how it’s put together.”

This is interesting because a) it sounds a fascinating project; b) it’s a key to McCann – he thinks narrative is other people’s stories, not your own; and c) it gives me the perfect in. I pounce: “What’s your emblematic story?”

He laughs: “What’s yours?” I say primly that I’d have to think about it. He says yeah, but then he tells me his story: “When I was about ten, I went to London with my dad to see a football match. Afterwards he took me by the hand, and we bought a bottle of whiskey and a carton of cigarettes and he said we were going to see my granddad. I’d never met him. We went to a nursing home in Pimlico. Granddad was in bed.

He started telling me stories about the Spanish civil war, the Black and Tans, Big Jack Doyle, greyhound racing.

“On Monday morning, in St Brigid’s, Mr Kells said our essay for the week was ‘The person I most admire’. So I went to Dad and

said ‘do you mind if I write about to convey than grace in the gutter. granddad?’ Mr Kells read my essay But for McCann “achieving the out in class. But I only realised, in notion that the world is a shitbox is my twenties, that I wasn’t really no great human revelation. It takes a writing about my granddad, I was hell of a lot of chutzpah to say there’s writing about my dad, because he something good here.” He fixes me gave me the space to experience sternly: “I’d take on a cynic any day.” that. Granddad drank … there were Later he’s talking about the difficulties … but my dad didn’t Brooklyn Bridge, which of course judge him or judge him to me.” he loves – it’s aloft – and he gets It’s a sweet story and a lovely enthusiastic about these little tribute to his father, who has been locks that have appeared on the wrIter at ill a number of years. I also bridge’s railings. Locks with large think it could be rosebud (if couples’ names on them, you get with the Citizen Kane signifying love, hearts Listen up, fans. For a sighting reference): McCann’s interest locked in. “I’ve seen them of Colum McCann, go along to in the marginalised was on the Ha’penny Bridge!” the Dublin Writers Festival (May triggered by this charismatic I say, “I thought it was just 20-26) dublinwritersfestival. drunken navvy on his for Valentine’s.” – “No, com or Listowel Writers’ sickbed. Precisely because forever,” he says. I think Week (May 29 to June 2) he had such a safe, protected about this: “So when they writersweek.ie. environment, this encounter break up – I guess they each resonated. keep a key, and one of them comes This is probably too slick an and removes the lock …” He looks interpretation. As McCann says, at me, laughs, shakes his head. Later twice, once about the Irish-American I Google “locks on bridges”: you’re community, once about history: “It’s supposed to throw the key into the much more textured and nuanced river. This didn’t even occur to me. than we give it credit for.”

I think maybe we’ve found a new In any case, with TransAtlantic definition to replace the hoary old he may be moving into a new phase glass half-full: for the optimist the because these are not marginalised lock is unbreakable … characters. He has always written about grace and he does here but, TransAtlantic by Colum McCann with George Mitchell (his favourite (Random House/Bloomsbury, £18.99hb) is section) and with some of the female published in Europe on May 23 and in the protagonists, he is now writing US on June 4. about good bourgeois people. This is demanding – grace in middle-class comfort being trickier and less sexy

The likes of Colum McCann ...

Favourite place to visit in Ireland Strangford Lough. That’s since writing TransAtlantic – two sections are set there. I went up and stayed on a small island, in a cottage. I loved it.

Best place in Dublin the Dublin and Wicklow hills for running. Stag’s Head for a pint.

Best place to eat in new York Harry’s Steakhouse and

32 |

April/MAy 2013

Ulysses. They’re beside each other on Stone Street, which is the oldest paved street in Manhattan. Harry’s does the best steak and Ulysses is upmarket pub food. They’ve really revitalised Downtown. next country I want to visit The Atacama Desert in Chile, right, where it hasn’t rained for 400 years! I also want to be in Brazil with my family for the 2014 World Cup.

where I write I redesigned my office and put in a beautiful old desk and a cupboard – and one day I placed a half-seat and small desk in the cupboard. So now I’m there with a little picture of James Joyce stuck to the back, a light hanging down and the dog at my feet. I can’t see anything left or right, no distraction, just the text in front of me. I’m in the closet!

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“How appropriate to have a flower show in the Phoenix Park the green and beating heart of Dublin. And what a show! Great gardens and thousands of glorious plants. Drop what you’re doing and make a firm date in your diary.”

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Half Price Admission & a Souvenir Gift for You! To mark the year of ‘the gathering’ all international visitors to Bloom can avail of a half price ticket and a souvenir ‘Primula Innisfree’ with its unique chocolate coloured foliage, especially bred as part of the Kennedy Irish Primrose collection 2013.

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THe Funny Business

Did you hear the one about the Irish comedian? Whether it is funny/ha-ha, or funny/peculiar, the Irish have long had a reputation for the witty word. Eoin Higgins meets some of our funniest folk. Photographs by Richard Gilligan.

rish comedy seems to be having a moment. Or another one, as many of our comedians believe.

Apparently, we’ve always been a firm fixture on the international comedy scene, ever since Dave Allen. Either way, whether it’s Brendan O’Carroll’s rise to the top of the British light-entertainment pole with Mrs Brown’s Boys, or Chris O’Dowd’s US breakthrough in the smash-hit sitcom Girls, Irish comics certainly have us – if not rolling in the aisles – at least clutching our sides, gently, at the minute.

And why would it be any different? After all, the Irish are renowned as funny (not just looking, incidentally) people.

For proof, take the Lonely Planet online guide to Ireland, which describes the Hibernian psyche thusly: “Centuries of turmoil have certainly taken their toll on the Irish: they’ve been left with a deliciously dark sense of humour and a welcoming attitude towards strangers. That famous ability of the Irish – to find craic (fun times with convivial company) in boom or bust times – means you’re always in

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for a treat ...” it gushes. It’s not just internationally that the Hibernocomic is standing in the spotlight.

Back at home, a possibly financialdoldrums-inspired enthusiasm for getting up on a stage and revealing your innermost workings in order to make people laugh, has seen a multitude of comedy troupes, standup comedians and everything in between, blossom towards creating a very healthy domestic comedy scene of late. In addition to the new nights, clubs and venues making the punchlines, in February one of Dublin’s oldest laughable venues, The Comedy Cellar (it’s above a pub, geddit?) at the International Bar on Dublin’s Wicklow Street, celebrated its 25th anniversary.

From a surprise performance by Eddie Izzard to Dylan Moran’s first ever stand-up routine, this bijou comedy cavern has added plenty to the city’s laughter track over the last quarter century.

Outside the clubs, one-off nights and open mics, the biggest event on the Irish comedy calendar is The Cat Laughs Comedy Festival, held annually in Kilkenny. The festival is a draw for some of the biggest names in international comedy,

providing a yearly fulcrum for all things funny on the island. Festival artistic director Naoise Nunn is excited by this year’s programme: “As well as performances by comics, we are also running workshops where comedians can meet commissioning editors and learn about writing comedy for TV or stage, and find out how to go about getting commissioned. As for the line-up, this year, we’re delighted to welcome Dylan Moran, as well as some of the biggest Irish comedians; and then there’s Kevin Bridges from Scotland; Holly Walsh the sitcom writer; Alfie Brown, who I think is destined for very big things; Bec Hill from Australia; Dom Irrera from the US and Judah Friedlander from 30 Rock.”

Whether it’s part of our DNA, or a habit we’ve just picked up recently, the Hiberno-comic seems to be here to stay, for a while anyway. All of which might lead one to think that there’s something funny going on in Ireland. And you’d probably be right. Badum-tish!

For more information on The Cat Laughs Comedy Festival in Kilkenny, May 30 to June 3, see thecatlaughs.com

Pauline McLynn “Go on, go on, go on ...” It’s hard not to go through the Mrs Doyle from Father Ted routine on meeting Pauline McLynn for the first time, which would probably try her patience but is testament to the impact the actress made in the cult TV series.

Not that McLynn hasn’t continued to turn heads and induce chuckles since Ted. Having most recently completed an admirable stint on Channel 4’s Shameless, the bi-located (Dublin and London) actress is eager to slip into her next role. “I’m waiting on my start date to begin playing Jason Byrne’s mother in the TV pilot of his radio sitcom Father Figure. We’ve already done it on radio and it was very funny. So I am really excited about that.” McLynn’s passion for comedic acting is impressive, but she is also an acclaimed author. “I’ve just finished writing my second teen novel, about a young girl called Jennifer Quinn, or Jenny Q as she’s known, and even though I didn’t set out for it to be comedic it has turned out quite funny, but it has sad bits as well in it, because that’s life, isn’t it?”

Pauline McLynn’s latest book, Jenny Q, Unravelled! (Penguin), is out in paperback this June

people

Paul Howard The creator of one of the most iconic Irish fictional characters (Ross O’Carroll-Kelly) of the past two decades, award-winning comic author Paul Howard thinks that seeing the humorous side of a situation is something that’s ingrained in the Irish psyche. “I think that with Irish people, we have a desire to see the funny side of things. And I think that has a lot to do with our history, a lot to do with the fact that Irish people have had to deal with a bucket-load of misfortune over the years. There’s certainly an element of ‘if you don’t laugh you’ll cry’ with us.” Currently, Co Wicklow-based Howard is putting the final touches to the latest in the Ross O’Carroll-Kelly series, and in his tradition of wittily subverting pop cultural tropes for his books’ titles, it’s called Downturn Abbey. The author is also working on a biography of Tara Browne, Guinness heir and inspiration for the opening two stanzas of The Beatles’ A Day in the Life, who died in a car crash in London at the height of the Swinging Sixties. As well as his literary output, Howard is also behind the acclaimed comedy stage-play Anglo: The Musical, and then there’s his input into Irish TV sketch show, Irish Pictorial Weekly. As for his plans for 2013: “I’d like to take Anglo: The Musical to England. There was an offer on the table at one stage recently, so it might well happen.”

Paul Howard’s Triggs: The Autobiography of Roy Keane’s Dog (Hachette Ireland), is out now in paperback

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Maeve Higgins

“I should really try to sound busy but, to be honest, I’m just hanging around the house deciding what to write next.”

The life of the comedy starlet/writer is nothing if not unpredictable. For Maeve Higgins, it’s also been chock-full of interesting opportunities. She moved to London in January and, although she is still going back and forth to Ireland to “collect my post and see my kids – only messing, I don’t have any kids ...”, she seems to have found something of a snug groove there. “I wrote a book last year and that was a scary but wonderful process and I think I almost prefer writing over stand-up right now.

That said, I’m sure my neediness will take over again soon and you’ll see me on stage telling all my secrets to strangers ... but for now, being in my room in London just writing is making me pretty happy.” Asked about comedy venues she misses back on the old sod, Higgins reveals her favourite as “Firkin Crane in Cork, it’s a gorgeous old dance theatre that just so happens to be in between a butter museum and a sweet factory ... it’s heaven!”

A collection of essays by Maeve Higgins, We Have a Good Time ... Don’t We? (Hachette Ireland), is out now

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Diet of Worms

Made up of, from left, Rory Connolly, Niall Gaffney, Shane Langan, Amy Stephenson and Philippa Dunne (not pictured), Diet of Worms is a fivepiece, Dublin-based comedy sketch troupe with a taste for unusual stage and screen antics. Their most recent web series, Dublin Stories and The Taste of Home, have garnered tens of thousands of online viewers.

As a scripted sketch group – more unusual in Ireland than a stand-up act – their way of doing things took a little getting used to, as Stephenson relates: “There’s a heckling culture here in Ireland and our work really doesn’t lend itself to that because it’s scripted, so in the beginning

the audience would try to be a part of the act. Some comedians love that interaction but we have had to studiously ignore it!” At the moment, the folk behind Diet of Worms are working on a “confidential TV project in the UK”, plus, they’re continuing to work on their web series, something they are keen to push into a TV scenario. As for the future, Langan reveals: “Essentially, we’d like to have a successful TV show, something that people want to watch, and something that we are really proud of.”

Shane Langan’s Monthly General Meeting runs on the last Monday of each month, for locations follow @monthlygm on Twitter

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people

Aisling Bea

Aisling Bea, an infectiously excitable Kildare native now living in London, has a busy year ahead of her. “Gigwise, I’ve lots of things to look forward to with Kilkenny, Montreal, my first solo show in Edinburgh and then the Dublin Fringe in September. It does give me a mild panic that I’m going to disappoint people in four countries within four months, but hopefully I’ll avoid bringing shame upon us all if I chill out and keep the head down.”

Bea by name, bee by nature, but how does she feel about being seen as an Irish comedian in London? “I suppose it’s unavoidable really. As soon as I open my mouth onstage, it’s clear that I’m not from Essex, but I’m lucky as our comic reputation is a pretty positive one. I do try to avoid dwelling on it too much, although living in another country for a few years has inevitably shaped my frame of reference. That’s why it’s so lovely to be able to come home to work though; it feels like you’re talking to your cousins rather than your friends – you’ve a shared history and you spend less time explaining who’s who and why Uncle Seán insulting you is just his way of showing you that he cares.”

Aisling Bea will be appearing at The Cat Laughs Festival, May 30 to June 3, see thecatlaughs.com

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Neil Delamere

“Right now it’s hectic!” Asking Neil Delamere to tell you what he’s working on is like asking Santa Claus to tell you who he is going to visit on Christmas Eve, the man has a lot on.

“I’m doing a tour around Ireland and I’m in the middle of doing a series for BBC Northern Ireland called The Blame Game, which is a kind of a panel show – at the moment it’s on radio and at the end of the year it switches to TV ... and then back to radio again, it jumps between the two. There was also a documentary about St Patrick we just did, it was humorous, there was stand-up and sketches in it and it was also historically accurate. Recently, I was standing in for John Murray on the radio too, so it’s as busy as it’s ever been, which is brilliant!” The breathless, Offaly-born Delamere has become a household name in Ireland from stints on the aforementioned TV and radio shows, but when it comes to the international stand-up scene, he believes that “Irish comics are up there with the best in the world. I’ve been to the big festivals in Montreal, Melbourne and I’ve seen the best of the best and our own homegrown talent is as good as you’re going to find anywhere else.”

Neil Delamere is currently touring his nationwide show, Restructuring, see ticketmaster.ie. He will also appear at The Cat Laughs, see thecatlaughs.com.

Photographed at Smock Alley Theatre, 7 Lower Exchange Street, Dublin 2, 01 677 0014; smockalley.com. Photography

by Richard Gilligan, assisted by Andrew Nuding. Make-up by Vivienne Pomeroy; hair by Carolann Moylan; both at Brown Sugar, 50 South William Street, Dublin 2, 01 616 9967; brownsugar.ie.

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Hook Lineand Sinker

If you’ve never fished before, the Blackwater river offers plenty of choice beats perfect for the learner as it flows through county Cork. Add a patient ghillie, top-class country house accommodation and you’re guaranteed a memorable weekend break. First-timer Laura George gets hooked. Photographs by Steve Ryan.

On the water – ghillie and game-keeper Ian Fish of Longueville House shows how it's done.

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fishing | cork

iver fishing has long conjured up semimystic imagery for me. Instagram afternoons thighhigh in a burbling river, picnics artfully arranged on a riverbank, iridescent scales gleaming in the dappled sunlight – a dash of tartan here and there. It also carries a lot of (welcome) Zen baggage. Unlike sea fishing, which seems more of a struggle against nature and the elements (at least if you’ve ever seen a trailer for The Deadliest Catch), it’s supposed to be all about getting fresh air both literally and metaphysically.

But until recently I had never actually fished. My first outing couldn’t have come at a better time.

Work had been crazy hectic for months, my youngest child was casting a pall over the whole house with her Mocks and everything domestic was barely being held together by internet food shopping, takeaways and Panadol Extra. The state of affairs was so grim that I wobbled and tried to wriggle out of my inaugural fishing trip at the last minute, even though it could only do us all good. Luckily, the hook was in deep.

Using the Great Fishing Houses of Ireland brochure (irelandflyfishing. com) as my bible, I choose three country houses that offer fishing along the Blackwater in Cork.

The 70-mile-long river has a well-

R

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deserved international reputation for both beauty and yield. It starts as a relative trickle in Kerry’s Mullaghareirk Mountains and winds across Cork and a bit of Waterford before draining into the sea at Youghal. Wild Atlantic salmon are pre-programmed to return to their native river to spawn in the exact spot where they hatched, after they’ve been at sea for at least a year or two fattening up. Here, you can catch them coming (the highly prized grilse, weighing one to four kilos)

Above, left, newbie Laura George takes a break, and above, Justin Green owner of Ballyvolane House, possibly the hippest country house in Ireland.

or going (immature smolts or weary kelts). No one can blame them for coming back – the Blackwater is stunning and for those of us on land, there are plenty of atmospheric and luxurious houses for fisherfolk to stay in along its banks, particularly in county Cork.

My own fishing career begins at Ballyvolane House, which is quite possibly the hippest country house in Ireland. Given that the proprietor’s mother was a legendary fly fisherwoman, reputed to have

ortable guesthouse and Just across the border in Waterford at the comf can learn everything from self-catering option of Blackwater Lodge, you €35 per night; fishing (April flycasting to advanced spey casting. B&B from licence), day tickets for nononwards, from €45 per day (not including state d-salmon-fishing.net. residents are available. Contact 058 60235; irelan

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Left, and top, right, ghillie Norman Gillett of Ballyvolane ready to reel 'em in. Above, great bait – a colourful fly collection.

landed the biggest salmon ever caught on the Blackwater, there’s no better place to start. We strike out at the site of Neville Chamberlain’s old bolthole (now a glade whose only evidence of past human habitation is a septic tank lid), our ghillie Martin Trusler guiding us through the first decisions of the day: salmon v trout, spinning v flyfishing. We opt for spinning, which requires less skill and no wading, and poohpooh trying for anything but the mighty salmon.

It’s not every day you get a whole new vocabulary delivered to your doorstep. Even if you think you know what a condom is (in this 50 |

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case a rubbery float that acts as bait in lieu of a prawn), a day’s salmon fishing casts new light on many a linguistic shortfall, as well as a plethora of physical ones. Martin anticipated both, patiently talking us through the basics of his art even as we repeatedly forgot to release the catch on the reel or tangled the line (me) and flung our lines too far upriver or into ragwort on the opposite bank (my partner). He’s a guy who spends hours crafting his own flies with utmost care; as he walks you through his vast collection, there’s clearly a narrative being played out in his head for each and every one.

Try DIY at Ballyhooly Castle

Self-catering is also an excellent option. Guests at the scenic Ballyhooly Castle in Fermoy, Co Cork, have two dedicated beats to fish and two ghillies to guide them. Up to eight people can share the five-storey medieval towerhouse and adjoining two-bedroom bungalow. The majority of the fishing is double bank and there is excellent fly water throughout the whole stretch. Prices from £5,454 per week for six, including full board and fishing, rods and licenses, through Roxtons, 0044 1488 689 788; roxtons.com.

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fishing | cork

Twenty minutes in, I happen to be holding the rod (not in the manner recommended I'm sure) as a very tired fish wanders by. Et voilá, one of the very first catches of the 2013 season. The Irish language provides a telling description of events. As Gaeilge, you don’t catch a salmon, you meet it. In this particular case, destiny is somewhat underwhelming. The poor fellow’s big (3.17kg/0.6m long) but has

no fight and very little meat on his bones. Having spent the last few months fasting as he travelled upriver to spawn, he’s basically only fit for a smoke of his own rather than the kind of smoking I had hoped for. Ironically, a nasty patch of terminal disease on his forehead where he’s bashed his scales buys him time. Martin takes one look and suggests we return him to the water posthaste.

Relaxed dining at Ballyvolane, top, and above, Justin out and about with his pigs and poultry.

Eat at ...

If you’re taking a day off fishing to explore, work some excellent restaurants into your itinerary. farmgate On the balcony of the English Market in Cork, this showcase for local suppliers basically takes food from the stalls and transforms it into home-style cooking. Fab beef and Guinness stew. (Princes Street, 021 427 8134; farmgate.ie)

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L’Atitude 51 A relative newcomer, this classic bistro has taken Cork by storm.

(1 Union Quay, 021 239 0219; latitude51.ie) filter Two young guys, obsessed with all things coffee, brew the best in Cork city and match specific blends to homemade snacks.

(19 Georges Quay)

Les gourmandises The hottest tables in town, thanks to a multi-award-winning husband-wife duo, chef Pat and Soizic Kiely. (17 Cook Street, 021 425 1959) Ballymaloe Pay homage to the Allens at the iconic mothership. You won’t be sorry.

(Shanagarry, Midleton, 021 465 2531; ballymaloe.ie)

Perhaps because I didn’t feel like I had influenced events in any way, there’s no surge of adrenaline accompanying the catch or regret when the salmon is freed. Had I known it was to be the last catch of the day, I might have worked up more steam. As it was, I remained firmly convinced that it was bound to happen again and that each time I cast there was a real likelihood that The Big One was literally around the bend, a veritable sashimi banquet in waiting. I could see the juicy pink slices artfully fanned out on a shallow celadon platter with perfect clarity and a small blob of wasabi on the side.

Ballyvolane is all about comfort – old school décor, roaring fires and

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incredible food (think slow roast pork reared on site, local artisanal goats cheese in salad, new baby potatoes wallowing in country butter and herbs from their walled garden). Owned and run by the charming Jenny and Justin Green, whose combined pedigree includes The Peninsula in Hong Kong (where they met), Aman Resorts and Babington House in Somerset,

Behind the scenes at Longueville – distiller Dan Duggan tends to the apple brandy.

Below, homegrown goodness in the polytunnel, and head chef Eric Kavanagh prepares dinner for guests.

Who to call …

Ballyvolane, Castlelyons, Fermoy, Co Cork, 025 36349; ballyvolanehouse.ie. From €95 per person per night, fishing from €50 per rod.

Careysville, Clondulane, Fermoy, Co Cork, 025 31094; careysville.com. From €1,600 per person per week all inclusive; fishing from €250 per rod per day.

Longueville House, Mallow, Co Cork, 022 47156; longuevillehouse.ie or Ireland's Blue Book, 01 676 9914; irelands-blue-book.ie. From €75 per person per night; fishing from €85 per rod.

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Ballyvolane excels at providing personal service without ever being obsequious.

So too does one of the grandest dames of Blue Book hospitality, nearby Longueville House in Mallow. Half an hour away, it is thriving under the second generation of O’Callaghans running it as a hotel. William, who trained with Raymond Blanc at Le Manoir

Aux Quat’Saisons in Oxfordshire, does all the cooking (and how!) while also managing the farm and distillery, where he has started to produce brandy and cider from Longueville apples. Meanwhile, the glamorous Aisling mammies guests – in the best possible sense. We arrive down for our epic pre-fishing breakfast to find she has laid out long underwear and extra woollies

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fishing | cork

Ghillie wisdom for beginners Wear sunglasses and a hat just in case stray hooks head your way – a peril of the novice.

If you fall in with waders on, lie on your back and float wherever the current takes you so the weight of full waders doesn’t pull you down.

Take instruction – it’s not necessarily about how much line you get out but where your bait lands. Fisherwomen allegedly have an edge over fishermen because they tend to a) listen better and b) implement what they’ve heard rather than trying to cast into the next county.

This page, clockwise from left, grand country house style; watchful geese; Ian Fish at work.

as well as wader wetsuits, somehow knowing we would come grossly under-accoutred.

Just as well. The river is cold enough (and brisk enough) for us to feel it might have beneficial effects on cellulite. Ian Fish (no, really, that's his name), the boyish ghillie who doubles as a gamekeeper for the many pheasant on the estate, arms us with elegant fly fishing rods and points us at some pools between two particularly fast moving parts of the river. Once in place, he executes a graceful, but basic, three-part cast in a figure of eight a few times to demonstrate what it should look like. Rather than try to replicate the moves exactly, I opt for standing solo and trying to find the

principles in the movements. It’s all an experiment with tension … and patience. The gentle whoosh of the line releasing as you dance it back and forth is where the Zen lies.

While I’m busy blissing out, my companion upriver is unwittingly hooking a salmon. It manages to escape with a full flash of tail, for which she is eternally grateful.

Apparently, the last thing she wants is actually to kill something. It isn’t until she’s reassured that people are encouraged to set catches free that this vegetarian gets more serious about the sport. The three Fishery Officers who appear out of nowhere to check our licenses confirm stocks are improving thanks to this trend and the aggressive conservation policies in place up and down the river. All catches are tagged, whether returned or not and numbers are carefully monitored. “We are out all day, every day and there’s very little gets by us,” says one.

We return to Longueville emptyhanded and too knackered to try the simulated pheasant shooting or watch the roundup of live birds for release at their season’s end. Instead, we settle for a tour of the orchards,

ary 1 to The 2013 Blackwater salmon season runs Febru g in Ireland, September 30. For more information on fishin .ie. check fishinginireland.info and discoverireland

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Careysville's head ghillie Patrick Devinnie with Londoner, fly fisherman John Stancliffe, and his catch of the day.

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distillery and gardens, loading up on wild garlic and herbs to take home.

There’s plenty more foraging to be done at the Duke of Devonshire’s fishing lodge, Careysville near Fermoy, which may have been the best kept secret in Ireland until this article was published. Provided you book aeons in advance, you can rent this perfectly formed, fully staffed six-bedroom period house, complete with taxidermed wildlife displays, for the house party of all house parties. It’s an outpost of Lismore Castle, 27 miles downriver in Co Waterford and is probably the Devonshires’ idea of roughing it. The Careysville beat lies just above Ballyvolane’s and just below a magnificent 200-year-old weir, which is the subject of much

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local political debate.

Hot and hearty lunch is served in the private “hut” (a Victorian cricket pavilion repurposed and transported from Derbyshire by the last Duke), with basic bathroom om facilities. To complete the picture, two little blue row boats are provided for scooting up and down the river and crossing to opposite banks. Only the Crawley sisters are missing.

Patrick Devennie, the head of the fishery, is a class act. Teaching fishing is his vocation but he’s no small part occupational therapist, too. According to him, many guests arrive completely stressed out but

by Day Three on the river, they’ve downshifted. “By Day Four, they don’t know what day it is,” he says.

There’s no Day Four for me, but the recalibration I notice is that I no longer care a whit about landing a fish or who’s taking the bins out back home. Standing by the water’s edge (spinning again because of the cold), amidst drifts of daffodils ready to pop under a Simpsons’ sky, it’s impossible to hear the throbbing of real life over the birdsong and the rushing of water. I’m hooked.

Clockwise from top, the Weir at Careysville; vast Irish elk antlers; Careysville, the Duke of Devonshire's fishing lodge; Victorian bird collection.

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LAKESIDE

romance Northern Italy’s subalpine lakes each have a charm of their own. Visit Lake Garda for the good life or Lake Como for romance but Lee Marshall singles out Lake Orta, mysterious and off the beaten track, as his favourite.

San Giulio in the mysterious and exceptionally pretty Lake Orta.

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ExPLoRE | ITALIAN LAkES

ell me who you are and I’ll tell you which Italian lake best suits you. Gregarious, easy-going, a lover of the good life? That’ll be Lake Garda.

Romantic, bohemian, discreetly glamorous? It’s Como for you. The healthy outdoor type who likes to keep busy? Easy: you’re Maggiore.

I’m a Lake Orta man myself.

I’m not sure that this reflects well on my character: am I really that melancholy, secretive and aloof?

But then, standing on the quayside of Orta San Giulio, I look around and console myself with some other adjectives. Cultured? Spiritual?

Refined? I’ll go with those.

Orta is the westernmost of Italy’s six main subalpine lakes, and the only one wholly in Piedmont. It’s not really on the way to anywhere; but the fact that you have to seek it out is one of its many charms.

Even when you get here, there’s an air of reticence and mystery about

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the place, the sense that the magic of this “quiet sheet of water amidst the mountains”, as the Blue Guide to Northern Italy puts it, needs time and patience to unlock.

Orta San Giulio is a good place to start looking for the key. Orta’s “capital”, and its only settlement of any size, it has one of the prettiest historic centres of any Italian lakeside town, with the possible exception of

Top, a sundrenched, gelato-coloured piazza in charming Orta San Giulio.

Below, our writer Lee Marshall on assignment at Italy’s great lakes.

Other eats ...

SPLURGE Enjoy perfect, fresh gourmet Italian dishes, with view across vineyards and gardens to Lake Garda, at Ristorante Capriccio in Manerba del Garda (Loc. Montinelle, Piazza San Bernardo 6, +39 0365 551 124, ristorantecapriccio.it; closed Tue, around €100 a head).

MID-RANGE Exquisite freshwater fish are served on a terrace overlooking placid Lake Iseo at Ristorante Zù on Riva di Solto (Via XXV Aprile 53, +39 035 986 004, ristorantezu.it; closed Tue, around €55 a head).

BUDGET In Mandello del Lario, a Como village famous as the home of Moto Guzzi motorbikes, tasty, great-value local fare is available at a cute osteria called Sali e Tabacchi (Piazza San Rocco 3, +39 0341 733 715, osteriasalietabacchi.it; closed Mon and Tue, around €30 a head).

A watercolour painting by Róisín O’ Shea © 2012

J

ohnnie Fox’s Pub situated in the heart of the Dublin Mountains has it all, a living museum of Irish History andTradition where unique pieces from old farm implements to Historical antiquities adorn every wall, nook & cranny. Serving an award winning a la carte menu from 12.30 until late, with live musicians playing traditional Irish music 7 nights a week, our special kind of Irish welcome is not to be missed.

S

ituated only 40 minutes from Dublin City Centre and 10 minutes from Dundrum or Enniskerry Villages why not take our private shuttle bus which will collect you from an array of Dublin City or County Hotels operated by ExpressBus.ie (01 8221122) for just €10 per person “ return”.

Hooley Nights For a real treat one should experience the world famous show known as the Johnnie Fox’s HOOLEY night which includes the esteemed Johnnie Fox’s troop of Irish dancers, live traditional Irish music, a full 4 course evening meal and plenty of great craic….. at only €49.95 per person.

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ExplorE | italian lakEs

Sirmione on Lake Garda, combining aristocratic style and mountain rusticity in one neat package.

Painted jaunty shades of pastel, sometimes frescoed, the palazzos and churches of what was a prosperous and mostly peaceful independent commune remind us that Tuscany hasn’t cornered the market in perfect little Renaissance and Baroque townscapes.

Though tourism is important in Orta, the town has a life outside it.

Come here out of season – at the end of October, say, when the lake

Right, grappa doesn’t taste much better than at Re di Coppe, a popular wine bar in Orta San Giulio.

Below, testing the waters of beautiful Lake Orta.

is the poster-boy for that line from Keats about autumn being a season of “mists and mellow fruitfulness” – and you’ll be the rarity rather than the rule in a wine bar such as Re di Coppe (+39 0322 915 871) in central Piazza Motta. The locals come here to round off a working day – or give themselves a boost in the middle of one – with a restorative grappa or a glass of Nebbiolo, the default Piedmontese red wine. Like those locals, it can be slow to open up, but once you get beyond its reserve it will be your friend for life.

Also in the main piazza, Hotel Aracoeli (Piazza Motta 34, +39 0322 905 173, double rooms from €110) is a quirky, laid-back three star: the playfully decorated rooms feature designer lights and (in one case) a shower stall in the middle of the room; breakfast, with its array of homemade cakes, is a delight. In the centro storico, eat at La Locanda del Buon Riso (Via Albertoletti Caire 13, +39 0322 905 709, closed Tuesday, average €35 a head) a recently opened, creative trattoria, which does refined local cooking at good local prices.

Orta does not wear you out with must-see attractions. There are precisely two, perfectly gauged to fill up a long weekend with some dolce far niente time factored in. The first is the island of San Giulio, shaped like an ocean liner, with churches, gardens and some unexpectedly grand palazzos in place of the cabins, deck and funnels. You may want to try St Julius’s original method 64 |

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HISTORY

DISTILLED

FOR YOU TO DISCOVER

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ExPLoRE | ITALIAN LAkES

Other sleeps ...

SPLURGE The grande dame of Lake Como hotels, Villa d’Este in Cernobbio (Via Regina 40, +39 031 3481, villadeste.it; double rooms from €500) never disappoints: from the service to the lakeside park to the hushed and gilded spa, all is impeccable.

MID-RANGE Just upshore from George Clooney’s Lake Como villa, Relais Villa Vittoria in Laglio (Via Regina 62, +39 031 400 859, relaisvillavittoria.it; double rooms from €150) is a new, ten-room boutique option that is among the best in its price range.

Above left, a pool with a view at Relais Villa Vittoria; below left, Villa d’Este’s magnificent restaurant; above right, frescoes depicting episodes in the life of St Francis of Assisi in a Sacro Monte chapel.

of getting across in the fourth century: he spread his cloak on the water and went across standing up as on a motorised surfboard.

Failing that, there are regular ferries (navigazionelagodorta.it) or, even better, rowing boats for hire.

The row across makes for an easy 15-minute workout, just enough to build an appetite for lunch at the Ristoro San Giulio (+39 0322 90234, ristorantesangiulio.it, closed Tuesday), a simple restaurant with über-romantic al fresco terrace, where

they serve up fresh and local fare like gnocchi in butter and sage sauce with crunchy guanciale bacon. The price is reasonable too – around €30 a head for two courses with a glass of house wine.

Inside the island church of San Giulio, a remarkable, eleventhcentury black marble pulpit features, among other carvings, a centaur shooting an arrow into a swirl of tendrils. No such pagan imagery is on display in the chapels of the Sacro Monte, Orta San Giulio’s other main

BUDGET On the southern shores of Lake Garda, in Desenzano del Garda, Relais Il Giardino Segreto (Via Curiel 2, +39 030 917 2294, relaisilgiardinosegreto.it; double -road endurance race, the 1000 Classic car enthusiasts can enjoy the historic open rooms from €95) is a six-room on Lake Garda between May 15 designer B&B with a lovely garden.

Miglia, from Desenzano del Garda and Sirmione

een 1927-1957 will be making an and 19. Some 375 sports cars that took part betw Bresia to Rome; 1000miglia.eu. impossibly glamorous 48-hour round-trip from

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O

’Neill’s is one of Dublin’s most famous and historic pubs.

Centuries of Dublin history surround the world-renowned O’Neill’s.

Just around the corner from Trinity College, Grafton Street and the Molly Malone Statue, trade has flourished uninterrupted for over 300 years. O’Neill’s is conveniently set in the heart of Dublin.

Our fully-refurbished Roof-Top Beer Garden & Smoking Area

When you pay us a visit you will receive a warm and friendly welcome and you can enjoy its ageless character, numerous alcoves, snugs, nooks and crannies.

To make your visit as enjoyable as possible we offer you ... ●

Extensive Irish Food Menu and Famous Carvery serving only the finest Irish Meat, Fish and Vegetables. In fact, Lonely Planet rate us as one of the Top 5 Places to find ´Real Irish food in Dublin´.

●

Traditional Irish Music 7 nights-a-week

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Roof-Top Beer Garden and Smoking Area

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Largest selection of local Irish Craft Beers in Ireland

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Pour Your Own Pint tables

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Free Wi-Fi to all our Customers

●

HD and 3D Screens for the Sports Fan with major international league games.

‘Really Good’ Full Irish Breakfast only

€6.95

Available Mon-Fri, 8am-11.30am

M.J. O’Neill Suffolk Street, Dublin 2 Tel. 01 679 3656 www.oneillsbar.com

Mon-Thurs: 8.00am-11.30pm Fri: 8.00am-12.30am Sat: 8.00am-12.30am Sun: 8.00am-11.00pm SatNav 53.343958, -6.260796

“Top 5 places to find Real Irish Food in Dublin”

2013 Les Routiers Pub of The Year

ExplorE | italian lakEs

Left, stucco a-go-go at the unflinchingly romantic Villa Crespi, below, a bird’s eye view, and one of its luxurious rooms.

draw. Combining a day out for all the family with religious edification, these “sacred mounts” were big in counter-Reformation Piedmont and Lombardy. This is one of the best, with each of its 20 chapels housing a sculptural tableau from the life of St Francis. They spiral up the leafy hill behind the town, which offers distractingly wonderful views of the lake.

Orta San Giulio is home to one of the classiest hotels anywhere in the Italian lakes: the 14-room Villa 68 |

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Crespi (Via G Fava 18, +39 0322 911 902; hotelvillacrespi.it, closed January to March, double rooms from €198), a Moorish folly with Alhambra-like stucco decoration, built towards the end of the 19th century by a Milanese cotton magnate. Don’t think coddled contemporary luxury: this is a heritage hotel with heritage furniture and fittings (think Downton Abbey, Italian-style). But if you’re in the mood for opulent, romantic eccentricity, it delivers.

And foodies will love the Michelintwo-starred restaurant (closed all day Monday, Tuesday lunch, average €130 a head) where chef Tonino Cannavacciuolo alternates the flavours of his southern Italian roots with the local Piedmontese tradition.

The former comes through in the most memorable dish I have eaten here, or possibly anywhere: delicate mussel-filled ravioli in a sauce of San Marzano tomatoes, Parmesan and basil. It was like putting the Amalfi Coast in your mouth.

Just because I’m sold on Orta doesn’t mean I can’t see the charms of the other northern Italian lakes.

High up on the western shore of Maggiore I recently discovered a town that gives Orta San Giulio

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“It was a pleasure to work with John Cleary and the Dell / Quest team, where everyone worked together in true partnership to deliver the project on time and within budget” Theo Cullinane, CEO BAM Contractors

www.bamcontractors.ie Call Mike Jones on 00 353 87 629 7738

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Opposite, the lakefront gardens of Villa Monastero, Varenna; above right, the palace garden on the island of Isola Madre, on the Lago Maggiore; above left, a cable car with Lake Garda in background; below, the cobble stone streets of Cannobio.

5 best things to do ...

1 a run for its money: Cannobio, with its romantic centro storico of pebble-paved lanes leading down past ancient, peach-pink houses to a handsome lake promenade. It’s also the location for Maggiore’s best boutique hotel, the twelve-room Hotel Pironi (Via Marconi 35, +39 0323 70624, pironihotel.it, double rooms from €150), whose colourful interiors contrast engagingly with its austere Medieval facade.

On Como, “bello” Bellagio gets all the press – and very dolce vita it is too – but if I was advising friends who only had time to visit one Lake Como town, I’d tell them to make it Varenna, on the eastern shore.

With its dinky harbour of bobbing boats and its ancient arcaded waterfront, this photogenic village looks like it has been airlifted from Sicily, and with the lake here at its broadest point, that could easily be the Mediterranean out there. If I was coming all this way I’d pay the extra for a superior lake view room (from €230) at Hotel du Lac

On Lake Garda, don’t miss the spectacular 1,650-metre cablecar ascent from Malcesine to the summit of Monte Baldo, which takes you from lakeside gardens to alpine meadows in just ten minutes (funiviedelbaldo.it).

Of the three Borromeo Islands on Lake Maggiore, my favourite is Isola Madre (borromeoturismo.it), with its luxuriant, semi-tropical garden.

Flaubert called it “the most sensual place I have ever visited”.

If you only visit one Como villa, make it Villa del Balbaniello (fondoambiente.it). Run by the FAI, Italy’s main heritage charity, this delightful 18th-century cardinal’s villa is best reached by boat from Lenno.

2 3

4

On a windswept pass high above Como’s southern Lecco branch, the Sanctuary of the Madonna del Ghisallo is the Italian cycling fraternity’s main shrine. Bikes, jerseys and other cycling paraphernalia hang inside the little church, with more in a contemporary museum nearby (museodelghisallo.it).

One of the best wine bars in the region, Gato Borracho (Via Caldogno 1, +39 0365 198 6441, gatoborracho.com; closed Tue) in Limone on Lake Garda is a great place to take a glass-by-glass tour of northern Italy, from bubbly Franciacorta to austere Barolo.

5

(Via del Prestino 11, +39 0341 830 238; albergodulac.com), a friendly, romantic four-star right on the water’s edge. Stop for a drink or a light and healthy meal of salad and cold cuts at another waterfront gem, Varenna Caffè (Contrada Scoscesa 13, +39 0341 830 459), which is quite possibly the cutest little bar anywhere on the six lakes.

Ever since Goethe lauded its balmy climate and its delicious figs, pears and lemons, gentle Lake Garda has provided a first taste of the warm south for northern visitors, and the Brenner Pass motorway means that it’s now an easy daytrip from Innsbruck. But it’s not difficult

major The scheduled ferry services that exist on all the cruise. Of the lakes are good ways to get yourself a cut-price connects various routes, the Como “mid-lake shuttle” that particularly Maneggio, Varenna, Bellagio and Tremezzo is elaghi.it. scenic. Timetables can be consulted at navigazion April/MAy 2013

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ExPLORE | ItALIAN LAkES

ILLUSTRATION BY CHRIS JUDgE

to resist the lure of the limoncello souvenirs and discover a more authentic side to the largest of Italy’s northern lakes. On the western shore, Salò is a lovely Belle Époque resort, full of handsome cafés, townhouses and hotels, many the result of rebuilding in the prevailing Liberty (Italian Art Deco) style after a 1901 earthquake. Immerse yourself in languid opulence by checking into one of the grandest, the Romantik Hotel Laurin (Via Landi 9, +39 0365 22022, laurinsalo. com; double rooms from €155), whose ground-floor reception rooms and dining room are straight out of Below, La Locanda di San Vigilio and Saló, on Lake Garda.

a Puccini opera. Another unmissable Garda destination is Punta di San Vigilio on the eastern shore, a perfect cypress-studded ensemble of aristocratic villa, lakeside chapel, charming inn (La Locanda di San Vigilio, +39 045 725 6688, locandasanvigilio.it; double rooms from €270) and lemon garden that has changed little since the 17th century.

I’ve not even touched on little Lake Iseo with its beguilingly sleepy island-village of Monte Isola, or the secluded Italian sections of mostly Swiss Lake Lugano. But the sense of discovery around every corner, as new headlands, verdant gardens and distant mountain peaks come into view, is one of the joys of the Italian lakes – so let me stop here before I give too much away.

AER LINGUS FLIES FROM DUBLIN TO MILAN MALPENSA DAILY AND FROM DUBLIN TO VERONA, TUE, THU AND SAT.

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LouIs FItzgerALd HospItALIty City Centre Heritage Pubs Dublin & Galway

GRAND CENTRAL

10/11 O’Connell St, Dublin 1 Tel: 01 8728658

Dating back to the 19th century, it was partly destroyed in the 1916 rising. Today you can still enjoy some of the original features, high dome ceilings and hand crafted stone, but now complemented with plush leather seats and dramatic chandeliers. Superb food served daily.

Temple Bar, Ph: +353 1 670 8777 www.arlingtonhoteltemplebar.com

O’Connell Bridge Ph: +353 1 804 9100 www.arlington.ie

Traditional Irish hospitality awaits you in the Arlington Hotels. Boasting 200 Bedrooms in the Heart of the City. Experience the true Dublin and stay with us in these Iconic Locations.

KEHOES

9 South Anne, Dublin 2 Tel: 01 6778312

Situated off Dublin’s premier shopping street, Grafton Street. This is one of the finest, if not the finest, Victorian pubs in Dublin. Although it is unchanged since 19th century, this is not a museum, it is a buzzing vibrant pub with a fantastic atmosphere and a special place in the heart of Dubliners. This is a must see.

THE STAGS HEAD

1 Dame Court, Dublin 2 Tel: 01 6793687

Established in the 1700s, it was last renovated in 1895 and was the first pub in Dublin to change from gas lighting to electricity.

A favourite haunt for those in the literary world including Joyce and Kavanagh over the years.

Today it still has the authentic feel of a real Dublin pub.

THE QUAYS

11-12 Temple Bar, Dublin 2 Tel: 01 6713922 The Quays, Temple Bar situated in the heart of Temple Bar is one of Dublin’s liveliest pubs with a great mix of locals and tourists. Live Irish Traditional Music everyday makes the pub a magnet for those of us looking for a bit of craic and with a restaurant on the first floor.

THE LOUIS FITZGERALD HOTEL ★★★★

THE BAGGOT INN Lower Baggot Street, Dublin 2 Tel: 01 6618758

The Baggot Inn offer you the original and unique ‘Pour your own Pint’ experience.

Located in the hub of Dublin’s business centre, we serve a wide variety of hot and tasty food.

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THE QUAYS

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Quay Street, Galway Tel: 091 568347 The Quays, situated in the heart of Galway city and established in the 1600s, it has kept the charm which gained it an international reputation for its traditional Irish music sessions.

Traditional Irish fare, the best of music and the 'craic' are the order of the day.

★ 190 bedrooms ★ Amazing Wedding packages available Newlands Cross, Dublin 22. Tel: 01 403 3300 Email: stay@louisfitzgeraldhotel.com www.louisfitzgeraldhotel.com

AN POITIN STIL

JOELS RESTAURANT

Award winning thatched Restaurant & Bar with its own Stil and quirky museum. An Poitin Stil is one of Ireland’s Most Famous Pubs.

Modern and bright, Joels is one of Dublin’s liveliest dining venues, with an extensive menu catering for almost every taste.

Rathcoole, Co. Dublin Tel: 01 4589244

Naas Rd, Dublin 22 Tel: 01 4592968

A warm welcome awaits you from all the staff at the Louis Fitzgerald Group

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Food | ChiCago

Chefs in action at the industrial-chic Girl & the Goat, which, at the time of writing, has a waiting list of three months.

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Beyond

the deep dish

A city once defined by hot dogs and deep-dish pizza is now a trend-setting culinary centre. Julia Kramer recommends top-notch eateries in Chicago, where the best chefs are putting a new spin on dining out. Photographs by Erica Gannett.

April/MAy 2013

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he in-demand ticket in Chicago is not for a concert but for a dining experience, where the band is a restaurant named Next and the rock star its 38-year-old chef, Grant Achatz. Sure, the Rolling Stones had drugs and rock ‘n’ roll, but Next has its own way of breaking the rules: reservations? As if. The restaurant sells tickets, which include tax and gratuity, through its website.

The concept? That the concept is always changing. Next began with a recreated menu from Georges Auguste Escoffier’s Le Guide Culinaire, a legendary cookbook published in Paris in 1903. Three months later, Next reopened as a Thai restaurant – albeit the kind that partners with a local brewery to custom-brew a beer with mangosteens and hibiscus so that it pairs perfectly with beef-cheek curry. Following the exploration of Thai cuisine came a menu that mined the childhood memories of Achatz and Dave Beran, Next’s chef de cuisine, complete with a flaming, tabletop “campfire” of sweet potatoes, over which diners po were instructed to roast we marshmallows. ma Theatrics like these come as no surprise to fans of Achatz, who has garnered Ac renown for a cutting-edge re approach to cooking at ap his restaurant Alinea, hi which is frequently named wh one of the best in the on world. Achatz’s cuisine at wo Alinea was influenced by Al the Spanish chef Ferran Adrià, which explains why Next’s menu after the Th Thai phase was its most ambitious thus far: a 29-course tribute to Adrià’s restaurant El Bulli, which closed last year. (Tickets were $365 per person and sold out within seconds, though the restaurant accepts requests via its Facebook page for a small number of samenight tables.) Following the El Bulli tribute, Next morphed again: first into a Sicilian restaurant, then

T

Eat at ...

BUDGET Big Star 1531 North Damen Avenue, +1 773 235 4039; bigstarchicago.com Publican Quality Meats 825 West Fulton Market, +1 312 445 8977; publicanqualitymeats. com XOCO 449 North Clark Street, +1 312 334 3688; rickbayless. com/restaurants/xoco.html Hot Doug’s 3324 North California Avenue, +1 773 279 9550; hotdougs.com Great Lake 1477 West Balmoral Avenue, +1 773 334 9270 Pequod’s 2207 North Clybourn Avenue, +1 773 327 1512; pequodspizza.com Doughnut Vault 400 North Franklin Street; thedoughnutvault.tumblr.com

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MIDPRICE Girl & the Goat 809 West Randolph Street, +1 312 492 6262; girlandthegoat.com The Little Goat 820 West Randolph Street, +1 312 888 3455; littlegoatchicago.com The Publican (pictured right) 837 West Fulton Market, +1 312 733 9555; thepublican restaurant.com Avec 615 West Randolph Street, +1 312 377 2002; avecrestaurant.com Frontera Grill 445 North Clark Street, +1 312 661 1434; rickbayless.com/restaurants/ grill.html SPLURGE Next 953 West Fulton Market, +1 312 226 0858; nextrestaurant.com

Alinea 1723 North Halsted Street, +1 312 867 0110; alinearestaurant.com Blackbird 619 West Randolph Street, +1 312 715 0708; blackbirdrestaurant.com Topolobampo 445 North Clark Street, +1 312 661 1434; rickbayless.com/restaurants/ topolobampo.html

Are you interested in learning more about Ireland’s history and culture?

Explore Irish Identity with Hibernia College this year, the year of the Gathering, communities throughout Ireland are showcasing and sharing the very best of Irish culture and tradition. Hibernia College, in association with the Gathering, is taking this online by launching the first Irish massive open online course (MOOC) on the theme of Irish identity in April 2013.

The Exploring Irish Identity MOOC is available to everybody completely free of charge, no matter where you are in the world.

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Live. Learn.

Japan’s Kyoto before championing foraged foods (until April 28), and then vegan feasts (May 8 to August 24).

Achatz is unique in the world of American celebrity chefs: his fame has nothing to do with reality television. The same cannot be said of Chicago’s other chef of the moment: Stephanie Izard.

The winner of Top Chef season four went on to open Girl & the Goat, which has the look of an industrial-chic warehouse and books reservations for prime tables three months in advance. (Her second restaurant, a diner across the street called The Little Goat, opened in

December last year.) At the original Goat, Izard puts her spin on three of Chicago’s biggest trends: an insatiable love for pork, a penchant for meals made up of shared plates (as opposed to appetisers and entrées) and a commitment to sourcing from local farmers. Among her quirky signature dishes are crispy “pig face”, braised beef tongue and fried oysters topped with egg salad; of course, she also finds a half-dozen uses for goat, from smoked goat empanadas to roasted goat neck to goat carpaccio.

One visit to the Girl & the Goat and you’ll know: this is a city that loves its meat. For

iliquo dit, simus

Above, the stylish Public. Below, superstar chef Grant Achatz

A CHEF’S STORY Grant Achatz’s recently released memoir, Life on the Line, tells of his struggle with tongue cancer – and how one of the best chefs in the world lost and found his sense of taste.

In local bookstores and at amazon.com.

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April/MAy 2013

Stay at ...

Formerly the Elysian, the exterior of the five-star Waldorf Astoria Chicago looks like a French chateau.

Inside, modern rooms – its bathrooms boast in-mirror TVs – meet old-world service. (The staff does not accept tips.) Two top-tier restaurants, the Michelin-starred Ria and the bistro-ish Balsan, leave little reason to venture outdoors. Nestled in Chicago’s posh Gold Coast neighbourhood. Rooms from $455.

11 East Walton Street, +1 312 646 1300; waldorfastoria3.hilton.com.

Hotelier Ian Schrager completely rehabbed the former Ambassador East hotel last year. The Public Chicago now features value-priced rooms, complimentary bike rentals and free Wi-Fi. Locals and guests mingle in the happening bar area and glamorous restaurant, the revamped Pump Room, where the menu is overseen by chef JeanGeorges Vongerichten. Located on a quiet, tree-lined street removed from the tourist fray. Rooms from $280. 1301 North State Parkway, +1 312 787 3700; publichotels.com/ chicago.

An option for low-maintenance solo travellers or students, Hostelling International has a prime location in Chicago’s South Loop, a few blocks from the city’s main attractions (including Millennium Park and the Art Institute). Clean, friendly and safe, the hostel offers few frills, but it is adjacent to an excellent coffee shop and restaurant named Cafecito, where you’ll find Chicago’s best Cuban sandwich (griddled roast pork, ham, mustard and pickles on baguette-like Cuban bread). From $30 per person.

24 East Congress Parkway, +1 312 360 0300; hichicago.org.

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Left, naughty but nice treats at the Doughnut Vault. Below, chef Rick Bayless, a household name in the US for championing regional Mexican food.

more proof, just head two blocks north to the nearby Publican, a gastropub from one of Chicago’s most beloved chefs, Paul Kahan.

The specialties of the house: crackly pork rinds made from the skin of local hogs and a grilled half chicken paired with juicy summer sausage.

Across the street, Kahan opened Publican Quality Meats earlier this year. The front houses a butcher shop and boutique grocery, but diners pack the communal tables in the back at lunch for muffalettas, a submarine-style sandwich on house-baked focaccia, and the 80 |

April/MAy 2013

“butcher’s meal” of chorizo and blood sausage, age, both made on site. The rustic, casual nature of Publican Quality Meats couldn’t be more differentt from the restaurant rant that made Kahan’s n’s reputation more than a decade ago: Blackbird.

Kahan is still Blackbird’s executive chef in name, but up-andndcomer David Posey sey

currently presides over the flawless day-to-day execution and constant innovation that make the restaurant one of the city’s most impressive places for a splurge. Since opening Blackbird, Kahan has gone more and more casual: in addition to the Publican and its sister butcher shop, he pioneered small-plates dining with the wine bar Avec and he created Chicago’s best outdoor patio when he opened Big Star in the Wicker Park neighbourhood, which serves $3 tacos, dozens of whiskeys and pitchers of margaritas.

Kahan is not the only Chicago chef whose focus has shifted of late from $100 tasting menus to $10 sandwiches. He is joined by Rick Bayless, who has been one of America’s biggest champions of regional Mexican cuisine since opening his flagship restaurant, Frontera Grill, in 1987, and its fine-dining sibling, Topolobampo, in 1989. The host of the PBS series Mexico: One Plate at a Time and the winner of the first season of Top Chef: Masters has grown his empire in recent years to a string of quick-serve but topquality restaurants, most notably XOCO (pronounced sho-ko), a paean to Mexican street food. Few take sandwiches as seriously as XOCO, where meats, such as suckling pigs for the traditional Yucatan dish

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At the markets ...

Green City Market At Chicago’s premier farmers’ market, locally grown fruits and vegetables abound in summer; artisanal breadbakers, cheesemakers and storage crops predominate in winter.

Indoors on Saturdays, 8am-1pm, at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum (2430 North Cannon Drive) November to April; outdoors on Wednesdays and Saturdays, 7am-1pm, at the south end of Lincoln Park between Clark and Stockton Drive, May to October. No admission fee; greencitymarket.org.

Dose Market This monthly food and shopping experience draws a stylish crowd to the River East Art Center near Navy Pier. Vendors rotate monthly but typically include up-and-coming designers hawking jewellery and clothing and young food entrepreneurs offering anything from dumplings to charcuterie to snow cones. 435 East Illinois Street, Chicago, one Sunday each month

from 10am-4pm, $10 admission; dosemarket.com.

Maxwell Street Market Colourful tents stretch along Des Plaines, street performers line the sidewalks and stands hawk tchotchkes as far as the eye can see. But the reason to come to this market is for authentic Mexican tacos, pupusas, quesadillas, tamales and enchiladas. Sundays, 7am-3pm, 800 South Des Plaines Street, no admission fee.

Christkindl Market Chicago’s version of the German Christmas market brings a range of global crafts, food and music to the centre of downtown during the holiday season. Highlights include wooden crafts, potato pancakes and Spaten beers. Sunday to Thursday, 11am8pm and Fridays and Saturdays, 11am-9pm, only between November 21 and December 24, Daley Plaza (50 West Washington Street, Chicago). No admission fee; christkindlmarket.com/en.

cochinita pibil, are roasted in a wood-burning oven. Soup here is given as much attention as sandwiches: The slow-cooked Gunthorp pork carnitas version is a case in point. And you would be out of your mind to leave without a pairing of thick hot chocolate, made from cacao beans that are ground in-house, with a freshly fried churro.

In fact, there’s only one problem with XOCO: it draws huge crowds and has notoriously long lines at the lunch hour. The citizens of Chicago know good food when they see it so, especially when those restaurants present good value, you’re bound to encounter a bit of a wait. Take,

for instance, Hot Doug’s, a hotdog stand so worshipped that 30 of its customers have had its logo permanently tattooed on their bodies. (Doing so earns them free hot dogs for life.) What makes this hot-dog joint different from any other? Quirky game meats (such as smoked and spicy alligator sausage), gourmet toppings (say, aged Iberico cheese) and a very famous foie grasand-Sauternes duck sausage laden with truffle and foie-gras mousse – for a mere $10. Lines are especially lengthy on Fridays and Saturdays, which are the only days owner Doug Sohn offers his famous French fries cooked in duck fat. Not everything here is so fancy: the Chicago Dog is served in its classic form, topped with spicy sport peppers, juicy tomatoes, crunchy pickles, mustard, bright-green relish and celery salt. Just don’t dare order it with ketchup, which locals consider an unforgiveable faux-pas!

What’s clear from Hot Doug’s is that although Chicago has moved beyond its reputation as a meat-

val brings new LICK THE SCREEN The Chicago Food Film Festi in its third year, meaning to the idea of “dinner and a movie”. Now that the audience the festival screens short films featuring foods festival.com. simultaneously eats. November 15-17; thefoodfilm

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Opposite page, far left, staff peddle retro wares at Hot Doug’s; above left, a vendor and fresh greens at Green City Market. This page, Mexican street food restaurant XOXO, whose churros and hot chocolate alone are worth the visit.

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5 essential Chicago things to do ...

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The Modern Wing at the Art Institute of Chicago The Renzo Piano-designed addition to Chicago’s hallmark art museum brings a stunning amount of light into the galleries, highlights of which include works by Ellsworth Kelly and Gerhard Richter. 111 South Michigan Avenue, +1 312 443 3600, $23 adults, $17 children, students and seniors, free for children under 14; artic.edu/aic.

Millennium Park A sweeping pedestrian bridge connects the art institute’s Modern Wing with this lush park, itself home to notable public artworks, such as British artist Anish Kapoor’s sculpture “Cloud Gate” (locally dubbed “The Bean”). In the summer, lawn seats for eclectic and mainstream concerts at the Pritzer Pavilion are free to the public; in the winter, rent skates and hit the outdoor ice-skating rink. 201 E Randolph St, Chicago, no admission fee; millenniumpark.org.

The Second City Before they make it onto Saturday Night Live, the best sketch comics in the country hone their chops at this Chicago theatre, whose alumnae include Steve Carell and Tina Fey. 1616 North Wells Street, nightly performances Tuesday to Sunday, $23–28; secondcity.com.

Steppenwolf Theater Though Broadway plays often preview in, or travel to, Chicago, locals take pride in their homegrown theatre scene. Steppenwolf’s 2012-2013 season includes Harold Pinter’s The Birthday Party, featuring John Mahoney. 1650 North Halsted Street, +1 312 335 1650; steppenwolf.org.

The Green Mill Step into a forgotten era at this speakeasystyle jazz lounge, whose storied history includes performances by Al Jolson in the early 1900s and infamy as mob territory during Al Capone’s era.

Live blues and jazz liven up six nights a week; on Sundays, the Green Mill hosts the Uptown Poetry Slam, which brings out the city’s most enthusiastic poets.

4802 North Broadway Avenue, +1 773 878 5552; greenmilljazz.com.

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ILLUSTRATION BY ANNA SIMMONS

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and-potatoes town, the chefs in this city are creating astonishingly good versions of even the most pedestrian foods. While throngs linger outside tourist-traps Giordano’s and Uno’s downtown, those in the know head for the best deep-dish pizza in the city, at an unassuming sports bar called Pequod’s in Chicago’s tony Lincoln Park neighbourhood. The distinguishing factor between Pequod’s pies and all the rest is a simple trick: cheese is baked between the crust and the pan, causing a deliciously caramelised ring of crispiness to form along the pizza’s edges. And, contrary to popular opinion, there is more to pizza in Chicago than deep dish: GQ magazine named the tiny eatery Great Lake, in the Andersonville neighbourhood, as having the best pizza in the country. Let’s define tiny: this husband-and-wife spot has only 14 seats, and the pizzaiolo, coowner Nick Lessins, painstakingly makes one pizza at a time, using only the highest-quality, organic ingredients in order to yield a bubbly, immensely flavourful, thin

crust. Great Lake is BYOB (Bring Your Own Bottle); the helpful staff at In Fine Spirits wine store down the block can help pick out a bottle worthy of the much-hyped pizzas.

What is it about great Chicago restaurants being the size of closets?

If Great Lake has you wondering, head to Doughnut Vault, which has launched the city into a veritable fried-dough craze with its chestnut-glazed, old fashioned and gingerbread creations. By the time the shop opens its doors each morning, a line is usually already in position, hoping to score a dozen beauties before the shop sells out, normally by noon. On weekdays, there might be just a dozen people queueing; on Saturdays, expect 50 to 100. Like waiting for a pizza at Great Lake, or getting a reservation at Girl & the Goat, or lucking into a table at Next, this is not going to be the easiest dining experience. But oh, will it be worth it.

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Walk This Way

El Camino de Santiago, the Way of St James, les chemins de Saint-Jacques de Compostelle ... For twelve centuries, all roads have led towards the sacred site of Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Whatever your religion, the epic journey is a test for body, mind and soul, as Tamara Thiessen discovers.

On the way – the pilgrim’s path crossing from Saint-JeanPied-de-Port over the Pyrénées to Roncesvalles.

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All roads leda to Santiago de Compostela – St James Church in Asquins, Burgundy is on one of the French routes. Left, pilgrim Tamara Thiessen all set for the challenge.

t’s mid-afternoon and after a very hard slog, we are standing on a plateau, straddling France and Spain, looking out over pleated valleys of mountain tops and mist. The alpine meadowss and beech forests look like they have barely changed since medieval al times, when thousands of pilgrims started coming this way.

The first 25-kilometre day of what will be a 30-day trek is for me among the most difficult and most memorable. A shin-challenging crossing over the 1,250-metre high Pyrénées passageway on the Route Napoleon, then down 540 metres through green velvet upholstered hills to Roncesvalles, where a road sign reminds us that we still have 790 kilometres to go to our destination.

In Holy Years – whenever St James’s day (July 25) falls on a Sunday – up to 200,000 pilgrims pass through this town. In the 12th century its lovely cloistered monastery was already serving up to half a million meals a year to hungry pilgrims. According

I

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Long, long ago ...

to a 12th-century Latin poem it gave shelter to everyone, not only Christians, but “pagans too, Jews, heretics, idlers, vagabonds ... to good and bad, sacred and profane”. The sense of being part of a privileged and inter-connected throng is powerful and pushes pilgrims – myself included – to keep on plodding.

The Camino de Santiago is one of those journeys which grows slowly inside you, then takes a firm and unrelenting grip. Eventually, there is no choice but to liberate that desire and set yourself free, on foot or, as some prefer, by bike or saddle.

I started reading about the ancient pilgrim routes to Santiago de Compostela back in 1997, all starting in France, which a decade

After the discovery of the tomb of the apostle St James in a field of Galicia, northwest Spain, in AD813, Christians started flocking to his shrine. Its fame as a place of medieval pilgrimage escalated with the AD951 visit by Godescalc, Bishop of Le Puy, and in the Middle Ages it rivalled Rome as a holy destination.

The four main routes – starting from the French towns of Tours, Vézelay, Arles and Le Puy-enVelay – were congregation points for pilgrims from all over Europe, including Britain and Ireland.

They were popularised with the 12th-century pilgrim’s guide, Liber Peregrinationis, described as the first European guidebook. In northern Spain they merged into the 780-kilometre Camino Francés – the “French road” – the most trodden pathway for pilgrims old and new.

“Walking pilgrim” Peter Robbins, a member of the famed London-based charity, the Confraternity of St James (csj.org.uk), says there are about 100 modern Caminos de Santiago starting points. The Irish Society of the Friends of St James (stjamesirl.com) says historic local kick-off points for the walk included the ports of Waterford, New Ross, Kinsale, Galway and Dublin. Pilgrim passports can still be acquired prior to departure at the visitor’s centre of the Guinness brewery at St James’s Gate in Dublin.

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before became the first of a network of European Cultural Routes. For a peripatetic soul like myself, there is something inherently seductive about a centuries-old journey, which enticed adventurous soulsearchers from all over Europe.

That rich historic brew, as well as the insanely cosmopolitan nature of the walks, sparked an irrepressible desire to follow in the medieval pilgrim’s path.

There is no denying the feel-good factor of embarking on such a walk. But it does take well over a decade for my initial yearning to be consummated, after three French friends woo me to join them during a late spring trek in 2011.

Seeing them arrive, so radiant, in the cobblestoned town of SaintJean-Pied-de-Port, near the Spanish border, is encouraging. Over the past five both punishing and rewarding weeks, they have traversed some of France’s wildest terrain, dotted with hillside villages, Romanesque churches and rural lodgings or gîtes. For one of them at least, the endeavour has special significance – within months of major heart

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What to pack ...

surgery, André is giving his new ticker, and life priorities, a serious work out.

Conrad Rudolph, a Californian professor of medieval art and author of Pilgrimage to the End of the World, considers the 1,600-kilometre route from Le Puy, in the heart of France’s Massif Central, the most beautiful.

This is the challenge my friends have taken on. Somewhat of a cheat, I meet them in the foothills of the French Pyrénées-Atlantiques for the remaining half of the journey.

What attracted millions of

The Confraternity of Saint James – its FAQ is particularly helpful – and Spanish Tourism (spain.info) provide excellent information on what to expect.

Carry no more than 8-10 kilo in a 35-litre pack. Tent, sleeping bag and mat, and cooking equipment are optional, but a silk liner is highly advisable. All official pilgrim hostels provide bedding (sometimes at an additional cost); not all provide adequate blankets. For footwear take lightweight boots, trekking shoes or trail runners (Gortex-lined boots will help keep you dry), plus post-trekking sandals or flip flops. Clothing should include a waterproof top or wind jacket, fast-drying shirts, shorts, trousers and socks and a sun-hat. First aid essentials are sun cream, band-aids and blister plasters, first-aid tape, antiseptic, insect repellent and bite treatment, pain killers and possibly antihistamine in case of bed bugs. Finally, sunglasses, water bottle and, although the way is very well marked, a compass may come in handy.

Below, last provisioning stop on the French side of the Pyrénées – the cobblestoned town of Saint-JeanPied-de-Port.

medievalists to make a solo pilgrimage, today woos many more to do it in groups. The camaraderie is a double-edged sword. It’s what gets me involved and proves to be a vital sustenance; but the idea of a pilgrim mob is also a major deterrent. I have heard so much about the congested lodgings – the municipal refugios and albergues, and school halls turned into extra walkers’ accommodation to cope with the summer crowds. I have also heard rumours of bed-bugs and dirty sheets.

The thought of finding myself in a room full of snoring, sweaty bodies for 30 nights on end, almost keeps me at home. To assuage these concerns, we set out in late AprilMay, ahead of pilgrim peak. I also opt to carry a tent and sleeping bag as optional shelter. Sure I am lugging an extra couple of kilogrammes, but my mind is a whole lot lighter at the thought of a decent night’s sleep, far from the snoring crowds.

Having picked up a credencial – a kind of pilgrim passport – the priory office in Roncesvalles directs us to its Albergue de Peregrinos Itzandegia, located inside a 12th-century church. What at any other time might be a Gothic dream is more my personal vision of hell,

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with some 100 beds packed in a co-sex dorm under its cathedral roof. For €10 instead of €6, we wind up at the monastery’s Albergue de Peregrinos de Roncesvalles, the newly revamped youth hostel – its modern dormitories divided into four-bed alcoves.

It’s first in, first served at the church-run hostels – you cannot book ahead and they charge just a nominal fee, or ask for a donation, for your stay. Walkers who want more comfort and security can book ahead at the multitude of B&Bs, casas (rural inns), paradors and privately run hostales scattered along the way. “There is always somewhere to stay, and if you don’t like the beds in one town you can just walk on a bit and find another,” says Franz, a repeat pilgrim from Germany.

“Sometimes, I

have been on my own in a hostel.”

A strong sense of taking things in your stride develops along the way. Not all the walk is a picture book; parts are muddy, bleak and homogenised. One of the most important lessons, my companions agree, is a sense of serenity and acceptance, as we put one foot in front of the other – and there is an awful lot of that. Even the most trying times are filled with discovery.

On Day 13, we decide, spur of the moment, to add another day to our walk, and wallow a while in the medieval city of Burgos. That kind of free-spirited spontaneity would seem to be befitting to the true pilgrim. Instead of going full steam ahead, we get to appreciate fully the historic capital of Castile and local specialities – soused trout and cod stew, swallowed down with Ribera

Above, humble splendour at the medieval monastery of Roncesvalles and, top, Puente la Reina, both Navarra. Left, cockleshell, the symbol of the pilgrim.

ino.com PILGRIM SPEAK Online forums, including urcam e, provide and the message board of caminodesantiago.m ino. the best, most up-to-date information on the Cam

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del Duero reds, ricotta like queso de Burgos and delicious yemas pastries, made from egg yolks. Members of the Asociación de Amigos del Camino de Santiago even come and greet us at our albergue in the late afternoon, and give us an official tour of the Gothic cathedral, a World Heritage site. In accordance with the rule, we can only stay a night at the large, swimming pool and internet-equipped Albergue Municipal de Peregrinos, but bed down the next night in a lovely Baroque church, the Albergue

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Walk | camino

Six highlights on the road ...

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mEnU PEREGRino Some hostels provide a simple communal supper, cooked by pilgrims and volunteers; others have basic kitchen facilities or restaurants. Pilgrim’s menus and del dia (daily menu) are widely available at local cafés, bars and restaurants for an average €10. The private El Palo de avellano in Zubiri (elpalodeavellano. com) serves a hearty set menu for €12.

THE comPoSTEla This is a Latininscribed certificate delivered on completion of the walk, to those who have done at least the final 100 kilometres, on presentation of your credencial. Pick up a credencial from the pilgrim offices in St-Jean-Pied-dePort or Roncesvalles. Your

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stopovers will be stamped by warden hospitalero in the hostels, or at churches, bars and town halls along the way.

PET PilGRim’S REFUGE The Refugio Gaucelmo, at mountainous Rabanal del Camino between Ponferrada and León, is located in the old parish house – converted in the early 1990s by the Confraternity of St James into the first pilgrim’s lodgings in the area.

PoST-camino PaRaDoR The splendid, cathedralnudging Hostal Dos Reis catolicos, commonly known as the Parador de Santiago de compostela, is a 15thcentury historic gem of pilgrim hospitality, equally

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renowned for its beds and restaurant. Doubles from €186; maptravel.ie.

RUSTic cHaRm The casa os Vilares is a lovely stone inn, five kilometres north of Santiago de Compostela. Doubles from €62; osvilares.com.

PilGRim DEoDoRiSER The call of the Camino originates in the shrine of St James at the Romanesque cathedral of Santiago de compostela. Consecrated in 1211, its nave is more than 100 metres long, with a Baroque façade added in the 18th century. One of its famous features is the Botafumeiro, or incense burner, which swings from a pulley system in the dome and succeeds in perfuming the pongy pilgrim masses.

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Parroquial de Peregrinos Emaús, from where we visit the nearby archaeological site of Atapuerca.

Over the next week, we saunter through river- and canal-lined countryside, spruced up with spring flowers, Benedictine monasteries and Roman bridges to León. The one-time Roman camp has a mix of Romanesque churches, Renaissance squares, Gothic palaces and flamboyant modernist touches

by Gaudí.

It is Day 20, and a group of heavy-booted British walkers feel they have earned a splurge stay in National-Trust-style luxury at the 16th-century monastery, the Parador de San Marcos. At €236 a twin room, that is 40 albergue nights swallowed down in one gulp.

Some people do the entire Camino by car, or train, staying at one luxury lodging after another.

Whether you are posh parador or true pilgrim in style, taking the walking out of the way would seem to rob it of all meaning – and its ability to transport you to some

place you have never been.

As we head for the home strait, we have another particularly gorgeous, green and rather wet region to lap up, passing by the mountain-swept towns of Ponferrada and Villafranca del Bierzo into the Galician hills. From O Cebreiro to Portomarin, with the Portuguese border looming in the south, we are hemmed in by cabbage patches, which nourish hearty local soups and pork dishes.

The rural hospitality and rustic provincial furnishings of the Casa

Clockwise Cl kwise fr from top left, the route leads through river- and canallined countryside, Benedictine monasteries and Roman bridges to Le贸n; a cut above the usual hostel, the Parador de San Marcos; crosses and churches mark the way; pilgrims make their journey through the cobblestoned streets of Castrojeriz.

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Below, the end of the road – the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela.

ILLUSTRATION By FATTI BURkE fATTiburke.Com

Getting there ...

Brandariz in Arzúa are our last small indulgence, ahead of an early start and the final assault.

With a room and breakfast for two costing €50-60 – double for pensión completa with lunch and evening meal – rural inns like this can connect you more closely with the landscape and people, than staying amongst a sea of walking foreigners.

The remaining 39 kilometres to Santiago de Compostela – “St James of the Field of Stars” – is one of fuchsias, forests and country roads and lanes. A stunning, purpletinted sky setting over the cathedral welcomes us into the stony, pilgrimfilled streets of its ciudad histórica – a hive of Celtic bars and blisterinflicted backpackers.

Among them is Katherine, who started out on the 2,600-kilometre walk from Ghent in Belgium in early March, and Edgar, a Dutchman from the southern Netherlands. It’s an emotional climax, he says, to be suddenly standing in the large cathedral square, Plaza del Obradoiro, after 105 days on the road. Rather than 96 |

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It is a four-hour train trip from Bordeaux – six hours by train or bus from Bilbao – to Saint-Jean-Pied-dePort, popular starting point for the Camino Francés.

GO Anytime from March to November; March-May and September-October are less crowded and hot.

ORGANISED TRIP Ireland’s Camino Ways (caminoways.com) can take a load off your back and mind – they also organise cycling tours. Follow the Camino (followthecamino.com) also does horse tours.

CYCLE THE CAMINO Many sections of the pathway can be used by cyclists; you can easily deviate from unsuitable parts and follow rural roads going in the same direction. Read The Way of St James: A Cyclist’s Guide, by John Higginson (Cicerone Guides).

ESSENTIAL READING The Camino is not suitable for armchair travel or a “virtual pilgrimage”, but A Pilgrim’s Guide to the Camino de Santiago

by John Brierley, or Walking the Camino de Santiago by Bethan Davies and Ben Cole, will help you prepare.

fly, he plans to travel the slow way home, on a bus full of returning pilgrims and adventurers.

The pilgrimage is known to have profound effects on a person’s outlook; it teaches you another sense of time, and solidarity. Like the skies full of stars, it’s the shared discoveries, and mystical moments, which lure diehard pilgrims back year on year.

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Stiniva, Island of Vis

The “secret” beach of Stiniva lies hidden away on the south coast of Vis, Croatia’s most distant inhabited island. It is popular with yachties, who moor their boats in Vis Town or Komižato to enjoy the island’s authentic seafood eateries and organic wines. In fact, the best way to visit Stiniva is by boat – the opening between the cliffs is only 4m wide, so larger yachts put down anchor outside the cove. Failing that, catch a Jadrolinija ferry from Split to Vis town, drive across the island to Plisko Polje, hike down a steep marked footpath for 20 minutes – and you’re there. No wonder it’s a secret!

Stay at Villa Nonna, a renovated old stone house offering selfcatering on the seafront in Komiža.

(Apartment for two in August, €84 a night; +385 21 713 500, villa-nonna.com)

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Five oF the Best

Beaches in croatia

From the in-crowd parading designer swimwear to secluded naturist bathing, Jane Foster finds some of the best seaside spots in Croatia.

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beacH Life | crOatia

Nugal, Makarska Just outside the seaside town of Makarska, Nugal is a blissful pebble cove backed by high-sided cliffs.

Here you can finally get that all-over tan because Nugal is a nudist beach.

It is also totally back-to-nature (no sun beds, no bar), so bring a big bottle of water and a beach mat to put under your towel if you’re fussy about lying on stony surfaces. The sea is crystal clear and a little chilly in places, due to underground fresh water springs that run down from the imposing heights of Mount Biokovo.

To reach Nugal, drive from Dubrovnik to Makarska (two and a half hours), then walk (20 minutes) along the coast south of town, following a lovely path through pinewoods.

Stay at Hotel Osejava in Makarska, which has 40 rooms and five suites decorated in minimalist style. Osejava overlooks Makarska’s pretty harbour, just a couple of minutes from the beginning of the path to Nugal. (Double room in August, from €176; +385 21 604 300, osejava.com)

EastWest on Banje beach, Dubrovnik Banje beach, just outside Dubrovnik’s medieval city walls, is now better known as EastWest, after the barrestaurant that sets up here each summer. Billing itself as a “trendy Saint Tropez style beachfront club”, by day EastWest rents out sun beds and umbrellas, plus extravagant baldachini (wooden four-poster beds with wafting white chiffon curtains). Although the beach is naturally pebbly, they import golden sand from North Africa. It’s all very see-and-be-seen, with tanned bodies flaunting designer swimwear, waiters serving exotic cocktails and summer snacks, Café del Mar style chillout music, on-site masseurs and a private motorboat available for hire.

After dark it turns into an open-air night club with guest DJs and an equal mix of sophisticated glamour and unashamed bling. However, the setting is undeniably stunning, with

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flaming torches in the sand and a fantastic view of Dubrovnik’s floodlit fortifications across the water. They also cater for private events and it makes a sublime venue for wedding receptions. It does get packed in peak season and it is pricey, but that doesn’t seem to deter the crowds. (ew-dubrovnik.com)

Stay at the Pucic Palace in Dubrovnik’s old town. A luxurious 19-room boutique hotel in a restored Baroque palazzo furnished with period antiques, the Pucic offers its guests free entry to EastWest. (Double room in August, €465 a night; +385 20 326 222, thepucicpalace.com)

If the worst happens, I know that Dogs Trust will care for him.

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Now I’ve got my free Canine Care Card, I have complete peace of mind. It guarantees that Dogs Trust will love and look after my dog if I pass away first. Dogs Trust is Ireland’s largest dog Card welfare charity with a state of the art rehoming facility in Dublin and they never put a healthy dog down.

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Five best | beaches in croatia

Island of Lokrum, Dubrovnik Just a 15-minute taxi-boat ride from Dubrovnik’s old harbour, the lush islet of Lokrum is home to the ruins of a Benedictine monastery with a 15thcentury Gothic-Renaissance cloister and a botanical garden filled with exotic plants, such as palms, cacti and eucalyptus trees, plus dozens of strutting peacocks. From here, footpaths criss-cross the islet, leading through a wilderness of Aleppo pines and holm oaks. If you head for the rocky southwest shore, you’ll find several decent places for bathing, as well as a small salt-water lake called Mrtvo More (Dead Sea), which is shallow and several degrees warmer than the open sea, making it ideal for kids. At the northern end of the island, the highest point is crowned by a small fort, offering amazing views back towards Dubrovnik. Despite its beauty, Lokrum is uninhabited. (lokrum.hr)

stay at karmen apartments in Dubrovnik’s old town. They offer four self-catering apartments with bohemian decor, some with

views down onto the old harbour.

(Apartment for two in August, from €90 a night; +385 20 323 433, karmendu.com)

Carpe Diem Beach, Stipanksa Bay, Island of Hvar hvar is Croatia’s hippest island destination, centring on hvar Town, with its Venetian-era hilltop castle, 16th-century main square and quaint fishing harbour. Nearby, hvar’s chicest beach club, Carpe Diem (from the Latin, “seize the day”) offers two pebble beaches with teakwood sun beds and straw umbrellas, a turquoise pool and a citrus-scented pavilion in a pine grove for massage and skin treatments. There is a bohochic bar-restaurant serving cocktails and snacks, with weekly events such as Dalmatian BBQ day (Wednesdays) and Asian food day (Sundays), as well as a regular afternoon Mojito party with DJ music. It also hosts occasional after-dark events, notably the legendary full-moon parties – Boy George (singer-songwriter of 1980s Culture Club fame) and Roger Sanchez (Grammy-award winning New York house music DJ) have both

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graced the deck. To get here, drive from Dubrovnik to Split (three and a half hours), then catch the Jadrolinija catamaran from Split to hvar Town (65 minutes, foot passengers only).

From hvar Town, catch a taxi-boat (20 minutes) to Stipanska Bay on the islet of Marinkovac, one of the 20 scattered Pakleni islets. (carpe-diembeach.com) stay at hotel riva on the palmlined seafront promenade in hvar Town. Its 54 minimalist-style rooms and suites are decorated in white, charcoal grey and red, and have daring, glass-walled bathrooms.

Taxi-boats leave from the quayside out front. (Double room in August, €380; +38 521 750 555, suncanihvar.com) aer LinGUs FLIES FROM DUBLIN TO DUbrovnik ON MON, WED, ThUR, FRI AND SAT.

Breakfast from €5 Shipping to the EU/USA €29·95

The Kilkenny Shop & Café Dublin’s Best Kept Secret 6-15 Nassau Street, Dublin 2

Open Mon-Sat at 8.30am, 10am on Sunday.

Stores Nationwide

www.kilkennyshop.com

“Beautiful classics at reasonable prices” Vogue

30 Nassau Street, Dublin 2 (Directly opposite Trinity College) www.thesweatershop.ie | T. +353 1 671 2292

e €3·85 fee & Scon Barista Cof

Thursday Night Supper Club with Live Traditional Music from 5pm.

Sunday Live Jazz Brunch and Lunch from 11am.

Being there | Zurich

Don’t miss ...

From spring to autumn, Zurich’s natural setting and creativity fuse in a deluge of offerings.

PArtY With floats, costumes, dancing and action, Zurich’s Street Parade (streetparade.ch) on Saturday, August 10, is one of Europe’s biggest techno and house music events. It follows on the heels of the theatre and music-rich summer festival, the Zürcher Festspiele (festspiele-zuerich.ch), which runs from June 14 to July 14.

ShOP On the 450-metre-long Viaduktstrasse of Zurich West (im-viadukt.ch), fashion and jewellery boutiques, delicatessens, tapas bars and bookstores are tucked into the arches of the 19th-century railway bridge.

BeAch Zurich lets its hair down communally at its free public river baths. On a 400-metre stretch of the Limmat, the Flussbad unterer Letten (Wasserwerkstrasse 141, +41 44 362 1080) has pontoons, kids’ pool, kiosks and playground. Its neighbour, the Flussbad Oberer Letten (Lettensteg 10, +41 44 362 9200), is a fabulous facility with extensive decks, lounges and lawns, and free showering and changing rooms.

48 hours in Zurich

Avant-garde designers are shaking up the traditional banks, watches and chocolate image of Switzerland’s largest city, writes Tamara Thiessen.

Eat at ...

Eateries are yet to fully cash in on Zurich’s cultural revolution and offer more freedom of choice and price, but style is certainly not an issue.

WeLLneSS Vegetarian institution restaurant hiltl (Sihlstrasse 28, +41 44 227 7000; hiltl.ch) also houses a café and club-bar over several chandelier-lit floors.

Market-fresh food, from soups to salads, underpins the breakfast buffet and brunches, while Swiss and ethnic foods mingle on the main bill of fare.

BiStrO Provençal in style, rosaly’s (Freickgasse 7, +41 44 261 4430; rosalys.ch) is a white-linen dining den with a seasonal menu of French and Swiss dishes (from mussels and chicken breast to spätzli noodles and rösti potatoes).

Diner Simple but succulent, casual but chic, the streetlevel Sternen grill (Theaterstrasse 22, +41 44 251 4949; sternengrill.ch) boasts the city’s best bratwurst and roll, downed in an open-fronted eatery in the theatre-land district of Bellevueplatz square.

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Clockwise from top left, a panorama across the Limmat river; a street mural in hip Zurich West; the 25hours Hotel’s cool bar; quirky organic café Frau Gerolds; chilling out on the water at the Flussbad Unterer Letten; chic vegetarian at Restaurant Hiltl.

Sleep at ...

lAKE ZuRIcH

Drink at ...

Stroll, skate, run or bike your way around the gardenlined quaysides of the Zürichsee.

From May to October, Zurirollt (zuerirollt.ch) provides bikes free of charge, picked up between the hours of 8am-9.30pm from several locations, including the main train station, Hauptbahnhof.

Zurich’s hotel scene tends to be silver-lined expensive, though high on value. Newcomers are bringing eye-catching design and mid-range chic into the traditional fold.

FOlKlORE Plush, elegant and vigorously local in flavour, the dolls-house façade of the Storchen Zürich (Weinplatz 2, +41 44 227 2727; storchen.ch) laps up the Limmat river and one of the prettiest squares of the old town. The romantic rooms of the 650-year-old establishment will please lovers of the classics, while the breakfast spread is unbeatable in both content and riverside location. Rooms from CHF600 (€485) with B&B. DESIGN Zurich’s most architecturally jaw-dropping new hotel, the B2 Boutique Hotel+Spa (Brandschenkestrasse 152, +41 44 567 6767; b2boutiquehotels.com) morphed from the stunning conversion of the 130-year-old Hürlimann-Areal brewery. Beer bottle chandeliers, a 24-hour library bar, rooftop infinity pool and Diesel furnishings are highlights of the 60-room property in the leafy lakeside neighbourhood of Enge. Doubles from CHF360 (€290) B&B. FuNKy The neon-toned 25hours Hotel (Pfingstweidstrasse 102, + 41 44 577 2525; 25hours-hotels. com) fits well in the edgy new riverside zone of Zurich West, with the bars and shops on the Turbineplatz close at hand. The designers declare a desire to go beyond the city’s “banks, chocolate and watches” image with their paint-box décor. Rooms from CHF250 (€202) excluding breakfast.

AER lINGuS FLIES FROM DUBLIN TO ZuRIcH DAILY.

Zurich’s drinking holes range from sophisticated, waterfront bars, where people go to sip and be seen, to quirky, avant-garde venues.

ZANy Organic garden, bar, boutique, art gallery and bicycle-air filling station, Frau Gerolds Garten (Geroldstrasse 23, +41 78 971 6764; fraugerold.ch) skirts an old railway in post-industrial Zurich West. Its rooftop bar is perched on brightly painted shipping containers.

BOP A magnet for jazz aficionados and world-class musicians, the smooth, dark Widder Bar (Rennweg 7, +41 44 224 2526; widderhotel.ch) blends high spirits and octaves with its jazz programme.

GlAm Soak up the sun, sink into a sofa and sip on some bubbles at Acqua, (Mythenquai 61, +41 44 201 5161; acqua. ch), a lakeside lounge bar with an Alps-facing terrace.

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PETERS

BARS & RESTAURANTS

THE MUCKY DUCK

Come dine in one of Ireland’s definitive Italian experiences, brought to you by

Eileen Dunne, Stefano Crescenzi & David Izzo

Una vera cucina Italiana vi aspetta

Celbridge, Co. Kildare

01 6288340 / muckyduck.ie Situated in the heart of Celbridge, Co. Kildare Guinness Time began here in the Guinness family home with the birth of Arthur Guinness in 1725. So began a wonderful piece of Irish history. With that heritage it's no surprise that the Mucky Duck has earned a reputation for great food and drink. A must visit for fans of the "Black Stuff "!

THE COUNTY CLUB Dunshaughlin, Co. Meath

01 8259220 / countyclub.ie Located less than 30 minutes from Dublin city centre The County Club has long been a favourite with customers looking for great f ood in comfortable surroundings. The County Club's daily carvery is a particular favourite while we are also renowned for our wonderful Irish steaks.

AN SIBIN

A cosy Italian restaurant & extensive wine bar.

14-16 South Frederick Street, D2. Tel: +353 (1) 6759892 11 Seafort Avenue, Sandymount, D4. Tel: +353 (1) 6673252

www.dunneandcrescenzi.com

Dunshaughlin, Co. Meath 01 8250556 / sibin.ie With it's traditional thatched roof An Sibin is a landmark in the heart of the village of Dunshaughlin. A blend comfort and age old of new world com tradition serving breakfast, lunch and dinner while also the perfect venue for parties and great nights out.

S T EA K O N T H E S T O NE

Our signature Steak on the Stone special is a must have, a unique dining experience which is available on all our a la carte menus.

CARBERRYS

Dunshaughlin, Co. Meath 01 8240133 / carberrys.ie Summer 2013 promises to be a bumper period for sports fans so Carberry's is the place to be to sample a all the atmosphere while also enjoying the summer days in our outdoor pavilion.

Traditional Italian trattoria restaurant.

26 Lower Ormond Quay, D1. Tel: +353 (1) 8741000 Mayor Square, IFSC, D1. Tel: +353 (1) 6702887

www.baritalia.ie

O ’ F L AH ER TY S / BR AD Y ’ S BA R Navan, Co. Meath 046 9022810 / oflahertys.ie Whether you visit O'Flaherty's for our delicious carvery, a night out with friends or to catch live sport screens you are sure to on our big sc have a memorable time and why not have a nightcap around the roaring fire in Brady's Bar! Sláinte.

A workshop of cutting edge Italian food.

THE WILTON Cork City

021 4344454 / wiltonpub.ie Long established on Leeside with fine food served all day in the lounge bar and upstairs in our Loft Restaurant.

The Wilton is a must on your next visit W to Cork. Don't forget to leave room for our famous homemade, brown bread ice cream!

Visit us Visi t us On line Online

We are now accepting your old Punts as payment for food or Drinks!!

Town Square, Dundrum Town Centre, Dublin 18.

Tel: +353 (1) 216 6764 Unit 35, Kildare Village, Co. Kildare.

Tel: +353 45 535850

www.officina.ie

“Dunne and Crescenzi has changed the way the Irish eat” Tom Doorley, The Irish Times.

Cassoulet is a signature dish of the region and should not be missed. It’s a white bean stew containing duck and sausage, and the CAVE AU CASSOULET (54 Rue Peyroliere; caveaucassoulet. chez.com) is the ideal place to sample it. My favourite local wines are Gaillac, Cahors and Madiran, which go great with the main course, while Armagnac is recommended as a digestif.

An insider’s guide to

Toulouse

France’s “pink city” is the perfect place to enjoy a fun-filled weekend, says Irishman Niall Moran who has taken up residence there.

LE CLOITRE DES JACOBINS (Jacobean Cloister) is a Gothic-style Dominican cloister that hosts cultural events, such as concerts and exhibitions, throughout the year. The Piano aux Jacobins is particularly impressive (September 4-28; cultures.toulouse.fr).

MULLIGANS (39 Grand rue St Michel, +33 56 114 0421; mulligans.fr), a homely Irish bar beside the Metro at St Michel, with famously friendly staff, is a must-visit.

Cycling to PECH-DAVID a district a few kilometres south of Toulouse along the canal, is the best path to access the countryside, and if you make it to the top (130 metres high), you’ll be rewarded with a spectacular view of the Pyrénées. Hire wheels at La Maison du Vélo de Toulouse (12 Boulevard Bonrepos, +33 534 406 472; maisonduvelotoulouse.com).

The JARDIN DES PLANTES (Allée Frédéric Mistral, +33 892 180 180) is a botanical garden in the south-east of the inner city and is made up of three gardens. It also contains the NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM, where the collection dates back to the 16th century but is now housed in a 2008 building designed by architect Jean-Paul Viguier.

MORE ABOUT NIALL MORAN Niall is from Celbridge, Co Kildare and this is his third year in France. He previously lived in Aix-en-Provence and Réunion Island in the Indian Ocean. He is a law graduate from NUI Galway, has been teaching at the University of Toulouse since September and is currently completing a Masters in International Economic Law.

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Watch the sun set over PONT NEUF the oldest and most iconic bridge in Toulouse, from the laidback bar CAFÉ DES ARTISTES which has outdoor seating (13 Port de la Daurade, +33 561 120 600).

RUE GABRIEL PERI is where Toulouse comes alive at night. Start your evening in LA MAISON a popular candlelit wine bar, before moving across the road to CONNEXION (connexion-cafe.com), above, for some live music that’s at a volume where you can actually have a conversation.

Fo lunch, don’t miss the For MARCHÉ VICTOR HUGO (Place Victor Hugo, +33 561 (P 227 692; marchevictorhugo.fr).

22 On the first floor, a dozen tiny restaurants prepare food re from the market at very reasonable prices. re

PHOTOGRAPHS BY DAVID SMITH FOR PREOCCUPATIONS / TOMOKO KURAKAWA FOR TOMO STYLE / COURTESY OF L’OFFICE DE TOURISME DE TOULOUSE / JOACHIM HOLINE / D. VIET / J. M. HERRADOR

ZINZOLIN (26 Rue dess Couteliers) is a relaxed, atmospheric bar where you can enjoy fine winess accompanied by excellent ent charcuterie and cheese.

Whenever I take a foreign ign friend there they inevitably ably wish they could take the place home with them.

The th three-star HOTEL DES BEAUX ARTS (1 Place du Point three Neuf, +33 534 454 242; hoteldesbeauxarts.com) in the historic centre of Toulouse offers great value. Be sure to book dinner in advance to watch the sun set on the Garonne river.

MUSÉE DES AUGUSTINS is one of the oldest museums in France and has a fine collection of sculptures and paintings. If you like your Cézanne or Van Gogh, be sure to find the paintings of the south-west’s post-impressionist star Toulouse-Lautrec. He was born in Albi, an hour north, where there is a museum dedicated to his works if you want to see more. (augustins.org) AER LINGUS FLIES FROM DUBLIN TO TOULOUSE, MON, FRI, WED AND SUN

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Historical TOUR

- NEW YORK -

66 W 47th St - #24 New York, NY 10036 Showroom: +1(212) 302-6605 Shop online www.haniken.com or Email: info@ haniken.com

YOUR BEST SOURCE FOR DIAMONDS AND FINE JEWELRY Like us on Facebook ‘HanikenJewelersNYC’

Follow us on Twitter ‘@HanikenJewelry’

To celebrate our 400th anniversary, we’re turning our little West of Ireland town into the venue of a year long celebration of sport, history, culture and music.

There’s something for everyone, and here’s just a taster of what’s coming up:

March Gallant Sons Exhibition April Phase One Music Festival May John McGahern International Seminar June Water Music Festival July Hup Traditional Music Festival August Carrick on Shannon 400 Regatta September Leitrim Roots Festival October Session at the Shannon November Leitrim Equation Concert December Carrick on Shannon Christmas Fair Visit www.carrickonshannon400.ie for the full schedule

This project received grant aid from the Leitrim Development Company Rural Development Programme which is financed by the Irish Government under the Rural Development Programme Ireland 2007-2013 and by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development: Europe investing in Rural Areas.

INFLIGHT

Inflight

For your guide to our new and exciting On Demand movies and television programmes, including Silver Linings Playbook (pictured), turn to page 116 and 117.

inFlight

Welcome Aboard For your comfort and safety Please pay attention while the cabin crew demonstrate the use of the safety equipment before take-off. Also, make sure to read the safety instruction card, which is in the seat pocket in front of you.

Seat belts must be fastened during take-off and landing, and whenever the “Fasten Seat Belts” sign is switched on.

We recommend that you keep your seat belt loosely fastened throughout the flight.

Your seat must be in the upright position during takeoff and landing, but can be reclined by pressing the large button in the armrest. Other buttons (in the armrest or above your head, depending on the aircraft) may be used to operate your reading light and air vent, or to call a cabin attendant.

ar mhaithe de do chompord agus le do shábháilteacht ... ... iarraimid ort aird mhaith a thabhairt, ar an bhfoireann cábáin ag tús na heililte agus iad ag taispeáint conas an fearas slándála a úsáid. Iarraimid ort an cárta threoraca slándála atá i bpóca an tsuíocháin os do chomhair a léamh chomh maith.

Caithfear criosanna sábhála bheith ceangailte le linn éirí agus tuirlingthe agus ag aon am a bhíonn an comhartha “Fasten Seat Belts” ar iasadh.

Molaimid duit an crios sábhála bheith leathcheangailte agat i rith an turais.

Le linn éirí agus tuirlingthe, ní mór do shuíochan bheith sa suíomh ingearach. Ag am ar bith eile, is féidir an suíochán a chur siar ach brú ar an gcnaipe mór atá ar an taca uillinne. Tá cnaipí eile ann (ar an taca uillinne nó os do chionn, ag brath ar an eitleán) chun úsáid a bhaint as an solas léitheoireachta nó as an ngaothaire, nó chun glaoch ar bhall den fhoireann cábáin.

Portable electronic equipment Portable electronic equipment may interfere with aircraft equipment, creating a potentially hazardous situation. With safety as our priority, we ask you to pay particular attention to the following: Mobile phones and all other personal electronic equipment must be switched off and stowed safely as soon as the aircraft doors are closed.

It is not permissible to use any electronic device to transmit or receive data during the flight, however devices equipped with flight mode, or the equivalent, may be used. Flight mode should be selected before the device is switched off.

Devices PermitteD ✔ at any time: Devices powered by micro battery cells

and/or by solar cells; hearing aids (including digital devices); pagers (receivers only); heart pacemakers.

Devices PermitteD ● in Flight but not During taxi/take-oFF/

initial climb/aPProach lanDing: Laptops with CD ROM or DVD drive, palmtop organisers, handheld calculators without printers, portable audio equipment (eg Walkman, CD-player, Mini-disk player, iPod and MP3-player). For the comfort of other passengers, audio devices should be used with a headset. Computer games (eg Gameboy, Nintendo DS).

Video cameras/recorders, digital cameras, GPS handheld receivers, electric shavers, electronic toys.

Bluetooth devices with mobile phones in “Flight” mode, devices with “Blackberry” technology with “Flight”/Flight Safe” mode

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selected, laptops, PDAs with built-in Wi-Fi with “Wireless Off” setting selected.

Devices ProhibiteD ✘ at all times: Devices transmitting radio frequency

intentionally such as walkietalkies, remote controlled toys; wireless computer equipment (eg mouse, keyboard); PC printers, DVD/CD writers and Mini-disk Recorders in the recording mode; digital camcorders when using CD write facility; portable stereo sets; pocket radios (AM/ FM); TV receivers; telemetric equipment; peripheral devices for handheld computer games (eg supplementary power packs connected by cable); wireless LAN (WLAN). Laptops with built-in WLAN (eg Centrino) may be used during flight, provided the WLAN option is turned off and subject to the restrictions associated with the use of laptops detailed above.

Aer Lingus is delighted to welcome you on board Tá áthas ar Aer Lingus fáilte ar bord a chur romhat

Food and bar service

Seirbhís bia agus beáir

A new range of food items – including sandwiches, confectionery and a range of snacks – is available for sale on all Aer Lingus scheduled services to and from the UK and Europe. A charge applies for all drinks on UK and European flights in Economy class. On long haul flights, there is a charge in Economy class for alcoholic drinks, while soft drinks are complimentary. Details of all items available for purchase are contained in an information leaflet, which is in all seat pockets.

Tá raon nua bia ar fáil anois ar sheirbhísí sceidealta Aer Lingus a dhéanann freastai ar an Riocht Aontaithe agus ar an Eoraip.

Ina measc, tá ceapairí, milseogra agus rogha sneaiceanna éagsúla. Ní mór íoc as gach deoch sa ghrád barainne ar na heitiltí seo. Ar eitiltí Trasatlantacha, tá costas ar dheochanna neamh-mheisciúla go fóill ar fáil saor in aisce. Tá sonraí faoi gach rud is féidir a cheannach ar bord foilsithe sa bhileog eolais atá i bpóca an tsuíocháin os do chomhair.

News, music and movies

Nuacht, ceol agus scannáin

On long haul flights, we offer you an extensive programme of viewing and listening options. For full details, turn towards the back of this magazine.

Ar eitiltí Trasatlantacha tá clár leathan féachana agus éisteachta ar fáil. Le hagaidh tuilleadh eolais, féach deireadh na hirise seo.

Fearas iniompartha leictreonach Is féidir le fearas iniompartha leictreonach cur isteach ar threalamh an eitleáin, rud a d’fhéadfadh bheith contúirteach. Agus sábháilteacht mar phríomhchúram ag Aer Lingus, iarraimid ort aird sa bhreis a thabhairt ar an mír seo a leanas: Caithfear gach guthán póca agus gach fearas pearsanta leictreonach a mhúchadh agus a chur i dtaisce a luaithe agus a dhúntar doirse an eitleáin. Ní ceadmhach úsáid a bhaint as uirlis leictreonach ar bith chun sonraí a tharchur nó a ghlacadh i rith na heitilte. Is ceadmhach, áfach, uirlisí le cumas “mód eitilte”, nó a chomhionann sin, a úsáid. Caithfear an lipéad “modh eitilte” a roghnú sula múchtar an uirlis.

GLéAsAnnA A bhfuIL ✔ ceAdAIthe I GcónAí: Gléasanna a bhaineann úsáid as

micreaceallairí agus/nó fotaichill; cluaisíní chúnta (gléasanna digiteach san áireamh); glaoirí (gleacadáin amháin); séadairí.

GLéAsAnnA Atá ● ceAdAIthe I rIth nA heItILte, Ach nAch

bhfuIL ceAdAIthe Le LInn don eItLeán bheIth AG GLuAIseAcht Ar tALAmh/AG éIrí de thALAmh/ AG tAbhAIrt fAoIn dreApAdh tosAIGh/ AG dírIú Ar thuIrLInGt/ AG tuIrLInGt: Ríomhairí glúine le tiomántán dlúthdhiosca (CD ROM) nó diosca digiteach ilúsáide (DVD). Eagraithe pearsanta boise. Áireamháin láimhe gan phrintéiri.

Clostrealamh iniompartha (ms Walkman, seinnteoir CD, seinnteoir

Mini-disk, iPod, seinnteoir MP3). Ar mhaithe le compord na bpaisinéiri eile, níor choir na gléasanna seo a úsáid ach amháin le cluaisíní. Cluichí ríomhaire (ms Gameboy). Níl cead gaireas forimeallach a úsáid le cluichí láimhe ríomhaire am ar bith (ms paca forlíontach cumhachta a cheanglaítear le cábla). Físcheamaraí agus fístaifeadáin, trealamh digiteach san áireamh. Ceamaraí digiteach. Glacadóirí láimhe chóras suite domhanda (GPS). Rásúir leicreacha. Bréagáin leictreonacha (seachas bréagáin chianrialaithe).

Gléasanna “Bluetooth” i gcomhar le gutháin phóca agus iad i “modh eitilte”; uirlisí a bhaineann feidhm as teicneolaíocht “Blackberry” agus “mód eitilte” nó “slánmhód eitilte” roghnaithe orthu; ríomhairí glúine; ríomhairí boise (PDA) le Wi-Fi ionsuite agus an lipéad “raidió múchta” roghnaithe orthu.

GLéAsAnnA A bhfuIL ✘ cosc IomLán orthu: Gléasanna a tharchuireann

minicíocht raidió d’aon turas.

Siúlscéalaithe. Bréagaín chianrialaithe. Aonaid fhístaispeána le feadáin ga-chatadóideacha.

Trealamh ríomhaire gan sreang (ms luch). Printéirí PC. Schríbhneoiri DVD, CD agus taifeadáin Minidisk atá sa mhodh taifeadta.

Ceamthaifeadáin digiteacha agus iad ag athscríobh dlúthdhioscaí.

Steiréónna iniompartha. Raidiónna póca (AM/ FM). Glacadóiri teilifíse.

Trealamh teiliméadrach. Ní cheadaítear fearas LAN gan sreang (WLAN) a úsáid. Is féidir ríomhairí glúine a bhfuil WLAN ionsuite iontu (ms Centrino) a úsáíd le linn na heitilte ar choinníoll go bhfuil WLAN curtha as agus faoi réir na srianta a bhaineann le húsáid ríomhhairí glúine (thuas luaite).

SmokiNg In line with Irish government regulations, Aer Lingus has a nosmoking policy onboard its flights.

Smoking is not permitted in any part of the cabin at any time. tobAc De réir rialacháin Rialtas na hÉireann, tá polasai i réim ar eitiltí Aer Lingus nach gceadaítear tobac a chaitheamh.

Ní cheadaítear d’aon duine tobac a chaitheamh in aon chuid den eitleán ag aon am.

Aer Lingus. nk you for choosing to fly with Tha ht. flig t san plea and able We hope you have a comfort le hAer Lingus. agus go raibh maith agat as taisteal t aga h hac eam taitn h dac por Tá suil againn go mbíonn turas com

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INFLIGHT

Aer Lingus news Aer Lingus And JetBLue AirwAys Announce codeshAre Agreement Aer Lingus and JetBlue Airways have announced a code-share agreement, expanding the current interline partnership between the carriers’ two networks at New York’s John F. Kennedy International airport as well as Boston’s Logan International airport.

The partnership allows for connections to over 40 destinations in the US, enabling customers to enjoy the convenience of a single booking with other benefits, including one-stop check-in and baggage transfer.

Tickets featuring an Aer Lingus flight number will be available for sale, on Aer Lingus’ website, for JetBlue-operated connections between 29 cities in North America connecting through New York including Buffalo, Orlando, Rochester and Syracuse and Tampa and through Boston, including Baltimore, Dallas-Fort Worth, Fort Lauderdale, Philadelphia, and West Palm Beach.

Aer Lingus Moves to State of the Art T5 at JFK From April 3 2013 Aer Lingus will move its flight operations from Terminal 4 at New York’s JFK to Terminal 5 at JFK. While known as JetBlue’s T5, Aer Lingus will have its own dedicated area within the terminal, allowing for easy check in, baggage handling and seamless connections to destinations within the United States and Puerto Rico. With the move to T5, the minimum connection time from European arrivals to connecting JetBlue destinations will be reduced to just about 60 minutes.

Customers traveling to Ireland will enjoy JetBlue connections as fast as 40 minutes.

The award-winning, state-of-the-art Terminal 5 offers great features and amenities, including:

Good news

up to 15 security lanes, gates with seats aplenty, free Wi-Fi, 55,000 sq. feet of great food and shopping, a large children’s play area and much more!

Aer Lingus was one of 33 airlines that entered the highly contested Cellars in the Sky, Business Traveller Awards. Aer Lingus won bronze prize for “Best White Wine” and took third prize for “Best Cellar” in the Business Class category.

Aer Lingus rolls out high-speed Wi-Fi on transatlantic flights from April, allowing you to stay up-to-date with news, flight information and much more throughout your journey.

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PHOTOGRAPH BY JASOn CLARKE

New Premium Dining Experience for Economy Class on US Flights

Pictured at Dublin airport were Dessie Farrell, left, with Orla and Grainne Kelly of Aer Lingus and Donal Óg Cusack, right, who travelled to Breezy Point in New York with the support of Aer Lingus. The players were part of an 18-strong GPA work party made up players and tradesmen, along with a number of Aer Lingus volunteers, who assisted with the reconstruction of the local youth sports facilities destroyed during Hurricane Sandy.

FIRST PRIZE FOR TOP NOSH Aer Lingus recently sponsored the Business In-Flight Dining Competition at the CATEX exhibition at the RDS in Dublin. The competition was made up of six two-man teams who were tasked to prepare, cook and present in 90 minutes, four trays of freshly prepared and cooked

ingredients. The menu and food had to have an Irish theme. The winning team was commended on their choice of fresh Irish ingredients, creating an Irish Beef and Guinness stew with root vegetables and a hot Bailey’s Irish bread and butter pudding. Well done to all participants.

The airline also hosted a Cocktail competition with first place being awarded to Edviwas Rudzinskas of the Seasons Hotel Monaghan with a non alcoholic cocktail, named “Chill Out, You’re in the Air” and an alcoholic cocktail named “Sky High”.

Pictured, Siobhan O’Dea, Aer Lingus Chef and a member of the WACS Judging Panel, left, with winners, Susan Murphy and Karen Simpson from Waterford Institute of Technology, Aidan Power, Aer Lingus Director of Catering, centre, and James Keaveney, Head Chef Aer Lingus, right.

Aer Lingus recently introduced a new premium three course meal choice called “Sky Dine”, available to Pre-Order for customers travelling in economy class on transatlantic flights between Dublin, Shannon and the USA. Following the successful launch of the Sky Deli Pre-Order Meal Service on flights to UK and Europe, the Pre-Order meal service has been extended to transatlantic flights.

Head Chef, James Keaveney, in conjunction with the Aer Lingus US Catering Team, have created a number of delicious three course meals for discerning travellers. Each meal is complemented by a choice of red or white wine. Meal options include; The Steak House (pictured), Cod with Salsa Verde and Chicken stuffed with Irish black pudding.

Customers travelling on long-haul flights who wish to enjoy their quality meal on board can now pre-order up to 90 days in advance of travel while making their booking or by adding it to an existing booking via the “Manage Booking” facility on aerlingus.com Aer Lingus customers receive a complimentary meal on board transatlantic flights but, with Sky Dine, additional choice is available for customers who wish to upgrade their dining experience.

The new “In-Flight Experience” section on aerlingus.com provides full details of the Pre-Order Meals, together with information on our Sky Deli and Sky Shopping menus.

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INFLIgHt

Movies

Flights to the UNiteD stAtes SKYFALL

Action / Adventure / Thriller (PG 13) 143 minutes Daniel Craig is back as Ian Fleming’s James Bond 007 in Skyfall, the 23rd adventure in the longestrunning film franchise of all time. In Skyfall, Bond’s loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost. Adele’s song “Skyfall” won the Academy Award for best original song, a first for a James Bond theme. In the 50 years of James Bond movies, Skyfall has become one of the best reviewed James Bond movies ever.

StArS Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Ralph Fiennes, Albert Finney, Ben Whishaw, Bérénice Lim Marlohe, Javier Bardem, Naomie Harris DIreCtor Sam Mendes

A MoNSter IN PArIS

Argo

Drama (R) StArS Ben Affleck, Alan Arkin, Bryan Cranston, John Goodman

gArFIeLD getS reAL Animation (G)

VoICeS oF Neil Ross, Wally Wingert, Pat Fraley, Jennifer Darley, David Michie

So UNDerCoVer Comedy (PG 13)

StArS Miley Cyrus, Jeremy Piven, Mike O’Malley, Kelly Osbourne

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Comedy (PG) VoICeS oF Vanessa Paradis, Danny Huston, Bob Balaban, Sean Lennon

BroKeN CItY Thriller (R) StArS Mark Wahlberg, Russell Crowe, Catherine Zeta-Jones

CHASINg MAVerICKS

DJANgo UNCHAINeD

Drama (PG)

DIArY oF A WIMPY KID: Dog DAYS

StArS Gerard Butler, Elisabeth Shue, Abigail Spencer, Jonny Weston, Leven Rambin

StArS Zachary Gordon, Steve Zahn, Robert Capron

StArS Christopher Waltz, Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington, Samuel L. Jackson

Family (PG)

Western (R)

JACK reACHer

LIFe oF PI

MULAN

QUArtet

StrAIgHt A’S

Crime (PG 13)

Adventure (PG)

Animation (G)

Comedy (PG 13)

Comedy (PG 13)

StArS Tom Cruise, Rosamund Pike, Richard Jenkins, Werner Herzog, David Oyelowo, Robert Duvall

StArS Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Adil Hussain

VoICeS oF Eddie Murphy, Ming-Na Wen, B.D. Wong, Harvey Fierstein

StArS Maggie Smith, Tom Courtenay, Billy Connolly, Michael Gambon

StArS Anna Paquin, Ryan Phillippe, Luke Wilson

SoUND CItY

tHIS IS 40

Documentary (NR)

Comedy (R)

StArS Dave Grohl, Trent Reznor, Tom Petty, Mick Fleetwood, Stevie Nicks, Paul McCartney

StArS Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, Jason Segel, Chris O’Dowd

April/MAy 2013

tINKer BeLL: SeCret oF tHe WINgS

tHe tWILIgHt SAgA: BreAKINg DAWN PArt 2

VoICeS oF Timothy Dalton, Angelica Huston, Lucy Hale, Lucy Liu

StArS Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Dakota Fanning

Animation (G)

Fantasy (PG 13)

To mark tHe gAtHerINg IreLAND 2013 Aer Lingus debuts Irish Oscar Short Films, New Boy, the Door, the Crush, granny o’grimm’s Sleeping Beauty, Pentecost and 2012 Oscar winner the Shore.

Movies

Flights From the UNiteD stAtes CLOUD ATLAS

Drama / Mystery / Sci Fi (R) 172 minutes Cloud Atlas is so far one of the year’s most complex and ambitious releases. Adapted from a 2004 novel

by David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas encompasses six different storylines that unfold across centuries of human existence. The movie explores how the actions and consequences of individual lives impact one another throughout the past, the present and the future. Action, mystery and romance weave dramatically through the story as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero and a single act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution in the distant future.

STArS Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugh Grant, Jim Broadbent, Susan Sarandon DireCTOr Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski

ADVeNTUreS iN ZAMBeZiA Animation (G) VOiCeS OF Richard E. Grant, Samuel L. Jackson, Abigail Breslin

HiTCHCOCK Drama (PG 13) STArS Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Scarlett Johansson

PLAYiNG FOr KeePS

AMOUr

Drama (PG 13) STArS JeanLouis Trintignant, Emmanuelle Riva, Isabelle Huppert

THe HOBBiT: AN UNeXPeCTeD JOUrNeY Fantasy (PG 13)

STArS Elijah Wood, Martin Freeman, Ian Mckellen

riSe OF THe GUArDiANS

Comedy (PG 13)

Family (PG)

STArS Gerard Butler, Jessica Biel, Uma Thurman, Catherine Zeta-Jones

VOiCeS OF Hugh Jackman, Jude Law, Alec Baldwin, Isla Fisher

CATS AND DOGS: THe reVeNGe OF KiTTY GALOre Family (PG) VOiCeS OF Bette Midler, Chris O’Donnell, Christina Appelgate

THe iMPOSSiBLe Thriller (PG 13) STArS Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor, Tom Holland

SiLVer LiNiNGS PLAYBOOK Comedy (R)

STArS Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro

COMeS A BriGHT DAY

GreAT eXPeCTATiONS

Drama (R)

Drama (PG13)

Free WiLLY: eSCAPe FrOM PirATe’S COVe

STArS Craig Roberts, Imogen Poots, Kevin McKidd, Timothy Spall

STArS Helena Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes, Jeremy Irvine, Robbie Coltrane

STArS Bindi Irwin, Beau Bridges, Bongolethu Mbutuma

JAYNe MANSFieLD’S CAr

MAN ON THe TrAiN

PAreNTAL GUiDANCe

Drama (R)

Comedy (PG)

STArS Larry Mullen Jr., Donald Sutherland

STArS Billy Crystal, Bette Midler, Marisa Tomei, Bailee Madison

Drama (R)

STArS Kevin Bacon, Robert Duvall, John Hurt

STeLLA DAYS Drama (R)

STArS Martin Sheen, Stephen Rea, Amy Huberman

ZerO DArK THirTY Action (R) STArS Jessica Chastain, Joel Edgerton, Chris Pratt

Family (PG)

To celebrate THe GATHeriNG ireLAND 2013 – Aer Lingus presents Irish Movies and Shorts. Man On A Train stars Larry Mullen Jr. and Stella Days stars Amy Huberman.

Also look out for six Irish Oscar Short Films.

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INFLIGHT

Television

On demand

On Demand TV allows you to select and view your favourite TV shows. Don’t miss the most anticipated new shows on TV in this extensive choice of award-winning Comedy, Drama, Documentary, Lifestyle and Kids programmes.

Girls

The Gathering: Homeward Bound

COMEDY HIGHLIGHTS DOCUMENTARY Don’t miss two episodes of the hottest HIGHLIGHTS comedy of the moment from HBO: Girls. Also from HBO Veep and Enlightened. More brand new comedy includes The New Normal, Louie, The Big Bang Theory, Modern Family, New Girl, House of Lies, American Dad and How I Met Your Mother. Watch out for two episodes of brand new Irish comedy The Fear, and also enjoy classic comedy with Friends, Frasier and Father Ted. Also available are all six episodes of Moone Boy, a family comedy about a young boy growing up in 1980s Ireland. Written by and starring Chris O’Dowd; critical acclaim for Moone Boy has been very positive.

Documentary highlights include the award-winning Attenborough’s Journey, White Lions Born Wild, Gary Barlow on Her Majesty’s Service and Modern Marvels: James Bond Gadgets. From National Geographic don’t miss Engineering Connections (AirbusA380), Megafactories (Learjet), 400 Million Dollar Rock and Animal Superpowers. To celebrate The Gathering do not miss The Gathering: Homeward Bound with Bressie and Jean Ann Butler. Finally Who Do You Think You Are?, A Grand Experience and Secret of the Stones conclude the exciting line-up.

Other Voices – Best of Irish

LIFESTYLE HIGHLIGHTS

Lifestyle Highlights include History Channel favourites Pawn Stars and American Restoration and the HBO documentary In Vogue: The Editors Eye. Don’t miss Jamie’s 15 Minute Meals, America’s Next Top Model, Show Me Your Wardrobe, Jo Whiley Meets (Micheal Stipe), A Day in the Life, HSBC Golfing World, Mobil One The Grid and Work of Art: The Next Great Artist. To mark The Gathering 2013 Aer Lingus presents a Movie Talk focus on Neil Jordan, Track and Trails, The Layover and Other Voices – Best of Irish was produced exclusively for Aer Lingus to celebrate The Gathering.

The Sopranos

DRAMA HIGHLIGHTS

As we witness a golden age in TV drama, Aer Lingus offers an engaging choice of DRAMA TV with multiple episodes available of the hottest drama from the US and UK. There are also one-off episodes to select from in Bones, Blue Bloods and Glee, and do not miss the final two episodes of the most popular TV show of all time – The Sopranos.

The multi award-winning super series Sherlock is back for Series 2 and all 3 episodes are available onboard. Sherlock and Watson return to face the ultimate test in three

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of their most famous cases. With beguiling performances, witty scripts and some of the most intriguing characters ever created, it’s no wonder that Sherlock has proven to be a worldwide success.

Dexter fans are catered for with 5 intriguing episodes available from Season 6. Dexter stars Michael C. Hall in his Golden Globe® Awardwinning role as Dexter Morgan, a complex and conflicted blood-spatter expert working for the Miami police department, who also moonlights as a serial killer.

I’m an Animal

Punky

KIDS HIGHLIGHTS

Kids can enjoy Disney favourites Fish Hooks and Handy Manny, Monster Entertainment’s Irish animation Punky and from Brown Bag Films I’m An Animal. Tweens and Teens can view Glee, Shake It Up and The Wizards of Waverly Place.

Boardwalk Empire The award-winning drama Wallander starring Kenneth Branagh returns with three thrilling investigations set in Sweden and Latvia. Elegantly filmed and brilliantly acted, Series 3 builds on the drama’s reputation, offering intriguing new stories. All three episodes are available On Demand.

HBO presents brand new Drama The Newsroom with six episodes available from Season 1. This Golden Globe® nominated drama takes a behind-the-scenes look at the life of a news anchor and his staff.

HBO Drama also available OnDemand is the first three episodes of Season 3 of the critically acclaimed and award-winning Boardwalk Empire. Steve Buscemi stars in this original series that charts the rise of organised crime at the dawn of Prohibition in Atlantic City.

HBO presents the first five episodes of Season 2 from the very popular and ground-breaking series Game of Thrones. Season 2 of Game of Thrones is a truly thrilling journey through a riveting, unforgettable fictional landscape.

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Personal commitment and responsibility are central to everything we do, and the people at the heart of Red Sky Connect make the crucial difference in offering a supply chain partner that you can trust, ensuring your business runs smoothly.

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Love & Hurt, L’amour, la blessure, Grá agus Gortú 19 and 20 April at the National Library of Ireland 21 April at the Alliance Française www.francoirishliteraryfestival.com

INFLIGHT

Radio

On demand 1980s

Alternative

Classical

Easy Listening

Fitzpatrick Hotels This is a contemporary easy-listening collection of songs from both sides of the Atlantic, brought to you compliments of The Fitzpatrick Hotel Group USA. With two hotels in downtown Manhattan, Grand Central and Fitzpatrick Manhattan, Fitzpatrick’s is the place to stay in NYC. Visit their website for more information fitzpatrickhotels.com.

Fitzpatrick Hotels USA are also on Twitter & Facebook.

Pop

Larry Gogan’s Golden Oldies Legendary RTÉ 2fm DJ Larry Gogan brings listeners on board his selection of 1980s classics.

Larry has been playing music on RTÉ 2fm for over 30 years. Larry is thrilled to bring Aer Lingus passengers his eclectic 80s mix. From Michael Jackson to Wham, Simple Minds and U2 – Larry has the 1980s covered. Tune in to hear more from the legend himself – weekdays on RTÉ 2fm from 1-2pm on Larry’s Golden Hour.

Indie Hits Tune into Indie Hits – an alternative selection of tunes from bands that have now gained cult status.

Featuring Goth legends from the 1980s – The Cure, The Cult and The Jesus & Mary Chain. Listen out for Manchester’s finest Indie gods The Smiths and The Stone Roses as well as Britpop giants Blur and Oasis. Also tune in to hear hidden gems from US Indie stalwarts REM, Soundgarden and of course the inimitable Pixies.

Niall Carroll’s Classical Daytime For the ideal accompaniment to your flight, join Niall Carroll for an hour of great music from the heart of the classical repertoire. In this selection Niall Carroll presents the finest selection of Irish classical performers from RTÉ lyric fm’s own label, including performances by soprano Celine Byrne, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra. Tune into RTÉ lyric fm Mon-Fri 10am-2pm for more.

Folk/Roots

Talk Radio

Traditional Irish

Chart Hits

Roots Freeway

Best of Moncrieff

Ceol na nGael

Chart Hits lifts the lid on the most up-to-the-minute Pop hits from both sides of the Atlantic. Listen out for your favourite artists in this compilation of smash hits. This exciting compilation of songs features hits from the world’s most successful artists Rihanna, Christina Aguilera and Robbie Williams as well as newcomers to the Pop scene Rita Ora, and Labrinth and X Factor alumni JLS and Leona Lewis.

Roots Freeway is presented by music aficionado Niall Toner and is an eclectic mix of Folk Music, Bluegrass, Blues and Roots Music. As well as presenting Roots Freeway, Niall is a songwriter and a musician. In this edition of his show for Aer Lingus he plays a unique selection of country, folk, roots and bluegrass music.

Toner returned to RTÉ Radio One on Saturday, December 1st at 11pm where you can also tune in for more.

Best of Moncrieff is a lively mix of funny, engaging and irreverent features. Its insightful format gives listeners a unique listening experience. Tune into Best of Moncrieff every weekday from 1.30-4.30pm on Newstalk 106-108fm for a lively mix of phone-ins, text messages and stories from around the world and down your street.

Text 53106, email afternoon@ newstalk.ie or follow Sean on Twitter @SeanMoncrieff.

Ceol na nGael is a traditional music programme presented, in Irish, by Seán Ó hÉanaigh. Seán presents Sruth na Maoile on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta. The station is the national Irish language broadcaster in Ireland, and is celebrating 40 years on air. Ceol traidisiúnta agus ceol tíre den scoth, le Seán Ó hÉanaigh. For more visit: rte.ie/rnag.

Twitter @RTERnaG.

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INFLIGHT

Radio

On demand

Traditional Irish

Irish

Countdown

Documentary On One Documentary On One is the multiawardwinning radio documentary strand from RTÉ Radio 1 (88-90FM) and the most successful documentary unit in the world. The website contains over 1,000 radio documentaries – all freely available to listen/podcast. The documentary featured here is titled Message in a Bottle and tells the story of an American Serviceman who tossed a note in a bottle and threw it overboard – it was found in Dingle by Breda O’Sullivan. What ensued was a media circus as Breda and Frank finally met in Dingle – tune in to find out what happened. You can also download the all new and free Documentary on One iPhone and/or Android app. rte.ie/ doconone

The Big 10 The Big Ten is produced especially for Aer Lingus as 98FM’s Claire Solan counts “Ireland’s 10 Biggest Acts”. Join Claire as she recounts the tales behind the biggest musical exports from Ireland and the impact they have had on the music scene globally. For more on Claire and 98FM, check out 98fm.com.

Grace Notes

Homecoming

Grace Notes is presented by Ellen Cranitch of RTÉ lyric fm as she casts the music net wide to capture great performances from the cream of traditional Irish musical talent from around the world. The appeal of traditional music is for many like a story handed down from generation to generation, with each adding their own interpretations. Tune into RTÉ lyric fm every Thursday from 7pm8pm to hear more from Ellen Cranitch and her show Grace Notes.

Homecoming is a nostalgic mix of famous Irish songs selected especially for The Gathering 2013.

Whether you live in Ireland, are coming home to visit relatives and friends or discover your Irish roots – these Irish classics are sure to conjure up memories of days gone by. This show represents the cream of the crop of Irish talent from U2, Paddy Reilly, Thin Lizzy to Clannad and The Pogues. Enjoy Homecoming.

Kids

Musical Hits

Jazz

1970s

RTÉ Jr

Broadway Favourites

Jazz Alley

Copeland Classic Hits

Join Emma Power and her friends from “Emma’s Magical Kingdom” on RTÉjr Radio for a fun-packed show to enjoy during your flight! There’s Disney heroes and villains, great Disney music and a little bit of pixie dust added in here and there! RTÉjr Radio is Ireland’s only radio station that’s just for children. You can tune in on your digital radio, online rte. ie/digitalradio/rtejr, Saorview and on the RTÉ Radio Player on your mobile device to hear more.

Broadway Favourites may tempt you to visit a Broadway show whilst in New York or indeed provide inspiration to tread the boards yourself. This show is a fun collection of memorable songs from the world’s most famous Broadway musicals.

Tune in to hear hits from Annie Get Your Gun, The Sound of Music, Singin’ In The Rain, Guys and Dolls, Carousel and many more. Enjoy!

Jazz aficionado Donald Helme explores the legacy and music of pianist and Big Band leader, Count Basie and features performances from classic albums and live concerts.

In this RTÉ lyric fm special, Helme celebrates Basie’s life and music.

Take a stroll down Jazz Alley on Wednesday evenings at 7pm on RTÉ lyric fm with Donald Helme, featuring the best in classic and contemporary jazz, focusing on the curious, quirky, obscure and neglected.

Welcome to the music of Copeland Classic Hits brought to you courtesy of Louis Copeland & Sons, a name synonymous with men’s tailoring in Dublin. Classic Hits is an exciting selection of hits from the 1970s.

Louis Copeland is a world renowned master tailor and provider of men’s suits for over 100 years. His stores are located on in Dublin on Capel St, Pembroke St and Wicklow St and beside the IFSC, in Dublin Airport and in Galway. From Armani, Hugo Boss, Paul Smith and more – all leading labels are available in all stores. louiscopeland.com

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Wellbeing Aer Lingus is pleased to bring you some suggestions and light exercises to enhance your comfort and wellbeing during your flight: Wear loose-fitting clothes on board, to all your skin to breathe.

Stretch your legs by taking a stroll through the cabin.

Circle your ankles clockwise and anti-clockwise.

Trace the letters of the alphabet with your foot by moving your ankles.

Exercising your feet and

legs periodically helps to reduce possible effects of long-duration travel.

Avoid sitting or sleeping in the same position for too long and gently stretch muscles to improve your circulation.

Move your neck and shoulders during long flights to prevent stiffness.

Reducing the effects of Jet Lag: Avoid heavy food, alcohol, tea or coffee the day before you travel.

When you arrive at your destination, try to adjust your activities to the new time zone.

Mild exercise on arrival will help to stimulate your circulation.

We wish you an enjoyable experience.

Travel Tips It is important to take time to reduce your risk of getting sick. Various viruses are thought to spread mainly from person to person through coughing, sneezing, or close contact with the flu. Here are some everyday preventative actions you can take to help slow the spread of germs that cause respiratory illness, like flu: Cover your nose and mouth when you cough and sneeze. This will help to prevent the spread of droplets from that contain germs.

Wash your hands often with soap and water. If soap and water are not available use an alcohol–based hand rub.

Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth, this can cause the spread of germs.

An important step is to get a flu vaccination, especially for elderly people, people with certain chronic health conditions, and pregnant women.

Carry-on baggage Carry-on baggage on Aer Lingus services is restricted to one piece per person, as well as to the weights and measurements, illustrated below.

Passengers with wheelchair requirements Our priority is to always ensure the safety and comfort of all passengers. We encourage passengers who may need assistance to contact us well in advance of their date of travel to enable us to assess their needs.

Maximum weight

10kg 55cm (22ins)

If you are a wheelchair user or require wheelchair assistance when travelling on Aer Lingus services, please advise us of your requirements at least 48 hours in advance, quoting your booking reference number. Our contact details are as follows: email: specialassistance@aerlingus.com Telephone: (Ireland) 0818 365 011 08:00 - 18:00 Mon-Fri & 09:00 - 17:00 Sat & Sun (UK) 0871 718 20 21 (Europe) + 353 1 886 8333 (USA) 516 622 4222

AER LINGUS

AER LINGUS REGIONAL

48cm (19ins)

(22 lbs)

24cm (9ins)

40cm (16ins)

Maximum weight

7kg (15 lbs)

20cm (8ins)

33cm (13ins)

In addition you may choose to carry on one of the following, which must be placed under the seat in front: Small ladies handbag/gents satchel = 25cm (10”) x 33cm (13”) x 20cm (8”) OR Duty Free shopping bag as well as: Baby-changing/food bag Medical/assistive devices EU security rules regarding liquids, gels and aerosols in cabin baggage apply. Flights departing the USA are subject to TSA security rules. Passengers in Row 1, or at an emergency exit, MUST store baggage in an overhead bin.

Safety brief We would like to bring your attention to the following safety and security measures: Please pay attention to any instructions given to you by the cabin crew.

Any behaviour towards a fellow passenger or cabin crew that is deemed to be threatening or abusive (including the use of offensive language) is a serious matter.

As our priority is the safety of all passengers, it is important not to interrupt the cabin crew while they carry out their duties, and not to interfere with aircraft equipment.

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As a service to passengers, alcohol is served in the airport lounges and on board. In the interests of safety, Aer Lingus may refuse to allow you board if it is thought too much alcohol has been consumed. While the majority of passengers are responsible, there have occasionally been incidents where intoxicated passengers have caused serious safety hazards. Passengers are reminded also that during the flight you may not consume any alcohol brought onto the aircraft by you or any other

passenger. The consumption inflight of Duty Free alcohol purchased from the Sky Shopping service is also prohibited. This measure is, again, necessary in the interests of flight safety.

If incidents of this kind occur during a flight, the cabin crew is obliged to contact police on arrival at your final destination.

The Aircraft Captain may also divert the flight enroute in order to remove disruptive passengers. Should this happen, Aer Lingus will not

be responsible for getting you home, your ticket money will not be refunded, and – in addition to the authorities awaiting you on landing – you could be heavily fined and/or be liable to a prison sentence.

In many cases, other airlines may subsequently refuse to allow you to fly with them.

We emphasise that while on board the aircraft our priority is your safety. As always, we wish you a safe and enjoyable flight, as well as a safe onward journey.

Brasserie 7 | The Capel Building | Capel Street | Dublin 7 Tel: 01-4707770 | www.brasserie7.com | eat@brasserie7.com

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Buying Jewellery Abroad?

Have it Valued & Checked by a professional.

Carol Clarke is Ireland’s first and only female member of the Institute of Registered Jewellery Valuers London. (NAG) • Valuations while you wait.

• Set charges from €75.

• Discounts for large amounts of jewellery.

• Twenty five years making and designing jewellery.

Collection of Antique and pre-owned diamond rings from 1.50 carat to 7.00 carat at exceptional prices. All checked and graded by C.Clarke.

C. Clarke MIRV PJVal Dip., RJ Dip., AJP. Diam/Coloured stone Grad.,GIA(GIA) 7 Royal Hibernain Way, Dawson Street, Dublin 2, Phone: 01 6777161 www.dublinjewelleryvaluations.ie www.irishjewel.com

No:94612

INFLIGHT

Route maps

EUROPEAN ROUTE NETWORK Helsinki Stockholm

Aberdeen Glasgow

Kerry

Edinburgh

Copenhagen

Isle of Man Blackpool DUBLIN Manchester London Birmingham HEATHRoW

Hamburg

Amsterdam London Dusseldorf SouTHEND Bristol Bournemouth London GATWICK Brussels Frankfurt

Berlin

Warsaw

Cardiff

Jersey

Paris

Rennes

Stuttgart

Prague

Munich

Vienna

Zurich Geneva Lyon

Bordeaux Bilbao

Santiago de Compostela

Toulouse Perpignan

Faro

Milan lan

Marseille MALPENSA Nice

Venice Verona Ve Bologna

Bucharest Dubrovnik

Naples

Palma

Ibiza

Bourgas

Rome

Barcelona

Madrid Lisbon

Milan

LINATE

Budapest

Corfu Izmir

Alicante

Catania

Malaga

Athens

Agadir Lanzarote Tenerife

Fuerteventura Gran Canaria

To & From Dublin Austria Vienna

Czech Republic Prague

Belgium Brussels

Denmark Copenhagen

Bulgaria Bourgas

Finland Helsinki

Canary Islands Fuerteventura Gran Canaria Lanzarote Tenerife

France Bordeaux Lyon Marseille Nice Paris Perpignan Toulouse ■ Rennes

Croatia Dubrovnik

Germany Berlin Dusseldorf Frankfurt Hamburg Munich Stuttgart Greece Athens Corfu

The Netherlands Amsterdam

Hungary Budapest

Morocco Agadir

Ireland ■ Kerry

■ Aer Lingus Regional routes operated by Aer Arann

Italy Bologna Catania Milan (Linate) Milan (Malpensa) Naples Rome Venice Verona

Poland Warsaw

Portugal Faro Lisbon Romania ■ Bucharest Spain Alicante Barcelona Bilbao Ibiza Madrid Malaga Palma Santiago de Compostela

Sweden Stockholm Switzerland Geneva Zurich Turkey Izmir

United Kingdom Birmingham London (Gatwick) London (Heathrow) Jersey Manchester ■ United Kingdom Aberdeen Blackpool Bournemouth Bristol Cardiff Edinburgh Glasgow Isle of Man London Southend

■ Route terminates on 30 April

For more information on schedules, please visit www.aerlingus.com

| 125

INFLIGHT

EUROPEAN ROUTE NETWORK

Edinburgh

Knock

BELFAST Manchester

Dublin

Birmingham

SHANNON Bristol London Heathrow

CORK

Amsterdam

LONdON GATWICK

Brussels

Jersey

Paris

Rennes

Munich

Geneva

Nice

Barcelona

Rome

Palma Lisbon Faro

Alicante Malaga

Lanzarote

Tenerife

Las Palmas

To & From Belfast, Cork, Shannon & Gatwick FROM BELFAST Flights operate from George Best Belfast City Airport

Portugal Faro Spain Malaga Palma United Kingdom London Heathrow London Gatwick

FROM CORK Belgium Brussels Canary Islands Lanzarote Tenerife Las Palmas France Nice Paris ■ Rennes Germany Munich

FROM GATWICK Portugal Faro Lisbon

United Kingdom London Gatwick London Heathrow

Spain Alicante Barcelona Malaga Palma

■ United Kingdom Birmingham Bristol Edinburgh Glasgow Jersey Manchester

Switzerland Geneva

Ireland Belfast Cork Dublin Ireland West Airport (Knock)

FROM SHANNON United Kingdom London Heathrow ■ United Kingdom Birmingham Edinburgh Manchester

FROM KNOCK ■ United Kingdom Birmingham London Gatwick

Portugal Faro

The Netherlands Amsterdam ■ Aer Lingus Regional routes operated by Aer Arann

126 |

April/MAy 2013

USA ROUTE NETWORK

Chicago

Boston New York

Shannon

Dublin

Orlando

To & From Dublin & Shannon FROM DUBLIN

FROM SHANNON

USA Boston Chicago New York Orlando

USA Boston New York (Via New York/Boston with JetBlue)

Chicago Orlando

April/MAy 2013

| 127

inFLight

CONNECTING EUROPE, USA & CANADA Edmonton

Calgary Winnipeg Vancouver Seattle Portland OR

Minneapolis Milwaukee Omaha Salt Lake City

Sacramento San Francisco San Jose

Oakland

Tulsa Oklahoma City

Las Vegas

Burbank Long Beach Orange County

Los Angeles Santa Ana San Diego

Phoenix

Detroit

ChiCago

Cleveland Dayton on

Des Moines

Wichita

Denver

Grand Rapids

Indianapolis Cincinnati ncinna Saint Louis uis Louisville Nashville

Dallas (Fort Worth)

Syracuse Rochester Ro

Pittsburgh Pi Burlington on Columbus Washington DuLLES

Lexington Lex Charlotte arlo

Knoxville

Memphis

Toronto Buffalo

Portland ME Boston

Nantucket neW York

Baltimore Greensboro Wa Washington NATIONAL Richmond Ri Raleigh - Durham Ra

Atlanta Charleston

Austin

Houston

New Orleans

San Antonio

Jacksonville Orlando

Tampa Fort Myers

West Palm Beach Fort Lauderdale Miami

Aguadilla

San Juan Ponce Po

FLY BETWEEN THE FOLLOWING CITIES VIA DUBLIN, SHANNON, NEW YORK, BOSTON & CHICAGO new destinations with aer Lingus, in partnership with JetBlue, United airlines and aer arann Getting to the uS from destinations throughout Europe has never been easier. uS, Irish and European based customers can book a single low fare reservation between Ireland, Europe and a wide range of continental uS destinations using JFK New York, Boston and Chicago as stopovers.

By choosing to fly to the united States via Dublin and Shannon with Aer Lingus, passengers can avail of united States Customs and Immigration Pre-clearance facilities at

Terminal 2, Dublin airport.

This facility allows passengers travelling on the majority of uS bound flights to clear uS immigration and customs before departing Dublin and Shannon.

Customers arrive in the uS without any further processing requirement allowing for a seamless transfer to their final destination.

■ neW York Connecting with JetBlue at JFk: Passengers travelling from the uS to Ireland and Europe will be able to check in bags at the JetBlue domestic departure point and then pick them up again in Shannon or Dublin.

From april 3 2013, aer

Lingus flight operations will move from terminal 4 at John F. kennedy international airport into JetBlue’s acclaimed terminal 5, at JFk. ■ Boston Connecting with JetBlue at Boston Logan international airport: When you arrive from Dublin or Shannon, proceed directly to Terminal C for your JetBlue domestic departure.

Passengers travelling from the uS to Ireland and Europe will be able to check in bags at the JetBlue departure point and then pick them up again in Shannon or Dublin.

■ ChiCago Connecting with United airlines at o’hare Chicago international airport: On arrival at Terminal Five from Dublin or Shannon, make your way to the nearby ATS (Airport Transit System), which runs every four minutes to your uA domestic departure point.

Passengers from the uS to Ireland and Europe can check in bags at the uA departure point, then exit security in Chicago O’Hare to take the Airport Transit System to Terminal Five for the onward Aer Lingus flight, and pick up their bags in Shannon or Dublin.

■ DUBLin Connecting with aer Lingus regional (operated by Aer Arann) at Dublin airport: Aer Lingus’s interline agreement with Aer Arann allows passengers connect to Aer Lingus transatlantic flights via Dublin Airport, where they can through check their luggage directly to their final uS destination.

All routes correct at time of going to press

128 |

April/MAy 2013

stockholm

edinburgh

Glasgow

Isle of Man Hamburg

Manchester

Dublin Birmingham

Shannon kerry

london

london souTHenD london

cardiff Bristol

Berlin

amsterdam

HeaTHrow

GaTwIck

warsaw

Dusseldorf Brussels Frankfurt

paris Vienna

Munich

Geneva Milan

Malpensa

Milan

Venice

lInaTe

Marseille

santiago De compostela

rome

Barcelona

Madrid

naples

palma alicante Faro

■ Via Dublin with aer lingus                          

alicante amsterdam Barcelona Berlin Birmingham Brussels Dusseldorf edinburgh Faro Frankfurt Geneva Hamburg london (Gatwick) london (Heathrow) Madrid Malaga Manchester Marseille Milan linate Milan Malpensa Munich naples palma paris rome santiago de compostela

   

Malaga

stockholm Venice Vienna warsaw

■ Via Dublin with aer lingus Regional       

Bristol cardiff edinburgh Glasgow Isle of Man london southend kerry

■ Via Shannon with aer lingus  london (Heathrow) ■ Via Shannon with aer lingus Regional    

Manchester Birmingham Bristol edinburgh

■ Via new YoRk with Jetblue                           

aguadilla austin Baltimore Buffalo Burbank Burlington charlotte chicago Denver Fort lauderdale Fort Myers Houston Jacksonville las Vegas long Beach los angeles nantucket new orleans oakland orlando phoenix pittsburg ponce portland Me portland or raleigh-Durham rochester

         

sacramento salt lake city san Diego san Francisco san Jose san Juan seattle syracuse Tampa west palm Beach

■ Via boSton with Jetblue                

Baltimore Buffalo chicago Dallas Fort worth Denver Ford lauderdale Fort Myers Jacksonville las Vegas long Beach los angeles nantucket new orleans oakland orlando phoenix

            

pittsburg portland or raleigh-Durham richmond salt lake city san Diego san Francisco san Jose san Juan seattle Tampa washington (Dulles) washington (national)  west palm Beach

■ Via ChiCago with united to uSa           

atlanta austin charlotte charleston cincinnati chicago cleveland columbus Dallas (Fort worth) Dayton Denver

                             

Des Moines Detroit Fort Myers Grand rapids Greensboro Houston Indianapolis Jacksonville kansas city knoxville las Vegas lexington los angeles louisville Memphis Miami Milwaukee Minneapolis nantucket nashville new orleans oklahoma city omaha orange county phoenix pittsburgh portland or raleigh-Durham rochester sacramento

          

salt lake city san antonio san Diego san Francisco san Jose santa ana seattle st louis Tampa Tulsa wichita

■ Via ChiCago with united to Canada      

calgary edmonton salt lake city Toronto Vancouver winnipeg

■ Aer Lingus Regional routes operated by Aer Arann April/MAy 2013

| 129

INFLIGHT

MIDDlE EAST AND AUSTRAlASIA ROUTE NETWORK

Dublin

Bahrain Abu Dhabi

Muscat

Kuala Lumpur

FROM DUBLIN

VIA ABU DHABI TO:

Abu Dhabi

Muscat Kuala Lumpur Bahrain Sydney Melbourne

Flights are operated by our codeshare partner, Etihad Airways.

130 |

April/MAy 2013

Sydney Melbourne

IRISH CRAFT SHOP

“ We Sell Traditional Aran Sweaters, Wool & Tweed Products”

Open 7 Days Located on Top Floor of St. Stephens Green Centre, Dublin 2.

MENTION THIS AD FOR A DISCOUNT!!

U.S. IMMIGRATION LAWYERS

Specializing in advising on U.S. immigration law and drafting U.S. visa applications for: • • • • •

Professionals Executives Investors Intra-company transferees Multi-national managers

• • • •

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Excellent track record representing top Irish companies and individuals.

Personal service and fast turnaround assured.

OFFICES IN NEW YORK CITY AND KILKENNY, IRELAND

New York T: 212 965-1148

Kilkenny T: 056-7767994

MEMBER OF AMERICAN IMMIGRATION LAWYERS ASSOCIATION

www.obrienandassociates.com

InFlIGHt

Flight Connections

CONNECTING TO ANOTHER AER LINGUS FLIGHT AT DUBLIN AIRPORT FLIGHTS ARRIvING AT TERmINAL 2 FLIGhT ConnECTIonS Connecting flight departs Gates 401 - 426 Arrivals Route to Baggage Reclaim from Gates 400s

FLIGhT ConnECTIonS Connecting flight departs Gates 100s - 300s

To Gates 100s 300s

Immigration

Aer Lingus Flight Connections Desk

Immigration

Security Check

Lifts to Gates 401 - 426 Escalator to Gates 401 - 426

Terminal 2 Arrivals

If you already have a boarding card for your connecting flight, and your baggage has been tagged to your final destination, simply follow the sign for Aer Lingus Flight Connections Desk, which you will see on your left hand side as you enter the Immigration Hall. By following this sign, you will proceed to Immigration and Security Check.

After clearing these points, check the information screens and proceed to your boarding gate.

If your baggage has not been tagged to your final destination you must clear Immigration, enter the baggage reclaim area, collect your bag, exit through the Customs hall and proceed to Aer Lingus check-in on the departures level.

Once you have reached the departures level, check the information screens for your onward flight information, and proceed as directed to the appropriate check-in desk.

If you have any queries, or need further assistance, please go to the Aer Lingus Flight Connections Desk, which is located in the baggage reclaim area in Terminal 2, where our staff will be glad to help.

Please note: eU regulations concerning the carriage of liquids apply to your connecting flights at Dublin airport

Connecting at Heathrow Airport Transferring to an international flight at Heathrow? Please disembark from the rear of the aircraft where a dedicated coach will take you to the Heathrow Flight Connections area and reduce your journey time by an average of 20 minutes.

Please disembark From THe BACK oF THe airCraFT iF:

Please disembark From THe FRONT oF THe airCraFT iF:

 You are an international connecting passenger and all your luggage* is checked through to your final destination

    

*Pushchairs checked to London can be collected from the back of the aircraft

132 |

April/MAy 2013

london is your final destination Your onward connection is to a domestic Uk airport Your luggage needs to be collected from Heathrow You would like to leave the airport between flights You or someone you are travelling with needs special assistance

Cloghan Castle Crowne Chauffeur Service

The journey matters, not just the arrival.

Continue your journey with ireland’s leading executive chauffeur company.

C

loghan Castle is an exclusive, self catering venue ideal for that Fairytale Wedding or Party, the self catering option gives the unique opportunity to tailor your day to have it your way!

Banquet Hall can seat up to 120 guests with 7 double bedrooms uniquely decorated giving an authentic castle experience in a luxurious way with central heating throughout. Ceremony and Drinks reception can be held on the battlements, in the courtyard, in our landscaped gardens or in our cosy Drawing Room with an Open Fire.

Intl Tel: + 353 91 870102 Email: info@cloghancastle.com Proprietor: Micheal H Burke, Chanelle Group Contact us for our Special Offers: www.cloghancastle.com

R A I LT O U R S

Call

IRELAND

First Class!

+353 (0)86 242 5003 or Email

bookings@crownecs.ie American Restaurant & Bar

www.crownecs.ie

a selection of Irish treats

A FREE APPETISER for one with a main course purchased on production of your boarding pass Terms and conditions apply

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A taste of Ireland, delivered world-wide

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GRAFTON ACADEMY ACADEMY OF DRESS DESIGNING

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with over 135 cafes around the world, there’s always something happening at the hard rock.

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PROFESSIONAL FASHION DESIGN DIPLOMA (3 years full-time) Trade FFor or the IIrish rish & IInternational nternational Clothing T rrade &A Associated ssociated IIndustries. ndustries.

1 or 3 month trial fashion design courses for career & educational breaks Sept-May. Also Sept-May. A lso summer holiday day courses in fashion design or dressmaking.

Evening and Saturday courses Dressmaking morning courses 6 Herbert Place, Dublin 2 Tel:+353 e 16763653 / 6767940 Email: info@graftonacademyy.com .

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INFLIGHT

Flight Connections at New York JohN F keNNedY airport

departures

arrivals

From April 3 2013, Aer Lingus will operate from Terminal 5 at New York’s JFK Airport.

While known as JetBlue’s T5, Aer Lingus will have its own dedicated area within the terminal, allowing for easy check in, baggage handling and seamless connections to destinations within the United States and Puerto Rico. With the move to T5, the minimum connection time from European arrivals to connecting JetBlue markets will be reduced to just 60 minutes. Customers traveling to Ireland will enjoy JetBlue connections as fast as 40 minutes.

134 |

April/MAy 2013

The award-winning, stateof-the-art Terminal 5 offers great features and amenities, including:  Up to 15 security lanes  26 gates with seats aplenty  Free Wi-Fi  55,000 sq. feet of great food and shopping  Large children’s play area and much more!

INFLIGHT

Triple Cross Grey Baroque Pearl Necklace by John Rocha Iconic John Rocha signature crosses are given a sophisticated contemporary twist, hanging sop on a lustrous rope of baroque freshwater pearls. The tones of grey and violet in the pearls play beautifully against the subtle matt and pl polished sheen of the three sterling silver crosses.

Visionnaire 30ml

Florabotanica by Balenciaga

by Lancôme

Eau de Parfum - 50ml

A sensory paradox between pure and enigmatic, Florabotanica is a futuristic floral perfume that evokes a fantastical secret garden with magnetic and surprising flowers that surpass imagination. Beautiful but dangerous, enchanting but mysterious, charming but mischievous, Florabotanica is an experimental rose that has the power to endlessly charm. Enchanting, mysterious, beautiful.

Much more than a wrinkle corrector, Visionnaire is the first Lancôme advanced skin corrector. Inspired by nature and formulated with a new molecule designed to recreate perfect skin. Skin is visibly transformed, wrinkles, pores and skin imperfections are corrected. Visionnaire was tested on four different complexions with optimal tolerance even on the eye contour.

Sky Shopping

We ’ v e g o t i t all

Aer Lingus welcomes you to our extensive range of amazing quality items at reduced prices onboard during April/May.

Storm Husky Puppy Storm is a super-soft Husky that will always be ready for a cuddle! A beautiful puppy that will bring a smile to his new owner.

Skagen Black Leather Strap Men’s Watch Genuine style. This men’s watch with a black leather strap connects to a brushed stainless steel case. The shiny black dial features twelve chrome and white luminous numbered indicators, a 24-hour dial and date function.

Please check your Sky Shopping brochure for all prices

Seksy Elegance Women’s Watch Seksy Elegance women’s wrist-wear by Sekonda. This beautiful watch features a white mother-of-pearl dial surrounded by a round stone-set case and bracelet, encrusted with 579 Swarovski® Elements and a fully adjustable bracelet with removable ladder clasps.

Guaranteed for 2 years.

April/MAy 2013

| 135

photog rAph

s by se An Mc

phAIL

trip of A life time | breezy point

Hands on help

Cork hurling star Donal Óg Cusack was so moved by a trip to a New York suburb devastated by Hurricane Sandy that he resolved to return. fortnight after Hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast of America, the Gaelic Players Association (GPA) received a request from the residents of New York suburb Breezy Point. Having strong Irish connections, the residents asked if some players could come over with the Sam Maguire and the Liam McCarthy trophies, to provide “a welcome boost” to the area.

We gathered together the cups and about ten players, and received such a warm welcome – those who had relatives in Donegal were particularly delighted to see the Sam Maguire. But we were shocked at the devastation. Breezy Point was completely flattened, akin to the pictures you see of Hiroshima.

Many images that had been beamed across the Atlantic had been of Manhattan, and Breezy Point’s residents felt strongly that our visit would be a way of raising their profile. Soon, their story was being

A

136 |

April/MAy 2013

covered extensively by the American media, which really helped them in fundraising efforts.

On our first trip it was hard to understand how a hurricane could do so much damage but we quickly learned that other factors – fires, explosions, gas leaks – created more nightmares. Houses had been completely levelled. One day we saw a local bar owner trying to salvage everything he could from the cellar, but that was destroyed as well. On another day, while community leader Tim Devlin was giving us a tour, an old man approached to ask if we could help move his fridge.

We went into his house, lifted the fridge and then stayed for maybe an hour, just cleaning up. There was an elderly lady sitting there and her feeling of helplessness really struck a chord. Sean Potts, the GPA’s head of communications, found a picture amongst the rubble and asked if she wanted it. It was emotional; she said it was a photograph of her engagement from 1947. It was

Above, Breezy Point, in the New York suburb of Queens, was flattened by Hurricane Sandy in October 2012; top right, Donal Óg with Jerry Gilson and her grandfather’s AllIreland medal; top right, the lads working on site.

About DonAl

Óg An Irish hurler for the Cork senior team, Donal Óg retired from the sport in March 2013.

moments like those that made us resolve to go back there and do more.

A lot of GAA players are amateur, having careers as tradesmen and engineers, so [Dublin All-Ireland manager] Pat Gilroy and I promised Tim – a Tyrone native – that we would assemble a group of about 20 tradesmen and return in the New Year. We then faced the challenge of how we would get everyone to the US … But from the minute we contacted Aer Lingus, the airline couldn’t have been more helpful throughout the whole trip.

Heading out in late January, we helped reconstruct the local church, community hall and a sports centre.

We did a lot of practical work but, more than that, it was a spiritual boost to the local community: the fact that people from Ireland cared about what had happened – the shared heritage. A local lady, Jerry Gilson, even appeared with one of the first All-Ireland medals, which had belonged to her grandfather.

Seeing the devastation at first hand left such a mark in our psyche that we had a collective impulse to muck in, sleep rough and leave a positive legacy. The Irish have a great spirit wherever they go in the world but adversity seems to bring out the best in people.”

In conversation with Lucy White

AIB Corporate Banking Ireland is proud to support global investment in Ireland

www.aib.ie/fdi As one of the most attractive countries for global Foreign Direct Investment, Ireland is home to many of the best-known and most successful companies from around the world.

And at AIB, we provide corporate banking services to more of these global companies than any other bank in Ireland. Talk to us about how we can help you locate and grow your company’s presence in Ireland.

Contact Details: Mick Murray, Head of Foreign Direct Investment Tel: +353 1 641 4248 Email: mick.j.murray@aib.ie Web: www.aib.ie/fdi hertz.ie/aerlingus

Allied Irish Banks, p.l.c., trading as AIB Corporate Banking Ireland, is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. Registered Office: Bankcentre, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, Ireland. Registered in Ireland, No. 24173

AIB Corporate Banking Ireland Making Business Happen

cara magazine April/May 2013

April/May 2013

novelist colum mccann

Customer magazine of the year

irish comedy cork

A novel approach

italy’s lakes

Writer Colum McCann is flying high

Hook, line and sinker

chicago

Learn to fish in Co Cork

camino

Key Lagos

Explore Italy’s great lakes

croatia

Razzle dazzle ‘em

Chicago’s best restaurants

Zurich

A pilgrim’s progress

toulouse

Walk the Camino

Funny lady Comedian aisling Bea has a laugh

complimentary copy