Cara Magazine by Image Publications

cara magazine December 2012/January 2013 actor colin Farrell

December 2012/January 2013

irish dancers Dublin music scene lisbon orlando Budapest Verona Vienna Joseph o’connor

The nexT sTep

Irish dancing takes off

UniceF

The sound of Music

Where to hear Dublin’s best bands

the Gathering

Tee off!

Lisbon for golfers

paris

hoMe foR chRisTMAs

A new short story from Joseph O’Connor

Love AT fiRsT sighT

Writer John Butler falls for Budapest

Local Hero Actor colin FArrell comes cleAn

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Contents December/January News 09 News Diary Key dates for your diary this season 10 arrivals A warm welcome to the latest arrivals at T2 12 News hotels The hottest hotels in the coolest locations 14 News restauraNts Eoin Higgins has four very different eating experiences 16 News shoppiNg Gadgets to go – Sive O’Brien selects smart kit for the slopes 18 News BusiNess Smart Traveller – Social media whiz Niall Harbison on Berlin’s business hotspots 20 News groomiNg to go Winter skin savers: Ellie Balfe picks the best products for men

22 News people What’s in my Suitcase – Fashionable TV presenter Laura Whitmore reveals her travel must-haves 24 News people On my Travels – Bikes, boats and elephants: intrepid explorer Charley Boorman tells all 26 News Books Shelf Life – Bridget Hourican picks this season’s heavyweights 28 News people As Winter Bites – Aid worker Ettie Higgins reports on her life in Syria 30 News Diary Gathering of the Clans – Ben Webb on Ireland’s biggest party

Musical Streets – Dublin

Dance Master – Alan Kenefick

52 music city Dublin goes under the spotlight as music blogger Niall Byrne walks us through the cobbled streets of the city’s unique music scene

regulars 100 48 hours iN veroNa Tony Clayton-Lea discovers a city steeped in romance and tradition

64 time foR tee Out of the Algarve and into the “real” Portugal, David Robbins plays some of Lisbon’s top golf courses

103 aN iNsiDer’s guiDe to vieNNa Anita Creighton shares the city’s festive secrets

136 trip oF a liFetime In search of a past: Jennifer Mee Arthur finds a home in Ireland

34 coming clean Colin Farrell tells Tony Clayton-Lea about life after rehab and mixing low-budget movies and blockbusters 40 taking to the flooR Orla Neligan talks to the performers modernising traditional Irish dancing

32 News oN the raDar Eoin Higgins visits the City of Lights

113 aer liNgus iNFlight What to expect on-board for December and January – all your inflight information and entertainment

Features

76 univeRsal appeal Theme park aficionado Bill O’Sullivan on his pick of Orlando’s top theme parks

East Meets West – Budapest

88 bathed in beauty Author John Butler shares his discovery of Budapest, a city that enchants and surprises at every turn 106 flying home foR chRistmas New fiction – Joseph O’Connor captures the magic of coming home for Christmas

Welcome to

Hotels

www.doylecollection.com

DUBLIN

CORK

LONDON

Where the action is . . . . . . without the drama see th e fu ll stor y u nfold at Lond on H e ath r ow

BRISTOL

BOSTON

WASHINGTON

EDITORIAL Editor Frances Power Deputy Editor Eoin Higgins Editorial Assistant Méabh McDonnell Contributors Sive O’Brien, Amanda Cochrane, Ellie Balfe, Suzie Coen Editorial Director Laura George ART Art Director Clare Meredith 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

Contributors Writer and blogger NIALL ByRNE is the man behind the popular music blog Nialler9.com. He has picked up numerous plaudits including being voted the 5th Best Music Blog In The World by his music blogging peers as well as five consecutive awards in the Irish Blog Awards for Best Music Blog. He also writes a weekly column for the Irish Independent’s Day and Night magazine. In this issue, he wrote about Dublin’s healthy music scene, see page 52. “There’s so much happening in all genres of Dublin music. It’s a really exciting time for the city, for its music-loving inhabitants and for visitors, it was a pleasure to capture the vim and vigour of a city reinvigorating its cultural identity. I love my city and it’s an honour to share my passion for it with others.” “If I wasn’t six months pregnant, I might have attempted a jig myself,” says ORLA NELIGAN who was inspired by the six talented Irish dancers she interviewed for this month’s Cara, see page 40. “The story of Irish dance is rooted in our cultural heritage but that’s changing and it’ll be interesting to follow its evolution.” As a travel editor and journalist, Orla has edited and written for a variety of travel and lifestyle magazines and press. When she’s not destination hopping, she’s busy juggling a home office with her one-year-old twins. “Most of us have some experience of Irish dance, even if it is in the pub after one-too-many, but to see the dedication and passion of these professional dancers was truly impressive.”

ADMINISTRATION Head of PR & Promotions Linda McEvitt +353 (0)1 271 9643, linda.mcevitt@image.ie Office Manager Tina Koumarianos Accounts Olga Gordeychuk Accounts Assistant Lisa Dickenson BOARD OF DIRECTORS Managing Director & Publisher Richard Power, richard.power@image.ie Chairman Patrick Dillon-Malone Director Ann Reihill Director Robert Power 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.

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

In a previous life, PATRICk BOLGER was a sports photographer covering the Olympic Games and major international sporting events. For Cara this issue he photographed some of Ireland’s leading Irish dancers, see page 40. “Photographing these great dancers was not unlike working with elite athletes. The passion they brought to the shoot made it a very enjoyable experience.” Today Patrick is an established commercial and editorial photographer. Last year he completed his first IFB-funded short film, The Fisherman (in association with Areaman Productions). His second short film Jesus Lives is due to premiere at the Cork Film Festival in 2013. December 2012/January 2013

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

The nexT sTep

Irish dancing takes off

The sound of Music

Where to hear Dublin’s best bands

Tee off!

Lisbon for golfers

hoMe foR chRisTMAs A new short story from Joseph O’Connor

Love AT fiRsT sighT

Writer John Butler falls for Budapest

ON THE COVER Local Colin Farrell Hero photographed by Actor colin FArrell comes cleAn

complimentary copy

Brian Bowen Smith

Blarney Castle & Gardens Renowned for bestowing the gift of eloquence

See and feel Irelands heritage, built nearly six hundred years ago by one of Irelandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s greatest chieftains. Spend the day exploring the extensive grounds and gardens.

Open all year round 5 miles from Cork Open Monday- Sunday 9-6 www.blarneycastle.ie info@blarneycastle.ie n

news Diary

December/January

Handel’s Messiah, irish Baroque orchestra, Galway Hallelujah! Handel’s Messiah returns to the refined surroundings of St Nicholas’ Collegiate, Galway again this December. The famous chorus will be performed by the Irish Baroque Orchestra, and conducted by internationally renowned Baroque expert, Roy Goodman – both are accompanied by the accomplished Resurgam choir. The Messiah will also be performed in Triskel Christchurch, Cork, on December 6 and at Christchurch Cathedral, Dublin, on December 7. Tickets from €25; irishbaroqueorchestra.com

Becoming exhibition, Dublin Tracing the development of one of Ireland’s most noted artists, this exhibition charts Alice Maher’s practice over some 25 years from her earliest drawings, paintings and sculptural works to her most recent endeavours. Attendees can also see Maher present an illustrated talk on her work on December 13 at the Irish Museum of Modern Art’s newest incarnation, IMMA@NCH, Earlsfort Terrace. A major mid-career retrospective, not to be missed. Until February 2013; imma.ie

Key dates for your winter diary.

new year’s Festival, Dublin “10 … 9 … 8 … 7 ...” It’s the countdown of the year, and the official launch of The Gathering 2013. What better way to celebrate the New Year’s ascent than by attending Europe’s most hotly anticipated New Year’s Eve celebrations. Witness the buzz in Ireland’s capital as it plays host to a selection of entertaining, social events to ring in all that’s new and everything that has traditionally given Dublin its wow factor. nyedublin.ie

Kew Gardens guided winter tour, London Get lost in the magical conifers that line the paths of Kew Gardens. Throughout the festive season the 250-year-old gardens are open to strollers of a botanical, or artistic, bent ... As well as tours of the beautiful collection of evergreens, there is also a tour of the spellbinding David Nash sculpture exhibition. December 1 to January 6. Tickets from £12.50; kewgardens.org aer LinGUs FLIES FROM DUBLIN, cORk AND SHANNON TO LonDon heathrow DAILy.

Bull riders, at Madison square Garden, new york Wince and wow as the world’s toughest cowboys and most furious bulls rock Madison Square Garden to its foundations this January. Witness the excitement build as the season opener of the elite Professional Bull Riders tournament unfolds. For the uninitiated, this is a thrilling introduction to a highadrenalin sport where daredevil bull riders risk it all for a shot at a world title. Expect three nights of unique, familyfriendly entertainment. Just don’t call it rodeo! January 4-6. Tickets from $26; thegarden.com aer LinGUs FLIES FROM DUBLIN TO new yorK DAILy AND FROM SHANNON, MON, wED, FRI AND SUN.

december 2012/january 2013

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Arrivals

This month, Dublin Airport T2 celebrated birthdays, engagements and long-awaited homecomings. Cara magazine met some of the Aer Lingus passengers. Photographs by Anthony Woods.

 We met the adorable cedrick roTh straight off his plane from Dusseldorf with his mum. He and his super-cuddly bear waved us goodbye as they headed away on their first-ever holiday in Ireland.

 Vancouver-based Theresa cunningham, and george burns, are home for a three-week visit to their native Co Offaly. After the long journey from Seattle, they’re looking forward to relaxing with family and friends.  julie vernaz, left, and chanTal coPPex, coPPex right, are off for a week to Galway city for a healthy dose of craic. Then it’s back on the plane home to Switzerland.

WOrDS BY méABH mcDONNell

 Avid fisherman Paul Therrien lived in Ireland for five years before he made the move back to Boston. He returns to Ireland regularly to feed his passion for trout fishing and country air.

10 |

Wedding bells are in the air for anne coyle and new fiancé cian ellioTT, just in from New York. Cian popped the question in Brooklyn, and was thrilled when Anne said yes.

December 2012/January 2013

alison osborn and derek fugaro were enjoying a holiday in Brussels when they decided to hop on a plane to Ireland for a whistle stop tour of Dublin.

 The march family, from left, Jane, lee, Julie and Barry have arrived from Birmingham to celebrate Barry’s 60th birthday in Dublin. They can’t wait to get the festivities going with a couple of fantastic nights out planned, as well as day trips to Temple Bar and the Old Jameson Distillery.

grace o’ shaughnessy, left, met granddaughter florence alThaus and daughter emma alThaus fresh from london. emma and Florence have come to visit their grandparents in Connemara.

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news hotels

Escape

Looking for a stay with a USP? Try a hotel with an aura manager or a recording studio ... nhow BeRlIn, BeRlIn

For a hip stay in Europe’s creative capital, it would be hard to beat nhow Berlin. Perched on the edge of the River Spree, the nhow has a hardedged industrial exterior with a madly futuristic pink interior. It’s all about music here, with two recording studios where you can jam with your band or record a duet with your lover. DJs play nightly and, if musical inspiration hits in the small hours, electric guitars, amps and keyboards are available to borrow. If you’re still hungry for more music, nhow’s location at the heart of Osthafen, Berlin’s clubbing and music district, will strike the right chord. Rooms from €150; recording studio hire from €450 per day. Stralauer Allee 3, +49 30 290 2990; nhow-hotels.com AeR lInGUs FLIES FROM DUBLIn TO BeRlIn DAILY.

REVIEWED BY LOUISA McDOnnELL/SARAH GILMARTIn/LAURA GEORGE

Me BY MelIÁ, lonDon

tRInItY CAPItAl hotel, DUBlIn

Planning a trip to Dublin to catch the January sales? The bargains don’t stop in the shops. The four-star Trinity Capital Hotel, smack in the centre of the action, is offering guests a shopping package that includes two nights’ B&B, dinner on one night in the restaurant Café Cairo – plus a glass of bubbly – and a late check-out from €139 per person. Located in an old fire station, it is just minutes from Grafton and Henry streets, Dublin’s main shopping spots, and a short stroll from Temple Bar. The hotel recently teamed up with neelu’s beauty services in Arnotts, so you can take time out for a massage or a manicure. Pearse Street, Dublin, 01 648 1000; trinitycapitalhotel.com

GAnseVooRt PARK hotel, new YoRK

Since the five-star Me By Meliá hotel opened in London this summer – just in time for the Olympics – it has been giving its more wellknown neighbours, The Savoy and Somerset House, some serious competition. It’s easy to see why: with two über cool restaurants and 157 individually designed rooms – including a two-floor suite with a glass turret and roof terrace. There’s even an aura manager, for those in need of mood lifting or styling tips. Don’t fret if you can’t afford the glass turret: views from the Radio Rooftop Bar stretch along the Thames from the Houses of Parliament all the way to Canary Wharf. Double room from £300 per night from January. 336-337 The Strand, London, WC2, +44 808 234 1953; me-by-melia.com

Short Manhattan visits are all too often about one neighbourhood, or at least committing to a predominantly Uptown or Downtown experience. It needn’t be so – the 249-room Gansevoort Park Hotel is an ideal compromise base. A short walk brings you to the tip of downtown via the Flat Iron, to Union Square and The Village or Soho. Equally, Fifth Avenue shopping is just as accessible. The relatively quiet area is home to a plethora of corporate HQs, nail bars and the original SushiSamba at 245 Park Avenue South. (Unlike its new London outpost, you won’t have to reserve a month in advance to eat here – in fact, we ordered a takeaway for the plane journey home.) But, best of all, the hotel has a beautiful Exhale spa on the property, which means top-drawer treatments and yoga on tap (reserve online). Double rooms from $395. 420 Park Avenue South, +1 212 317 2900; gansevoortpark.com

AeR lInGUs FLIES FROM DUBLIn, BELFAST, CORK AnD SHAnnOn TO lonDon heAthRow DAILY.

AeR lInGUs FROM DUBLIn TO new YoRK DAILY AnD FROM SHAnnOn On MOn, WED, FRI AnD SUn.

only has it been renamed GOOD WORK Fly into Prague airport from December 9 on and you’ll find not International (and Václav Havel Airport, but an Aubusson tapestry commissioned by Amnesty and late President. funded by Bono, Yoko Ono, Sting and the Edge) also commemorates the poet 12 |

December 2012/January 2013

Like us on Facebook! ‘Arnotts Department Store’

news restaurants

Food File

From an Italian cooking with flair in Paris to a Galway kitchen that has made its Michelin mark, Eoin Higgins samples the fare. tHe CantOn arMs, LOnDOn

On a slightly less than ritzy stretch of the South Lambeth Road in Old London town, we stumbled upon, and yawned at, (yet another) gastropub doing “interesting stuff” with all things Modern British. But that was before we ordered the foie gras toastie that left us rhapsodising for days. The cosy, pubby interior is complemented by a menu that sports other lovely, comforting things such as Arbroath smokies, horseradish and salmon bagels and the aforementioned, methodically mad foie gras toastie. Expect attentive, knowledgeable staff and a great selection of fine British ales and bitters on offer too. A very pleasant surprise in a city full of too many gastropub clones. 177 South Lambeth Road, London SW8, +44 207 582 8710; cantonarms.com aer LIngus fLiES fROM DuBLin, BELfAST, cORk AnD SHAnnOn TO LOnDOn HeatHrOw DAiLy.

anIar, gaLwaY

Whether or not you hold much truck with the Michelin men these days, Aniar’s recent garnering of a star from the famous guide has long been deserved. Basing a menu on terroir, the french idea of considering the complete natural surroundings in which something, usually wine, is produced, is no small undertaking. yet the full-on foodie folks at Aniar have succeeded. The ethos in Enda McEvoy’s kitchen, in his own words, is based on “the ensemble of natural influences that give a food a sense of place”. And a sense of place Aniar certainly has in spades. Making the most of the surrounding hinterland’s produce, whether from farm, field or sea, McEvoy creates dishes that you simply won’t find elsewhere, a true destination restaurant. 53 Lower Dominick Street, Galway, 091 535 947; aniarrestaurant.ie

ADDiTiOnAL REviEW By fRAncES POWER

waterFOrD CastLe

Those folks down Waterford way have always been keen on nose-to-tail eating – all that crubeens and chuck bones – but over the last 15 years or so, chef and foodie blogger Michael Quinn of Waterford castle, has taken the best of local organic produce and transformed it into unbelieveably palate-tickling dishes. On a recent trip, we were served up a Dexter cow (a local breed) every which way – daube, fillet, rib and oxtail croquette (with a syringe full of roasting juices for the diner to inject). To finish, we had another local tradition updated – Blaa bread and butter pudding, light as a cloud. All in splendiferous surroundings – an 800-yearold castle on an island peppered with deer and devoid, thankfully, of any celtic Tiger trimmings. Two nights B&B, plus dinner, from €298 for two. The island, Waterford, 051 878 203; waterfordcastle.com

rInO, ParIs

A bijou 30-seater in the increasingly gastronomically brilliant 11th arrondissement, Rino is a funky little place with a keen eye on the less bombastic foodie trends of the day. Diners are greeted with a view of the kitchen where a brigade of intense, yet smiling, chefs man (and woman) the stoves. Head chef Giovanni Passerini, above, left his native Rome for Paris as a result of his feeling that Romans only wanted Roman food. Parisians, on the other hand, have welcomed his expressive flair with Gallic gusto. And why wouldn’t they? Passerini loves harmony and contrast, executing highly creative, ingredient-driven cooking with elegance and refinement – it’s Modern European, in every sense. 46 Rue Trousseau (Ledru-Rollin Metrò stop), Paris, +33 1 4806 9585; rino-restaurant.com aer LIngus fLiES fROM DuBLin AnD cORk TO ParIs DAiLy.

unnamed, new restaurant at the All eyes on Gordon Ramsay protégé, Angela Hartnett, who opens her, as yet y. Whispers are that it’s to be an Italianoutrageously trendy Limewood Country House Hotel in New Forest this Januar to keep an eye on; limewoodhotel.co.uk influenced shindig, but lips remain sealed at the moment … certainly one 14 |

December 2012/January 2013

NEWS ShOPPING

GADGETS

TO gO

The hottest aids to keep your cool, on or off piste. By Sive O’Brien.

WOODEN TOBOGGAN Mountain Boy, €139 at greatoutdoors.ie.

KNITTED HAT €59.90 at Tommy Hilfiger, Grafton Street, Dublin 2.

GPS NAVIGATION SYSTEM Garmin eTrex, €204.99 at outdooradventurestore.ie.

DOWN JACKET €245 at Patagonia, 24 Wicklow Street, Dublin 2.

SKI BOOK Ski Skills: Top Tips for Expert Skiing Technique by Andrzej Peszek, €15.50 at amazon.co.uk. SNOWBOARD Capita Volcom Colab, €589 at Snow + Rock, Dundrum Town Centre, Dublin 16.

SNOWBOARD BOOTS Vans, €239 at greatoutdoors.ie.

PORTABLE STEREO iMainGo X, €61 at amazon.co.uk.

16 |

December 2012/January 2013

news Business travel

Smart traveller

Berlin’s networking hot spots and Madrid’s slickest hotels? Lisa Hughes reports.

LITTLE BLAck BOOk Berlin Co-founder of Simply Zesty, Niall Harbison, flies abroad regularly to help international brands with their mobile, digital and social media strategies. His favourite city for business? Tech-savvy Berlin. Berlin is great for business travel because … It has the most vibrancy with regards to tech start-ups and a spirit of entrepreneurship. Only San Francisco comes close. As you would expect in Germany, everything works perfectly and the city is easy to get around. a good place for business meetings … The city is packed full of co-working spaces where people meet informally and one of my favourites is a buzzing café in Mitte called st Oberholz (Rosenthaler Straße 72a, +49 30 2408 5586; sanktoberholz.de). Business lunch … The Japanese food in Berlin is as good as any other city and one place that will blow your mind is Musashi (Kottbusser Damm 102, +49 30 693 2042). Business drinks … Many of the bars in the city are edgier and not where you would normally picture a business meeting, but they

are perfect for a relaxed conversation. Becketts Kopf (Pappelallee 64, +49 162 237 9418; becketts-kopf.de) has an Irish tone to it and does a great cocktail. Best business hotel… I always stay in the weinmeister in Mitte (Weinmeisterstraße 2, +49 30 7556670, the-weinmeister.com), which has big beds, good food and design, and a Mac in every room. Central and worth every penny. tipping … I go with 10 per cent and that seems to be fairly generous for Berlin.

How available is wi Fi? ... Most of the cafés and co-working spaces have Wi-Fi. It is patchy in some parts of the city and I’ve had to rely on Starbucks at times. saving money on business trips … I always pack as lightly as possible and never check a bag in, no matter how long the trip. You get good at cutting out the nonessentials. I also try to eat in the places that the locals eat in, rather than eating overpriced sandwiches on the tourist trail. technology and business travel … I often leave the office and go to work in Berlin for a couple of days and, because of shared Google docs, instant messages, Twitter and Skype, I am still up to speed on every facet of the business. Technology is making business travel so much easier.

MUST-HAvE TRAvEL gADgET Magic cuBe virtual keyBoard this light and compact device projects a virtual keyboard onto the surface in front of you so you don’t have to use a touch screen. it connects to any bluetooth Hid device, including the iPhone, iPad and android devices. available at Brown thomas (the Marvel room), €200. 18 |

December 2012/January 2013

5 BEST BUSINESS HOTELS IN MADRID

HOtel MODernO One of Madrid’s trendiest hotel offerings, Moderno is close to major attractions, the metro and many restaurants. Located near the Puerta del Sol plaza, this hotel has free Wi-Fi, computer access to print boarding passes, etc, and a comfy lobby for informal meetings. (Calle del Arenal 2, +34 915 310 900; hotel-moderno.com) PullMan MaDriD airPOrt & Feria Opposite the Palacio de Congresos and IFEMA convention centres in the business district, the Pullman has high speed internet, two gourmet restaurants and stylish meeting rooms. (Avenida Capital de España 10, Campo de las Naciones, +34 917 210 070; pullmanhotels.com) aXOr Feria HOtel An affordable option, the Axor Feria is a short walk to the metro and 50 minutes from the centre of Madrid. With clean, modern decor, this hotel is a no-fuss stop-off for busy business travellers. Avail of free Wi-Fi and computers in the business centre and spacious rooms. (Calle de Campezo 4, +34 913 121 960; axorferiahotel.com) HOliDaY inn HOtel In the city’s downtown AZCA financial area, the Holiday Inn is minutes away from many corporate headquarters and convention centres. As well as some of the largest meeting facilities in the city centre, it has Wi-Fi throughout, a wellequipped business centre and a rooftop pool. (Plaza de Carlos Trías Bertrán 4, +34 914 568 000; holidayinn.com) MeliÁ Castilla Located north of Madrid, the Meliá Castilla has an impressive conference centre, a 24/7 business centre, free Wi-Fi, late check-out and a large lobby for informal meetings. (Calle del Capitán Haya 43, meliacastilla.com)

4 5

Meliá Castilla

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Only one name...

The law firm of choice for international companies and financial institutions doing business in and through Ireland has changed its name. Formerly Matheson Ormsby Prentice, the firm is now known as Matheson.

For further information, please contact: Liam Quirke, Managing Partner E liam.quirke@matheson.com

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nEwS BEAUTY

Grooming on THE Go Men’s skin needs some tlc too. Ellie Balfe selects the best products on offer.

Perfect those peepers with Age Fight Yeux from Lancôme, €41.68. Rich in antioxidants and light in texture, this gel reduces dark circles, puffiness and fine lines. One of the cleanest male fragrances on the market, Bleu de Chanel, is a mix of woody and citrus notes. Let it linger on your skin above the matching shower gel, €30. It’s all about fragrance layering, gents. Tom Ford’s noir, €70, may appeal to chaps who enjoy things spicy and aromatic. Expensive but it smells that way too, worth shelling out for. Kiehl’s Razor Bump Relief, €30.50, is a soothing, calming post shave preparation that prevents ingrown hairs, soothes any nicks or irritation and reduces redness, ensuring

PHOTOGRAPH bY cHAnEL

a smooth complexion. Lather up with this Pure Badger Hair Brush from The Art of Shaving, €43.17. Designed for durability, these brushes generate a rich lather which exfoliates the skin, softening and lifting the beard to release trapped hairs. Giorgio Armani’s Skin Minerals for Men Age Perfecting Fluid, €43.50, is

a lightweight serum that contains active ingredients that will smooth rough skin, decrease the appearance of open pores and brighten tired complexions. A heavy-hitting antiageing product that should be part of any man’s grooming arsenal. Another fragrance of note is L’Homme by Yves Saint Laurent, €40. A complex blend of bergamot, ginger and vetiver, it’s a modern classic.

The GroominG rooms at 16 South William Street in Dublin is a haven for men in search of an old school shaving experience. Must haves include the Beard and Moustache Trim, €20, and the Hot Towel Shave, €35, which some say is like stepping back in time – in a good way! 20 |

december 2012/january 2013

MY BEAUTY MUSTS Make-up artist Leonard Daly shares his grooming routine. I use Seavite shower gel, an Irish product from Galway. Its main ingredient is seaweed, which has healing qualities, and is perfect for sensitive skin such as mine. For my face, I use products from different ranges, and after years of searching for the right mix, I think I’ve got it right. To cleanse, I use a cleanser from Image Skincare that has glycolic acid, a wonder ingredient that changes the texture of your skin. Then I apply Génifique HD serum for men from Lancôme, an amazing antiageing product. It has many of the same ingredients as the women’s version, for almost half the price. To moisturise, I use Hydrating Lighter Lotion from Emma Hardie, which is perfect for oily skin, as it’s light enough to hydrate the skin but not so heavy it will make it oily. For shaving, I use Trilogy shave cream and their post-shave balm – they are the only shaving products that I have ever used that don’t give me beard rash. Finally, I use an SPF. I flip between three depending on the weather. Most days, I use Shiseido SPF 50 or Kiehl’s SPF 50 which are oil-free products and, unlike some SPFs, don’t leave a white tint on your skin. If I am in a hot country I use Hamilton SPF 80, a clear gel that again leaves no white residue. When I travel for work, I tend to decant the products that I use every day into smaller bottles to keep my skin looking great.

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What’s in my suitcase As an MTV presenter covering festivals worldwide, Co Wicklow-born Laura Whitmore’s packing skills are finely tuned. Currently filming in the Australian outback as host of ITV2’s I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here Now, she fills suzie coen in on her sartorial heroes.

green, neon and turquoise leather, crYstal and metal pendant €220 at joannehynes.com

dknY fresh Blossom eau so intense €64, Debenhams, 54-62 Henry Street, Dublin 1, 1890 946 779 and branches; debenhams.com

pale pink dress with pleated shoulder detail €380 at nataliebcoleman.com

nars 15 minutes nail varnish from the Andy Warhol collection, Nars, €18 at Brown Thomas, Grafton Street, Dublin 2, 01 605 6666

gold triBal shield earrings Zoe & Morgan, €311 at myflashtrash.com

patterned skater dress Stella McCartney, €2,295 at Brown Thomas, as above

Benefit Badgal lash mascara Benefit, €22.50 at Arnotts, 12 Henry Street, Dublin 1, 01 805 0400

mac lipstick in russian red Mac, €18 at BT2, 28-29 Grafton Street, Dublin 2, 01 605 6747

leopard print platform wedge shoes Senos, €191.61 at asos.com

Jeans €53 at River Island, 102 Grafton Street, Dublin 2, 01 677 8257

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December 2012/January 2013

Beige trenchcoat €70 at Awear, 26 Grafton Street, Dublin 2, 01 671 7200

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NEWS PEOPLE

On my Travels

Biker, actor and explorer Charley Boorman has crisscrossed the globe. He shares the highlights with Suzie Coen. The son of renowned film director John Boorman, Charley grew up in Ireland and started riding motorcycles when he was seven. Eight years ago, he and Ewan McGregor decided to circumnavigate the globe on motorbikes and documented their buddy road trips in the BBC2 series Long Way Round and Long Way Down. Charley’s next project saw him travel solo from Ireland to Australia using any method of transport available, including boats, bikes and elephants. His new series, Charley Boorman’s South African Adventure airs in the UK on Channel 5 in early 2013. I NEVER FEEL HAPPIER THAN WHEN I’M ... in Ireland. My father lives in Co Wicklow and it’s where I grew up – and where I learnt to ride my bikes. I HAVE A PARTICULAR FONDNESS FOR KINVARA IN CO GALWAY ... as well as being a picturesque coastal spot, it’s also the name we gave our daughter. I have a special connection to Galway and I’m involved in the regional branch of the charity Blood Bikes, which uses volunteers to deliver blood and things like breast milk to hospitals around the country. I FIRST CAUGHT THE ADVENTURING BUG WHEN I READ ... Jupiter’s Travels by Ted Simon, which tells the story of his four-year journey around the world on a motorbike. He’s

such an inspiration and a good part of the reason why Ewan [McGregor] and I went on these adventures. MY ULTIMATE URBAN ESCAPE IS ... New York: it’s just a city that never sleeps. You know that at 3am you can go to a restaurant and have a three-course meal and then carry on. It is such a great place to go for a long weekend. I’VE SLEPT IN SOME PRETTY UNUSUAL PLACES ... including in a snowdrift in the Draakensberg Mountains in South Africa and on the Ukraine border, where we were detained for 18 hours beside men with guns who wouldn’t let us into the country. The most uncomfortable place I’ve ever slept was on a boat going from Timor to Darwin. We were supposed to take

3 TOP mOTOrCyCle TOUrs …

THE MOROCCO TIGER ADVENTURE begins in Malaga, and includes a ten-day tour of the North African coast. Riders take off on an unforgettable journey filled with incredible sights from snowcapped mountains to rolling sand dunes. Everything from bikes to accommodation is provided by Rent a Tiger. Runs April 18-28. rentatiger.es

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December 2012/January 2013

THE HIGHLANDER TOUR takes the rider on a highlands adventure, through northern England into Scotland, around the Scottish coastline and past Loch Ness. The eleven-day tour begins in Hinckley, which is a short distance from Birmingham, and includes accommodation, rest days, bike rental and a guide. Runs July 10-20. edelweissbike.com

three days and the journey took six. There was a 10- to 15-metre swell and I spent several days just lying in the bottom of the boat. The bleakest period was when I looked at a GPS device and it said we were 250 miles from land. MY FAVOURITE CLIFF TOP VIEW IS ... the one from the runway in Port St Johns. The South African village, in the Eastern Cape, is in a little valley and the runway is on top of a cliff. I was last there to see the sardine run – an astonishing natural phenomenon which sees literally billions of fish travel in shoals several kilometres long. Port St Johns is also where I was once lucky enough to swim with 600 dolphins. THERE HAVE BEEN BUMPS IN THE ROAD ALONG THE WAY ... when I was diagnosed with testicular cancer, I was completely thrown. I lost my oldest sister, Telsche, to cancer and when I was diagnosed, I panicked. But I was lucky in that we caught it in time and everything is fine. Since then I’ve done a lot of work with Movember, both here and abroad in places like South Africa where there’s a big push against testicular cancer. In terms of actual bumps on roads – well, you couldn’t top the road to Almaty in Kazakhstan. It twisted and buckled and turned and there were trucks which had run off the road sitting 10-deep. It was an horrific ride. THEY DON’T TELL YOU THIS ON TRIPADVISOR.COM BUT MY ADVICE IS THIS ... the world isn’t as bad as everyone says. I’ve travelled around the globe and it’s much safer than people think. So, just get out and enjoy it – 99 per cent of people in the world are lovely and it’s a beautiful place.

THE IRISH COASTLINE TOUR is an eight-day journey that starts in Belfast and takes in dozens of must-see Irish sites, including the Cliffs of Moher, the Ring of Kerry and the Hill of Tara, before arriving in Dublin. The tour package includes accommodation, rental of a HarleyDavidson and luggage transportation. Runs June 21-28. reuthers.com

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news books

Shelf Life

Big and beautiful – Bridget Hourican recommends some landmark publications. »NON-FICTION

Atlas of the Great Irish Famine, edited by John Crowley, William J Smyth, Mike Murphy (Cork University Press, €59). This magisterial work – 704 pages, 200 maps, 400 illustrations – is the fruition of 20 years’ research. Its contributions from more than 60 renowned scholars focus on geography, history, archaeology, arts, folklore, cartography, disease, emigration, languages and legacy. Each province is dealt with in detail, showing the disparity of experience of famine across the island. There are chapters on the workhouse, evictions, medical relief, “the scattering” (ie, patterns of emigration) and “the great silence” (Ireland after the disaster). A landmark publication, you could spend as long reading and assessing this book as the editors spent compiling it.

»FICTION

»NON-FICTION

The Book Best European of Kells, An Fiction 2013, Illustrated edited by Introduction Aleksander to the Hemon, Manuscript preface John in Trinity Banville College (Dalkey Dublin by Archive Press, Bernard Meehan (Thames & €12.80). Award-winning Bosnian Hudson). In 1974, in what novelist Aleksander Hemon ART FORMS selects a range of short The Times described as “a Sculptor Dorothy fiction from 32 countries. 1,000-year-old publishing Cross’s new work of two Although we now have coup”, Thames & Hudson complementary volumes, an EU of 27 members, painstakingly reproduced Fountainstown and Montenotte, we’re reading less work The Book of Kells, making (Occasional Press and Ballynahinch in translation. The 1960s a commercial edition of Castle, €220 hb, €45 pb + P&P) intellectual perused the illuminated manuscript crisscrosses into a fascinating the writings of Sartre, available around the world memoir and retrospective Sarraute, Grass, Solzhenitsyn, for the first time. This reprint of her work. reproduces the most important Calvino and Borges. But today of the manuscript’s fully decorated everyone’s Booker and Pulitzerpages, plus a series of enlargements prise reading oscillates around showing the almost unbelievable Ireland, the UK and the US. This is a minuteness of the detail. The text much-needed anthology, beautifully is by Bernard Meehan, the Keeper produced, delivering the strangeness of Manuscripts at Trinity College, and the familiarity of the continent, Dublin. from Armenia to Ukraine.

filming in Co Wexford, starring Calling all Banville fans! His Booker-winning novel The Sea has just finished hit the big screen in 2013. Ciarán Hinds, Natascha McElhone and heartthrob Rufus Sewell, and is due to

Who’s reading what?

Writer Peter Murphy re-reads a contender for the best Irish novel of all time. wHAT ARe YoU ReADinG? I’m currently making my biannual assault on David Foster Wallace’s 1996 doorstep Infinite Jest, Jest inspired by a reading of DT Max’s Wallace biography Every Love Story is a Ghost Story, Story which is rather brilliant and has everything you’d want from a biography – except a happy ending. I’m also re-reading Flann O’Brien’s The Third Policeman, Policeman a contender for the title of best Irish novel of all time. Waiting in the wings is an advance copy of Paul Lynch’s debut novel Red Sky

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in Morning which, going by the first chapter, is a humdinger. wHeRe ARe YoU ReADinG iT? Or them, as the case may be … in bed, on trains, in the window seat of the Cotton Tree Café in Enniscorthy, Co Wexford. Great coffee and the orange chocolate cake is something else. besT book To TAke on HoLiDAY? Moby Dick by Herman Melville. It’s a fivecourse meal, that book. And for dessert, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson.

THe book YoU wisH YoU’D neveR TAken? The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, after reading a feature about it in Time magazine. What a turkey. I gave up after the first chapter. fAvoURiTe pLAce To visiT? I like Boston. It’s a 21st-century American city but it still has an old world atmosphere. I saw an Edward Gorey exhibition there last year and couldn’t stop thinking about it. Peter Murphy’s latest novel, Shall We Gather at the River, is published by Faber and Faber on January 17.

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NEWS pEoplE

AS Winter BITES

I had always wanted to get into aid work, since I was quite young … so I worked towards it when I was in school and later in college. I think if there is something in the world that you wish to change ... you should put all your passion and energy into it and just focus on making that change. Don’t whine or complain about it, just get out there and do it! I arrived in Syria in August 2012 … having left Somalia at the beginning of August. I had been there since December 2009. Before that I had worked in Abéché, in eastern Chad; Bossangoa, in western Central African Republic; north Darfur; East Timor and Zimbabwe. It has been an interesting ten years. A big part of my day in Syria is spent in the office … trying to get more funding or recruiting more staff, as well as drawing up new programmes and projects. I am also out visiting displaced people when we can get access to them, which is not always easy, and visiting schools and health centres. We’re trying to work in as many parts of Syria as we can at the moment … not just Damascus. We have started to expand our reach to other cities, villages and rural areas. To start with, we are doing a lot of work in health and nutrition, providing vaccination services and rolling out mobile health clinics, further adapting our own programme to meet the needs of the conflict-affected population and those who have been displaced. In terms of nutrition, we are monitoring the nutrition levels of

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the children to make sure that we catch any moderately or severely malnourished children, but we are also working in the area of prevention: making sure children, and their mothers, are getting the right amount of nutrients. It’s a priority to ensure that the sanitation in schools is up to standard … There are 22,000 schools in Syria and around 2,000 have been damaged so we are working to repair these classrooms so children can go back to school. Recreation facilities in the schools are also important so we have child friendly spaces where children can play. At the moment we are quite concerned about the winter … In inland areas temperatures have dropped already and usually go down below freezing at this time of year. We are working hard to provide blankets, clothes and shoes for 75,000 children, as well as shelter items for families who have lost their homes. We’ve heard a lot in the West about refugees … going across the borders into neighbouring countries like Turkey, Iraq and Jordan especially, but it’s very important to remember that there is a huge population (1.2 million children) within Syria that have been

affected by this conflict, and of that, approximately 600,000 are displaced. A lot of the funding has gone to neighbouring countries to help the refugees where UNICEF is also working hard, but we are also on the ground in Syria to deliver assistance to where it is needed the most and for this funding is critical. Top, twins Safwan and Omran, who fled conflict in Syria wearing just shorts and cotton tanktops – all they had. Above, Ettie in Somalia.

We have taken an emergency loan from UNICEF headquarters in New York … but we’ve been unable to procure the full amount that we need. We have done our best to find the resources but fundraising is still our biggest hope for getting to where we need to be. UNICEF has a big team on the ground in Syria (more than 35 staff) and funding from Ireland is absolutely critical. Being an aid worker is challenging … especially around this time of year and I often miss my family and my friends. I miss Barry’s Tea and Sunday dinner at home! I’m not quite sure if I’ll get home for Christmas this year yet, but I really hope so. Christmas away is just not the same. In conversation with Eoin Higgins. Your generosity is crucial in funding the work of Ettie and other aid workers with UNICEF in Syria. To donate, please log onto unicef.ie.

©UNICEF JoRDAN 2012 Al-mASRI

The life of an aid worker in Syria is particularly challenging at this time of year. Cork-born Ettie Higgins, who works with UNICEF, describes her day and reminds us why funding is so vital to the organisation’s work in this conflict region.

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neWs diary

Gathering

of the clans

In 2013, Ireland will become a party island with friends and family from all over the world invited to join a year-long celebration of all things Irish. Ben Webb reports.

he Gathering 2013, is an inspiring initiative designed to celebrate Ireland, boost tourism and bring a postcredit-crunch smile to the country. “Ireland has had its share of doom and gloom over the last few years and The Gathering is a chance to do something positive for our country and to help stimulate local industries,” says Jim Miley, the project director. “More importantly, it’s an excuse to host parties, festivals and celebrations!” The extravaganza may have been launched by the Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, and supported by organisations such as Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland, but it’s designed to be much more about people power than politics. And those people include celebrities such as Moya Brennan, Ronan Keating, Daniel O’Donnell and George Hook. O’Donnell gets straight to the point. “In 2013 I would like to invite my fans from all over the world to come and share my love of Ireland,” he says. “You will receive céad míle fáilte – or, a hundred thousand welcomes.” Keating, who has sold 30 million records around the world, is equally inclusive. “Have you heard Ireland’s throwing one hell of a

party?” he asks. “Come and visit – it’s one of the most magical countries in the world. It doesn’t matter if you’re Irish or not. You don’t need to have red hair!” You do, however, need red hair to attend the Redhead Convention in Crosshaven, Co Cork, one of the more intriguing ideas for a gathering. It started as a family joke when Joleen Cronin and her brother Denis decided to invite only people with red hair to Denis’s birthday party. Games included carrot tossing and a longest beard competition. It was such a success the redhead celebration is now an annual event. To encourage people to start organising their own gatherings, there is a dedicated website – thegatheringireland.com – that is packed with useful information. You can also search the site for a gathering to attend – there are already hundreds happening across the country. Reunions are one of the most popular kinds of event and the recently screened RTÉ series The Gathering: Homeward Bound has followed the stories of Irish celebrities who made a visit to meet friends and family. Brendan Grace, for example, met up with members of his old band, the Gingermen, in

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Walk on the Wild side february 16-17, the dingle Walking festival, co kerry With its breathtaking scenery, Dingle was described by the National Geographic magazine as the “most beautiful place on Earth”. Here’s a chance to follow Cosán na Naomh – the Saints Road – an ancient pilgrims’ path that probably dates back to pagan times. dinglewalkingfestival.com

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December 2012/January 2013

Seeing red – the lrish Redhead Convention, 2013 takes place on August 24 in Crosshaven, Co Cork.

the Liberties. Inevitably, although they had not played together for more than 40 years, they played a long-awaited session in Harkin’s pub and had a great sing-song. An emotional Grace said: “This is exactly what The Gathering should – and will – be about.” And the craic promises to be pretty good in 2013, as there are an estimated 70 million people worldwide who claim Irish ancestry. The social media – Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn – are already buzzing with invites. Ireland is bracing itself for an invasion of guests – Aer Lingus is a proud sponsor of the event – and one thing is guaranteed: each one will receive the classic Irish welcome.

the people’s parade March 17, st patricks day Chances are you’ve watched the St Paddy’s Day Parade a number of times before, but this year, you’re invited to don your greenest gladrags and step (dance) right into it. Fly the family flag, leap on a band wagon, whatever floats your boat! There are oodles of free events to join in. thegatheringireland.com.

love in a looM foxford Woollen Mills, co Mayo Bernadette Ruddy, a teacher, artist and singer with a passion for her home county of Mayo, dreamed up this unique gathering. For a year, visitors can write their name in a book and then add some thread to the loom. Every one will be combined to create one blanket. Many people, one cloth. foxfordwoollenmills.com

NEwS dESTINATIONS

On the Radar

A Parisian jaunt is just the thing to lift winter spirits and inspire jaded imaginations. Eoin Higgins shares his top five experiences in the City of Light. EAT

SEE

“Ou est le Centre de George Pompidou?” Thankfully, it’s right smack bang in the centre of Paris, with easy access to whatever else you want to discover. Add to that convenient location: astounding views, a phenomenal permanent collection of art, always intriguing temporary exhibitions and installations, plus the fact that the building itself is an architectural treasure, and you have scant reason not to visit. 19 Rue Beaubourg, +33 144 784 799; centrepompidou.fr)

A visit to Bertrand Grébaut’s Septime, in the 11th, is a treat for the gastronomically, and romantically, inclined. A chic interior, coupled with charming staff, adds the perfect foil to Grébaut’s accomplished cooking. The chef, who cut his teeth at Alain Passard’s Arpege and then at Robuchon, produces elegant creations that tickle and satisfy in spades. 80 Rue de Charonne, +33 143 673 829; septime-charonne.fr

LISTEN

Not for everyone, subterranean jazz clubs, or jazz for that matter, but if inimitable Parisian experiences are what you seek, then a visit to one of the city’s hepcat hangouts is a must. Sunset Sunside is two clubs in one: below ground it’s cavernous and atmospheric; on ground level, shows are a little more expensive but that’s made up for in breathing space and musicianship. 60 Rue des Lombards, +33 140 264 660; sunset-sunside.com

VISIT

ugust brings passion and heat to Santiago de Compostela, the Galician city best known as the destination for fervent pilgrims who walk the famous Camino de Santiago. However, the city is not just heavenly for blistered wayfarers; the less nimblefooted devotee will also discover a destination that’s worth a trek. Here are five reasons to make that journey.

The Centre Culturel Irlandais is a home away from home for artists, writers and Hibernians who wish to drop in to this wonderful venue. Throughout the year, various exhibitions and events attract the Irish and their fans to this building in the fifth. And you can stay there too, there are 45 monastically bijou rooms in which to rest your head. Rates from €81 per night. 5 Rue des Irlandais, +33 158 521 030; centreculturelirlandais.com

SHOP

Shopping in Paris is notoriously pricey. Fashionistas in search of a good spree should head to La Vallée Village where you’ll find laid-back and cool designs by Maje, Zadig & Voltaire and BA&SH alongside upmarket stars like Moncler, Marni and Givenchy. An easy journey with the RER – just one stop from Disneyland Paris – it’s well worth the trip. La Vallée Village, +33 160 423 500; lavalleevillage.com 32 |

december 2012/january 2013

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IntervIew

Coming Clean

Colin Farrell had it all – the looks, the A-list Hollywood career and the bad-boy image. And then his career came crashing down around him. A spell in rehab and a dose of reality later, he’s back, clean and sober, and packing a punch in his latest movie, Seven Psychopaths. He tells Tony Clayton-Lea about his journey.

here comes a point in every wild child’s life when it is time to clean up the mess and glance back ruefully, or carry on and suffer the consequences. It is obvious which route Dublin actor Colin Farrell has chosen – he appears to be in a state of health so rude it’s almost unforgiveable. This is probably why, when he enters the five-star Dublin hotel lounge and strolls over to the sofa, heads turn and conversations come to an abrupt halt. It doesn’t last more than a couple of seconds (we Irish like it to be known that we are cool to the point of chilled with rock icons and movie stars) but for that brief period of time we are all members of the Colin Farrell Appreciation Society. Yes, even the blokes, who to a man know envy is pointless. Let’s be honest here – Farrell looks the proverbial million bucks. It wasn’t always that way, however.

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December 2012/January 2013

“At some points,” he recalls of what he refers to as the lost years, “I was removed from the amount of passion and curiosity that I had about acting. Maybe that passion and curiosity got diluted or a little bit toxic due to the amount of success and fame that came my way.” Farrell was 22 years of age when Hollywood came knocking and, he says with a smile, “there was so much on offer. It was Willa Wonka’s chocolate factory, or the keys to the exact city of your dreams as a child. I remember Steve Martin introduced me at the Oscars some years back with the words ‘the next step is rehab’.” The comedian was right. Farrell isn’t the type to airbrush his past. For a period between 2000 and 2006 it looked as though he was hitching a one-way lift on the highway to hell: partying like there was no tomorrow (“It wasn’t hard to find 20 strangers who wanted to go back to my hotel room until eight o’clock in the

morning,” he has admitted), embroiled in court cases regarding a leaked-online sex tape, and then a spell in rehab for drug and alcohol dependency. He entered rehab in 2005, admitting that his body and mind were fragmenting. He is, he says, genuinely delighted that this chapter of his life is over. “That chapter was pretty much a sevenyear block – from going over to America in 2000 to the Miami Vice movie in 2006 – and it came crashing down like a house of cards. It doesn’t make a noise but you can see the structure is gone. Initially, I was fearful – you know, ‘Jesus, what’s going to happen, the phone isn’t ringing’, all of that.” He hadn’t known, apparently, what a bad reputation he’d landed himself with (“I was never screaming at people or trashing rooms”), but the pinch started getting tighter when he realised that film studio head honchos weren’t necessarily open to (as they say in Hollywood) reaching out to him.

December 2012/January 2013

| 35

IntervIew

“Oh, yeah,” he says. “Without any self-aggrandising, the myth had shown itself to be fallacy. That said, I’m glad to say I have a bit of goodwill in Hollywood; it might seem a contradiction but it actually exists. It’s the same in Ireland and other parts of the world: blood beats throughout hearts and people experience stuff like hope and faith and gestures of kindness. I know that people rooted for me during those wild years and that was lovely to discover after the fact.” And the practicalities of being seen as not so much a loose cannon as Guy Fawkes? “Well, after Miami Vice some big films went away from me, but that was kind of okay because I had other work lined up that provided an opportunity for me to go back to the more simplistic elements of what I was trying to do, which were the elements I fell in love with – a good actor that tells a story in a way that your voice comes across, but also that you allow the person who is perceiving it to have their own interpretation and experience of it. So I went back to that, and through that period I did movies such as Pride and Glory [2008], Cassandra’s Dream [2007], In Bruges [2008]. Those films allowed me to reconnect, and that’s where I find myself now.” He makes it sound like it hasn’t been too much of a struggle. For no reasons that he can think of, he says, he just “fell into acting”. After he auditioned for Boyzone (but didn’t get the spot), he attended acting school and dropped out when, in the late 1990s, he was cast in the BBC drama Ballykissangel. Good looks notwithstanding, Farrell’s acting skills developed quickly enough (a bit movie part here, a small theatre role there) for American talent scouts to come chasing. “I was not full of self-confidence,” he admits. “I was just on the journey of being an actor and finding out what that meant to me personally, making a bit of a living, auditioning, getting call backs now and again.” What were his ambitions at that point? “To work, to work, to work. As an actor, you understand 36 |

December 2012/January 2013

Farrell and fellow actor Sam Rockwell in Martin McDonagh’s latest movie, Seven Psychopaths.

very early on that you’re in a low percentile job for getting consistent work. That’s common knowledge, but that’s what I wanted to do. My childhood dreams of fame – either as a footballer or a singer – disappeared when I started acting. The practical thought every day was just to get work as an actor.” But then an American came calling? “Yeah! A fella came over from America and messed it all up! Brought me down a path that led to massive financial success! ... What really happened is the guy from America came over and asked me did I want to go over there for some meetings and I said sure. The meetings were set up and I went over to LA for a few weeks. And that was it.” Almost instantly, Farrell was cast in Tigerland, a low-key movie that set Hollywood business tongues wagging about this “new Irish guy in town”. Following the generally positive reception to Tigerland, Farrell’s ducks, so to speak, lined up in a neat, long row. “I really benefited – or capitalised, if you like – from the work that was presented to me under certain elements of fear that exists in Hollywood of people not wanting to miss the boat. If they hear something is good, or big, or happening, they go, ‘Oh, man, give us a meeting with these people, can we get a private screening?’, and so

on. So a short time after Tigerland I started getting really major work. Shocked? God, yes, of course. I was going over to America to have a laugh – I was quite happy in Ireland, just acting and trying to figure out where I was going and how I’d get there.” Which is pretty much where we came in – except that along the way to his present state of self-awareness, Farrell became the father of two children: ten-year old James (with model Kim Bordenave) and twoyear old Henry (with actress Alicja Bachleda-Curus, who co-starred with him in Ondine). He is also at a point in his career where he can slip from big-budget (Total Recall) to low-budget (his latest movie release, Seven Psychopaths, which reunites him with In Bruges’ director/writer Martin McDonagh). It’s a good position to be in, creatively and financially, yet Farrell dispels the idea that he can do virtually anything he wants to. “There are very few actors who can stake a claim to that kind of position and I wouldn’t be one of them. That said, I’m an actor who has a lot of choice in his life. I only realised fairly recently how ridiculously uncommon and privileged and decadent it is to have that level of choice. “As an actor, you audition for the job, you hope for the best, and if

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FARRELL’s BEsT FIVE PERFORMANCEs tIGerLAnD ((2000) In his first major feature, Farrell plays US soldier Roland Bozz who is opposed to the Vietnam war. Lauded for his testy portrayal of charismatic rebel Bozz, Farrell won the Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor and the London Film Critics Circle Award for Newcomer of the Year. PHONE BOOTH (2002) Farrell plays scheming publicist to the stars Stu Shepard who, while strutting down Broadway, happens to answer a public phone. If he puts the phone down, warns the anonymous voice at the end of the line, he will be killed. Centre front and in focus for the entirety of the film, Farrell acquits himself admirably. Smart movie critic Roger Ebert highlighted Farrell’s “energy and intensity”. INTERMIssION (2003) One of the best Irish movies of the past ten years (written with some ingenuity by Mark O’Rowe, directed with verve by John

you get the part you ply your trade. Having such an amount of choice is, simultaneously, one of the great things about the position I’m in, and also one of the – and I say this with full awareness that it’s said in the voice of a spoiled man – burdens. It’s a burden because you have to factor in loads of possibilities. A film being successful is such a gamble; you have to put into the mix as many factors as you can – the directors, the genre of the movie and all of that. For instance, I think what Total Recall might paint a picture of is an actor just having fun doing as many things as he can. I like different scales of film, different genres, trying to walk in as many shoes as I can.” And the money helps, surely? “Let’s be honest – the money on Total Recall was fantastic, but if something in the script didn’t speak to me I honestly – honest to God – wouldn’t be able to take it just for the money. I wouldn’t – it’d crush me. Well, it wouldn’t crush me, but one of the great benefits for me, one 38 |

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of the most heightened privileges about what I do, is that I get to do something that constantly keeps me curious, constantly provokes me, that I enjoy and that I actually have fun doing. “I’m very aware of how much money comes in, of course, and I’m lucky enough to have two beautiful sons with two different mothers. I’m fortunate to be doing very well, so, yes, the money for movies is lovely.” It varies from movie to movie – the difference in pay cheques between Total Recall and Seven Psychopaths is massive, but that, explains Farrell, is for a reason. “One is something you can relate to and find something in the script that keeps you interested for a fourmonth shoot, but which you know is made for mass consumption. The other is completely for the heart and passion of it.” He isn’t saying it, of course, but you can tell in a heartbeat which kind of movie Farrell likes best. Trying to outdo Quentin Tarantino (and having great fun

Crowley), Farrell isn’t in this one for very long, but as petty criminal Lehiff he just lights up the screen every time he appears. A HOME AT THE END OF THE WORLD (2004) Focusing on a trio of disparate, damaged people struggling to create their own definition of a family, Farrell is Bobby Morrow, a character in search of fulfilment. For his performance (“totally persuasive”, wrote Time Out; “Farrell’s astutely judged portrayal is a career highlight”, noted Rolling Stone), he was nominated for an IFTA Best Actor gong. IN BRUGEs (2008) Two Irish assassins, Ray (Farrell), pictured left, and Ken (Brendan Gleeson), await their next assignment in the Belgian medieval town of Bruges. Farrell (Gleeson, too) is up to the whip-cracking dialogue by director/writer Martin McDonagh. No wonder The Guardian opined, “Farrell … has rarely been better.”

with it), director/writer McDonagh invests Seven Psychopaths with selfreferencing, freewheeling anarchy, dovetailing funny storylines that weave in serial killers, dog lovers and writer’s block with fine performances from Farrell, Sam Rockwell, Christopher Walken and Tom Waits. “Martin wrote it a few years before In Bruges,” says Farrell, “but didn’t really have the backing for it. What I like about it is that it pokes fun at the myth of the writer, while being sharp-witted.” What Farrell is doing, he is at charming pains to point out in his acting, is chasing an idea. “You really are, and sometimes those ideas have been chased down the line and exploded into a thousand pieces, so you can never catch it.” He then finger-combs his hair and delivers a multimillion-bucks smile. The lounge experiences a collective swoon. “But you try.” Seven Psychopaths is on release in Ireland from December 7.

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SiobhÁn ManSon “I’m a lazy dancer,” laughs Siobhán Manson, female lead with Riverdance. Translation: a slip jigger as opposed to a reel dancer – slower, more graceful and elegant, arms loose and movement less static. Growing up in Galway, Manson started dancing at the age of four with the renowned Hession school but, she says, never really had the work ethic or drive for the competition world. “I was always interested in performing but would never have envisioned Riverdance as part of my future, I always thought it was unattainable.” Eight years on and Manson is still with the show as part of their flying squad, while she finishes her MA in history. One day she’d like to combine the two somehow ... but at the moment she is happiest at Riverdance. “When I took a break a few years ago, I really missed it. It’s just an extension of myself at this point, I think I’ll still be doing it in 20 years time if they’ll have me. “I’d love to perform on Broadway with Riverdance but that’s the beauty of it, you never know what’s around the corner. As a dancer, every day is a bonus – so I’m just making the most of it while I can.” For details of touring dates, see riverdance.com

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Floor

Taking to the

The first performance of Riverdance was a watershed in Irish dancing. It blew away the cobwebs – and audience expectations. But the changes didn’t stop there; Orla Neligan meets six distinctly modern Irish dancers with very different styles. Photographs by Patrick Bolger.

ho can forget Eurovision 94 when a tight-trousered Michael Flatley clicked his way across the stage followed by a troupe of scissoring Irish dancers. The theatrical juggernaut that was Riverdance blew any preconceptions about Irish dance away. It was only a seven-minute interval act, but it has embedded itself in Ireland’s cultural conscience and spawned dozens of splinter shows. It has also breathed new life into traditional Irish step dancing, and reminded us that people everywhere love to tap their feet. But the globe-trotting extravaganza is also partly responsible for creating its antithesis – performers who want to break the template and prove that Irish dancing is more than the sum of its heritage. Dancers Colin Dunne, former lead with Riverdance, for example, and Alan Kenefick, winner of this year’s Got To Dance competition on Sky1, have both successfully forged new styles from modern dance to hip-hop, while retaining the traditional elements. Until Riverdance, Irish dancing was performed predominantly by Irish people and the Irish diaspora as a way of celebrating our heritage, explains Irish dancing historian John Cullinane. “When my mother danced in the 1920s,

it was an expression of Irish identity. Nowadays, very few performers and teachers have Irish blood.” According to Seamus O’Shea of The Irish Dancing Commission there are 2,000 Irish dancing teachers registered worldwide. “Based on that figure, we believe 250,000 people around the world are learning Irish dancing, a big leap from its humble beginnings.” Teacher Olive Hurley remembers the influx of hits on her website every time Riverdance toured an international destination. “I would get hundreds of emails from people all over the world asking where they could learn Irish dancing. I now have pupils from Israel, Japan and Sweden in my class learning to become teachers. Next week I will be in St Petersburg judging a competition; it’s a global art form now.” Of the different forms of Irish dancing, step dancing – showcased in Riverdance – is the most celebrated. The appeal of step dancing is not necessarily the “Irishness” of the dancing, says Cullinane, but “the precision and ‘beating out’ of the feet ... I don’t think anyone could sit in an audience and listen to that mechanised line-up of feet and not be moved.” Sean-nós dancing is more spontaneous, the kind of dancing that took place at social gatherings, a sort of spur-of-the-moment jig. Set dancing

(more akin to céilí dancing) involves a minimum of eight dancers and remains largely a social event. Irish dancing was traditionally associated with the competition or féis, the first of which was in Cork in 1897 with just six entrants. But since Riverdance and its successors went global those figures have rocketed. Last year’s world championships had 18 participating countries, from Nigeria to Canada, with some competitions lasting up to ten days. Globalisation has, of course, brought change, both in style and identity. The once iconic, modest Irish dancing costume has been replaced with the pageant look: fake tan, huge wigs and armour of diamantés, with dancers spending up to €3,000 on costumes. The effect is not so much Celtic charm as Celtic kitsch. However, Cullinane believes that its ability to evolve and reinvent itself keeps Irish dancing alive and fresh. “At the core will always be the steps,” says Alan Kenefick, “I’m just moving it forward. What makes it interesting is the fact that you can introduce tap, ballet, flamenco or hip-hop so, why not try it all?” What next? With the likes of Colin Dunne and Alan Kenefick experimenting with the form, it’s difficult to predict – but one thing is certain, it will set your pulse racing.

people

Sean o’Brien “I’ve always had a flair for inventing steps,” says 24-year-old Sean O’Brien, choreographer of Jig: The Story of Irish Dance. “I’ll take a traditional move but put a modern stamp on it.” Years ago, pre-Riverdance, Irish step dancing was simpler. Nowadays, he says, it’s become a pseudo-sport – more physically demanding as competition pushes dancers to invent complicated moves; it’s all about that extra twirl, step or spin. Having sharpened his skills in the competitive world, Jig is O’Brien’s ticket to the big league. A multimedia show housed in the Museum of Irish Dance, Jig showcases the different forms of Irish dancing, from the older schools of the 1950s and 1960s to the show-stopping performances that have been doing the circuit for the past 15 years, and invites audience members to participate. “What I love most about Irish dancing and having my own show”, says O’Brien, “is the freedom of expression.” The challenge for O’Brien is not juggling the show, his studies and his plan to open his own dance school one day – he thrives on that; the challenge is to be unique. “The world of Irish dancing is quite small and there’s always a risk you’ll be compared to someone else. It’s important that you create your own style and continue pushing yourself to be creative.” Jig: The Story of Irish Dance runs at the Museum of Irish Dance, Powerscourt Townhouse Centre, Dublin 2, 01 611 1060; jig.ie

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Mary Beth taylor Sean-nós dancing was traditionally an impromptu performance with most of the steps danced close to the floor, like tap dancing. How then do you teach something spontaneous? “I try to teach the basics and then encourage students to be creative,” says sean-nós teacher Mary Beth Taylor. Growing up in the US, with an Irish mother and an American father, Taylor would often travel up to ten hours to compete. She came to Ireland to study in 2002 but a knee injury meant she had to rethink how she practiced and she took up sean-nós dancing. “Unlike step dancing, sean-nós is less taxing on the body. The skill is in being creative and spontaneous, while still dancing in time. But it’s more accessible to people; you can pick up the basics quickly and you don’t have to have a typical dancer’s body or train as hard.” This is evident from the cross-section of pupils at Taylor’s school, Scoil Rince Taylor, in Dublin: children, professionals who have never danced and retirees. When Taylor started sean-nós dancing in 2004 there was only one class in Dublin. Now, there are sean-nós devotees as far away as Russia and Australia. Last year she went to Mexico to teach. “Sun, sea, tequila and Irish dancing: it was the ultimate work holiday. I feel very lucky to have made a career out of something I love. Just as long as I’m connected to an Irish community, I’m happy.” For details of classes or Mary Beth Taylor’s DVD Sean-nós Dance for Everyone, visit scoilrincetaylor.com

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December 2012/January 2013

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Ciara Sexton Watching Ciara Sexton dance is a little like watching a swan with attitude; she glides across the floor before kicking up her legs and unleashing a tornado of leaps and turns. It’s Irish dancing but with a contemporary twist. As part of a large Irish diaspora in Coventry, Sexton’s youth was spent watching GAA matches and tapping her way through school. “I started Irish and contemporary dance classes when I was five, so my style of dancing is really a combination of the two.” After winning at the Irish Dancing World Championships five times, Sexton’s next challenge was to dance with the master himself, Michael Flatley. “I have watched him since I was seven and it was a dream of mine to work with him. I sent my CV to Lord of the Dance, not expecting anything, and I was given the job straight away.” What, no audition? “I think my competitive record clinched it for me,” she says modestly. Five years on and Sexton has toured the world with Lord of the Dance as lead dancer, filmed the 3D movie of the show and is currently working on a sequel to Riverdance called Heartbeat of Home, which she describes as the next phase for Irish dancing, incorporating international dance moves. “That’s the great thing about Irish dancing and what I love most about it, there’s no limit to what you can learn; it’s constantly reinventing itself and there’s no other dance genre that does that.” Heartbeat of Home opens in Dublin in September 2013; lordofthedance.com

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December 2012/January 2013

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AlAn KeneficK

“We couldn’t dance to pop songs forever. I Wanted to create somethIng tImeless, somethIng you’d see on BroadWay one day, hopefully.”

In early 2012 a seven-piece Irish dance troupe took home the £250,000 prize in Sky1’s Got To Dance competition to the beat of Kanye West’s “Power”. An unusual choice of music maybe, but then Prodijig is nothing if not innovative. “I like making statements,” says lead dancer and choreographer Alan Kenefick, “especially when it comes to Irish dancing as it’s often put in a particular box. Riverdance was great but I needed a new challenge; I wanted to create a new style, right down to the costumes.” In Prodijig, Kenefick combines step dancing with powerful modern moves and beats – there’s even an Irish haka somewhere in the middle. The troupe are now working on their next big production, Footstorm, a show that riffs on futurism and fantasy with an original score. “We couldn’t dance to pop songs forever. I wanted to create something timeless, something you’d see on Broadway one day, hopefully.” That’s not to say he has ruled out a performance with Kanye West. “It may shock people to see us on stage dancing to rap but that’s where I see us going.” Leaving a legacy is important to Kenefick, whether it is the big production, being on stage with Kanye West or organising a thousand Irish people to do the haka in Times Square. “I like stories and Irish dancing is exactly that – without an ending.” Footstorm debuts at the Olympia Theatre, Dublin, April 16-26, 2013, followed by a UK tour; prodijig.com

December 2012/January 2013

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people

If there’s one thing that annoys Colin Dunne it’s the F-word. “I hate the word ‘fusion’, it’s more of a deconstruction.” He is referring to his solo show, Out Of Time, which he describes as a “conversation between me at the age of 40 and my experience of Irish dance”. Using sound, video footage and his training as a contemporary dancer, Dunne tests and plays with the form. The technical skill, which won him a world championship title at the age of nine and later Riverdance’s coveted lead role, is all there but without the high sheen. It’s the antithesis to the showiness of Riverdance, so it comes as no surprise to learn that Dunne’s biggest challenge was shedding the Riverdance cloak. “I owe a lot to the show but it took me a long time to disassociate myself from it and learn who I was as a dancer. I’m much happier in the solo quiet space. I’m not looking to fill big theatres, I’m just doing what pleases me.” Does this mean he’s leaving his Irish dancing roots behind? “Dancing is no longer about an expression of identity for me. I’ll always go back to the well of Irish dancing, it’s at the root of everything I do, but I prefer to see it as something that has rhythm, movement and sound. I don’t get hung up on whether it’s traditional or not. What’s authentic is more important.” For more information on Out Of Time, visit colindunne.com

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Music

City

Whether it’s in a bar, a basement or a bean-bag shop, you’re always within walking distance of a great gig in Dublin. Award-winning music blogger Niall Byrne finds the city’s small-town vibe is helping bands carve out a new musical landscape. Photographs by Matthew Thompson.

Sound man â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Gabriel Caetano busking at Meeting House Square.

dublin music

he global view of Irish music tends to extend no further than U2, Michael Flatley’s flyaway pants and The Chieftains. But thanks to a quiet flux of Irish music success stories on the international stage, perceptions are changing. Two music festivals – The Great Escape in Brighton, England and Eurosonic in Groningen, The Netherlands – have, in recent years, shone a spotlight on Irish musos and bands like rock trio The Minutes, electro four-piece Le Galaxie, poetic folkies Villagers, charming songstress Lisa Hannigan, Dublin-based rockers and poppers BellX1, synth-warriors Fight Like Apes, revered local indie boy Jape and cinematic electronic duo Solar Bears ... As a result, international music fans have cocked their fickle ears towards new Irish sounds. Many of the new breed of musicians are based in Dublin. In the early 1980s, label A&R men flocked to the city’s live venues looking for “the next U2”. These days the bands take the initiative, relying on hard work and talent to carve out their own place in the new musical landscape. These artists are taking advantage of the capital’s smalltown community, which makes it easy to meet like-minded musicians, collaborate, and share advice and rehearsal spaces. Folk singer-songwriter James Vincent McMorrow has toured extensively throughout the US and Europe over the past two years. His songs have featured on American TV shows and, more recently, on the soundtrack of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2, one of the biggest films released in 2012. For McMorrow Dublin’s small-city status is a positive. “There is something specific to Dublin: a real close-knit community, who love music and want it to be heard in as many places and by as many people as is humanly possible.” Angela Dorgan of First Music Contact, an organisation that helps promote Irish music 54 |

December 2012/January 2013

James Vincent mcmorrow’s faVourite daytime hang-outs “It used to be nigh impossible to get really good coffee in Dublin. Now there are so many homegrown places making great coffee: 3FE, Brother Hubbard, Clement & Pekoe, Wall & Keogh, The Fumbally. They are beautiful spaces, and the people who run them care about what they’re selling, what’s hanging on their walls and who’s playing through their speakers. They could compete alongside the best places from any other city I’ve been too.”

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abroad at industry festivals such as Eurosonic and The Great Escape, agrees. “Our music is doing well for some of the same reasons Dublin is a great city, because what we were doing separately, we all decided to do together instead.” Bobby Aherne, the leader of the lo-fi indie-rock band No Monster Club, is such a fan of the city he called his band’s latest album Dublin. He says the city’s size is as crucial as it is a crux. “There is a wonderful Dublin-based folk grand social singer-songwriter Voted the 2011 Dublin Live who I’ve been a Music Venue of the Year, the fan of for a few main gigging area at The Grand years,” he recounts. Social has a boho festival feel with “Recently, it great sound and a very cool beer transpired that garden. The venue also attracts the same man is international and local DJs; my mother’s boss. thegrandsocial.ie I guess that bolsters the idea that Dublin is actually more like a village than a city. Everybody’s connected here, for better or for worse.” Villagers songwriter, Conor O’Brien, found his musical feet in the city and talks of “a growing inventiveness” on the ground in Dublin. “People seem to be Lo-fi indie rockers, ploughing their own furrows; the No Monster Club general diversity is the most exciting raising the roof. aspect of music in Dublin right now.” Diversity is a word that crops up repeatedly in conversation with Dublin musicians. A visitor to the FiVE bAnDs TO sEE city can enjoy acoustic music at the long-running Ruby Sessions, lE GAlAxiE The band with the highest fun quotient which take place every Tuesday in Dublin at the moment, night in Doyles (doylesintown. this band brandish synths, com) on College Street in the live drums and guitar and city centre; hard rock or metal at are experts in exhilarating Fibber Magees (fibbermagees.ie) glowstick-waving, danceon Parnell Street, off O’Connell inducing dancefloor anthems. Street or dance at one of the city’s See them live: The Workman’s fine residencies at Nightflight, Club on December 21 and 22 which happens monthly, or Hidden (legalaxie.net). Agenda which takes place most liTTlE GrEEn cArs This Saturday nights, in the Button indie-folk quintet have been Factory (buttonfactory.ie) on Curved refining their harmony-led Street in Temple Bar. Both nights songs over the past four pair international touring artists years, despite only just with local acts. “Any international hitting their 20s. Their songs guest that we have had over will are assured enough that always reference the atmosphere Glassnote Records, home to that Irish crowds generate,” says Hidden Agenda’s Stephen 56 |

December 2012/January 2013

Mumford & Sons and Phoenix in the US, snapped them up to release their debut in 2013. See them live, visit facebook. com/littlegreencars for upcoming dates. FunErAl suiTs A debut album produced by The Smiths and Blur producer Stephen Street, and a clutch of exciting songs that cross the divide between Britpopindebted indie, art-rock and atmospheric synthesizer flourishes, have set up these guys as a hot prospect and a killer live show. See them live: The Workman’s Club, December 5 (funeralsuits.com).

ThE minuTEs A sweat-filled celebration of rock ‘n’ roll delivered from the stage by three sharply styled, cheeky chaps who are the epitome of dedicated Dublin musicians. See them live: UK & Ireland tour throughout December (theminutesmusic.com). FiGhT likE ApEs A riotous mix of punk-rock catchy indie-pop, this acerbic trio have abundant energy and the tunes to drive crowds wild. They’ve been known to perform in wrestling rings in the past. See them live: visit fightlikeapesmusic.com for upcoming dates.

Clockwise from top left, pop platters at All City records; Niall Byrne contemplating his next post; street style in the city; Bobby Aherne from No Monster Club. December 2012/January 2013

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Dublin music

WHERE TO EAT GREEn 19 An always busy caférestaurant perfect for a pre-gig dinner. All mains are €10, apart from the specials, and the room is bright and modern. Guaranteed to leave you sated before you head to Whelan’s, The Village or Anseo. (19 Camden Street, 01 478 9626; green19.ie). WHiTEFRiAR GRill Good for brunch, lunch and dinner, this cosy interior has good tunes on the stereo and a full and adventurous menu, including black pudding pancakes for brunch, duck shepherd’s pie for mains and roast bone marrow with oxtail marmalade for starters. (16 Aungier Street, 01 475 9003; whitefriargrill.ie) sKinFlinT Joe Macken’s flatbread pizza joint, where each pizza is named after an employee’s mother, is one of the best. His other establishments are worth a visit too, particularly if you like meat (bear), chicken (crackbird) or burgers (Jo’ burger). You’ll want to take its firebee honey home with you. (Crane Lane, Temple Bar; skinflint.joburger.ie)

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December 2012/January 2013

Clockwise from above, music producer Robert Ichis Mirolo at Twisted Pepper; great venues for music and food fans – Skinflint and Fade St Social.

Manning. Nightflight’s resident DJ Dave Redmond concurs. “When the crowd is up for it there is no place in the world that can match Dublin.” A trip to The Workman’s Club (theworkmansclub.com) on Wellington Quay, is a must. With live music, DJs, dancing and one of the best rooftop smoking areas in the city, Bono may be the landlord of the building (he also owns the Clarence Hotel next door with The Edge) but it’s the young musicians of Dublin who play, drink and hang out there. “It’s got to be the easiest place in the world to spark up a conversation with a complete stranger,” says Karl Geraghty, manager of The Workman’s Club, speaking about Dublin in general – but the sentiment also applies to his

own venue’s smoking area. Hip-hop, soul and funk enthusiasts should look out for events by promoters Choice Cuts, or drop in to All City Records (all-cityrecords. com) on Crow Street in Temple Bar and browse the selection of cuttingedge music on vinyl, including its own internationally-renowned releases on the All City label. “The shop is as much a community centre as anything else,” says owner Olan O’Brien. “We’ve never been about just selling records – as well as selling art/graffiti stuff, we have a small label, we promote gigs and everyone connected to the shop DJs.” Many of the city-dwelling dance and electronic musicians, such as Le Galaxie, Solar Bears, Mmoths, Frank B or Faws, who

the winter blues by watching some of WHELAN’S ONES TO WATCH ... Banish e play at Whelan’s on Wexford Street, the promising new bands on the Irish scen hts. Entry is only €10; whelanslive.com and next door’s The Village, over four nig

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Dublin music

This page, Ellie and louise macnamara, the twin sisters known as Heathers, relax at The Fumbally.

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have found favour with a cluedin international audience, got their start or spend time in the Twisted Pepper (thetwistedpepper. thetwistedpepper. com) on Middle Abbey Street, or its sister pub and venue, The Bernard Shaw (thebernardshaw. com), on Richmond Street. Both venues are hubs for dance and electronic music creativity and are run by dance music promoter Bodytonic, which just celebrated its 10th birthday. Bodytonic’s main man, Trevor O’Shea, is as excited as ever about the city’s prospects. “People are trying lots of new ideas, and everyone else is more receptive to them – whether you’re a label, promoter, shop, band, blogger, whatever – everyone is collaborating, cross-pollinating with different scenes, styles and ideas. It’s never boring in Dublin.” By day, the Pepper is home to one of the best coffee shops in Dublin, 3FE, as well as a Boxcutter barbershop and the city’s newest record shop, Elastic Witch (elasticwitch.com). It’s a small operation run by Gib Cassidy but the Twisted Pepper’s daytime coexisting traders mean it’s also a great place to hang out as well as buy some music. “A large percentage of

WHERE TO DRINK

our customers are local musicians too, so it’s a place where a lot of musicians meet each other, share experiences, make plans and drink lots of coffee,” explains Cassidy. While the Twisted Pepper is a relatively new addition to Dublin’s venue landscape, more established venues are still firm favourites with Dublin musicians. Conor O’Brien of Villagers says Vicar Street (vicarstreet. com) on Thomas Street in the Liberties, which is somewhat intimate despite its 1,500-seat capacity, is up there “in terms of sound quality, atmosphere and size”. The Minutes, Funeral Suits and James Vincent McMorrow say the Victorian interior of the Olympia Theatre (olympia.ie) on Dame Street, built in 1879, is the apex of their gig experiences in

Clockwise from above, electronica hub, The Bernard Shaw; Gib Cassidy goes on the record; delicious vinyl, both at Elastic Witch. Next page, Le Galaxie noodling.

GROGAN’S The best place in the city centre for a pint of Guinness and outdoor seating. Add their ham and cheese toastie to your order and watch the city go by, until it feels like half the city has eventually joined you, whatever the weather. (15 South William Street; groganspub.ie) THE WORKMAN’S CLUB Even if you don’t go for the live music or the dancing there are still plenty of rooms to party in in this old but recently renovated building. The Bison Bar serves cocktails and tequila drinks. (10 Wellington Quay, 01 670 6692; theworkmansclub.com) L. MULLIGAN GROCER North of the city centre in Stoneybatter, near The Joinery art gallery, this is probably the only pub in Ireland that doesn’t sell Guinness. It serves Irish, international craft beers and a vast array of whiskeys. Stop off in The Cobblestone in Smithfield to get your fill of trad and the black stuff before arriving here. (18 Stoneybatter, 01 670 9889; lmulligangrocer.com)

December 2012/January 2013

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Anne SMiTH/annesmith.net

Dublin music

the city. “Getting to play my own shows there late last year, that’s something I’ll remember for the rest of my days,” beams McMorrow. All the musicians interviewed namechecked Whelan’s (whelanslive. com) on Wexford Street as having a

special place in their hearts, as for many it’s the first rung on the live music ladder and a bastion of what’s going on musically in Dublin. Ellie and Louise Macnamara, the twin sisters known as Heathers, who have recently been collaborating

WHERE TO sTay THE mORGan Lots of musician types are put up in this boutique hotel in Temple Bar so you never know who you’ll meet in the lounge. Rooms from €105. (10 Fleet Street, 01 643 7000; themorgan.com) KEllys This small urban hotel, off Dame Street, is in the centre of the action and is above the popular Hogan’s bar and right beside The Secret Bar, The Market Bar and Dylan McGrath’s new restaurant, Fade Street Social. Rooms from €85. (36 South Great George’s Street, 01 648 0010; kellysdublin.com)

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December 2012/January 2013

with global dance producer David Guetta, speak fondly of Whelan’s. “There’s something homely about it. Maybe it’s from going to so many great gigs there, and also playing there ourselves, that I love it so much,” says Ellie. It’s not just professional venues dominating the gig scene. James Byrne recommends the small gig room upstairs in Anseo on Camden Street, just up the road from Whelan’s, “on a sweaty Thursday night with a broken PA and sticky carpet”. With the Celtic Tiger’s property boom and subsequent crash leaving a surplus of vacant buildings, it’s no surprise that Bring Your Own Bottle (BYOB) events have sprung up in art galleries and spaces such as The Joinery on Rosemount Terrace in Arbour Hill, Supafast Building on Capel Street, Monster Truck Gallery in Temple Bar, Block T in Smithfield and Little Green Street Gallery on Little Britain Street, with many more one-off spaces being used for events (visit thumped.com to find BYOB listings). “The tone seems to have shifted in recent times with installations, music performances and gatherings taking place in unusual places around the city,” says Michael Pope of electro-poppers Le Galaxie. “People are stepping out of the pubs and clubs and spending their evenings at something independent and unique instead.” Popical Island, a “bockety pop” collective of indie-rock musicians who have put on allday gigs in Whelan’s and put out releases that have included local bands like Tieranniesaur, Grand Pocket Orchestra, Squarehead, So Cow and No Monster Club, have contributed much to the identity of Dublin music in recent years. Mike Stevens, a member of the collective offers a last bit of advice for those visiting, “Dublin keeps us on our musical toes by giving us weird and wonderful spots for gigs from bars to basements to BYOB galleries to bean-bag shops. My advice? Keep your eyes and ears open, you’re always in walking distance of a great gig or three, so take a chance!”

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lisbon for golf

The second hole at Quinta da Marinha, right, with the 10th in the background on the left. The Robert Trent Jones course makes plentiful use of water hazards throughout.

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December 2012/January 2013

Time forTee Many golfers heading to Portugal fly straight to the sunny Algarve. But the Lisbon area has lots to offer too – good courses, interesting day-trips, and a feel of the “real Portugal”, David Robbins reports. Photographs by Anthony Woods.

December 2012/January 2013

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lisbon for golf

e are standing beside the ninth green at the Belas Clube de Campo outside Lisbon. I lean confidentially towards my playing partner, club pro Keith Barrett. “You know,” I say, “if there’s anything you notice about my swing, feel free …” “Oh, I wouldn’t start with your swing,” he says, and leaves his sentence hanging in the air while our photographer has a practice putt on the green. What would he start with, I wonder. My outfit? My hairstyle? The photographer knocks his putt to about three feet, damn him. “Go on,” I urge. It’s my stance and my grip apparently. And I thought I was playing well. I’d had 66 |

December 2012/January 2013

gold bond If you lost on the golf course, you could try winning back some a detailed and very hi-tech bunker. That, I suppose, of your money at the giant Casino lesson in Florida recently is the difference that I reckoned had put me between a pro and an Estoril (casino-estoril.pt). The original on the road to a single-figure 18-handicapper. When inspired Ian Fleming to write the handicap. That’s the thing the pro tries the one-inJames Bond novel Casino Royale, about golf: fix one part of a-million shot, it comes and the new building still has your game and another goes off; when I try it, trees, some spy novel glamour out of whack. passing birds and even about it. Belas lies high in the hills playing companions get hurt. between Lisbon and the twin There is nothing like a suburbs of Estoril and Cascais. It is companionable round of golf as on the circuit of clubs that tourists the setting for an interview. It is hereabouts tend to play, and it’s a more like a normal conversation, nice introduction to golf in the area. punctuated by interjections such as Keith, a genial man in his early 50s, “Good shot!” or (in my case) “Hard is a well-known golf coach and has luck!” I learn that Belas is owned a lovely swing. I have to suppress a by a member of the ruling family certain smugness when his second of Angola, and there are plans for shot on the third hole ends up a hotel on the complex. (Angola Above, club is a former Portuguese colony behind a tree in a small marsh, while professional Keith I find the middle of the fairway. and wealthy Angolans have been Barrett tees off at Of course, he plays a miraculous Belas Clube investing in the Lisbon area for some rescue shot, while I hit my ball into a de Campo. time.) But the main topic of our

ublin is well known for being one of the best places to spend Christmas and the New Year. It comes alive with festive spirit, smiling faces, spectacular street lights, carol singing, pantomimes, Santa’s Grottos and maybe even a bit of snow. The New Year’s Eve celebrations promise to be bigger and better than ever this year, and we’re right in the middle of everything. What better way to enjoy this festive fun than a visit O’Neill’s, one of Dublin’s most famous and historic pubs. Whether you’re a visitor, native Dubliner or coming home for Christmas, when you visit O’Neill’s you’ll receive a warm and friendly welcome. Drop in for a mince pie and mulled wine or a delicious traditional Roast Turkey and Baked Ham dinner with all the trimmings. We have some real crackers on the menu this year, in fact, Lonely Planet rate us as one of the Top 5 Places to ﬁnd ´Real Irish food in Dublin´. Food is available throughout the day, starting at 8.00am with our ‘Really Good’ Irish Breakfast Menu, until late every evening. We also have Traditional Irish Music seven nights-a-week, a fully heated Roof-Top Beer Garden and Smoking Area, the largest selection of local Irish Craft Beers on tap in Ireland and a connoisseur Whiskey Bar. On top of that we offer free Wi-Fi to all our customers just to help you keep in touch!

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lisbon for golf

talk, as it is on every golf course I play over the next few days, is the economic crisis and its effect on golf tourism. “When I came here twelve years ago, we had 30 members,” recalls Keith. “I asked why Above, Belas [so few], and was told we didn’t Clube de Campo is need local players – the tourist a parkland course market would be enough. Now, set in the hills we are definitely interested in the above Estoril and local Portuguese players because the Cascais. revenue from the tourist golfer has taken a hit.” As we come up the ninth fairway, a plane flies overhead. Probably bound for the green Algarve I suggest, and Keith nods. Most fee golfers coming Oitavos Dunes is about as to Portugal head environmentally friendly a golf further south, course as you’ll find. It even won a flying in to Faro prestigious Audubon Award for its and playing wildlife protection programme. The courses such as downside? They prefer you to Quinta do Lago walk the hilly course rather and San Lorenzo. than take a buggy. The Lisbon area, which boasts courses just as good as those in the Algarve, finds itself in a battle with its southern rival. The weather in 68 |

December 2012/January 2013

gETTing your bEArings Lisbon is divided by the wide estuary of the River Tagus. The airport is on the north side of the river, making courses to the west and north of the city relatively easy to access. There are some great courses to the south – Aroeira, Troia (troiagolf.com) and Quinta do Peru (golfquintadoperu.com) among them – but you have to deal with the heavy traffic on the 2.2km bridge over the river. To the west, Estoril (estorilgolf. com), belas Clube de Campo (belasclubedecampo.pt) and lisboa sports Club (lisbonclub.com) are parkland courses set in the hills towards Sintra. Also in this area is Penha longa (penhalonga.com), considered by many to be the best course around Lisbon. Coming down from the hills and heading towards the coast, oitavos Dunes (oitavosdunes. com) and Quinta da Marinha (quintadamarinha.com) are spread out over a promontory near Cascais and have more of a links feel. Further north, a new golfing area is gaining followers. The drive time is longer and the towns are smaller, but the courses around Obidos are starting to challenge the older Lisbon clubs. golden Eagle

(goldeneagle.pt), Campo real (camporeal.pt), Praia del rey (praiadel-rey.com) and royal obidos (royalobidos.com) are all drawing tourists north. Previously, the area has lacked an accommodation base, but many now stay at the new Marriott hotel at Praia del Rey. Allow more than an hour for the transfer from Lisbon airport to courses in the north and south. Courses to the west are closer, so 40 minutes is about right. If you want to play immediately after touchdown, Estoril is probably the closest. We drove from there to the airport for our return flight in less than 20 minutes. Green fees vary tremendously, depending on how you book. For instance, on some tee-booking sites, a weekend round at Oitavos Dunes costs €130, but on others it is €80. The walk-up rate is always the most expensive. Costs come down – for both green fees and buggy hire – once you book your package through an agent. It gets cheaper still if you avail of various stay-and-play packages. With a little online research, you should not be paying more than €40-€60 per round anywhere, with buggy hire around €40.

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lisbon for golf

Take To The hills …

the Algarve is more reliable, but the area along its famous highway N125 consists of a series of hotel and villa complexes and can seem excessively “touristy”. On a golfing trip a couple of years ago, one of our group announced he was leaving our villa in Vale do Lobo to “find the real Portugal”; he returned two hours later and admitted defeat. West of Lisbon, however, there are real towns (Estoril and Cascais) with a life of their own that does not depend

entirely on the tourist euro or the green fee. The area offers a slightly more “real” experience. And for the golfer, the courses are just as challenging, and there is a more established feel about them. Even so, the owners in the area have a fight on their hands trying to persuade golfers not to fly over them on their way south. “We have seen a fall in numbers from the UK and Ireland,” acknowledges Keith, “but there has been an increase in visitors from places such as Hungary, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic. There are also more Russians coming.” And Swedes, as I discover the next day at Quinta da Marinha, a parkland course along the Guincho

Head for the hills – Sintra is where the Portuguese royal court went to escape the summer heat in Lisbon. It is full of grand houses and romantic villas. Above right, Margarida Silva, owner of O Vao da Escada (Under the Stairs), one of the oldest shops in Sintra.

When things got too hot in downtown Lisbon, the royal court of King Ferdinand and Queen Maria would literally head for the hills. sintra became the home of the royal court in the late 1800s for those sticky summer months. Now, the palace that King Ferdinand built – the Pena national Palace – is the centrepiece of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Sintra is easily accessible from Lisbon – train is best (40 minutes from Rossio Station), as parking is limited – or the coast. It is a little like a theme park of Romanticism, with villas and grand houses dotted about the hillside. It is a tourist haven, of course, but not in a way that feels too exploitative. It’s built on a series of hills in what is now the Pena National Park, so be prepared for some stiff walking. The trek out of the village to the Pena Palace is a good workout. On the Rua Consiglieri Pedroso, check out lawrence’s hotel (+351 219 105 500; lawrenceshotel.com), one of the oldest hotels in Iberia. Founded in 1706, its fame was assured when Lord Byron stayed there for twelve days in 1809 and pronounced Sintra “a glorious Eden”. golisbon.com/portugal/ cities/sintra

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lisbon for golf

Clockwise from left, clubhouse restaurant manager Justine Fisher adds a touch of South African glamour at Oitavos Dunes; the course-side infinity pool at Quinta da Marinha; a group putts out on the green at Quinta da Marinha.

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December 2012/January 2013

Road (N247) from Cascais. I am paired with a group of three Swedes who are in a golfing fight to the death over four days in the area. They are hardcore: two rounds a day, carrying their own bags. They accept a stray Irishman and his photographer into their midst very willingly, and soon I feel like I am in a benign episode of Wallander. Also, those little tips that Keith gave me the day before are bearing fruit. I make five pars and a birdie on the front nine. Suddenly, I think Quinta da Marinha is the best course I have ever played, and that Robert Trent Jones (the course designer) was a genius. I fall slightly out of love with the course on the back nine, but the memory of those drives and approach shots early in the round cannot entirely be extinguished. Quinta da Marinha is on a tract of land bought by the wealthy Champalimaud family, who run the neighbouring Oitavos Dunes course. The Quinta resort has two hotels (the latest, a swish, modern affair beside the clubhouse, is run by the Onyria group), a restaurant and a driving range/academy. It is a wide, sheltered and generous course, with plenty of water hazards and tricky greens. The 13th, a par four which runs down towards the sea, is the signature hole. The sea, and the wind that comes off it, is much more a feature of Oitavos Dunes, just up

the road. The Swedes have already played it and warn me about the wind. Oitavos has twice hosted the now-defunct Portuguese Open, once in 2008 (winning score 18, weather calm), and once in 2007 (winning score seven under, weather windy). My playing partner is Helder Ferreira, assistant golf director, playing off 23. He takes an iron off the first tee, and I think, pshaw, I didn’t fly all this way to play safe. I take my driver, end up in the trees and take a seven. I look at Helder with a new respect. After the first two or three holes, which are treelined, the course opens out into a links-style course, with sandy scrub and pines here and there and plenty of bunkers. The wind is strong and toys with our tee shots at will. There is no repeat of the previous day’s scoring. As often happens when the actual golf is not going well, I begin to admire the scenery and comment on the benefits of fresh air. On the 18th, we pass by the new Oitavos hotel, a modernist block of blue glass. Toughened glass, I hope, given the waywardness of my play. I have played Oitavos several times on other visits to the area, and there is something special about it, from the cool, modern design of the clubhouse to the wide vistas from its elevated tees. Along with Penha

Assistant golf director Helder Ferreira hits a drive on the 11th hole at Oitavos Dunes.

Jack Coleman, food & beverages manager at the Oitavos Hotel, and his son David get ready for a round at Oitavos Dunes.

EAT AT … Monte Mar (Estrada de Guincho, Cascais, +351 214 869 270) is part of the Quinta da Marinha group, but it’s located off the property on a rocky promontory overlooking the sea. As you’d expect, seafood features strongly. Mains are €25-€30 and you could expect to pay €120 or so for a meal for two with wine. Mar do Inferno (Avenida Rei Humberto II de Italia 241, Cascais, +351 214 832 218; mardoinferno. guiadacidade.com) is a lively, family-style restaurant overlooking the Boca de Inferno (“Mouth of Hell”) sea

blowhole on the outskirts of Cascais. The seafood platter for two (€74) is a house speciality, with sea bass, gambas, lobster and lots more. O Pescador (Rua das Flores 10B, Cascais, +351 214 832 054; restaurantepescador. com) is an old-school, seafood restaurant in the heart of old Cascais. The waiters look like they have worked there man and boy. The place is decorated with photos of famous diners – we spotted the Duke and Duchess of Windsor – and there is a timeless feeling about the place. Fish mains are about €25.

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lisbon for golf

sleep at …

Longa near Estoril, it is probably the best course in the area. So far, my Lisbon trip has been a rollercoaster of emotions: the optimism of Belas, the high of Quinta da Marinha and the chastening, you’re-human-afterall comedown of Oitavos. There is time for one last round, a dawn start at Estoril golf club, which lies conveniently off the motorway on the way to Lisbon airport. (It’s a good choice for that just-off-theplane first round, or for a last chance at redemption.) My playing partner here is club pro Daniel Grimm, a tall, athletic German who seems straight from PGA central casting. His club is old school – one of the oldest in the country – with a rather British feel. In the caddymaster’s shack, a group of caddies are playing cards. “People tend not to take buggies here,” explains Daniel, “they take a caddy. And believe me, these guys are canny golfers.”

I play well at Estoril, keeping the honour over a run of four or five holes. It is a shorter course than the others, and you have to think your way round, but the tricky greens make up for any lack of yardage. Typical, I think as I board the flight home. Just when you think you will give up the sport, along comes a round – or sometimes even a single perfect shot – that keeps you hooked on this cruel but wonderful game. Already, I am planning a return trip, during which I may just find some of those balls I lost at Oitavos.

Top, club pro Daniel Grimm plays an approach putt on a typically tricky green at Estoril Golf Club. Above, Dave Robbins takes a buggy break.

For more information on Lisbon and surrounds, visit lisboa.com.

er’s massage at the Oitavos Hotel’s spa Salt on the woundS: the special golf se legs back into shape. It will uses a mixture of salt and herbs to get tho t day’s round. €90 for 80 minutes. put a zingy spring in your step for the nex

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splUrge Quinta da Marinha (Rua do Clube, +351 214 860 100; quintadamarinha.com) is a large golf resort complex in Cascais with two hotels, a golf course, spa, driving range and off-side restaurant. The older hotel is a nice, low-rise, resort-style hotel (€122 per double room per night) popular with golfers and groups. The new Onyria hotel (onyriaresorts.com) is a sleek, modern design hotel (€250 per night) close to the golf clubhouse. The new hotel boasts a first-rate spa and would suit golfers and nongolfers alike. The hotel also offers villa accommodation close by. MiD-range The Oitavos (Rua de Oitavos, Quinta da Marinha, +351 214 860 020; theoitavos.com) is a monument to minimalism. The blue glass of the exterior reflects the sea and sky, and the colour theme is continued inside, from the vast, open-plan reception/bar/ restaurant/lounge area on the ground floor, to the large, stylish rooms, which are also open plan (ie bathrooms are not separate, but shower and toilet are glassed off). It’s like being on a James Bond set (€163-€195 for twin room for one night). bUDget Vila Galé (Rua Frei Nicolau de Oliveira, +351 214 826 000; vilagale.pt) is a large hotel on the west side of Cascais, ideal for access to the golf courses, yet within walking distance of the town centre. It does not pretend to be a designer hotel, but offers good accommodation at reasonable prices (€65 per night for twin room).

Hertz car rental Cara would like to thank Hertz for their assistance. For the best car rental deals, visit aerlingus.com and click on the Hertz icon. Or call reservations from Ireland, 01 813 3844. aer lingus flies from Dublin to Lisbon, Mon, Wed, Thur, Fri and Sun.

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Universal appeal

A theme park junkie, Bill O’Sullivan is in heaven as he is drenched, dangled and delighted while visiting Orlando’s top theme parks. Photographs by Matt Marriott.

kay, first of all, I have a confession to make. I’m a complete sucker for theme parks. I was a bit of a slow starter, not visiting one until the ripe old age of eleven, but the anticipation had been building for at least a year. That was in the old days (ie, before the internet), so I collected a physical scrapbook (yes, really) of newspaper clippings, brochures and any scrap of information I could find. Where were we going? Orlando, of course, the theme park capital of the world. I became obsessed and had lists of the must-do rides, maps of how to get around and a special calendar counting down the days. But the amazing thing is, when we finally got there, it lived up to my sky-high expectations. At that age, my focus was mainly on Disney World – the world’s most visited entertainment resort. It has been the centrepiece of Florida’s theme park attractions since opening in 1971 and, at over 121 square kilometres, it’s perfectly possible to spend a week or two in Orlando without venturing outside the family-friendly bubble of the resort. These days, Disney is still unparalleled in its ability to immerse you in a fantasy land of fairytale characters, princesses and pirates, but if you are traveling with children over the age of eight or so, they may want more in the thrills department, and that’s 76 |

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orlando

when you need to venture out and see what else Orlando has to offer. And that brings me (screaming and yelling) to Universal Resort, and its collection of partners, including Busch Gardens and SeaWorld, a worthy competitor for Disney. In the past 20 years Universal has expanded from a single theme park into a full-blown resort in its own right, with two theme parks, a huge dining/shopping/nightclub complex, and three luxury on-site hotels. The attractions are geared more towards older kids and adults, with roller coasters and thrill rides that many adults would baulk at, let alone their younger children. The original park, Universal Studios, is based around a working production facility, but the real stars are the rides. Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem – the newest ride in the park – is a perfect way to ease yourself in. The story is that you’re roped in to become a minion for Gru, the star of the movie, and you’re quickly thrown into chaos. A motion simulator ride with a huge 3D screen, the action almost makes you feel like you’re riding a roller coaster, but your seat never leaves the ground. Feeling sick? Simply close your eyes and you’ll realise that you’re barely moving! If you survive that and are feeling brave, you might make the leap to 78 |

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Eat at … Both Universal Resort and Walt Disney World have their own nightlife districts with a wide Previous pages, Cheetah Run, Busch array of restaurants to choose the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit Gardens; clockwise from. Universal has CityWalk, just around the corner. The unique from above, Bill with options including the world’s selling point of this coaster is that O’Sullivan, The largest Hard rock Café, serving each person has a little iPod-like Simpsons, Olive Oil huge portions of American touch screen where they can choose and Popeye, all seen classics; latin Quarter, serving what music to listen to as they ride. at Universal Resort. a modern twist on Old World You start with a 50-metre vertical Latin dishes; and Bubba Gump lift and take it from there You’re Shrimp Company serving (would at 105kmph. When you you believe) shrimp in a Forrest land you’ll find not too kind! Gump-inspired interior. only the obligatory The first time you’re asked for ID Disney has downtown photo but a video when buying alcohol, you may think it’s disney where you’ll find of your complete flattery, but you’ll soon realise everyone a Planet Hollywood, a ride, showing every under the age of 50 is asked for proof rainforest Cafe and contortion of your they’re over 21. It can get pretty tiresome, (if you’re feeling a little face. I have to admit however, a photocopy of your passport homesick) raglan road Irish that this coaster Pub and restaurant. Most of gave me a bit of a will do if you aren’t comfortable the better resort hotels have headache (the only one carrying around the real decent restaurants, too, and you on the trip that did) so thing. don’t have to be staying in the I didn’t feel the need to hotel to enjoy them. relive it, but maybe that just

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Traveller’s Tips WHen To Go I visited in late September when the weather was still very warm but the queues were much reduced. There’s very little hanging around for all but the most popular rides. Locals say that February is also an excellent time to visit as it’s pleasantly cool as well as quiet. If you do go at off-peak times, don’t bother with the added expense of express passes. Either way, I wouldn’t buy them in advance. Wait until you get to the park and, if the wait times are more than you are prepared to tolerate, you can stump up the cash for the express passes on the spot. TiCKeTinG opTions There is a bewildering array of options when it comes to buying tickets for the various theme parks around Orlando. Strategic partnerships between parks mean discounts in one when you visit another, but one of the simplest and most economical ways to visit as many parks as possible is to go for the Orlando Flex Ticket. This gives you 14 consecutive days of unlimited access to Universal’s Islands of Adventure, Universal Studios, Wet’n Wild, SeaWorld, Aquatica and

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Busch Gardens, as well as complimentary entry to Universal CityWalk, free coach transport to Busch Gardens and a special parking deal that allows you to pay only once for parking if you visit more than one participating park on the same day. The ticket costs from €215 per adult and €200 per child. To book, visit attractionticketsdirect.ie, call 1800 927 467 or visit the new shop at Harcourt Centre, Block 2, Harcourt Street, Dublin 2. Car parKs If you’re driving always make a note of where you’ve left your car. These car parks are some of the biggest in the world and losing your car when you’re tired at the end of the day can really put a damper on things. I find the easiest thing is to take a photograph of the spot with my phone. BeaTinG QUeUes If you don’t mind splitting up your group, one of the most effective ways to skip long queues is to use the single rider line. Use this wherever you see it – it’s usually even faster than the express queues. And try to eat at off peak times, like lunch at 11am or 3pm, to avoid the midday rush.

December 2012/January 2013

Above, the more grown-up Islands of Adventure park; right, delicious Butterbeer at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Other not-to-be-missed rides here include Revenge of the Mummy – a dark indoor roller coaster ride with some amazing special effects and unexpected twists – and The Simpsons Ride, where you career through Krustyland on an out-of-control roller coaster (don’t worry, this is another motion simulator). There are so many visual jokes and characters in this, even a casual Simpsons fan will want to ride it again and again. Universal Studio’s sister park, Islands of Adventure, is based more closely on Disney’s Magic Kingdom template of immersive, detailed theming, but here most of the headline rides are a bit too intense for youngsters. Made up of seven themed lands, this is the

park I was most excited to see. It includes some of the most hi-tech, mind-boggling ride experiences in the world. The jewel in the crown (and the first place you should head to on arriving at the park if you’re going to avoid the worst of the queues) is the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The attention to detail here is almost beyond belief. Not the world’s biggest Harry Potter fan, I was completely won over as soon as I caught a glimpse of Hogsmeade. Anyone with a passing knowledge of the films will immediately recognise the Hogwarts Express, Ollivander’s wand shop (where, in a clever marketing ploy, your wand can choose you, making it an almost irresistible purchase),

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Owl Post Office (where you can send postcards that will arrive with the Hogsmeade postmark), and The Hog’s Head (purveyors of butterbeer). The headline attraction here is Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. Unusually enough, the queue is almost as enjoyable as the actual ride, walking you through some of the most familiar rooms in Hogwarts, including Dumbledore’s office, the portrait gallery where the paintings talk to each other, and the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. It really feels like

you’ve stepped into the movies – there are even (holographic) cameo appearances by all the main stars. The ride itself is a groundbreaking combination of dark track ride and motion simulator that can be quite disorientating and will leave you scratching your head as to how they did it – always a plus in my book. Other favourites were The Incredible Hulk coaster for its launch of 0-65kmph in two seconds, and The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, consistently regarded by many as the best theme park ride in the world since its opening in

Splashing fun at Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls.

1999, only recently losing out to Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. If the sun is shining and you’re not afraid of getting wet, there are three more rides here that you shouldn’t miss. The Jurassic Park River Adventure starts out as a gentle river ride through dinosaur habitats but, of course, things go wrong and you’re sent off course until you come face to face with a hungry T-rex. The only escape is down a 26-metre plunge. I made the mistake of sitting in the front row on this one and got thoroughly

Sleep at … Not surprisingly, there’s no shortage of hotels in Orlando and you’ll easily find one to fit your budget. I would recommend staying in a resort hotel where possible, though. I stayed in the loews royal pacific Hotel (loewshotels. com) in Universal and there’s nothing

like being able to catch a free water taxi back to your hotel after a (tough!) morning in the park, avoiding the midday heat and recharging your batteries for a return trip in the evening when many of the day trippers have left. Other perks in Universal Resort hotels include early entry to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter an hour before the park officially opens and unlimited Universal Express privileges, allowing you to skip the normal queues (this could otherwise cost you up to $89 per person, per day). If you do

your sums and decide the extra expense of an on-site hotel isn’t justified by the perks, there’s a huge range of hotels in the Orlando area. One that offers plenty of space for families is the Floridays resort orlando (floridaysresortorlando. com), located smack bang in the middle of all the theme parks. All the rooms are suites, so you get a minimum of two bedrooms with two bathrooms, a large living/dining/kitchen area and a balcony. Off-season rates start at around $130 per night for a two-bedroom suite.

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soaked. Rather than wasting your time trying to dry out, move on to Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls. This ends in a similar flume ride drop but this time it brings you below the water level, with fountains and water cannons firing at you from all directions. It looks a bit more intimidating than it is (though I was wringing out my clothes as I got off). You may think you couldn’t get any wetter but don’t be naive. Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges is a white-water rapids ride where everyone in the twelve-seater boat gets absolutely saturated. Either bring a change of clothes or leave this ride until the end of the day. Of course, getting wet like this does bring relief from the searing heat you can get in Orlando and, if you get a taste for it, there’s no better place to go than one of the many water parks in the area. One of the best is Aquatica, adjacent to SeaWorld. It has everything you could hope for, including two huge wave pools, a lazy river and an array 84 |

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of water slides that you can do alone or in groups. The best-looking attraction is the Dolphin Plunge where part of the slide is transparent and takes you underwater through a Commerson’s dolphin habitat. It’s pretty much impossible to see the dolphins, though, when you’re travelling at high speed, so this slide definitely isn’t worth any significant wait. Almost any of the other slides in the park give a better experience. My favourite was the Taumata Racer where you race down an incredibly steep hill, head first, but there are much tamer slides for the more wary visitor. And if your nerves are frayed and you want to relax by the pool while the kids head off to explore the thrills of the

Clockwise from top, the thrilling Kraken rollercoaster, serene dolphins in Dolphin Cove, the famous Shamu Show, all seen at SeaWorld.

park, you might consider renting a private cabana for the day. These come with towels and lockers as well as a fridge stocked with bottled water, and make a great meeting point for the family. Wet ’n Wild is the granddaddy of Orlando water parks, opening in 1977 as the world’s first, and it still packs them in thanks to a mix of no-nonsense, high-energy slides for adults, a lazy river and some quiet sandy beaches on which to sunbathe. While it’s not as beautifully landscaped as some

of its competitors, it does have something for everyone, including the unforgettable Bomb Bay, where you stand on a trap door and wait for it to open to a 23-metre, nearly vertical slide. One thing to note about the water parks is that they close all the rides when there’s an impending storm, so keep an eye on the weather forecast. Passing thunder storms are to be expected and won’t close the park for long, but if there’s a persistent storm front coming, avoid the water parks entirely as you won’t get a refund in the event of bad weather. When I first visited SeaWorld back in 1988, I had just been through the Disney parks and I felt it didn’t compare well. It had

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its moments but felt a bit worthy. Since then, SeaWorld has risen to the challenge of competing with the top resorts and added enough thrill rides to entertain cynical teens without losing the family-friendly charm of the animal encounters and live shows. Of SeaWorld’s two coasters, Manta is unique, holding the rider in a head-first, face-down position. With nothing beneath

Clockwise from above, fantastic felines, happy humans, and charming simians, all at home in Busch Gardens.

ss Preserve is home to GO WILD ... At 4,850 hectares, the Disney Wilderne see a bald eagle, a sandhill over 1,000 species of plants and animals. You might freshwater marsh and other crane or a big-eared bat, as well as a cypress swamp, etre trail; nature.org habitats. Take a picnic and hike around the four-kilom

Fifteen minutes north of downtown Orlando is Winter Park, an upscale suburb with a really inviting shopping district of mostly privately-owned boutiques lining its very own Park Avenue (experienceparkavenue.com). You could easily spend a whole day exploring all its nooks and crannies, picking out things that would be difficult to find elsewhere. Besides chic clothing stores, you’ll find specialist chocolate shops, pet shops, children’s book shops, shoes, jewellery and plenty of places to sit and soak up the relaxed atmosphere. At the northern end of the street, just where the shops run out, is The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art (morsemuseum.org), which houses the world’s most comprehensive collection of works by Louis Comfort Tiffany (son of Charles Lewis Tiffany, found of Tiffany & Co). The collection includes Tiffany jewellery, pottery, paintings, art glass, leaded-glass windows and lamps, and the stunning Art Nouveau Tiffany chapel. Oh, and the museum shop is not to be missed.

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illUSTrATiOn By ChriS jUDGe/ chrisjudge.com

orlando

you, this smooth ride is the closest most of us will get to the sensation of flying. The other coaster, Kraken, is consistently rated as one of the world’s best and shouldn’t be missed. But there’s a lot more to SeaWorld. The newest experience is TurtleTrek, a 360-degree, 3D dome theatre where you view the world from the perspective of a young turtle, seeing all the hazards it faces as it battles for survival. The educational message is hammered home a little strongly, but the experience is entertaining enough to forgive that. Animal encounters are a large part of what SeaWorld is all about. One of the highlights of my trip was the chance to feed and interact with dolphins, so I’d highly recommend seeking these opportunities early in the day to make sure you don’t miss them. The big Shamu stadium show is also a must-see and usually fills up, so keep an eye on the time and make sure to get there at least 20-30 minutes early. And keep an eye out for the “splash zone” signs if you don’t want to get wet. 86 |

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Animal encounters are also a strong point at Busch Gardens. Around one-and-a-half to two hours’ drive from Orlando, this park has a huge emphasis on wildlife, boasting close encounters with giraffes (which you can hand feed for an extra fee), cheetahs, hippos and many more. At Jambo

Above, Bill O’Sullivan on the Dolphins Up-Close Tour at SeaWorld, top, mapping out the entertainment, top right, a meerkat sentinel at Busch Gardens.

Junction you can meet what they refer to as Animal Ambassadors – hand-reared animals that can be used in television programmes and educational venues to attract attention to their cause. This is what holiday memories are really made of for most kids. There’s no shortage of coasters at Busch Gardens either, but the highlight for me has to be SheiKra, a floorless dive coaster that raises you to 60 metres and dangles you for a few heart-stopping moments on the edge of a 90-degree drop before letting go. Surely nobody could be left unmoved by that. My love of theme parks has lasted all my life. On a visit to Tokyo, while the rest of the group went to experience an authentic Japanese tea ceremony, I snuck off to visit Tokyo Disney Sea. I’m already wondering how I’ll manage to get back to Universal to experience the expanded Harry Potter land and the rumoured Transformers ride ... If you think your family is too grown up and cynical for fairytale and fantasy, it’s time to think outside the (Disney) box and explore Orlando’s other offerings. aer lingus flies Dublin to orlando, Tue, Thur and Sat.

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Beauty

Bathed in

When John Butler wanted to write his second novel in a cheap, sunny city, he picked Budapest. What did he find? A capital humming with youthful energy â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and the odd thermal bath. Photographs by Matthew Thompson.

Gold rush â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the gleam of the parliament building over the Danube.

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think it’s probably best that we get some of the pre-conceptions out of the way first, and they were, in ascending order: row after row of grim Stalinist apartment blocks beneath a polluted, industrial sky-line; dowdy citizens hunched over bowls of goulash in searing heat and muscle-bound football hooligans waiting to beat up meek, visiting Irish writers. Okay, I’m exaggerating, but only a little. The good thing about being as staggeringly ignorant as I am is that when a city like Budapest finally chooses to reveal its true self to you, it is love at first sight; overwhelmingly so, because of the great surprise involved.

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More than anything, it is worth stressing that Hungary’s capital, separated by the Danube into the cities of Buda (to the west) and Pest (to the east), is a very, very beautiful place. In parts, such as the river-side neighbourhood of Lipotvaros in Pest, it resembles a cleaner and less crowded Paris, with wide, FUNGARIAN tree-lined streets, If you are undaunted by the an incredible reputed difficulty of learning café culture Hungarian, you might try a language (attention, fans class at a café with “Fungarian”, a fun of cake – this way to learn about the language is your city) and the city through informal and a constant chats with seasoned locals; breeze drifting fungarian.com from Europe’s most impressive river.

Above, city on the river – the view from Buda Castle.

Its squares and parks hum with youthful energy, and in and around Kiraly and Kacsinsky Utca, its streets are lined with hidden garden bars, or “ruin” pubs (kerts). These atmospheric, DIY pubs nestled in refurbished tenement buildings embody the free spirit of the place. Buda is the more tranquil and hilly of the two cities, with beautiful parks, but throughout both cities, street after street of apartment buildings bear ornate facades, a good many of them with statues or inlaid frieze work. On both sides, history, like the famous thermal water, seems to leak up from the ground. Thrown from the rock of Nazism into the hard place of Stalinist Russia, its museums and galleries

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are a source of great fascination and no visit is complete without taking in the atmospheric exhibition at the Museum of Terror, where admission is about €8 (Andrássy Utca 60, +36 1374 2684; houseofterror.hu). There is something indomitable and worldly about the people, and friendly, too. Many of them speak enough English for you to understand and be understood, which is just as well, as Hungarian is well nigh impenetrable. I lived here for three months knowing only the word for “men” (for the record, it is “ férfi”). Budapest is also cheap. As in any city, the more you immerse yourself in local custom, the less it will cost you to have a great time. Change your euro to forint before you come, and when you get here, watch what the people eat and drink – which pastry they take at the café and which ice cream stall they visit. A Coke might cost you nearly 600 forint (or over €2), but see those enormous pint glasses with freshly sliced fruit and ice? Every cafe in Budapest has a range of great home-made lemonade drinks for the same price; many involving elderflower and mint, green apple and pomegranate. Similarly, why drink American beer when there 92 |

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is Tokaj sherry, chestnut-flavoured pálinka, Unicum, white wine spritzers and a host of other local drinks waiting to be explored? And although there is goulash, certainly (and thankfully), there’s also great food of all stripes. Thanks to perfect growing conditions in the Magyar plains, Hungary is something of a gastronomic heartland. The Pest side of the city contains the highest concentration of sights, is flat and commercial, and a good place, therefore, to base oneself – even Buda is only a ten-minute walk, across any of the beautiful bridges along the Danube. Andrássy Avenue – a designated World Heritage Site – is the beautiful central artery, from which everything of interest springs. The section between Basilica and Oktagon (both on the 1 Metro line) is a high-end shopping belt and, thereafter, it becomes a beautiful embassy belt running all the way to Heroes’ Square. At Heroes’ Square, in addition to the Millennium Monument and the park, you’ll find the Zoo and Botanical Gardens (+36 1273 4900; zoobudapest.com), the Széchenyi Baths (+36 1363 3210; budapestgyogyfurdoi.hu), the deepest

Above, get into hot water – Széchenyi Medicinal Baths, the deepest and hottest thermal baths in town and, below, plenty of choice for a picnic from the stalls at the food market at Buda Castle.

(and hottest) thermal bath complex in Budapest, the National Art Gallery, open Tuesday to Sunday (+36 204 397 325; mng.hu/en), and the Museum of Fine Arts (+36 1469 7100; szepmuveszeti.hu). Beneath Andrássy Avenue runs the second oldest subway system in the world, for which single tickets cost about €1. The sights of the city are all accessible and eminently walkable

A morning in BudA but, as ever, the best way to orient yourself is to take a bus tour. For €20 you can get a hop-on, hop-off bus and boat tour (+36 1374 7050; citytour.hu/en) that takes about two hours depending on how often you hop on and off. The boat cruise is terrific too, offering a stunning view of the Parliament Building. You could also get a 24-hour, 72-hour or one-week travel card at any metro station but, in my three months here, with the exception of a single ride along the subway purely for the experience, I didn’t use public transport. If you’re in reasonable health and the weather is dry, you should consider walking, as the city is all-accessible and treasures lurk everywhere. Failing that, you could rent a bike. The people at

Clockwise from left, eat like a local – stewed fruit pastries; Bratfai Istuanne enjoys a local delicacy, panfried crisps; the Louis Vuitton store on Andrássy Way.

Start your day on the more hilly, leafier city on the western banks of the danube by walking over the Chain Bridge to the Siklo Funicular. This 100-year-old wooden train-lift brings you to the top of the city of Buda, for an extravagant view of the east side, the Parliament right beneath and, beyond the city, the eastern plains. Tickets for the funicular cost about €3. The Hungarian national gallery is worth a visit, but a stroll around the old city is equally rewarding. Check out the Disneyesque towers of the Fisherman’s Bastion, the memorial on Trinity Square, visit the state archive or the labyrinths of Buda Castle. Lords’ Street, with its baroque and neo-classical frontage (Uri Utca), runs the length

of the old town. In the afternoon, it’s worth visiting one of the baths on the Buda side. The gellért, Lukacs, rudas and Király baths are all nearby and all worth visiting to while away an afternoon.

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eat at ... budGet “It was amazing?” the waiter asked me, upon removing my plate after my first meal at Két szerescen (High Street 14 Field, +36 1343 1984; ketszerescen.hu), a bright Mediterranean bistro. And he happened to be right, too. Serving up traditional Hungarian fare (incredible breaded chicken with potatoradish salad) Hungarian tapas appear to be a thing, and given that the traditional food can be on the hearty side, this might be the best way to experience it. Situated beside a clutch of theatres, it has a pretty outside seating area and a good wine list. Great for people watching. MId-ranGe Modern Hungarian cooking at its finest is found at Café Kor (Sas Utca 17, +36 1311 0053; cafekor.com). Heavy meat dishes such as duck and venison on skewers are perfect for cold weather. They do great salads here, too, and have an impressive wine list. No credit cards, though, so do bring your forint. spLurGe At the time of writing, Costes (Pest 4th Street, +36 1219 0696; costes.hu) is one of only two Budapest restaurants (alongside Onyx) with a Michelin star, although, given the standard of cuisine across the city, this will surely change. If you eat here, do let me know what it was like, as I could afford only to press my nose against the glass on the way to get a kebab. Note: this place is on Ráday Utca, generally acknowledged to be the restaurant mile of Budapest. Though most of the bistros along this street cater exclusively for tourists, we are who we are. The lively, welcoming atmosphere along the street makes it worth a wander. And, while you’re down here, Krudy Utca, nearby in Josefvaros, has a clutch of nice bars and restaurants – this slightly less touristy neighbourhood is a bit of a find.

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Ernst Museum, the place to see 20th century Hungarian art.

Yellow Zebra Bikes (+36 1269 3843; yellowzebrabikes.com) speak great English, are helpful and also run a good second-hand book store. Their shop is behind Opera (metro – Opera) and prices run from two euro an hour for a bike. Pest’s equivalent of Dublin’s Grafton Street (with all that implies) is Vaci Utca – long, pedestrianised and with all the usual international brands. It begins on the famous square of Vorosmarty Terrace, where you’ll find the Café Gerbeaud, along with hotels and other retail hubs. A pleasant walk along Vaci Utca will bring you to

the terrific Great Market Hall in the 9th District, a great place to eat lunch, or wander about. Before it, the architecture between the Elizabeth and Liberty bridges will be familiar to you from many films; particularly the Twin Klotild Palaces at the approach to the Elizabeth Bridge. The infamous, tragic, Jewish ghetto of Budapest was the site of one of the worst atrocities of the Second World War, where hundreds of thousands perished, despite the best efforts of Raoul Wallenberg. Now, to the rear of the second largest synagogue in

is d Budapest attraction on tripadvisor.com BANG BANG! ... Randomly, the top vote g to reviews, one goes to shoot real pistols, Celeritas Shooting Club where, accordin activity, but the over 170 “excellent”-rated revolvers and rifles. Sounds like an odd le visiting the city; celeritas-sch.com reviews do suggest it’s worth a detour whi

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budapest

Clockwise from left, a glimpse of Communist-era styling; a thriving, creative crowd; history in the buildings; a city with a positive outlook â&#x20AC;&#x201C; local eva Olah.

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The baThs There are two types of people in the world: those who love the experience of soaking in centuries-old ornate mineral baths of different temperatures and lounging in saunas and steam rooms, and those who are wrong. Thanks to a geological quirk of sitting astride two fault lines, Budapest has some of the best thermal waters in Europe. The Gellért baths, belonging to the hotel, are perhaps the most famous. The széchenyi baths (outdoor and indoor) are the hottest and are therefore the most popular year round. At these, you can watch men play chess on floating boards, while winter snow lines the tiles poolside. The Király retains its original roof from the Ottoman period and, like the Rudas, is single sex, on alternate days. But I recommend them all as a great way to unwind, particularly after walking a lot. Submit to the lack of momentum, immerse yourself in local culture, listen to the locals gabbing, sink lower into the warm water and revive. budapestgyogyfurdoi.hu (budapestgyogyfurdoi.hu)

the world (after Temple EmanuEl in New York), the Jewish Museum is considered a sacred destination (+36 1342 8949; dohanyutcaizsinagoga.hu/en). In addition to synagogue tours, you can take a tour around the revitalised neighbourhood itself, wherein you’ll find boutiques, great Hungarian kosher restaurants, a bazaar on Sunday and some of the best kerts or garden bars. The kerts are Budapest’s speciality: multi storey, indooroutdoor drinking dens with music, film projections, art work and hip partiers of all shapes. Particularly worth checking out is Szimpla on Kaczinsky Utca (szimpla.hu), though there’s a whole host of these spots, and a dedicated website, at ruinpubs.com. Nearby, too, is the

Above, the city’s thermal baths attract vistors and natives alike; Budapest’s food scene is surprisingly vibrant.

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illustration by anne smith (annesmith.net)

staY at ...

beautiful Hungarian State Opera House (Andrássy Avenue 22, +36 1814 7342; opera.hu/en), and the restaurants of Liszt Ferenc Square and environs. By day, while you’re here, find the Nagy shopping mall on Andrássy and the top-floor coffee shop, situated beneath a stunningly restored roof. Further north, pass the St Stephen’s Basilica and the Parliament – don’t worry: neither of these sights can possibly be missed as you go about your business – en route to Margrit Island. Two-anda-half kilometres long and plonked in the middle of the Danube, this idyllic place is where Budapest comes to play. The interior is a blend of meadowland, herbaceous borders, outdoor bars, a water park and a great Olympic pool complex. You can run, too, on a spongy, purposebuilt, single-lane track that wraps around the perimeter. The area around the Parliament has some of the better restaurants and cafés too, and a statue of ... Ronald Reagan. Even this mightn’t be as odd as the naming, across the river, of Buda’s Elvis Presley Terrace ... Finally, a word about the weather. 98 |

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Summers are very hot with frequent lightning storms and the winters are cold and snowy, so a visit Daytrip in springtime will Trains leave from enable you to Eastern station for Vienna make the most every two hours and the journey of the city’s café takes just under three hours. A culture, its baths, return ticket costs €20. Given the and its unique historical relationship between the atmosphere. I two cities, it’s well worth love Paris in the springtime, but the seeing them both on the next time I visit the same trip. French capital, I bet you I’ll be thinking (at least some of the time) about Budapest. John butler is also a comedy director, and most recently made a charity sketch show called Good Will Fun thing starring brendan and Domhnall Gleeson, amy huberman and robbie sheehan, to raise funds for st Francis hospice in raheny, Dublin. Watch/ donate/ laugh like a drain at goodwillfunthing.com. John tweets at @oneofmanyjbs

aer Lingus flies from Dublin to budapest daily.

budGet increasingly, for accommodation options within all price ranges, it’s hard to beat websites like airbnb.com, where you can rent apartments of all shapes and sizes, for any length of time and in all kinds of interesting neighbourhoods. budapest has a huge range of these places and the quality is high – the apartment buildings are ornate with high ceilings and stunning private courtyards and balconies on each level. MId-ranGe the centrally located four-star danubius astoria (19-21 Kossuth lajos utca, +36 1889 6000; danubiushotels.com), below, has 135 air-conditioned rooms and a good restaurant. the website doesn’t tell you that this is where the secret police met during the russian occupation of the city and that interrogations were carried out in its basement. so if it’s Cold War atmosphere you’re after, this is the place. rooms from €59 per night. spLurGe Prices at the Hilton in buda (hess andrás tér 1-3, +36 1889 6600; budapesthilton.hu) equate approximately to altitude, and this place offers stunning views right over the city of Pest. the hotel is in a fairly interesting new-old building in a great location, a stone’s throw from the castle and the Fisherman’s bastion. you can take the funicular to Pest, or stay in and eat at one of three restaurants. rooms from €100 per night.

PETERS

BARS & RESTAURANTS

THE MUCKY DUCK 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

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.

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CARBERRYS

Dunshaughlin, Co. Meath 01 8240133 / carberrys.ie Summer 2012 promises to be a bumper period for sports fans so Carberry's is the place to be all the atmosphere to sample a while also enjoying the summer days in our outdoor pavilion.

O ’ FL AH ERT YS / BRA DY ’ 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.

THE WILTON

European Boating Holidays Cruise Europe’s beautiful rivers, lakes and canals on board your own self-drive cruiser. Discover a fantastic way to relax, enjoying quality time with family and friends.

Cork City

021 4344454 / www.wiltonpub.ie Long established on Leeside with fine food served all day in the lounge bar and upstairs in our Loft Restaurant. The Wilton W is a must on your next visit to Cork. Don't forget to leave room for our famous homemade, brown bread ice cream!

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Call 071 962 3711 or visit www.emeraldstar.ie IRELAND • FRANCE • ENGLAND S COT L A N D • I TA LY • G E R M A N Y BELGIUM • HOLLAND

being there

Verona 48 hOUrs in ...

The northern Italian city is steeped in romance and all its architectural splendour is packed into a compact centre, which makes it easy on the feet, writes Tony Clayton-Lea.

here is a wonderful romantic sensibility to Verona, a factor enhanced by its status as a UNESCO world heritage site. There are good reasons why the northern Italian city has come to represent such sensibilities and, indeed, why Verona itself has come to be loved so much. Unlike Rome, the city has all the history, culture, architectural splendour and visitor sights in a neat, compact area – it isn’t known as Little Rome for nothing – so you can easily get from one to the next without the need of a foot rub at the end of your walk. It’s also a bonus that so many of Verona’s historic buildings have been so impressively conserved. Oh – and did we mention that Romeo wooed Juliet here?

Above, still very much in use, the Veronese Arena; right, local pilgrimage spot – Juliet’s balcony.

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DOn’t MiSS … The centrepiece of Verona’s picturesque main square, Piazza delle erbe, is the 13th-century fountain Madonna Verona; surrounding it are fruit/vegetable stalls, several shops and many restaurants/cafés. From the vantage points of the latter, you can sit back and watch life stroll by, and if you look up you can study faded frescoes. No more than a minute’s stroll from Piazza delle Erbe is the small courtyard of the house of Juliet Museum, which is accessed via a narrow portal off Via Cappello. You really can’t miss it – crowds of school kids and other assorted visitors gather around the opening, trying to make sense of the graffiti-laced walls whereon pens and markers of every colour have, over the centuries, been used to scrawl messages of undying love. The associated museum (entrance fee €8) may not harbour much of interest – stills of movies, quotes from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet – but the metal gates beside the statue of

Juliet provide the hope of love: it is decorated with hundreds of multicoloured locks, each bearing a pair of names. Aahh … After Rome’s Colosseum and the Capua Arena, Verona’s Arena is the third largest amphitheatre in Italy. Completed in or around 30AD, the Arena interior is virtually intact; so intact, in fact, that the structure, which can accommodate 20,000 spectators, is used for a variety of arts and music-related events (the likes of Bjork and Duran Duran have performed there), but more notably for its annual summer opera festival (which celebrated its 90th birthday in 2012). If you can’t manage to nab a ticket for some events, don’t worry – do as hundreds of other visitors to the city do and order dinner at any of the nearby cafés and restaurants. Pasta, pizza and wine as a summer evening breeze wafts arias towards your table from the Arena? There isn’t much wrong with that.

SLEEP AT … Located less than five minutes’ walk from Piazza delle Erbe, the Due Torri Hotel (Piazza Santa Anastasia, 4, +39 045 595 044; duetorrihotels.com) is a well-appointed five-star hotel. The rooms ooze understated luxury: warm-coloured marble and handvarnished parquet predominate, while its internal courtyard and expansive lounge area are stunning. Double rooms from €210 (seasonal and event rates apply), breakfast included. Free Wi-Fi throughout. If you’re planning to stay on the other side of the city, then Hotel Torcolo, (Vicolo Listone, 3, +39 045 800 751; hoteltorcolo.it)) is a good

Clockwise from left, the Madonna Verona fountain in Piazza delle Erbe; St Peter’s Bridge spans the Adige River; sunny treats on the terrazza.

choice. Situated a few minutes’ walk away from the Arena and Piazza Bra, this traditional, family-run, two-star hotel (19 rooms) is ideal for those who wish to stay close to the centre of everything. Doubles from €70 (seasonal and event rates apply). Breakfast not included (€14 supplement). Don’t be put off by the two-star rating – this is a nice, neat place to rest your head. If you’re on a reasonably tight budget, then try Hotel Trieste (Corso Porta Nuova, 57, +39 045 596 022; hotel-trieste.it). Located 300 metres from the Arena and Piazza Bra, most of this smart hotel’s 30 rooms have a

balcony. Doubles from €70 B&B (seasonal and event rates apply). If money isn’t a problem, then you’ll have to investigate Il Sogno di Giulietta/Juliet’s Dream (Via Cappello, 23, +39 045 800 9932; sognodigiulietta.it), which is located in a medieval palazzo right beside Juliet’s Courtyard. This is impressive luxury: 16 rooms boast antique rugs, intricate bed frames, ornate balconies (three of which overlook the famous Juliet balcony) and gold-threaded duvets. Doubles range from €300 to €3,000. Breakfast not included. Romance a distinct possibility.

Luxury at Due Torri Hotel

Bedfellows bigoli and Valpolicella

EAT AND DRINK AT … Osteria Dal Cavaliere (Piazzeta Scala, 3, +39 045 222 7785; aziende. virgilio.it/osteria-dal-cavaliere) just off Via Scala, is tiny, narrow and extremely cost-effective. A main course (the bigoli con asino is a daring, local choice), a bottle of water and a glass of the regional Valpolicella come to less than €15. The wine selection here is as impressive as it is reasonably priced. If you’re searching for good food with the addition of a brilliant view, then (and here’s the difficult bit) spend about 20 minutes climbing up umpteen steps from the guarded ruins of the city’s Roman Theatre to the sky-high restaurant/bar Teodorico Re (Piazzale Castel San Pietro, 1, +39 045 834 9990; teodoricore.it). It’s arduous getting there, we agree, but the restful atmosphere, the excellent selection of food and the city views make up for it. And besides, the walk back down to the city will surely make you thirsty.

Another contemporary spot – this one bang in the centre of the city, off Via Quattro Spade – is Beauty Food Wellness Café & Restaurant (Galleria Pellicciai, 12, +39 045 800 0803; beautyfood.com). As if to prove that Verona isn’t all about tiny spaces, creaky floors, old stone and parchment menus, prepare yourself for a sleek, minimalist, contemporary spot that specialises in strictly organic fare. There’s free Wi-Fi too. Fancy going a little bit upmarket while staying traditional? Then La Fontanina (Portichetti Fontanelle 3, +39 045 913 305; ristorantelafontanina. com), an elegant, Michelin-starred osteria, is for you. Expect traditional dishes delivered with a elegant, nouvelle spin. Tasting menus (highly recommended) start at €45. Aer Lingus flies from Dublin to Verona, Tue, Thur and Sat.

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 There’s a great atmosphere at NAScHMArkt, an open-air market beside the chain bridge, with a huge variety of fruit, vegetables, cheese, meats, olives, Middle Eastern food and lively cafés or bars. The Saturday flea market (south end) is an experience. With people flogging their worldly goods, you never know what you’ll find! (Closed Sundays)

An Insider’s Guide to

VIENNA

With festive markets, carol singing and ice-skating, winter is a magical time of year in the Austrian capital. Local Anita Creighton advises where to eat, drink and be merry.  The tEcHNIcAl MuSEuM (Mariahilfer Strasse 212; technischesmuseum.at) is basically a scientific playground with hands-on experiments for the over-curious.

 Your trip to Vienna would not be complete without a visit to the StAAtSopEr (wiener-staatsoper. at). Tickets for world-class performances in this magnificent opera house start from €2! Standing (stehplatz) tickets are available 90 minutes before each performance from the Operngasse side of house (seating ticket prices range from €8-€200). I recently went to The Nutcracker for €10, a bargain!

 Vienna is full of museums that cater for all interests. My favourites are the HAuS dEr MuSIk (Seilerstätte 30; hausdermusik.at), in the first district, for interactive fun for all the family over four floors, including conducting your own orchestra, left; and the MuSEuM of MIlItAry HIStory (Arsenal, Object 1; hgm.or.at) for those interested in Austria’s former military glory and gory details of Franz Ferdinand’s assassination (the Archduke not the band).

 The Art HIStory MuSEuM (MariaTheresien-Platz; khm.at) is a vast art gallery loved by the Viennese and art lovers.

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beinG tHere  If you’re looking for a good pint of Guinness, the three best Irish bars in town are o’Connor’s (Rennweg 95), below, which has excellent pub grub and service with a smile, CHarlie p’s (Währinger Strasse 3) where there is a young lively crowd, and flanaGan’s (Schwarzenberg Strasse 1-3), which attracts a big crowd for sports.

 Once the largest Christmas market in the city shuts down, an impressive ice rink is laid on the ratHausplatz with the great Rathaus (City Hall) towering above (open daily until March 10, 2013) . Another option (cheaper and less crowded) is the Wiener eislaufVerein (next to the Inter Continental, Stadtpark), which is open until March 3, 2013. Go on, break a leg!

 After some window shopping on the Graben, Vienna’s designer mile, take a break at Café DeMel (Kohlmarkt 14), which has the best hot chocolate in town. Watch the intricate work in the Demel workshop at the back of the café.

 Just a few stops west on the underground (U4), you will reach the sCHönbrunn (schoenbrunn.at), the Habsburg’s Summer Palace, right. You can take the guided tour or just walk around the grounds yourself, including a nice uphill trek to Café Gloriette where you can enjoy a coffee and good views of the palace and the city (on a clear day).  Wondering where to stay? The 25 Hour Hotel (Lerchenfelderstrasse 1-3, +43 1521 510; 25hours-hotels.com) is a great “after work” place where “let’s go for one” can often turn into more. Space is restricted so aim to arrive between 6pm and 7.30pm. Situated behind the House of Parliament, you can take in the views of the city while enjoying a glass of wine or beer on the outdoor terrace. From €130 pps.

 tHe MuseuM Quartier (mqw.at) is a great place to meet friends for a bite (or a glüwein) or simply to watch the world go by. A lively spot full of museums, gadget shops, bars and restaurants and of course a funky Christmas market. Try Kantine or Halle for lunch or dinner.

aer lingus flies from Dublin to Vienna daily.

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cy a trip outside the city, If you have a day to spare and fan com) is only an hour away skiing in Semmering (stuhleck. Wiese (highhills.at). or, in Vienna, try the Hohe Wand More about anita Having spent nine months commuting to see her boyfriend in Vienna, Anita Creighton decided to take the plunge and move to the city in May 2011. Although she arrived with no German and no job, she has been attending intensive language classes and, after a couple of months teaching English, is now working with the International Organisation for Migration. Since she arrived, she has noticed an active Irish expat community revolving around the popular St Patrick’s Day celebrations, the Irish (Viennese style) Ball, and the Vienna Gaels GAA team, with which she is now a keen player and committee member.

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Flying home for Christmas The Irish emigrant loves New York – but it isn’t home. For Cara, writer Joseph O’Connor conjures up all the magic and emotion of the journey back across the Atlantic for the festivities.

omething about air travel is still miraculous. This morning you awoke in tinselled New York, a city that loves Christmas like no other on Earth. The windows of the stores a delirium of neon; Christmas trees, heavy with shaggy dignity. Carollers on the corner by the Puerto Rican deli, singing “Silent Night” in doo-wop Spanish and clicking their fingers to the beat. You made your way out to JFK Airport, feeling weary and excited, two sensations that rarely go together anyplace else, but which in New York are inseparable, perpetually wrestling kin, wrangling like Homer and Bart. Now you’re sleepless on an aircraft, breasting through the darkness. At dawn, you’ll be home in Ireland. 106 |

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At dAwn youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be home in irelAnd. one night to complete A journey thAt would hAve been unimAginAble to your Ancestors.

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fiction

One night to complete a journey that would have been unimaginable to your ancestors. All those millions who crossed the tempests to the land of sweet liberty and never saw their townland again. You’ve heard them sung-about in bars in Queens and the Bronx, seen their photographs on Ellis Island, in museums of emigration, adorning hoardings at airports back home. On St Patrick’s Night you were watching the TV news with your roommate before heading out to a party in the East Village, when a little girl appeared on the screen at the Manhattan parade, the words “Irish Great-Grandfather” on her sweatshirt. To see the name of your country filled you with strange longing. How must they have felt, all the millions who sailed away? What would they make of Skype? Below you now are the ice-floes of Newfoundland and Gander, an ocean of moonlit memories. Time-zones of altitude melt. In your mind, you walk the blocks and avenues you’re leaving behind. You see the geysers of steam rising up from the subway, the yellow cabs scuttling, the shoppers in the rain, the Empire State Building on a misty Halloween night illuminated in gauze of aquamarine and gold amid the alleluia of NYPD sirens. People think they know New York from the movies and TV, and they do – but no screen yet invented can give you its riot of aromas: hot-dog vendors frying onions, wet earth in Central Park, the perfumes of an expensive makeup store on Fifth Avenue and Broadway, into which, on a boiling day, you wandered in the hope of intense air-conditioning, and saw, in the corner, Madonna, buying a lipstick. You’ve come to love this loud and electrified city whose souvenir T-shirts are embossed with a vivid, scarlet heart. You love its jazziness, its courage, the braggadocio of its talk, its almost violent sense of its own superiority to everywhere else on the planet. The loveliness of its Sunday morning sleepiness. They talk like Al Pacino. They rhyme like Cole Porter. You ♥ it. But it isn’t home.

subtle, taking refuge in slagging. We’re fluent in irony, saying the things we need to say by talking about something else. The only time your dad ever said the words “I love you”, the two of you were watching Riverdance on Broadway late one night on the TV. The whole house was silent. Everyone else had gone to bed. He’d made sandwiches from yesterday’s roast beef and opened a pricey bottle of wine someone from the office had given him on his retirement. There was a slow, lyrical melody of uilleann pipes and heartbreaking low whistle, chiming with the cough of the central heating system as it puffed and went rustily to sleep. “You’re fantastic,” he said quietly. “I love you to bits.” “God, thanks, Dad,” you said, astonished. “I love you, too.” “I was talking to Michael Flatley,” he said. They wept the day you left. They didn’t want to see you go but they understood they would have to let you. Your sister crumpling into silent tears as you kissed her hair, your father holding onto your shoulders and gazing into your eyes as though trying to photograph them with his own. “It’s only New York,” he murmured, as if trying to persuade himself. “It’s not like you’re going to the moon.”

how musT They have felT, all The millions who sailed away? whaT would They have made of skype?

he tailwinds are behind you. Your folks in Ireland are asleep. But in an hour or two, they’ll be awakening, setting out for the airport. You can almost see their faces, waiting for you in Arrivals. You hope you won’t weep for joy. New Yorkers wave their emotions like flags made of wow, but it isn’t how Irish families are wired. We’re reserved, more 108 |

December 2012/January 2013

he announcement calling your flight. How hard to turn and go. Your brother texted you from the car to say “b-have over there. luv ya.” You could never bring yourself to erase that text. There were nights in New York when you were lonesome with the blues, before the city opened up to you and permitted you the gift of its friendship, a thing it takes time before doing. You’d switch on your mobile and scroll through the texts, until you found that message, glowing in the blue, and you wept in the room to which fate and courage had brought you, a room in a city of 50 million rooms, each of them containing a story. He’d slag you to death if he ever found out. Your unquestioningly loyal, endlessly sarcastic, fiercely sweet kid brother. Maybe he’ll come to New York himself. The way things are looking in Ireland, he might have to.

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fiction

ut it’s Christmas, not the time to be thinking about recession. There’ll be time enough for the worries of tomorrow. The plane banks heavily, you’re above the world of reality but you can smell your mother’s cake. She’ll have baked it last week, from her own mother’s recipe. You remember, as a child, the fervent joy of assisting her, your soup spoon stirring the luscious mounds of sultanas and Jamaican brown sugar. Gay Byrne on the radio playing “Oh, Holy Night”. The specialness of being alone in the kitchen with your mother, the lights on the Christmas tree blinking. She’d brew a pot of strong tea and inhale a cup of it before sipping, and you’d wait for the oven to heat. “You’re my pet,” she’d say softly, touching your hair. “You’re after being a great help to me this morning.” One Christmas your aunt came home from Chicago and you wrote her name out in icing. She gave you twenty dollars as a present.

he flight is jammed to the rafters. Sleepy couples, frantic children, a few solitary older people who look celestially content as they recline. There’s a Christmas movie on the in-flight screens but you couldn’t get into it. You’re imagining midnight Mass in the church where you made your First Communion; the walk home afterwards through the streets of your town, past the chippers and the pubs and the shuttered-up shops, counting all the candles in the windows of the houses. The scene is like a snow globe you shake from your childhood: the smell of sausages and bacon at one in the morning; the adults a little merry or talking of the past; the children up to ninety with excitement. Then the flickers of sleep, dreams of camels crossing deserts. The year Santa brought the Chopper bicycle for which you had beseeched, your father taking photographs of the snow. Watching the Christmas Day edition of Top of the Pops. Band Aid’s “Feed the World”. Slade and Alvin Stardust. Shane McGowan and Kirsty MacColl singing “Fairytale of New York”. Mud singing “Lonely This Christmas”. Eternities of gift-wrap and silver rosettes. Sticking your thumb into a bowl of cranberry sauce for a lingering, lascivious lick. A memory of your first morning as a New Yorker arises like a movie. You were jetlagged, exhausted, unprepared for the heat. Raw with the emotion of leaving. There was maybe someone at home with whom you were slightly in love; it had hurt you to leave with so many feelings unvoiced and you wondered if you’d been right to stay silent. But the consoling exhilaration of Manhattan seemed to swoop from the skyscrapers, 110 |

December 2012/January 2013

TheY Talk like al pacino. TheY rhYme like cole porTer. You ♥ iT. BuT iT isn’T home enfolding you in its gritty seduction. Kids shooting hoops in the basketball court on Mott Street and models being snapped on West Houston. You went into the Waverley Diner on Sixth Avenue and ordered a coffee. In this city of a hundred varieties of absolutely everything, that had proved more difficult than you’d reckoned. You were thinking of Bob Dylan, how he walked these shimmering streets, of Lou Reed and Patti Smith and Liam Clancy and Dylan Thomas, and your aunt, before she moved to Chicago. Debbie Harry had strolled that avenue with Joey Ramone and Johnny Thunders, blowing kisses to the sultry nights that produced her. David Byrne and Talking Heads had played gigs on this block. There were kids in the booths wearing NYU tank-tops but they hadn’t bought them in your town’s Dunnes Stores. In your bedroom back in Ireland, you had listened to New York, felt the lightning storms of its optimism and its rage and its attitood, its cassettes unspooling wildly in your teenage fingers because you played them to bits and shreds. This was the city of your adolescence, though you’d never seen it in the flesh, never breathed its heady amalgamation of diesel fumes and hope. Now, you were here. You asked the waitress if you could have an egg. She said, “Baby, this is Noo Yawk. You can have anything you want. Over-easy or scrambled or boiled or poached or sunny-sideup? What you need?”

ou flick on the in-flight map as the captain announces you are entering Irish airspace. “Nearly home. Thanks for flying with us. Happy Christmas.” The cabin lights are turned on. Weary passengers yawn. Below you are the tiny coastal islands of Kerry, ink blots splashed by a careless cartographer who didn’t know the miracle he was mapping. It’s early morning in Ireland. They’ll be leaving the house around now, setting out in the car for the airport. The road will be quiet, illuminated by their silence. Your mother will have made sandwiches for the journey. New York is still asleep, if it ever really sleeps. The garbage trucks will be inching through Hell’s Kitchen and Alphabet City, devouring the mounds of overfilled rubbishsacks and ripped, abandoned sofas. Snow might be falling on the dreams of Manhattan. How beautiful, to see the snow in Tompkins Square Park, falling softly into the canyons of Times Square and Columbus Circle, over lovers wending home, over disappointed heroes, over cops wintering out in high-viz tunics. Snow settling like a confetti of possibility and peace over the Bethlehem of the Central Park Zoo. The joy is fierce. You’re coming home for Christmas. It fills your emigrant ♥. Joseph O’Connor’s new collection of short stories, Where Have You Been?, is published by Harvill Secker. His stage play, My Cousin Rachel, is running at Dublin’s Gate Theatre until mid-January. In 2012 he received the Irish PEN Award for Outstanding Achievement in Irish Literature.

If the worst happens, I know that Dogs Trust will care for him. Plan your visit Four great weekends to enjoy the Christmas shopping experience:

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Meet celebrity chefs Rachel Allen and Nevin Maguire, enjoy brass bands and carol singers, spoil yourself with tasty treats and festive flavours. Let the children soak up the ambience of Tayto Park while you browse from stall to stall picking up unique and novel Christmas gifts. Ticket Prices €5 per person or €20 per family of 4. Pay on arrival at the admissions office at Tayto Park.

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Page 13 2/20311 12:5 2/2011 02/012:5 02/0(1) (1) 2B2 2B2/Let tle Card Enti/Let A4 Card A4 Enti T:DTtle T:DT FRON FRONCard ne Care CaniCard Canine Care

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Leading Cosmetic Surgeon Mr Kambiz Golchin, a full time private consultant at UPMC Beacon Hospital offering pioneering skin rejuvenating treatments. Specializing in the latest techniques for antiageing and cosmetic aesthetic treatments. Now, with a new base in another beauty hot spot such as London– Mr. Golchin is one of the first practitioners to offer these new skin-perfecting services. He is the medical director of the Beacon Face & Dermatology clinic based at the Beacon, in South Dublin. Mr. Golchin Explains ‘We provide a prescriptive combination of treatments based on each individual’s current skin condition and lifestyle. Cosmetic Treatments are tailor made to each individuals need following a comprehensive consultation. I prefer the natural-looking results, cosmetic work that restores or enhances natural looks is successful’ Mr. Kambiz Golchin,

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InFlight

For your guide to our new and exciting On Demand movies and television programmes, including The Dark Knight Rises (pictured), turn to page 118.

December 2012/January 2013

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WelcomeAboard 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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December 2012/January 2013

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.

Tá suil

h Aer Lingus. t flight. Thank you for choosing to fly wit san plea and able fort com a e hav you e We hop le hAer Lingus. agat agus go raibh maith agat as taisteal ach mh nea tait h dac por com s tura íonn againn go mb

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.

December 2012/January 2013

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AerLingusNews Simply the “BeSt” at the aer linguS BelfaSt City launCh

aer linguS and air Canada announCe an interline agreement

pictured with mark o’hare at the Belfast City launch are aer lingus senior cabin crew member, Claire Cairns and Captain harry Brady.

lying high courtesy of the Best!! That’s what Co Down man Mark O’Hare will be doing after winning an Aer Lingus sponsored competition to find a modern day look-alike for legendary Northern Ireland and Manchester United winger George Best. The competition was organised to mark the recent launch of the new direct links between George Best Belfast City Airport and London’s Heathrow and Gatwick airports. Mark, who works as a concierge at the

Slieve Donard Hotel in his home town, beat off stiff opposition to collect the top prize of return flights for two to London plus accommodation at the Gore Hotel, a luxury boutique venue that regularly attracts a wide range of celebrity guests. Valerie Abbott, commercial manager for Aer Lingus in Northern Ireland, said the coming on stream of the new George Best Belfast City service underlined the airline’s commitment to the local business and leisure travelling public.

City Our winter schedule for 2012 and 2013 from our new base at George Best Belfast three Airport targets those vital connections with Northern Ireland and London with daily flights operating to both Heathrow and Gatwick airports in each direction. Flights will also operate to sun destinations Faro and Malaga for summer 2013.

Aer Lingus wins “Best AirLine to europe ex BeLfAst” three yeArs in A row Aer Lingus picked up the “Best Airline to Europe ex Belfast” Award again, for the third successive year. The accolade was collected at the recent Northern Ireland Travel and Tourism Awards 2012, held at the Slieve Donard Resort and Spa. More than 400 VIPs and decision-makers from the industry,

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both north and south, attended the 21st Northern Ireland Travel and Tourism Awards gala, hosted by TV personality Roy Walker. This award recognises Aer Lingus’ ongoing commitment to the people of Northern Ireland, combining excellent service with great fares.

December 2012/January 2013

from left to right, roy Walker with Valerie abbott, aer lingus commercial manager in northern ireland; Siobhan Boskett mcguigan, amadeus commercial manager, andrea hunter, aer lingus business development manager; and ni travel and tourism awards promotions rep, Zara Shaw.

Aer Lingus and Air Canada recently announced an interline agreement that will make flying between Ireland and Canada much more convenient for customers. Customers travelling from Dublin, Cork, Shannon and Belfast to Canada via London Heathrow, can now enjoy a seamless connection through a single electronic booking. The new offering allows customers to use both airline’s check-in kiosks to get boarding cards and to check their baggage through to their final destination. Aer Lingus customers can also connect to Canada via Boston, again enjoying a seamless travel experience.

AerLingusNews Aer Lingus supports the tempLe BAr trAdfest 2013

er Lingus is delighted to support the Temple Bar Tradfest 2013 – Dublin’s biggest and best Irish music and culture festival, which will be celebrated in the heart of Dublin City from January 22-27. Tradfest 2013 is one of the key events taking place next year as part of The Gathering Ireland 2013, the year-long celebration of Irish culture and heritage. Headline Acts will include Sharon Shannon, right, Maura O’Connell, and

the Pride of New York. Performances will take place in some of Ireland’s most iconic heritage

buildings including City Hall, Werburgh Street Church and Christ Church Cathedral. Visitors to the festival will enjoy 200 free events. Aer Lingus customers can enjoy 10 per cent discounts off ticketed events by simply using the promotion code AERLINGUS10 on the Tradfest website, templebartrad.com. A special link is also available on the Aer Lingus website for visitors to Tradfest, which includes a fantastic competition to win a weekend in Dublin city; aerlingus.com/tradfest13

Aer Lingus Becomes officiAL AirLine of uLster rugBy AeR LingUs UsA BUMPeR sUMMeR

Aer Lingus has a bumper summer schedule to the USA for Summer 2013, commencing the end of March and running until the end of October. Flights from Dublin to Chicago will increase to twice daily on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, with a daily service on all other days. Flights between Dublin and Boston will increase to twice daily, offering a choice of morning and afternoon services. Flying between the US and Continental Europe with Aer Lingus has never been easier with a wide range of new connections starting in summer 2013. New connections include Vienna, Marseille, Munich, Rome, Venice, Malaga, Stockholm, Madrid, Warsaw, and Palma to name but some. For more information on schedules see map pages 130 and 131. By choosing to fly to the US via Dublin and Shannon with Aer Lingus, customers can avail of United States Customs and Immigration Pre-Clearance facilities at Dublin airport. The increased schedule is expected to give a significant boost to inbound tourism from the United States in 2013.

Aer Lingus has recently announced a two-year sponsorship deal with Ulster Rugby. As part of the new relationship, the airline will provide Ulster Rugby with air travel as well as supporting the development of travel and accommodation packages for Ulster supporters to away matches. As the official airline of Ulster Rugby, Aer Lingus will be the leading provider of transport from George Best Belfast City Airport and Dublin Airport for the playing squad, the support team and fans, to destinations throughout its UK and European network.

This new partnership deal with Ulster Rugby reflects the continued commitment by Aer Lingus to the local community. We look forward to welcoming Ulster’s players, support team and fans on board our flights over the coming season and future years.

Kiera May, Aer Lingus cabin crew and Declan Kearney, Aer Lingus director of communications with Ulster Rugby stars Johann Muller, John Afoa and Jared Payne on the pitch at Ravenhill after the signing of a new sponsorship deal that sees Aer Lingus become the official airline for Ulster Rugby for the next two years.

December 2012/January 2013

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INFLIGHt ENTERTAINMENT

FLIGHTS TO THE US From Dublin to Boston, Chicago, New York and Orlando; from Shannon to Boston and New York. Movies available are listed below. All movie details and ratings can be accessed through your personal screen.

Movies

The Dark Knight Rises

FLIGHTS TO THE US

tHE DaRK KNIGHt RISES Thriller / Fantasy / Action (PG 13) 164 minutes

It has been eight years since Batman vanished into the night, turning, in that instant, from hero to fugitive. Assuming the blame for the death of DA Harvey Dent, the Dark Knight sacrificed everything for what he and Commissioner Gordon both hoped was the greater good. Everything changes with the arrival of a cunning cat burglar with a mysterious agenda. Far more dangerous, however, is the emergence of Bane, a masked terrorist whose ruthless plans for Gotham drives Bruce out of his self-imposed exile; even if he dons the cape and cowl again, Batman may be no match for Bane. StaRS Tom Hardy, Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard, Michael Caine, Tom Conti, Anne Hathaway, Gary Oldman DIREctOR Christopher Nolan

IcE aGE: cONtINENtaL DRIFt

HOPE SPRINGS Comedy (PG 13) 102 minutes

Adventure / Animation / Family (PG) 92 minutes Scrat’s nutty pursuit of the cursed acorn, which he’s been after since the dawn of time, has world-changing consequences – a continental cataclysm that triggers the greatest adventure of all for Manny, Diego and Sid. In the wake of these upheavals, Sid reunites with his cantankerous granny, and the herd encounters a ragtag menagerie of seafaring pirates determined to stop them from returning home. StaRS VOIcES OF Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Seann William Scott, Jennifer Lopez, Queen Latifah, Nicki Minaj DIREctOR Steve Martino and Michael Thurmeier

Hope Springs

Kay and Arnold are a devoted couple, but decades of marriage have left Kay wanting to spice things up and reconnect with her husband. When she hears of a renowned couple’s specialist in the small town of Great Hope Springs, she attempts to persuade her sceptical husband, to attend a week of marriage therapy. Just convincing the stubborn Arnold to go on the retreat is hard enough – the real challenge for both of them comes as they shed their hang-ups and try to re-ignite the spark that caused them to fall for each other in the first place. StaRS Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones, Steve Carell, Brett Rice, Mimi Rogers, Elisabeth Shue, Jean Smart, Damian Young DIREctOR David Frankel

More Movies On Demand

Ice Age: Continental Drift

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December 2012/January 2013

tHE caMPaIGN Will Ferrell RUSt aND BONE Marion Cotillard tHE QUEEN OF VERSaILLES Jacqueline Siegel tHE WatcH Ben Stiller RED LIGHtS Robert De Niro SHaDOW DaNcER Clive Owen tHE EXPENDaBLES 2 Sylvester Stallone LaWLESS Gary Oldman

BacHELOREttE Isla Fisher KILLER JOE Matthew McConaughey RED HOOK SUMMER Jules Brown StEP UP REVOLUtION Kathyrn McCormick tINKER BELL SEcREt OF tHE WINGS Angelica Huston caMP ROcK 2: tHE FINaL JaM Demi Lovato tHE NIGHtMaRE BEFORE cHRIStMaS Danny Elfman

FLIGHTS FROM THE US From Boston, Chicago, New York and Orlando to Dublin; from New York and Boston to Shannon. Movies available are listed below. All movie details and ratings can be accessed through your personal screen.

Movies

Ruby Sparks

FLIGHTS FROM THE US TOTAL RECALL

FRANKENWEENiE

RUBY SPARKS

Welcome to Rekall, the company that can turn your dreams into real memories. For a factory worker named Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell), the mind-trip sounds like the perfect vacation from his frustrating life – real memories of life as a super-spy might be just what he needs. But when the procedure goes horribly wrong, Quaid becomes a hunted man. Finding himself on the run from the police – controlled by Chancellor Cohaagen, the leader of the free world – Quaid teams up with a rebel fighter to find the head of the underground resistance and stop Cohaagen.

From creative genius Tim Burton comes Frankenweenie, a heart-warming tale about a boy and his dog. After unexpectedly losing his beloved dog Sparky, young Victor harnesses the power of science to bring his best friend back to life. He tries to hide his home-sewn creation, but when Sparky gets out, Victor’s fellow students, teachers and the entire town all learn that getting a new “leash on life” can be monstrous. Frankenweenie was filmed in black and white and rendered in 3D, which elevates the classic style to a whole new experience.

Calvin (Paul Dano) is a young novelist who achieved phenomenal success early in his career, but is now struggling with his writing – as well as his romantic life. Finally, he makes a breakthrough and creates a character named Ruby who inspires him. When Calvin finds Ruby (Zoe Kazan), in the flesh, sitting on his couch about a week later, he is completely flabbergasted that his words have turned into a living, breathing person.

Action / Sci-Fi/ Fantasy (PG 13) 121 minutes

STARS Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel, Bryan Cranston, Bill Nighy DiRECTOR Kurt Wimmer

Animation / Comedy (PG) 87 minutes

STARS VOiCES OF Winona Ryder, Martin Short, Catherine O’Hara, Martin Landau DiRECTOR Tim Burton

Drama / Comedy (R) 103 minutes

Frankenweenie

STARS Antonio Banderas, Annette Bening, Steve Coogan, Elliott Gould, Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan DiRECTOR Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris

More Movies On Demand

Total Recall

MAGiC MiKE Matthew McConaughey THE BOURNE LEGACY Jeremy Renner TED Mark Wahlberg CELESTE AND JESSE FOREVER Rashida Jones COSMOPOLiS Robert Pattinson A FEW BEST MEN Olivia Newton-John MADEA’S WiTNESS PROTECTiON Tyler Perry

ANSWER THiS! Christopher Gorham WHAT RiCHARD DiD Jack Reynor HiT AND RUN Bradley Cooper DiANA VREELAND: THE EYE HAS TO TRAVEL FAREWELL, MY QUEEN Diane Kruger BRAVE Kelly McDonald LET iT SHiNE Brandon Mychal Smith TOY STORY 3 Tom Hanks

December 2012/January 2013

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INFLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT

Television 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 and a variety of genres. COMEDY HIGHLIGHTS features fresh new comedy from HBO in Girls, Hung, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Veep. More comedy includes Modern Family, Nurse Jackie, Family Guy, House of Lies, New Girl and Rev. Classic comedy features Father Ted and Only Fools and Horses Christmas specials. Aer Lingus offers an engaging choice of DRAMA TV with multiple episodes available of the latest Drama from the US and UK as well as the comedy sensation Moone Boy set in Ireland. Available exclusively to Aer Lingus is six episodes of Moone Boy, a warm family comedy about a young boy growing up in a chaotic and creative household in late 1980s Ireland. Written by and starring Chris O’Dowd; critical acclaim for Moone Boy has been very positive; “Delightfully old-fashioned without tipping over into nostalgia, and full of madcap characters” (Radio Times). 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 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. While Dexter fans excitedly wait for Season 7, you can view 5 intriguing episodes from Season 6. Dexter stars Michael C. Hall in his Golden Globe® Award-winning role as Dexter Morgan, a complicated and conflicted blood-spatter expert for the Miami police department who moonlights as a serial killer. The award-winning drama Wallander starring Kenneth Branagh returns for a third series with three thrilling investigations set in Ystad, Sweden and Riga, Latvia. Elegantly filmed, brilliantly acted and set in a strikingly beautiful location, this series builds on the drama’s reputation, offering intriguing new stories. All three episodes are available On Demand. HBO brings you brand new Drama in The Newsroom with six episodes available to view from Season 1. This exhilarating drama takes a behind-the-scenes look at the life of a news anchor and his staff. HBO Drama also available On-Demand is the first three episodes of Season 3 of the award-winning Boardwalk Empire. Steve Buscemi stars in this drama series that charts the continued rise of organized crime at the dawn of Prohibition in Atlantic City, New Jersey. HBO presents the first five episodes from Season 2 of the ground-breaking Boardwalk Empire Game of Thrones. Five

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December 2012/January 2013

Moone Boy

ON DEMAND

Frozen Planet kings vie for a single throne in the all-new season of the hit series – an epic story of duplicity and treachery, nobility, conquest and triumph. TEENS can view Glee, Shake It Up and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody and kids will love Barney and Friends, Fireman Sam, Thomas and Friends and Pingu. LIFESTYLE AND MUSIC HIGHLIGHTS include America’s Next Top Model, Cake Boss, Live From Abbey Road, The Great British Bake Off, Jamie’s Christmas with Bells On, Black Cab Sessions USA, Destination Extreme, Dogs in the City, One Direction: A Year in the Making, Tech Toys 360, HSBC Golfing World, Break the Cycle, A Giant Awakens and All Star Dealers. DOCUMENTARY HIGHLIGHTS enter a world beyond imagination in BBC’s Frozen Planet narrated by Sir David Attenborough and more from the infamous Attenborough in Attenborough: 60 Years in the Wild. From the Discovery Channel look out for Dolphin Days, Freddie Flintoff Goes Wild, Penguin Safari and World Toughest Expeditions with James Cracknell. The National Geographic channel presents the brand new series World Wild Web and America The Wild.

Radio 1980s

ON DEMAND Alternative

Classical

Easy Listening

Fitzpatrick Hotels

Larry’s Golden Oldies

Phantom 105.2

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.

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 and he spun the first disc on that station in 1979. Larry is famed for his music knowledge and is thrilled to bring Aer Lingus passengers his eclectic 80s mix. From Michael Jackson to Wham, Simple Minds, George Michael and U2 - Larry has the 1980s covered. Tune in to hear more from the legend himself on weekdays on RTÉ 2fm from 1-2pm on Larry’s Golden Hour.

Phantom 105.2 is quite simply the home of the very best music played on any Irish radio station. Phantom is committed to playing brand new music, Indie Rock but really we will play all genres of music – if it’s a great track, we will play it. Oh, we also like having a bit of craic along the way so why not try something different and tune into Phantom 105.2 – we promise you won’t be disappointed! We are Phantom – music that rocks!

Pop

Chart Hits Chart Hits lifts the lid on the biggest and most up-to-theminute chart hits from both sides of the Atlantic. Listen out for your favourite artists in this compilation of smash hits. Featuring the world’s most successful artists Kylie, Scissor Sisters, Katy Perry, Cheryl and newcomers to the scene – Stooshe and Marina and the Diamonds and everybody’s favourite twins Jedward!!!

Marty Whelan Selects… Classical Marty Whelan selects some of his favourite music from the worlds of classical, film and the Great American Songbook. The programme includes works by Puccini, Mascagni, Vaughan Williams and Grieg and sweeping scores from Ennio Morricone, plus the music of the great tunesmiths like Cole Porter and George Gershwin. Marty in the Morning is on RTÉ lyric fm Monday to Friday from 7-10am.

Soul

Talk Radio

Traditional Irish

Cathal Murray’s Soul Show

Best of Moncrieff

Ceol na nGael

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.

RTÉ Radio 1’s Cathal Murray has chosen the best in soul for your listening pleasure. Replenish your soul as you enjoy the voices of icons like Curtis Mayfield and Aretha Franklin. Cathal presents The Weekend on One with Cathal Murray every Saturday and Sunday morning on RTÉ Radio 1. Cathal’s eclectic musical taste has won over fans in Ireland and beyond. Twitter @MurrayCathal

December 2012/January 2013

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Radio Opera

ON DEMAND

Country

Countdown

Documentary On One The Documentary On One is the multi-award winning documentary strand from RTÉ Radio 1 (88-90FM). Currently the most successful documentary unit in the world – with over 70 awards won since 2009 - the website contains over 1,000 radio documentaries all available to listen/podcast. You can also download the free Documentary on One iPhone/Android app. The featured documentary is Logan Way – The Story of the Bulgers. James ‘Whitey’ Bulger was second on the FBI’s most wanted list. Whitey’s younger brother William went into politics. In one of his first interviews William talks about his political career, his brother ‘Whitey’ and why he won’t disown him. www.rte.ie/doconone

The Big 10 Produced especially for Aer Lingus, Darragh O’Dea presents 98FMs Big Ten songs from the movies. This show contains clips from some of the biggest stars of cinema from the past 50 years as well as the songs that made them such a success. Join Darragh in his countdown of the most famous songs from your favourite Movies. For more tune into 98FM from 10-11am every weekend.

Opera: On Song

Keep It Country

Bernard Clarke presents a selection of music from the heart of the core opera repertoire including some of the greatest voices along the way – Maria Callas, Renata Tebaldi, Giuseppe di Stefano, Jon Vickers, Luciano Pavarotti, Anna Netrebko, Bryn Terfel, Lotte Lenya and many more. Tune into Opera Night presented by Bernard Clarke on RTÉ lyric fm on Saturdays from 7pm-10pm for more operatic delights.

Keep It Country offers a sublime blend of cooling country sounds. With hits from both classic and modern artists, you are sure to experience the refreshing flavours of authentic country music. Willie Nelson, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney, Chris Cagle and many others perform some of their best works for you today.

Kids

Musical Hits

Jazz

1970s

RTÉ Jr

Broadway Favourites

Jazz Alley

Copeland Classic Hits

Join Emma O’Driscoll and her friends from ‘Emma’s Magical Kingdom’ on RTÉjr Radio for a fun packed show to enjoy during your flight! There’s Disney music, a Disney quiz 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!

Donald Helme takes a leisurely look at the contribution that the saxophone family of instruments has made to the development of jazz music. Helme spreads the net far and wide from soprano to baritone, from traditional to modern with exponents such as Benny Golson, Houston Person, Scott Hamilton and Ken Peplowski. Jazz Alley with Donald Helme is on RTÉ lyric fm on Wednesdays from 7pm-8pm.

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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December 2012/January 2013

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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: Suggestions and light exercises to enhance your comfort and well-being during your flight: Wear loose-fitting clothes on board to allow your skin to breathe, and apply a good moisturiser throughout. Stretch your legs as much as possible by taking a stroll through the cabin. Circle your ankles clockwise and anticlockwise. Bend and straighten your ankles in a brisk manner with the knee straight. Trace the letters of the alphabet with your foot by moving your ankles.

Exercising your feet and legs periodically helps to reduce any 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. And remember to move your neck and shoulders during long flights to prevent stiffness.

Carry-on baggage

We wish you an enjoyable experience.

Reducing the effects of jet-lag

Passengers with wheelchair requirements

To help reduce the effects of travelling and jet-lag before, during and after your flight, we have introduced an audio programme (available on Channel 6), which will play every other hour, offering 60 minutes of soothing and relaxing audio environments. The programme is designed to enhance your physical and mental wellbeing during the flight.

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.

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

Maximum weight

55cm (22ins)

email: specialassistance@aerlingus.com

Ideally, avoid heavy food, alcohol, tea or coffee the day before you travel. When you arrive at your destination, try to adjust your activities gradually to the new time zone. Mild exercise on arrival will also help to stimulate your circulation.

48cm (19ins)

10kg

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:

Apart from tuning in to the inflight relaxation programme, here are some other simple things that you can do to prepare for your journey.

AER LINGUS REGIONAL

Telephone:

(22 lbs)

24cm (9ins)

Maximum weight

7kg (15 lbs)

40cm (16ins)

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

(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

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

December 2012/January 2013

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.

OBrienandAssociates_QP_3_Layout 1 11/05/2012 18:02 Page 1

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RouteMaps EUROPEAN ROUTE NETWORK

Helsinki Stockholm

Aberdeen Glasgow

Kerry

Edinburgh

Copenhagen Vilnius

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 Madrid

Faro

Milan

Marseille MALPENSA Nice

Budapest

Venice Verona Bologna

Bucharest Dubrovnik

Bourgas

Rome

Barcelona

Ibiza

Lisbon

Milan

LINATE

Krakow

Naples

Palma

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 Hungary Budapest Ireland ■ Kerry

Italy Bologna Catania Milan (Linate) Milan (Malpensa) Naples Rome Venice Verona Lithuania Vilnius The Netherlands Amsterdam Morocco Agadir

Poland Krakow Warsaw

Palma Santiago de Compostela

Portugal Faro Lisbon

Sweden Stockholm

Romania Bucharest Spain Alicante Barcelona Bilbao Ibiza Madrid Malaga

Switzerland Geneva Zurich Turkey Izmir

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

■ Aer Lingus Regional routes operated by Aer Arann For more information on schedules, please visit www.aerlingus.com

December 2012/January 2013

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INFLIGHT ROUTE MAPS

EUROPEAN ROUTE NETWORK

Edinburgh

Glasgow

Knock

BELFAST

SHANNON

Dublin WATERFORD

Manchester

Birmingham Amsterdam Luton Bristol London Southend London Heathrow LONDON Brussels GATWICK

CORK

Jersey

Paris

Rennes

Munich

Geneva

Nice

Barcelona

Rome

Palma Lisbon Faro

Alicante Malaga

Lanzarote

Tenerife

Las Palmas

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

Portugal Faro Spain Malaga Palma United Kingdom London Heathrow London Gatwick

128 |

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

December 2012/January 2013

FROM GATWICK Portugal Faro Lisbon Spain Alicante Barcelona Malaga Palma Switzerland Geneva The Netherlands Amsterdam

United Kingdom London Heathrow ■ United Kingdom Birmingham Bristol Edinburgh Glasgow Jersey Manchester

Ireland Cork Dublin Ireland West Airport (Knock)

FROM SHANNON France ■ Rennes United Kingdom London Heathrow ■ United Kingdom Birmingham Bristol Edinburgh Manchester

FROM WATERFORD ■ United Kingdom ■ London Luton ■ Manchester ■ London Southend FROM KNOCK ■ United Kingdom Birmingham London Gatwick

Portugal Faro ■ Routes terminate 6th January ■ Aer Lingus Regional routes operated by Aer Arann

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

December 2012/January 2013

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inFLight ROUTE MAPS

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

Des Moines

Wichita

Denver

Grand Rapids

Indianapolis Cincinnati Saint Louis Louisville Nashville

Dallas (Fort Worth)

Syracuse Rochester

Pittsburgh Burlington Columbus Washington DuLLES

Lexington Charlotte

Knoxville

Memphis

Toronto Buffalo

Portland ME Boston

Nantucket neW York

Baltimore Greensboro Washington NATIONAL Richmond Raleigh - Durham

Atlanta Charleston

Austin

Houston

New Orleans

San Antonio

Jacksonville Orlando

Tampa Fort Myers

West Palm Beach Fort Lauderdale Miami

Aguadilla

San Juan Ponce

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. Now 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: When you arrive from Dublin or Shannon, simply hop on the Air Train to JetBlue’s Terminal 5 for your domestic connection. 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. ■ 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

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December 2012/January 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 December 2012/January 2013

| 131

INFLIGht ROUTE MAPS

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.

132 |

December 2012/January 2013

Sydney Melbourne

FlightConnections

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

133 |

December 2012/January 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

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R A I LT O U R S IRELAND

First Class!

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American Restaurant & Bar

Ă&#x153;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x153;Â°}Ă&#x20AC;>vĂ&#x152;Â&#x153;Â&#x2DC;>V>`iÂ&#x201C;Ă&#x17E;Â°VÂ&#x153;Â&#x201C;

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

BLANCHARDSTOWN CENTRE Dublin 15. Tel: 01 822 5990 ST STEPHENS GREEN Dublin 2. Tel: 01 478 1233 TEMPLE BAR Fleet St, Dublin 2. Tel: 01 672 8975 DUNDRUM TOWN CENTRE Tel: 01 298 7299 SWORDS Airside, Swords, Co Dublin Tel: 01 840 8525 BELFAST Level 2, Victoria Square, Tel: 028 9024 9050 www.fridays.ie

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TEL:DUBLIN + 353-1-856 0045 e-mail: info@railtoursireland.com in association with (Irish Rail)

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Michelin Bib Gourmand

wagamama.ie

/ wagamama ireland

with over 135 cafes around the world, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s always something happening at the hard rock. 12 Fleet Street â&#x20AC;˘ Temple Bar â&#x20AC;˘ Dublin 2 â&#x20AC;˘ Tel: 671 7777 â&#x20AC;˘ hardrock.com

s &REE $ELIVERY s &REE $ATA !LLOWANCE s 'ROUP $ISCOUNT s .O $ATA 2OAMING #HARGES s 3HORT AND ,ONG TERM 2ENTAL s 0RE ,OADED !PPS !VAILABLE

Triple Cross Grey Baroque Pearl Necklace by John Rocha Iconic John Rocha signature crosses are given a sophisticated contemporary twist, hanging on a lustrous rope of baroque freshwater pearls. The tones of grey and violet in the pearls play beautifully against the subtle matt and 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.

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Sky Shopping

W e’ v e

got it all

Aer Lingus welcomes you to our extensive range of amazing quality items at reduced prices onboard during December/January.

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.

December 2012/January 2013

| 135

trip of a lifetime

the homecoming It took a little persuasion for Jennifer Mee Arthur to start tracing her Irish roots. Now, after a memorable trip to Ireland, she looks forward to returning in 2013 for a family reunion ...

PhoToGrAPh By MArTIn MAGuIre/martinmaguirestills.com

ost Americans of Irish descent can’t wait to get back to the “aul sod” to retrace the footsteps of their ancestors and reconnect with longlost relatives. With me, it took a little persuasion. Growing up in Missouri, I knew that my father’s father, Daniel Mee, was born in the tiny hamlet of Williamstown, Co Galway, and that he had died when my father, Jeremiah, was six years old – but I never went in for the whole “Kiss Me, I’m Irish” stuff, never celebrated St Patrick’s Day; I didn’t even know any of my Mee relatives in the States, never mind those back in Ireland. I had had a difficult relationship with my own late father; we were estranged for years and when my interest in genealogy was sparked a few years ago, I avoided looking into his side of the family because I thought I’d find more pain. A few years ago, I moved with 136 |

December 2012/January 2013

my family to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Instead of basking in sunshine and happiness, however, I felt that my life had lost direction. My sister suggested that I try Landmark Education, a self-help, self-improvement programme. It changed my life in more ways than one; not only did it allow me to change how I viewed my relationship with my father, it also inspired me to explore my Irish roots. Landmark encourages you to take on projects and I wanted to create a family reunion. When I saw The Gathering was happening in 2013, I thought, “This is my big opportunity: I’m going to create a family reunion in Ireland”. I set about posting information online to try to track down my relatives, and this is where things started to snowball. I don’t believe in fate – or the luck of the Irish, either – but something caused a producer from TV company Animo

Homeward bound, above, Jennifer Mee Arthur visits Connemara in search of her roots.

Productions to get in touch with me. They were looking for someone who was tracing their roots back to Galway for their six-part series, The Gathering: Homeward Bound, and I had only recently found out that my father’s cousin, Danny Geraghty, still lives on a farm near the ancestral home. We even have a few celebrities in the family: Matthew Gilsenan of The Celtic Tenors and his singer sister, Deirdre Shannon, are second cousins. Within a week, I was on a plane to Shannon. The next few days were a whirlwind, from being escorted around the Connemara landscape with the actress Fionnula Flanagan (who also participates in our family’s episode), to surprising Danny at his house. To be so warmly greeted by this person I had never met, but who made me feel so instantly welcomed into his home, his family and his heart was one of the best moments of my life. Nor will I forget my own surprise at being emotionally ambushed at the grave of my greatgrandparents in Glenamaddy later that day by Matthew, who sang me Danny Boy. It’s not every day you’re serenaded by a Celtic Tenor, after all. It was the most memorable eight days of my life. I was treated not like a visiting American, but as an Irishwoman who happens to have been born abroad and is family. I got my Irish citizenship before I ever came to Ireland through my grandfather, and to be in a place where my pale skin, round limbs and ruddy complexion seems normal – I finally feel like I belong! When you do genealogy, it can be about dead people – but the river that you have to cross is with living people: picking up the phone, making that call, reconnecting with them. Someone told me that I was a “mighty woman”, and I do feel like one. I’m already looking forward to returning in July 2013 for the reunion of a family that I never knew I had, but one I’m so glad to be a part of. In conversation with Lauren Murphy. Aer Lingus are proud sponsors of The Gathering 2013. For more on events, log on to thegatheringireland.com.