Killarney Ireland

Irish Poker Festival

starling — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:08:02 +0000

From October 2th to 5th Killarney will host up to 600 mostly European poker players who compete for €250,000 in the Ladrokes Irish Poker Festival.

The event will also be filmed and broadcast (TV4)on Irish TV as a documentary.

See below for full festival schedule:

The poker festival will feature a €550 buy-in Main Event, as well as a €300 No Limit Hold’em Freezeout event on Saturday October 4, a €170 No Limit Freezeout tournament on Sunday October 5 and a Main Event satellite.

Festival Poker Schedule:

Thursday 2nd October (19:30 start)

* Main Event Super Satellite (20 tickets guaranteed)

* €50 + €10 – Re-buy Event

Friday 3rd October (16:00 start)

* Main Event – 3 Days

* €500 + €50 Freezeout, €250,000 guaranteed prize pool.

Saturday 4th October (16:00 start)

* €270 + €30 Freezeout - 2 Days

* €60,000 Estimated prize pool

Sunday 5th October (15:00 start)

* €150 + €20 Freezeout - 1 Day

* €25,000 Estimated prize pool

Wedding in Killarney saves 2 lives

starling — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 00:44:54 +0000

“We could have been swept away had it not been for the wedding,” a shocked Maurice told The Kerryman.

Maurice Harrington and his wife Joan had a lucky escape last week. Normally they would have been saving turf on the bog but as luck would have it they were attending a wedding in Killarney, and thereby avoided the weekend’s landslide at Maghanknockane, Lyrecrompane.

A local golf club didn’t have such a lucky escape.

Best Golf Hotel in Ireland goes to…

starling — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 03:39:03 +0000

Congratulations to the Killarney Plaza Hotel & Spa for winning the best hotel award at the 11th annual Ireland Golf Tour Operators Awards Dinner on Monday last.

Full story on the Irish Independent

The Rings of Kerry

starling — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 03:38:00 +0000

The ‘Rings of Kerry’ ? Perhaps confused with ‘The Lord of the Rings’? There’s only 1 Ring of Kerry (and its fabulous).

From the UK Guardian Newspaper today (scroll to the end of the page)

Win a trip to Ireland!

starling — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 18:55:34 +0000

If you can get to 63rd and 11th in New York on March 6th at 7pm and are interested in winning a free trip to Ireland then head to the Village Pourhouse for its Irish beer tasting event. Tickets ($25) will enter you to win a free airfare voucher “redeemable on a Tenon Tours Ireland Package” for May or June of this year. And, if you don’t win, at least you’ll leave sloshed enough not to care.

via Gridskipper

“Killarney, Nice but such a rip-off”, for motor homes at least

starling — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 10:31:51 +0000

One of the major Irish newspapers published a letter today from an Irish tourist who acknowledges the beauty of Killarney

There’s no doubting its unique beauty, especially the hinterland and lakes around the town.

Muckross House, the surrounding gardens and woods, Torc mountain and so on are all exceptionally beautiful and leave a lasting memory.

But then harshly criticizes every other aspect of their visit:

…everywhere we went, except Muckross, we felt ripped off. From cups of coffee, bars, caravan parks etc — they all ripped us off.

In my experience there are always some visitors whose expectations are disappointed when they reach Killarney. That said Ireland is an expensive country and the tourist sector is far from perfect and doesn’t suit all tastes (read what some reviews had to say about Dunloe Castle Hotel). The bottom line is that if the service is bad don’t hesitate to make a formal complaint and if you’re not satisfied with how your complaint is handled then make a public complaint, say on the internet, such as this site for example.

Killarney the beer!

starling — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 22:22:43 +0000

Harking all the way from Montana USA a brewery called ‘Bayern’ has brewed a beer called Killarney Red Lager since 1988 (who knew?). The recipe mixes the best of German brewing tradition with a nod and a wink and a tip of the hat to Killarney.

Killarney’s warm red color distinguished it, and coincidentally or not, a flurry of red Irish beers from some of America’s big brewers hit the market soon after. But Bayern can rightfully claim to have created the first red Irish lager in the states, back in February of 1988. Lucky for Montana.

Now 20 years later, Killarney Red Lager is one of Bayern’s most anticipated seasonals. It is brewed with two-row Harrington pale, carmel, Munich, wheat and German Dunkel malt. The hops are cascade and come from Yakima. Bayern Killarney has an alcohol content of 5.7%

Kerry GAA website relaunched

starling — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 18:44:48 +0000

Great to see the fantastic new site. I’ve always recommended that visitors to Kerry should try to attend a GAA match to get a taste for the culture and people.

See the latest news and fixtures on the new site (http://www.kerrygaa.ie/)

And here’s a photo to whet your appetite!

The Gathering 2008 - One of the many Irish Music Festivals

starling — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 12:13:39 +0000

The 9th Annual Gathering Irish Festival (www.thegathering.ie) convenes in Killarney February 20-24, and has celebrated the Sliabh Luachra tradition since the Millennium began in 2000 just west of those Rushy Mountains uniting Kerry, Cork and West Limerick into a cultural core that is one of the most vibrant traditions in Irish music.

Based in the Gleneagle Hotel and its Irish National Events Center is a mid-winter carnival (oops, sorry it is spring in Ireland now) that attracts the devout from Europe, Asia, North America and from all over Ireland and Britain.

There are pilgrimages out to Sliabh Luachra and even to the gravesite of one of its greatest exponents, John O’Leary, the box player. Dancers have the polka king Timmy “the Brit” McCarthy on hand with historian Pat Murphy, also a dancing master and five giant ceilithe with the likes of the Allow, Abbey and Five Counties Ceili Bands to stir them up.

Concerts and sessions take place over the long weekend as well, with the top bands being Lunasa, Pauline Scanlon Band, Martin O’Connor with Cathal Hayden and Seamai O’Dowd, Jackie Daly and Seamus Creagh with Paul deGrae, plus a very special appearance by Sean Keane and Liam O’Flynn.

Loads of great local musicians like Paddy Jones, Johnny Cronin, John Brosnan, Paddy Cronin and Kerry native Tim Dennehy for singing will be in the thick of it as well. RTE’s Peter Browne gives a summary lecture to put the music of Sliabh Luachra in context for the attendees on the Sunday.

The Corofin Trad Festival (www.corofintradfest.com) from February 25- March 2 assures us the Banner County will be heard from. Padraic O’Reilly has built this mighty festival lasting a week and now in its eighth year complete with workshops, lectures, ceilithe and organized sessions through the Clare village of Corofin outside of Ennis.

You can expect many of the Clare musical legions to be around. Special guests will include Brian McNamara, Timmy Collins, Michael Rooney and June McCormack, John Wynne, John and Jacinta McEvoy plus Sean Keane and Liam O’Flynn who have their own fond history in Clare. On Saturday afternoon there will be a special tribute to Mick O’Connor, a bandmate of Sean and James Keane in the seminal Castle Ceili Band.

The NYAH Festival (www.cavanmusic.com) takes place over 12 days in March (5-12) throughout Cavan. It is organized by Martin Donohoe, the wonderful rascal and box player who has done much to put Cavan back on the musical map.

There are workshops, lectures, sessions and concerts here that have blossomed to the point where over 300 artists from 18 countries are involved in some fashion, so you’ll have to wend your way through the website to glean what interests you.

One of the special features is the “Jig of Life” Nyah awards to be presented to Sean O’Se, Josephine Keegan, Gerry O’Connor, Seamus MacMathuna, Danny Meehan, Charlie McGettigan and John Kennedy at the Saturday concert.

Ceardlann Earraigh (www.ceardlannearraigh.com) takes place in Celbridge, Co. Kildare over St. Patrick’s weekend on Saturday, March 15. The one day festival is worth noting because this Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann event has an outstanding lineup of musicians for workshops during the day and in concert at night, many of whom are CCE stalwarts.

Appearing are Antoin MacGabhann, Brid Harper, Kathleen Nesbitt, Noel Hill, Brian McGrath, Aoife Granville, Sarah Jane Woods, Danny O’Mahony, Carmel Gunning, Junior Davey, Tadhg Maher and piper Mick O’Brien.

Then there’s AR AIS ARIS Buncrana Traditional Arts Festival (www.buncranatradfest.com) March 27-30th.

In its third year, this growing Donegal festival has reached outside the county to add to massive array of talent already assembled within its borders to include Sharon Shannon, Four Men and a Dog, Maire Ni Chatasaigh and Chris Newman and Micheal O’Suillabhain, who will debut a specially commissioned piece for the festival.

On the bill is an exciting new band called Moonlightin with Altan’s Ciarish Tourish and Dermot Byrne (Buncrana natives), joined by Michael McGoldrick, John Doyle and John Joe Kelly.

Buncrana native Liz Doherty is a leading figure behind this weekend, and Triona and Mairead Ni Dhomhnaill will also lead the Donegal performers that will include another PYRO reunion gig.

courtesy of The Irish Voice

Dunloe Castle Hotel : Mixed Reviews

starling — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 09:28:44 +0000

In the interest of bringing you unbiased information on Killarney this is the first in series of posts looking at accommodation options in and near the town. We’ll be presenting the good with the bad and in the interest of transparency let me confirm that we have no allegiance in any way to any hotel or other type of accommodation in Killarney.

The reviews will not be our own but will rely on the opinions submitted to review websites such as tripadvisor.com and Yahoo. To keep things interesting we welcome your comments and questions and will try to answer them as best as possible.

Dunloe Castle Hotel is described on its website as:

…5 star 110 bedroom property overlooking the famous “Gap of Dunloe” and River Laune in the county of Kerry. It is set amid 64 acres of parkland with 20 acres of sub-tropical gardens…

Wcities (an ostensibly independent information provider but not really given to ‘telling it like it is’) describes the hotel as:

This modern hotel faces the famous Gap of Dunloe. It is tastefully decorated with many interesting antiques and works of art. The staff members are helpful and friendly, and are willing to help you organise excursions and plan your stay in this beautiful part of the country. If you enjoy a game of golf, you’re spoilt for choice; there are ten championship courses nearby, including the highly regarded Killarney Golf and Fishing Club. The cocktail bar and restaurant are the perfect retreats for seeing out the remains of the day.

Room Amenities (from hotel website and yahoo)

* Air Conditioning (In Room)

* Refrigerator

* Telephone

* Television

* Daily Maid Service

* Balcony/Terrace

Hotel Details (from hotel website and yahoo)

* 110 Rooms / 4 Floors

* Built in 1965

* No Of Floors - 5

* No Of Rooms - 103

* Family Rooms

* Fitness Facility

* Swimming Pool

* Tennis Court

* Dry Cleaning

* First Class

* Health Club

* Pool (Indoor)

* Jogging Track

* Game Room

* Tennis (Indoor)

* Fishing

* Horseback Riding

* Bicycling

Visitor Reviews - Please bear in mind that there is no way to verify the identity of these opinion givers who could easily be members of staff and/or paid reviewers

Yahoo: 2 reviews both 100% positive and both highlighted the quality of food, staff and impressive views

Tripadvisor: 30 reviews (most from 2007 or 2008) with opinion extremely mixed (40% positive, 40% negative, 20% medium). Some sample comments from 2007:

Not a Five Star hotel I am afraid! Receptionist not in the least bit friendly on check in. Room very average. No wow factor in any part of the hotel.

I agree that it is a stunning location and very peaceful setting but firstly we found the staff to be quite rude, particularly a senior member of staff at the front desk. She was abrupt and unwelcoming when we arrived.

Definitely not 5 star - someone should take away 2 stars

My wife and I stayed here for a night on our honeymoon and as many others have pointed out the staff were as rude as could be