Latest News from Irish Post
Irish Post
a day ago
- Business
- Irish Post
Labour MP Liam Conlon hosts TLICN at Westminster reception
THE 9th annual The London Irish Construction Network (TLICN) Parliamentary reception took place at the Terrace Pavilion, within the House of Commons, Westminster this month. The evening was sponsored by Liam Conlon MP, Chair of the Labour Party Irish Society and the MP for Beckenham and Penge. Liam Conlon MP (fouth from left) with Patrick Rochford from the Irish Embassy and TLICN Directors Nicole and Sean Daly, Con O'Sullivan, Mary Pottinger, Niall O'Dowd and Frank O'Hare (Pics: Malcolm McNally Photogrpahy) TLICN was formed in 2009 and holds a number of networking events throughout the year. Scroll down for more pictures from the event... TLICN Director Frank O'Hare and Gerry Keany of Cara Stationery (Pics: Malcolm McNally Photogrpahy) Patrick Rochford, Economic and Commercial Counsellor at the Embassy of Ireland addresses the Westminster event (Pics: Malcolm McNally Photogrpahy) Holly Galligan and Aideen Cusack, both of the Irish Embassy, and Alex Oliver and Sarah Elson, both of Kerry London (Pics: Malcolm McNally Photogrpahy) Carina Lanfredi, of SPVG, Michelle Grand, of Ironhill Global Security, Nicola Coppen, of Infraco, and Sandy Donnelly, of DBC Health Retreats (Pics: Malcolm McNally Photogrpahy) Andy Rogers, of Rogers Associates, Therina Bennett of Prokopto Business Solutions, and Gerard O'Sullivan, of Plastic Energy(Pics: Malcolm McNally Photogrpahy) See More: Liam Conlon, Networking, TLICN, Westminster
Irish Post
a day ago
- Irish Post
The Ireland that hides in plain sight beyond the usual highlights
THERE'S a kind of Ireland you don't write postcards about. This isn't due to its lack of beauty, but because it's not the main focus. It's the hush between places, the slow curl of mist over a forgotten lane, the moment a stranger in a pub hands you a pint with no explanation and no need for one. Most visitors come for the familiar landmarks. The wild exhale of the Cliffs of Moher. The rain-slicked rhythm of Temple Bar. The Ring of Kerry stretches in an endless curve. These are deservedly loved. But the real Ireland doesn't perform. It waits. And it reveals itself only when you stop trying so hard to see it. Ask anyone who has returned more than once. The moments that stay with you are rarely the ones printed on the front of brochures. They are the ones you never expected. The late sun illuminates a church ruin. A tune drifts from behind a pub door in a village whose name you've never learned to pronounce. It is the quiet comfort of a landscape that only requires your presence. This is the hidden beauty of Ireland. And it is worth seeking all over again. Ireland's Forgotten Borderline Some landscapes announce themselves the moment you arrive. The Slieve Bloom Mountains do not. They wait quietly on the border of Laois and Offaly, rising gently, almost shyly, as if trying not to intrude. Most people pass them by without a second glance, chasing more dramatic scenery farther west. But if you turn off the main road and let the car wind into the hills, something quieter begins to take hold. The air feels cleaner up here, but not in the obvious way. It's the kind of clean you notice after an hour, not a minute. It's a tranquil atmosphere that soothes you without the need for verbal communication. The 48-mile Slieve Bloom Way loops through the heart of it all: woodland, bog, open moor. Nothing is staged. No signs are telling you what to photograph, no coaches pulling up beside a view. The only sounds you hear are the faint tracks of boots on soft ground, the occasional rustle in the trees, and long silences that don't feel empty. Every so often, a clearing opens, and you can see far into the midlands, fields tumbling over one another in every shade of green. You might spot a red squirrel if you're lucky, or catch the outline of a buzzard circling somewhere high and still. But mostly, it's the absence of noise that stays with you. The stillness. The sense that time here moves in its own way, and is in no rush to catch up with ours. A Town That Wears Time Well If towns could dream, Boyle would dream in sepia. It's the kind of place that doesn't seem built so much as grown into its setting, tucked along the banks of the River Boyle with a kind of deliberate quietness. No neon signs are telling you where to look. The town trusts you to discover it at your own leisure. You arrive thinking it might be a quick stop. Perhaps you plan to grab a coffee or take a walk around the square. But something about Boyle holds you longer. It might be the way the abbey rises out of the earth like it has something to confess. Or the way the river loops lazily through the town, softening every edge. You notice the old stone shopfronts, the bridges, and the echo of footsteps on the footpaths. Even the air seems to carry a gentler weight. Lough Key Forest Park is just beyond the town, a stretch of woodland, water, and old castle ruins threaded together like a quiet promise. You can spend hours walking in this place and yet feel as though you have only touched the surface. None of it feels curated for social media, which is precisely the point. The beauty here isn't loud. It's lived in. There's a literary undercurrent, too, if you know where to listen. John McGahern grew up near here, and his stories often feel like they were written on Boyle's back streets, in the shadows of its ruins, by windows that overlook still water. There's something in the pace of life that invites reflection. This is a place that not only embraces pauses, but also subtly demands them. Cork and Kerry's Untamed Cousin There's a moment, driving into Beara, when the road narrows and the land begins to feel like it's testing you. Not in a dramatic way, but with a kind of wild indifference. The hedgerows thicken, the cliffs draw closer, and suddenly you realize you've left the usual path behind. And that's exactly the point. If you've already looped around the Ring of Kerry, Beara will feel like its feral twin. It's quieter here, steeper in parts, and threaded with a poetry that's more instinctive than rehearsed. The land is elemental. The land is surrounded by the sea on one side, mountains on the other, and a persistent wind that disregards the month. The Healy Pass cuts straight through the peninsula like a hand-carved riddle. Every turn unveils a fresh experience, whether it's a valley that abruptly disappears, a sheep observing your car with unwavering authority, or an unexpected view. And then there's Allihies, a village at the edge of everything, where colourful houses lean into the Atlantic wind and the ruins of copper mines perch like ghosts on the hills. Out on the western tip, the Dursey Island cable car hums across the sea, the only one in Ireland and possibly the only one in Europe that gives right-of-way to sheep. It's a slow crossing, suspended over silence and salt, and when you reach the island, the sense of isolation is so complete it feels almost sacred. Companionship in the Wild Traveling through Ireland changes when there is a dog in the back seat. The pace slows without effort, the routes become more flexible, and the stops along the way start to matter just as much as the destination. Dogs are not interested in itineraries or landmarks. They respond to the land itself, to the scent of wet grass, the splash of a hidden stream, and the open space that invites them to run without needing a reason. Some of the most lasting memories often come not from grand adventures but from the quiet in-between moments. Walking through a forest with your dog setting the pace just ahead, pausing by a lake that unexpectedly turns into an afternoon stay, or finding yourselves caught in the rain without a hint of urgency to leave. There's a calm that settles in when you travel with a dog, a kind of shared understanding that the journey itself matters more than any plan you made beforehand. The rhythm becomes slower, more grounded, shaped less by destinations and more by the experience of simply being there together. Ireland is well-suited to this kind of journey. For those bringing a four-legged companion, there is a growing collection of places that do not just allow pets but genuinely welcome them. Many are set near forest trails, beside rivers, or in peaceful countryside far from crowds. You can find a thoughtfully curated list of these options through Travelmyth's selection of dog-friendly hotels in Ireland. Some trips are defined by what you see. Others are defined by the companions with whom you share them. Traveling in Ireland with a dog tends to leave space for both. Chasing the Session, Not the Scene You don't find the best sessions by searching online. They tend to find you instead, often in pubs that don't have websites or even names above the door. These establishments appear deserted until someone unlocks them. The signs that something real is happening inside include a flicker of fiddle through an open window, the low hum of conversation, and the unmistakable clink of a fresh pint being set on wood. In parts of Ireland where the tourism trail runs thin—West Clare, Leitrim, the back roads near the Armagh border—music is a habit. In these places, people pass on tunes more often than they play them, and a sean-nós singer might suddenly start a song that silences the entire room. The music carries weight, not just volume. You feel it before you understand it. There's a rhythm to these nights that has nothing to do with time. A fiddler starts something, and another joins in, not with a showy entrance, but with a nod. A third leans forward, eyes half-closed, hands already moving. Between tunes, the talk flows. Sometimes it's stories. Sometimes it's silence. No one is in a hurry to impress. The music is the only thing that matters, and it belongs to everyone in the room. Where the Map Fades, the Magic Begins The places that linger in memory are rarely the ones printed in bold on a map. They're the corners where the road bends into something quieter, where the view is unplanned and the experience unscripted. Ireland is full of these moments, not loud or polished, just quietly alive. The best of the country doesn't announce itself. It waits. It reveals itself slowly, in the rhythm of a walk through woods, in a pint shared without conversation, in a tune carried from one generation to the next by people who never thought to call it tradition. This is not the Ireland of postcards. It's the Ireland that stays with you. If you have already been, come again but slower this time. Let yourself take the detours. Let yourself stay an extra day for no particular reason. The soul of Ireland isn't hiding. It's simply waiting for you to stop and notice.
Irish Post
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Post
Life of 'emigrant's artist' Bernard Canavan chronicled in new documentary
OVER the past year director Sé Merry Doyle has been in the process of making a documentary about the life of the Irish artist Bernard Canavan, often referred to as The Emigrant's Artist and the Painter of The Diaspora. A special preview screening was recently held at the Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith, London to raise funds to bring the production Theocracy - The Emigrant's Artist by Loopline Films to final completion. The event also included an art auction of Canavan's work — where four artworks were donated for auction to raise funds for the film. A new documentary focuses on the work of emigrant artist Bernard Canavan Canavan's paintings of the diaspora, capture the pain of women and men, girls and boys, leaving home; the indignity of the boat train, the harshness of the building sites, the crowded pubs where men went 'home' to drink their dinner. This was a world of subbies, piece work, being 'on the lump', digging the tunnels; as well as the peak era of the Irish nurses who formed the back bone of the NHS. Bernard Canavan's art focuses on the Irish diaspora. His works are inspired by his own personal experience of working as a navvy in England in the 1950s. Canavan's work is inspired by his own experience as a member of the Irish diaspora In 2018 the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins awarded the prestigious Presidential Award to Bernard Canavan for his contribution to Irish culture in the UK. See More: Artist, Bernard Canavan, Diaspora, Irish, Irish Cultural Centre
Irish Post
a day ago
- Irish Post
Tall stories and tall ships in delightfully offbeat Cornwall
THE thing about Cornwall is its offbeat options. It doesn't take long to find secluded beaches, hidden coves and remote cliffs. Legends too — and from the very top drawer of mythology. Dozmary Pool on Bodmin Moor is the home of Excalibur – although one has to qualify the word legend here. The Bodmin story is all about magical powers being transferred to King Arthur. Legend has now been downgraded to unexpectedly arriving at the office with custard doughnuts for everybody. But laidback Cornwall is happy enough with that. Tall stories and tall ships form a wonderful alchemy, along with history, geological happenstance, popular culture, and cuisine. They seem to have thought of everything. And that includes the ancient port of Falmouth. Most British towns today come with a motto: 'York; so good they named it once', type of thing. Falmouth's kicker is: 'The spirit of the sea'. Although succinct and accurate, it's not the whole story. There's a boho buzz going on here too, and a burgeoning culinary scene. Falmouth in Cornwall has been at the centre of maritime affairs for centuries The sea, of course, is an ever-present backdrop — the town has been at the centre of maritime affairs since navigation began. Its deep natural harbour made it strategically important, particularly from the 17th century onwards. The town grew rapidly after the construction of Pendennis Castle by Henry VIII in the 1540s, which defended the estuary. By the 1680s, Falmouth had become a key packet station handling mail ships between Britain and its empire. The town flourished during the Napoleonic Wars — which helped reshape not just Falmouth, but the whole of Europe, toppling monarchies, and spurring nationalism. And in an 1805 newsfeed, the latest goings-on at Trafalgar arrived via the schooner Pickle. The good news? 'England won'. The bad? 'Nelson's as dead as the proverbial dodo'. You can visit the precise spot where this news was imparted. Pendennis Castle in Falmouth Ship happens, if you get my drift CHARLES Darwin's boat HMS Beagle docked here on the Fal River. Before landing at Falmouth, Darwin spent five years on board, puzzling over wildlife and fossils. The theory of natural selection was on its way. Darwin got paid just £180 for the publication of On The Origin of Species, but was lucky enough. A respected editor read it and urged Darwin to write a book about pigeons instead. 'Everyone is interested in pigeons,' he observed helpfully. Editors, eh? Our voyage round the harbour was on board Jonik, a 1930s motor cruiser with just room for eight passengers; a ticket for the boat also gets you inside the National Maritime Museum Cornwall. Eclectic is way too small a word for this place. Tucked away in Cornwall's charming harbour town, the museum is a delight for landlubbers and sea dogs alike. With boats hanging from the rafters — there's even a periscope poking above the roof — it's part museum, part nautical playground. Kids can hoist sails or climb aboard rescue craft, grown-ups can daydream about owning a yacht, and everyone learns something without even realising it. From voyages of exploration to tales to Cornish smugglers, it's a journey through seafaring history that doesn't take itself too seriously. Spanning five floors and housing 15 galleries, the museum also has its Tidal Zone for underwater views of the harbour and a 100-foot Look Out Tower for panoramic views of the harbour. The museum is currently hosting an exhibition on surfing. SURF! exhibition explores the history and cultural impact of surfing in Cornwall From vintage wave-chasers to modern-day surf heroes, an epic new exhibition SURF! surveys the last 100 years of the sport in Cornwall. Set against the backdrop of 422 miles of Atlantic-washed coastline, this, ahem, immersive journey uncovers how surfing shaped the region – and how Cornwall shaped global surf culture in return. From the 1920s pioneers paddling out on wooden bellyboards, to today's world-class athletes carving clean lines at Fistral, SURF! has the complete lowdown. Of course, you don't need a museum to appreciate matters nautical in Falmouth. Any stroll through the town will give you glimpses of the water through the opes – passageways with stone steps between buildings leading down to the water's edge. You'll see just about every type of craft here – yawls, ketches, sloops, gigs, pleasure cruises and working boats dredging for wild Fal oysters. This year sailing week is from Friday, August 8th - Sunday, August 17th. All manner of nautical matters will be taking place both on the water and the quayside, as well as a carnival on Saturday, August 9th. We wandered through the town on a spring day. The streets had a jaunty seaside air, with Falmouth's trademark fluttering bunting and a few murmurations of tourists here and there. Star quality shelter OUR destination and shelter for two days was the Star and Garter, a gastropub within a historic town house on Falmouth's high street. Outside, it looks like a classic smuggler's inn; inside are a handful of beautifully appointed apartments looking out across the Fal River. Here, I said to myself, is a place I'd like to relax in once in a while, maybe three or four times a week. There's a seriously good restaurant at the back of the ground-floor pub. The predictable nautical décor route of bits of boats everywhere has been eschewed in favour of leathery chairs, dark wood, candlelight, and mesmerising views across the harbour. If you have the great good fortune to be staying there, you only have to stumble up the stairs, after a memorably good dinner and cocktails, to your quarters – either the first-floor Starboard rooms, the second-floor Penthouse or the Crow's Nest in the attic. All have a kitchen, sofas and armchairs, views of the harbour and binoculars. There are also flat-screen tellies — I'm not sure if another type of television is available these days. But I suppose if you wanted one of those old televisions — huge box affairs with buttons saying odd things like 'vertical hold', the staff here are so helpful they'd probably see if they could get you one. The Star and Garter is a microcosm of Falmouth itself. It's a great place for dining, drinking, gazing at the sea, being happy. We'd go there as soon as possible, if we were you. Travel details Star and Garter, 52 High Street, Falmouth Falmouth, Cornwall TR11 3QY For booking Jonik: Further information: See More: Cornwall, Travel
Irish Post
2 days ago
- Irish Post
Man charged in connection with collision at Liverpool FC victory parade named as Paul Doyle
A MAN has been charged in connection with a collision in Liverpool during the Liverpool FC victory parade which injured nearly 80 people. Some 79 people were injured when a car collided with crowds in the Water Street area who had turned out to watch the parade on Monday, May 26. Today the Crown Prosecution Service confirmed it had authorised Merseyside Police to charge Paul Doyle with a number of offences in relation to the incident. A police officer stands guard at the entrance of Water Street in Liverpool, England following the collision The 53-year-old, whose full name is Paul Desmond Sanders Doyle, of West Derby in Liverpool, has been charged with dangerous driving, causing grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent, wounding with intent to cause GBH and attempted GBH. He is due to appear before Liverpool Magistrates' Court tomorrow (May 30). 'The investigation is at an early stage,' Sarah Hammond, Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS Mersey-Cheshire, said. 'Prosecutors and police are continuing to work at pace to review a huge volume of evidence,' she added. 'This includes multiple pieces of video footage and numerous witness statements. 'It is important to ensure every victim gets the justice they deserve. 'The charges will be kept under review as the investigation progresses.' Of the 79 people injured in the collision, seven still remain in hospital, Merseyside Police confirmed today 'We know Monday's shocking scenes reverberated around the city of Liverpool, and the entire country, on what should have been a day of celebration for hundreds of thousands of Liverpool FC supporters,' Ms Hammond said. 'Our thoughts remain with all those affected.' She added: 'Criminal proceedings against the defendant are active and he has the right to a fair trial. 'It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information or media online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings. 'Please allow the legal process to take its course without undue speculation.' See More: Charged, Collision, Crash, Liverpool, Paul Doyle, Victory Parade
