The Engaging Ireland Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

The Gobbins is a cliff-face path on IslandMagee, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, northeast of Belfast. Unlike many other costal paths that just follow close along the top of an ocean-side cliff, the Gobbins first descends down to sea level, then winds along he base of the cliff, up and down steep cut stone stairs, across bridges from sea-stack to cliff face and island to island, past caves and through a narrow tunnel. Though it was long inaccessible to the public because it fell into disrepair after World War II, it has been rebuilt within the last several years and re-opened to the public as of Summer 2015.

Start out at the beautiful visitor’s center for a walk through the interpretive display to learn about the history of the path, the wildlife that abounds in the surrounding area, and the astounding effort that it took to reconstruct the path in its current incarnation.

If you’d like to check out some parts of the Gobbins path from the comfort of your own home, take a look at the 360 degree pictures of the Gobbins on VirtualVisitTours.com:

http://www.virtualvisittours.com/gobbins-cliff-path/

Walking the Gobbins path is a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience…though we’re already looking forward to the next time we get to walk the Gobbins! We highly recommend a visit!

Check out the official Gobbins Path website at:

http://www.thegobbinscliffpath.com/

In this episode, we bring you more sites associated with the Patron Saint of Ireland. Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Balintubber Abbey Website: www.ballintubberabbey.ie/

Tochar Phadraig Website: www.heritagecouncil.ie/landscape/initiatives/the-pilgrim-paths/tochar-phadraig/

The Western Way: www.irishtrails.ie/trail/western-way--gal-/37/

Christopher Sommervile Walk of the Week: www.independent.ie/life/travel/ireland/walk-of-the-week-mamean-connemara-co-galway-26574913.html

Altadaven Wood: www.voicesfromthedawn.com/st-patricks-chair-and-well/  

The Rock of Cashel: www.cashel.ie

Saint Patrick's Well: pilgrimagemedievalireland.com/2014/04/12/st-patricks-holy-well-at-marlfield-clonmel        

The closing song, sung by Kathy, is "May the Road Rise to Meet You" by Denes Agay.

In the second part of a two part episode, we tell you about the rest of our 10 favorite places to see in Northern Ireland and Donegal.

In this episode, we review our top 10 list of places to see in the counties of Northern Ireland and in county Donegal.

You can’t read a history of traditional music of Northern Ireland without coming across the McPeake name sooner or later. The McPeake family has been influencing traditional music in Ireland and around the world since the mid-1900s and continues its tradition of education and entertainment today.

We had the distinct pleasure of sitting down with Frances McPeake III and Frances McPeake IV at Milwaukee Irish Fest, and they gave some insight as to what has gone into the making of this family legacy. You’ll also hear how the family’s path crossed with those of royalty and a member of a famous quartet from Liverpool and why, despite numerous difficulties and setbacks, they feel that it’s of utmost importance to continue to provide traditional music education to children in Ireland today.

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In this special holiday edition of the Engaging Ireland Podcast, Travis and Kathy take a look at some of the holiday traditions that have been practiced in Ireland over the years, and Travis presents a recital of the Kerry Christmas Carol, written by Sigerson Clifford.

Anne Roos was kind enough to allow use of her beautiful harp music for this episode. For further information on Anne and her music, visit her website at www.celticharpmusic.com or in iTunes.

The Engaging Ireland Podcast (www.engagingireland.com) presents information, interviews, and travel tips related to Ireland and Irish Culture. The podcast can also be found on iTunes and other media podcast outlets. 

In this brief MiniCast, we talk about the year long promotion being spearheaded by Fáilte Ireland in 2012.  This promotion, being called The Gathering, is really a series of cultural and sporting events that will take place throughout the year and is an effort by Fáilte Ireland to entice Irish people who have moved abroad and those of Irish ancestry to return to Ireland for a visit.  You can read more about The Gathering on our daily blog:

http://dailyblog.engagingireland.com/?p=224

Also, more information about one of the sporting events taking place in 2012, the Notre Dame and Navy football game in Dublin, can be found here:

http://dailyblog.engagingireland.com/?p=211

Ireland boasts many beautiful and interesting gardens. In this episode, we highlight a few of our favorites. It’s difficult to narrow down our list to just ten, but we have made our choices. If you have a favorite garden, please feel free to send a comment telling us about your favorite garden and why it is special to you. 

We recently had the pleasure of interviewing Joe O’Flynn, owner of Rathsallagh Country House Hotel, and Brian Bourke, owner of Glenlo Abbey Hotel. Both establishments are family-owned and operated, and Joe and Brian shared with us a bit of what it has been like to operate in these difficult economic times. Not only has there been a drop in the number of visitors to Ireland, but there has also been the issue of the “zombie hotels” to contend with. 

Even in these trying times, however, Joe and Brian remain optimistic about the future for their own establishments, as well as for other well-run accommodations that provide good service and a personal touch for their guests.

We also talk a bit about what separates a superior accommodation from a lackluster one and why travelers should look at more than just the cost of their board when considering where they will stay. A hint: When someone tells you that you get what you pay for, they are generally telling you the truth! The price of your accommodation should not be your only consideration or motivation when making your travel plans.

A few links of use from this episode:

Rathsallagh Country House Hotel, Dunlavin, County Wicklow - http://www.rathsallagh.com/

Their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/RathsallaghHouse 

And Twitter Account: @RathsallaghHous 

Glenlo Abbey Hotel, Bushypark, County Galway - http://www.glenlo.com/

Their Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Galway/Glenlo-Abbey-Hotel/282220584728?ref=search&v=wall

There is much more to experience at these properties than just the hotels. Check out their websites to see all of the amenities and special activities that are on offer.

We also ran across this clever cooperative marketing scheme on the part of three family-owned Irish hotels: Glenlo Abbey, Rathsallagh House, and Sandhouse Hotel (Rossnowlagh, County Donegal). The three hotels are currently operating a partnership they call The Emerald Triangle (http://www.emerald3.com/), where you purchase one package and receive six nights’ B&B accommodation (split among the three hotels). By booking this way, you can be assured of quality lodging as you travel across the country, and you get the great level of service that comes from a combined 100 years of experience assisting travelers in Ireland. We think this is a brilliant idea and a way to ‘think out of the box,’ as it were, in trying to find new and innovative means to attract clients!

Celebrated Experiences, Jonathan Epstein, President http://www.celebratedexperiences.com/

“Our clients are the most elite travel agents in the world, seeking the very best for their demanding clientele. “ (A little bit of information about the company from their website.)

You can also find Celebrated Experiences on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/CelebratedExperiences where you can follow Jonathan’s worldwide travel adventures.

As mentioned during the interview, you should research any of the accommodations you are thinking about booking. One place where you can find information about quality Irish accommodations is at Ireland’s Blue Book (http://www.irelands-blue-book.ie/). Of course, there are other places you go to perform your research. Another good place to start your research is to simply look at the establishment’s website and review its history and amenities. This should tell you a lot about the quality of the accommodation. 

At the 2010 Milwaukee Irish Fest, Megs Downey Martin, from the Irish Hotels Federation, and the DownHill House Hotel in Ballina, County Mayo, took some time to speak with us regarding the current state of the Hotel Industry in Ireland, and what you should think about when booking a hotel or guest house for your next Irish stay.

The term zombie hotel comes up briefly in the interview.  Because of the increasing impact of zombie hotels in Ireland, we thought it would be a good idea to provide a bit more information about the zombie hotel issue, prior to the start of the interview.

Some links mentioned in the interview:

The Irish Hotels Federation

http://www.irelandhotels.com/

The DownHill House Hotel

http://www.downhillhotel.ie/