A VIRTUAL TOUR OF IRELAND

Pub entertainment has become widespread and popular in the last decade or two and no matter to what part of the country the visitor travels they are likely to be able to experience music, singing and dancing of many mainly Irish characters in happy and convivial surroundings. The pub is an integral part of the Irish social scene where the visitor is as welcome as the regular customer. Nowadays most pubs serve tea, coffee and sandwiches and an increasing number provide good and economical lunches which many visitors find more suitable to their needs especially if they are touring and staying in bed and breakfast accommodation.

Apart from the traditional type entertainment which is theatre based as in the Siamsa Tire at Tralee or Cultur in Galway and the traditional music to be heard in a pub atmosphere, Irish traditional music, song and dance is performed at many other venues throughout the country. The 'ceili', an evening of Irish music and dancing, has become more popular with the greater level of interest in Irish music. Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann is the central organisation for the promotion of traditional music, song and dance and it organises national and local events where performers of all ages can compete before an appreciative audience of visitors and residents alike.

The AII-Ireland Fleadh held in the last weekend of August is the most important event in the traditional music calendar. It is a three-day music and song festival which takes place in a different towns each year where there are music and singing competitions for all grades and ages. Teach Ceoil ('Houses of Music') are to be found around Ireland and in those houses in an oldtime Irish kitchen atmosphere, were traditional music can be enjoyed at its best.

Ireland has nearly 200 uncrowded golf courses about half of which are 18-hole. These courses are spread throughout the country; every town and village with a population of more than 1,000 is likely to have its own course. Visitors are always welcome though in the courses near the cities, it is best to try to get a game outside the weekend when members are more free to play and the tees can become rather crowded.

Whether the visitor is an accomplished golfer or only playing the game for relax- ation and enjoyment he will find most of the golf courses not only testing in golfing terms but he will be able to play in spectacularly scenic surroundings. He will be welcome not only to play golf but also in the clubhouse, the dining-room. bars and lounges where he can meet the members and fellow guests socially and convivially. Green fees used in Ireland are generally very reasonable, ranging from IR£l5-IR£30. Golf is playable all year round though it is best in the April to September period.

Ireland is noted for the quality and variety of its fishing and enthusiasts have been coming here for a long time to enjoy their sport in it's teeming waters. In many countries owing to industriali- sation and consequent pollution, rivers, lakes and the sea no Longer hold the numbers of fish that were once available but Ireland's lack of industry has ensured that its waters still carry enough fish to provide good and exciting sport for both the dedicated angling holidaymaker and the amateur who may just want to while away a few hours, during a touring or based holiday.

Horse-racing is a favourite sport in Ireland and there are over 233 days of racing in the year spread over the 27 racing tracks all over the country including two in Northern Ireland. For the enthusiast, there is ample opportunity to watch great horses and top- class riders in action. At the Curragh, Co. Kildare, where all the Irish flatrace classics are held, the visitor can rub shoulders with the great names in racing from all over the world and if Their lucky, perhaps recover some of the cost of their holiday, while enjoying themself among the racing crowd who will make them welcome and let them in on any, inside information to help them pick a winner.

During the April to August period evening meetings are held at a number of venues and an interesting feature in recent years has been the introduction of Sunday racing. National Hunt or racing over jumps is especially enjoyed by Irish racing crowds (the first steeplechase is reputed to have been run in south Co. Cork in 1752); the meetings at Punchestown (Co. Kildare) and Fairyhouse (Co. Meath) are the highlights of the jumping season and attract large enthusiastic crowds.

There has been a great increase in the number of visitors to Ireland who want too get away from it all and to view the country from a new aspect that is not possible for the more mobile tourist to obtain. To cater for this demand, many areas of the country have been opened by the provision of waymarked trails through the loveliest areas in Ireland. It is hoped eventually to create a walking route aIl round the country; to date 12 trails totalling 200 km have been completed and another 9 are in the making or planned. The trails are clearly waymarked at all junctions and are provided with stiles and footbridges as necessary.

They give the visitor the chance to sample every aspect of the Irish countryside; walks along canal towpaths, tracks through woods. rambles over uplands and hills which provide glorious views of the countryside. This type of holiday is most suitable for youthful visitors who will have the strength and stamina for a long trek. However many of these walks can be taken in stages and in this way can appeal to young and old alike.

The visitor to Ireland is hardly likely to return home without having had some contact with the activities promoted and fostered by the Gaelic Athletic Association which was founded in 1884. AIl round Ireland, the visitor is likely to come across crowds of people either going to or coming from a hurling or gaelic football game in which the crowds' village. town, county. or province is engaged. The games which are amateur and highly organised are played by all ages from school child to adult. While gaelic football is played countrywide, hurling, which is the more traditional and whose roots go back to pre-Christian times, is played in a smaller number of counties.

Efforts to extend hurling to a wider playing fraternity have to date not been successful; it seems that the traditional feel for the 'caman', the stick with which the game is played, is difficult to pass on. While gaelic football is a game which combines aspects of soccer and rugby and is very like Australian football, which may or may not have derived from it, hurling is distinctively Irish. It is a spectacular game calling for speed, skill, fitness and commitment, and the Munster and Leinster Finals and the AII-Ireland Semi finals and Final are when the game is seen at its best. These games are played throughout the summer and the visitor who takes in a hurling game during the holiday is assured of an experience he or she will not easily forget.

21-24 Sep: Galway International Oyster Festival.

24-29 Sep: Dunmore East Waterford Golf Classic

01-08 Oct: Ballinasloe International October Fair & Festival, Ballinasloe, Co Galway.

02-14 Oct: Irish Life Dublin Theatre Festival.

05-08 Oct: 19th International Gourmet Festival, Kinsale, Co Cork.

07-15 Oct: Ennis Golf Club Open Week, Ennis, Co Clare.

19-19 Oct: 5 November Wexford Opera Festival

27-30 Oct: Cork Jazz Festival

30-30 Oct: Golden Pages Dublin City Marathon

Jameson Heritage Centre, Midleton, Co Cork.

Cork City Gaol, Sundays Well, Cork.

Royal Gunpowder Mills, Ballincollig, Cork.

Cobh, The Queenstown Story, Cobh, Co Cork.

Blarney Castle, Blarney, Co Cork.

French Armada Centre, Bantry, Co Cork.