This win and current form puts McDowell in great shape ahead of the 2013 Irish Open that is taking place from the 27th – 30th June at Carton House in Kildare. When along with other top Irish Golfer’s Darren Clare, Pádraig Harrington, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, McDowell will compete to become the first Irish winner of the Irish Open since 2009.

Easily accessible and popular for Ireland Golf Vacations, Carton located just 14 miles from Dublin City Centre and this year venue to host the Irish Open, which is an event that is known to drawn in the crowds, whether locals, golf enthusiasts or a visitor here on Ireland Vacation.

This will be no ordinary tea party with Mad Hatters and Mrs Doyles (from the famous Irish TV show Father Ted TV) expected to roam the winding streets dressed in appropriate attire!

Another element to the Tea Party is the ‘Bake Off’ competition. Darina and Rachel Allen who will pick the winner, are well known Irish celebrity chefs and TV personalities who make their love of food known all over the country, making them the perfect candidates to judge the bake off. Submit your apple pies and sponge cakes and let these two ladies be the judge of who is the deserving winner!

If you are planning an Ireland vacation in July make sure a visit to Kinsale is in your diary. These and the many other activities will be taking place during the Kinsale Arts Festival 2013. Stay tuned to our blog for more details on the festival.

A must for locals and tourists on Ireland vacations, Cork Midsummer Festival brings the world to Cork and shows Cork to the world through a whole host of world-class performances, special events and entertainment within its packed programme of events. Including Mick Flannery live at City Hall on the 21st June, Maria De Buenos Aires at Cork opera House on the 21st – 23rd June, 100% Cork also at Cork Opera House on the 28th – 30th June and much more. For more information about this festival, how to book tickets for events and what’s on, visit: www.corkmidsummer.com

Electric Picnic was voted Best Medium Sized European Festival in 2010 at the European Festival Award as well as being voted the Best Big Festival at each of the last four Irish Festival Awards.

The festival has many distinguishing features which sets it miles ahead of its counterparts including a 24-hour cinema tent, the Body and Soul arena (which offers a lounge with beanbags, massages and tarot card readings), the International Comedy Tent and a silent disco.

Where: The arts and music festival takes place at Stradbally Hall in Stradbally, County Laois, Ireland.
When: 30th August to the 1st of September 2013

And as we may recall Cmdr Hadfield come to our attention when tweeting “as gaeilge” he brought the Irish language to international attention and to the twitter-sphere. He later delighted his many fans in Ireland and Internationally on St Patrick’s Day when he posted his version of Danny Boy suitably attired in a green bow tie and sweater. Whilst Danny Boy is his all-time favourite song, for his historic gaelic tweets he was helped with his “cupla focal” by his Irish based daughter Kristin Hadfield who is currently studying in Trinity college, Dublin, who along with her friends welcomed him here on a visit in 2011 with an introduction to the national delights favoured by many on Ireland Vacations found in Glendalough, the Guinness storehouse, Trinity college and our local gaelic football and matches.

As well as “Danny Boy” Mr Hadfield, a talented musician, also had the distinction of duetting” with the Chieftains at their recent gig in Houston Texas in February on a cover of Van Morison’s appropriately titled “Moondance”, singing with them live from his position aboard the ISS. And from “Moondance” to another appropriately titled song, in his last transmission from space, the multitalented Mr Hadfield signed off his duties with an out-of-this-world version of David Bowie’s Space Oddity a rendition that was in production since he joined the ISS five and a half months ago. He tweeted: “With deference to the genius of David Bowie, here’s Space Oddity, recorded on Station with a last glimpse of the world, he added his own timely twist to the Bowie song as he sang “Ground control to Major Tom, lock your Soyuz hatch and put your helmet on.”

As Mr Hadfield and his companions head back to earth, in a week that sees Star Trek re-enter the cinema, we say our goodbyes to a real and original spaceship crew who boldly went where their predecessors never went before, the twitter-space via the worldwide web. And as he acclimatizes to earth and greets family and friends we wish Mr Hadfield and his colleagues the very best and thank him for helping bring the Irish language and music to the modern world.

The run is supposed to be FUN and there are no times, records, competitiveness or age restrictions.  The aim of the day is to have fun and get covered in as much colored powder paint as possible.

The run takes place this year on July 28^th    and is for a good cause. Their website states the following:

“The Rainbow Run also focuses on giving back, so a portion of ticket sales goes to LARCC Cancer Support Centre, which offers psychological and emotional support to people living with cancer, providing a homily environment where patients and family members can engage in a selection of services including one to one counseling, complementary therapies, nurse support and telephone helpline – all services information can be obtained on www.larcc.ie”

Get involved today!

Royseven, who are one of Ireland’s leading bands hailing from Dublin, will play all of their hits on Saturday night. The line up also includes Cork band the Frank and Walters. Sunday night will see the very popular Ryan Sheridan take to the stage.

If you’re visiting West Cork why not pay Bandon a visit and check out this popular music festival?

Admission: 
Adult Weekend Pass: €15
Adult Day Pass: €10
Under 18s Day Passes: €5 per day.
(FREE: Accompanied under 12′s)

A free family festival action packed with spectacular entertainment from the very best jugglers, acrobats, sword swallowers and many more wonderfully talented performers will take place in Dublin in Merrion Square on the 12th – 14th July  and in Cork on St Patrick’s Street on the 20th – 21st July.

Attracting the very best entertainers from around the world, this year in the year of the Irish Gathering 2013, the Street Performance World Championships taking place over two consecutive weekends this summer looks to be bigger and better than ever before!

Entertainers will enter for free and their audience made up of the many locals and tourists on Ireland Vacations that flock to this festival year-on-year will vote for their favourite performers on site, and the act with the most public votes in title will be crowned the 2013 Champion!

To keep up to date with all the festival information, finalist, event timetables, maps and details of the La Carnivale night shows, visit: www.spwc.ie

When: June 7th to 9th

Where: NUI Galway Campus

Opening Times: Friday and Saturday – 10am to 6pm, Sunday – 10am to 5pm

Looking for something a little different on your Ireland vacation? 2013 will mark the second year of the International Quilt Festival of Ireland (IQFOI). The unique festival takes place on the NUI Galway campus with the various well known buildings renamed for quilters. Visitors will enjoy theWicked Thimble Pub, Fat Quarter’s Chocolate Shop, the Round Robin Café, the Quilter’s Square, Town Hall, Longarm Lane amongst other places in the village.

In 2012 the festival made history after bringing the largest group of international quilts together in one location in Ireland.

Designed by 7 times European Order of Merit Winner Colin Montgomerie, the course is a 7,300 yard “links style” journey over solid fairways, spacious bunkers and flawless greens.

A fantastic setting to host this year’s Irish Open, it has been four years since the Irish Open was won by an Irish competitor, when in 2009 Shane Lowry took the title as an amateur at the County Louth Golf Club. This year though with top Irish golf stars, Darren Clare, Graeme McDowell, Pádraig Harrington, Rory McIlroy as well as one time winner Shane Lowry all competing, things may just change.

An event that is known to drawn in the crowds, whether locals, golf enthusiasts or a visitor here on vacation in Ireland, with such an elite line up and so much home grown talent taking part, the Irish Open 2013 is shaping up to be a sensational competition!