Conference tallis::celt

    Well, you have the Galway Races at the end of July and the Galway Arts
    Festival around that time. I'll do a bit of research on exact dates
    etc. and see........
    

    
    And while you're watching the races from the stand, just look to
    your right and you will see Galway's biggest white elephant. It is
    now known as GAO.

    Laurie,
    
    You do not say the age of the Kids. However it is probably preferable
    with Kids to stay on the sunny side of the Isle. Also all the best
    sandy beaches are to be found on the eastern side of the Country.
    
    There are a number of theme parks which are especially suited to
    children. Probably the best on is at Tramore in Co Waterford. It is
    based on Celtic mythology. There is also a very good heated indoor leisure
    complex outside Cork whiich is especially suited to young Children.
    Some other suggestions on that line are the Viking Village in Dublin,
    the Stone Age Crannog at Ferrycarrig - Just outside Wexford Town - and
    Bunratty Folk park outside Limerick.
    
    Bord Failte have a special brochure on stately homes. Quite a number of
    these scattered all over the country have farms attached. They also
    have another brochure on Farmhouse Holidays. Many of these farms have
    special facilities for Children. Examples are Pony Trekking etc. Also
    they will have baby sitting services available.
    
    If you wish to do something a little more strenous there are a number
    of centres catering for adventure sports. Examples are Delphi outside
    Cong and Mullingar. There is another at Baltinglass in Wicklow.  Among the
    sports at these centres are swimming canoeing mountaineering Rock climbing
    Absailing etc.
    
    As for fishing its to be had all over the country. If you want your son
    to catch a few take him makerel fishing.  
    
    
    Now if it comes to froth are you Buying
    
    MBr

    
    Hi Laurie,
    
    And don't forget the Zoo and stuff around Pheonix Park!
    
    /jen
    

    
    
    
    	Sometimes late at night, Hanlons turns into a ZOO  !!!  :-)
    
    
    
    	keVin
    

    I'd have to agree about Tramore, for children especially. I usually
    bring mine down there for a few days every year. I always seem to 
    coincide with the Race Meeting :-). You could start in Dublin, head
    for Tramore via Killkenny (Castle). Head on to Kilarney (RING of Kerry)
    and plenty of fishing. Head for Limerick and Bunratty Castle and Folk
    Park and attendone of the nightly Banquets. You could stay in Dromoland
    Castle which is very nice. Head for Galway via the cliffs of Mohar, you
    could stay in Lahinch for a day, great beach for the kids and a golf 
    course beside it if your interested. In Galway you have some great
    Beaches and a Leasure centre with indoor Swimming Pool (if its raining)
    You can hire a boat and go up the Corrib fishing for trout for the day.
    If I know the dates you are coming, I might be able to arrange a bit of 
    Macheral Fishing. A friend of mine has a boat. Ye will definitely have
    to Visit the Aran Islands. If you can get through the above agenda ye
    will be one tired but hopefully Satified Family. Can you post the dates
    you are coming and the Childrens ages.
    
    Stephen
    

    I've just noticed you had the kids ages in and july been the month.
    The kids should enjoy -1 but if its at the end of July you will get
    the Galway races in.
    
    Stephen
    

    .......as Dennis said in .2, all of us in Galway Mnfg. may be on
    permanent "holidays" by July; but then again, it's only business.
    

    Thanks for the words so far, much appreciated.
    
    RE: .3
    
    Many thanks for the suggestions, it sounds a good idea. The childrens'
    ages, as mentioned briefly, are 12 (my son), 8 and 6 (my two daughters).
    
    Froth? Well, why not? I'm on holiday!
    
    
    RE: .4
    
    I remember the zoo well. I used to live at 54 North Circular Road, and
    we used to visit the zoo often. I vaguely recall my aunt knew someone
    there. Just inside the (very close) gates of Phoenix Park were some
    large ponds where myself and the Lines boys from next door used to
    catch tiddlers and make rafts from lolly sticks. I wonder if the
    reality matches my vague memory?
    
    RE:. 6
    
    Thanks for a brilliant itinerary, sounds wonderful. I'd love to get
    some mackerel fishing in, and Loch Corrib was where I caught my first
    perch. I also caught my first trout in a nearby river. My Dad and I
    went in a Mini Cooper S, borrowed from my "Uncle" Stan Ryan, a racing
    driver who sold cars somewhere near the cattle market in Dublin (is
    that still there?). Stan drove the same car over the Ha'penny Bridge
    for a bet a while before; he was killed racing in Belfast a while
    after.
    
    Anyway, I digress. Dates. Nothing firm, bar the month. We'd like to
    avoid the rush. It's likely to be the middle two weeks in July, lessee,
    that'll be Saturday 10th to say Sunday 25th. When I can be more precise
    about dates, I'll post it.
    
    Any and all advice is gratefully received. Appointments for offers of
    assistance in testing the Guinness taken.
    
    Cheers, Laurie.

    Laurie,
    
    The Old cattle market is at present being turned into a housing
    complex.
    
    Hanlons has improved. No cattle jobbers. You know where that is of
    course if you know the cattle market.
    
    Dec office is just across the road in the old PMPA hotel.
    
    One other suggestion was to take you and the kids to the "Joe Drotter"
    adventure centre. You could have a great time. -)
    
    Mbr

It's been a few years ('86) but my family (including 14 and 9 year olds) enjoyed
staying at Kilkea Castle somewhare in county Kildare.  Its an 11th or 12th 
century building with lots of stone spiral staircases and confusing passages.

The staff of the hotel was very tolerent of children running up and down the
stairs.  They also had some "folk" type entertainment in the evening.  The
cost per person B&B was very cheap - as I recall, less than $20 per nite US.

A place I really liked was a 17th century Manor house located about an hour
north of Shannon, near the town of Ballyvaughn (this is probably a new spelling
for the town).  We rented the two suites they had for about $140 per night
total.  They had a marvelous little lounge with peat fire that caused me to
drink a lot of "Ritz" (I think that was the name of the beverage) while I
read a book or two.

Since my mother was a Murphy, I felt obliged to have a pint or twelve of
Murphy's as opposed to Guiness during my journey.

If you are interested, I might be able to find more information about the
two places.  I know I have numerous pictures of Kilkea.  I found them by
looking through the quide books I received from the Irish consolate (or 
embassy or whatever).

Actually, my wife and I were just saying the other day that perhaps it was 
time we went back to Ireland again.  We usually vacation in Europe at least
every other year and the last two times were in England.

We have always gone in June, early July or late September.  The airfares are
cheaper and we don't run into crowds.

Tom

    Tom,
    
    I'm interested. Sounds wonderful, please post anything you can.
    
    Many thanks, Laurie.

       re: .0
    
        There is a great, week-long family festival in NI called the,
    
        Feile Iarthar B�alfeirste.
    
        Great fun for the whole family. A very festival-like atmosphere,
        with games, contests, and prizes for the kids. Outdoor music
        concerts, dances, exhibitions, parades, and pints galore for the
        adults.
    
        I highly recommend it!
    
        Oh, and they have great tee-shirts too!
    
        You know Laurie, since you're offering, I'd be happy to take time
        off and meet you for a pint or two, or three.

    Thanks Joe.
    
    Happy to meet you too, as long as we don't talk about religion,
    politics or NI... ;^)
    
    Laurie.

Laurie,

Well, I brought part of the information.  The one in Co. Clare is called
Gregans Castle Hotel.

From their advert-
"The Burren is one of Ireland's surprises for the discerning traveller.  A
special area of mountain limestone scenery, with a distinctive beauty of its
own, and holing an unexepected wealth of treasure for the botanist, and 
explorer of historic ruins.  In the midst of this magnificent winderness lies
Gregans Castle Hotel, at the foot of Corkscrew Hill, with breathtaking views
over Galway Bay.  ...The 16 bedrooms mostly have private bathrooms and
are all centrally heated.

Non residents are welcome to the dining room, and also an interesting selec-
tion of food is available all day in the Corkscrew bar. ..."

Tel Ballyvaughan 5 or 065/77005
Telex 70130 
French Spoken (When I was there, they also spoke English/American 8^) )

    Many thanks, Tommy.
    
    Ok, how can I (given that I'm here in Brussels), get hold of the
    following two guides mentioned in various places in this conference?
    
    1) Discover Ireland
    2) Town and Country Houses Guide
    
    I *think* thay're both Irish Tourist Board publications. Is the local
    ITB office (assuming there is one) likely to have them? I suppose I
    could always hit the phone book...
    
    One other thing. What are the laws regarding children in/on licensed
    premises? That is, pubs, bars *and* restaraunts.
    
    Cheers, Laurie.

    There are no legal restrictions on minors being present with their
    parents or guardians on the premises at any part of their legal opening
    hours.
    
    The practice of keeping kids out later than 10.00pm is frowned upon and
    if the kids are noisy, you may be asked to leave. Parents who think it
    is O.K to let their kids sleep on the pub seats while they drink into
    the small hours will also get short shrift in most well-run pubs.
    There are of course much stricter house rules in city centres and
    resorts after about 9.00pm but it all depends on the individual pub
    owner.
    

Laurie,

Yes, you should be able to get both of those publications from the local
tourist board office.  The last information I have shows it to be in
Brussels at

Rue de Loxum 6-10
Bte 3 B1000
Bruxelles
Tel (02) 223101 46783
Telex 11648 Failte NL

Tom

    Thanks Tommy,
    
    The phone numbers in your note don't look quite right so I've been
    spurred to hit the Yellow Pages. The Irish Tourist Board is now at:
    
    Beaulieulaan, 25
    B-1160
    Brussels, Belgium
    
    (02)-673-9940
    
    I'll phone them tomorrow and check the address. They tend to abbreviate
    those in the Belgian phone books.
    
    Cheers, Laurie.

    Well, to answer my own question:
    
    The number from the latest Brussels' phone book doesn't seem to do a
    lot, just the hissing of an open line. Does anyone in Ireland have
    access to a source of the correct number in Brussels?
    
    Cheers, Laurie.

    
     Laurie,
    
     The number for the Irish Tourist Board in Brussels is 6739940
    
     Regards,
    
     Gary....
    

    Thanks Gary, but that's the number I posted earlier, and which doesn't
    actually connect to anything... Hang on... I just dialled it again, and
    it rings... Answering machine, lunchtime. Ok, so now I know. Thanks. I
    wonder why it wouldn't ring yesterday, or the day before... Mind you,
    the phone system here is somewhat, erm, eccentric.
    
    Laurie.

    I have received the publications from the Irish Tourist Office, and
    very good they are too. There are a large number of additional or
    supplemental books I like the look of, so a trip down to the place
    itself is called for. The pre-holiday excitement is gathering pace. I'm
    really looking forward to our trip...
    
    Laurie.

    I have some friends planning to visit Ireland in late July.
    
    
    They have 3 children aged 9,6 and 2.5 who speak French.
    
    Anyone got any ideas on what they could do in Ireland. They plan to
    spend a weekend in Cork at the end of July as part of the 2 week trip !
    
    Thanks for any info
    
    Therese

    The French usually like the West.  Clare-Galway-Clifden-Westport-
    Sligo-Donegal.  I have an idea - how about renting a houseboat on
    the Shannon for a week / weekend?  A different, relaxing holiday...

     If it's the Cork area you're asking about, then have them visit Fota
    Wildlife Park in Cobh. My kids (ages 11 and 9) really enjoyed that.
     We also stayed at the Blarney Park Hotel for a few day's. Great place
    for kids. Swimming pools with water slides and Blarney castle was good
    fun. And mom can do lot's of shopping at the Blarney Woolen Mills. ;^)
    
    	Bob

>================================================================================
>Note 1201.24                 Holidays with children.                    24 of 26
>BERN01::BYRNE                                        11 lines  21-FEB-1994 04:26
>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>                             -< more info needed! >-
>
>    I have some friends planning to visit Ireland in late July.
>    
>    
>    They have 3 children aged 9,6 and 2.5 who speak French.
>    
>    Anyone got any ideas on what they could do in Ireland. They plan to
>    spend a weekend in Cork at the end of July as part of the 2 week trip !
>    
>    Thanks for any info
>    
>    Therese
>

I wonder why Therese :-) I'm still wating for official confirmation. Sorry 
couldn't resist. 

I could take them down the Long Valley if you like. 

/Paul.

    Well, I finally managed to organise a trip. After various options,
    including a week's cruising on the Shannon (rejected on cost grounds),
    we've decided to go to Trabolgan Village for 2 weeks in July. We did
    this mostly for the children, who, I'm sure, will have a whale of a
    time. It also leaves us free to explore the surrounding countryside
    without the irritating "back-seat chorus" to spoil it!
    
    I'd be happy to meet a CELT noter for a beer in Cork/Waterford whatever
    if it's possible. I gather Galway is a little too far for a quick
    lunch! I'll also be spending a couple of days in Dublin seeing family,
    shopping, and generally looking about. I wonder how much of my old life
    remains there...
    
    Cheers, Laurie.

    I now know I'll be in Dublic for Friday night, Saturday, Sunday
    morning 28th-30th July.
    
    Cheers, Laurie.

>    I now know I'll be in Dublic for Friday night, Saturday, Sunday
                           ^^^^^^
Oh dear, etc.

Chris.

    AAAARRRRRGGGGGGHHHHH!
    
    DUBLIN!
    
    Laurie.

    Well, whoever suggested Trabolgan is a star! If someone had asked me,
    before I left, if I expected to enjoy 2 long weeks in a Pontins'
    holiday camp, I'd have laughed in their face. However...
    
    The children had a great time, and if they're happy, we're happy.
    Despite my misgivings, we actually enjoyed ourselves immensely, and we
    were made more than welcome by everyone we met. I honestly can't
    remember being so relaxed, and the fact that we had two weeks of
    sunshine was a real bonus.
    
    Trabolgan is uncompromisingly Irish, which was nice, as we'd expected a
    Pontins-formula place. The punters were 95% Irish, the other 5% being
    mostly British. We heard a few french-speakers on the first week. Of
    the Irish, at least 30% were from the North. The entertainment in the
    evenings was good, but sometimes we were a little lost; the accents
    were hard to follow sometimes, and the culturally-specific jokes were
    over our heads. I could follow more than my wife, whose previous
    contact with Irish people was nil. I drank a lot of Murphy's, laughed a
    lot, never won the bingo, caught some trout, and generally enjoyed
    myself.
    
    The trip over, from Brussels to Cork, took us 16� hours, including two
    ferries. It was almost exactly 610 miles (1000km) door-to-door. Yes, we
    enjoyed Trabolgan, and Ireland. We enjoyed it so much in fact, that
    we've already booked for the same two weeks next year.
    
    Cheers, Laurie.
    
    PS. If anyone is interested in more details, please ask and I'll try
        to type some stuff in.