Inishowen 100

Inishowen 100

The “Inishowen 100″ is one of Ireland’s most scenic drives. Its a 100-mile (160km) circular route around the Inishowen Peninsula in North East Donegal. Bounded on three sides by water, the peninsula is almost triangular in shape, between Lough Foyle and Lough Swilly and bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north. With splendid coastal scenery plus a good collection of ancient forts and monuments, traditional craft centres, and a dozen or so friendly villages, many people consider Inishowen to be a miniature Donegal. Scenic highlights include the breathtaking Gap of Mamore, a scenic roadway that rises to a height of 800 feet above sea level before following a twisting corkscrew descent with panoramic views of the entire northern coastline; Malin Head, Ireland’s most northerly point; and Fort Dunree – a magnificent viewing outpost.

 
 
 

An Grianan Summer Camps

An Grianan Summer Camps

Acting for Teens
Full week-Mon 25 June

The week will be a fun-filled week of theatre games, mime and improvisation. It will cater for newcomers and experienced folk alike. Over the course of the week, the workshops will be facilitated by youth leader Ronan Carr. He is an experienced actor/writer/filmmaker whose recent radio play was broadcast on RTE.

Choral Academy Summer School
Music – 23 Jul

The aim of the Singing School is to provide a forum for young people who enjoy singing to learn and develop their talents with qualified and experienced tutors.A great opportunity for singers to improve their vocal performance in this exciting programe which offers the chance to learn about the voice, how it works and how to get the most out of it. Led by Jim Mailey

Ballet Ireland Summer School
Ballet – 30 Jul
‘Tommy Town Mouse’; Ballet Ireland Annual Summer School 2012

Since 2001 more than three thousand boys and girls have taken part in the Ballet Ireland Annual Summer School, a week filled to the brim with creativity and self-expression, workshops centred in dance and a performance held onstage, fully lit and dressed and open to friends and family. Participants work and perform alongside professional dancers from Ballet Ireland, and in collaboration with them, decide how each week’s show develops. With emphasis on all the component arts that combine to make a ballet; drama, music, painting and dance, the Ballet Ireland summer school week is filled with laughter, joy and inspiration.

PBM Perfoming Arts Summer school
Children – 13 Aug

From the team behind ‘The Red Project’ (2006), ‘The McCool Summer School’ (2007) ‘Alice The Musical Summer School’ (2008) Pinocchio (2009), Hansel & Grettel (2010) and The Red Riding Hood (2011)
A performing arts training project based on Paul Boyd’s award-nominated musical ‘Mc Cool’.
“Best Musical 2003: a musical for all ages and all seasons” Sunday Life

Are you aged between 9 and 21?
Do you love to act, sing and dance?
Have you always wanted to work with theatre professionals?

This is your chance to appear in a hit musical! Pbm is one of the most acclaimed producers and creators of original musical theatre in Ireland and the company’s professional shows have now featured at theatres all across the world.

Contact us for more details

Inishowen at McGrory’s of Culdaff

Inishowen at McGrory’s of Culdaff

We would like to introduce you to our in-house produced show:
‘Inishowen – a cultural celebration of music, song and dance’.
This is a great night out and includes a two course dinner followed by the show featuring the best local musicians, singers and dancers who bring you on a journey, through music, and let yourself be taken back to a time where life moved at a slower pace, and continue through the changes and then bring you right back up to the present day. There should be many foot tapping moments in store for
those who attend.

INISHOWEN CULTURAL NIGHT EVERY WEDNESDAY
Company: McGrorys Hotel
Contact: Anne McGrory
Address: Culdaff
Location: Culdaff
Tel: 074 9379104
Fax: 074 9379235
E-mail: info@mcgrorys.ie
Web: www.mcgrorys.ie

Bundoran Soap Box Race

Bundoran Soap Box Race

The Bundoran RNLI revitalised the tradition of a soapbox race to great acclaim last weekend after seeing a postcard of the event from the 1950s on the Magh Éne Historical Society Calendar 2011. Huge crowds turned out to support their teams and enjoy the craic last Sunday 3rd June which brought ultimate success for Ogie O Kelly’s OK Cabs Soapbox…

18 year old Christopher McGloin, driving the Roguey Rocket soapbox for Ogie O’Kelly’s OKCabs, on Sunday (3rd June 2012), clinched the title of Bundoran Lifeboat Soapbox RaceChampion 2012. In front of an estimated 2000 strong crowd gathered at the event at Astoria Road in Bundoran, McGloin battled for the first place with Ashley Ward driving his soapbox on behalf of Ward Automation. Ironically Ashley’s dad John was the winner of the last soapbox race held on Astoria Road in 1962.

Downings Beach gets Blue Flag Status

Downings Beach gets Blue Flag Status

There was good news for the seaside village of Downings with confirmation that its beach has received blue flag status for the first time since 1999.

Downings is one of thirteen Donegal beaches to have been awarded blue flag status after An Taisce announced the International 25th Anniversary Blue Flag Awards for 2012.

The awards were presented by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Mr. Phil Hogan, T.D and Mr. Jan Eriksen, President of FEE at an awards ceremony held in The Portmarnock Hotel & Golf Links on Thursday.

Downings Beach gets Blue Flag Status
The full list of blue flag beaches in Donegal is: Bundoran, Murvagh, Rossnowlagh, Naran, Carrickfinn, Killahoey, Marble Hill, Portsalon, Lisfannon, Culdaff, Stroove, Fintra and Downings. In Sligo, two beaches, Enniscrone and Rosses Point, have been awarded blue flags. Mullaghmore is not being awarded the Blue Flag as there is an ongoing issue with livestock roaming on the beach.

Meanwhile, Donegal has retained its seven Green Coast awards. These beaches include Dooey, Ballyhiernan, Drumnatinney, Ladies Bay, Magheraroarty, Port Aurthur, Rathmullan,

The Green Coast beaches in Sligo are Dunmoran Strand, Rosses Point, Streedagh, Enniscrone, and Mullaghmore.

Patricia Oliver, An Taisce, speaking at the awards said, “We are delighted in this, the 25th anniversary year of Blue Flag to announce a record 87 Irish Blue Flag sites.

“The continuing high standards of our beaches are testament to the hard work carried out by Local Authorities throughout the year to improve water quality and provide clean, safe beaches for everyone to enjoy.”

New Donegal Cycling Routes

New Donegal Cycling Routes
Good News.A grant of €497,000 has been approved to provide and upgrade rural roads based cycling routes, stretching from Donegal Town to Newtowncunningham, covering a distance of 195 kilometres.

This route goes through some of the County’s most attractive landscape and links a large number of Towns along the way.

Minister McGinley states “not alone will this be of tremendous assistance to the many Donegal people who have taken up cycling as a hobby and sport, but will also attract many cycling enthusiasts to County Donegal.”

“Cycling tourism is increasingly popular around Europe. The Great Western Greenway from Westport-Achill in Mayo, is generating an estimated 140,000 trips per annum, which hugely significant for Mayo’s local economy. Let us hope that the Newtowncunningham-Donegal Town route will be similarly important for our local economy in Donegal.

New Donegal Cycling Routes
This route has been selected for Government investment. It is one of 16 routes that were selected by the Department of Transport & Tourism, from a group of over 50 proposed projects nationwide.
Work will be commencing on the project as soon as possible.

Mark Higgins at Topaz Donegal International Rally

Former British champion turned film stunt driver Mark Higgins is planning to return to rally action on next weekend’s Topaz Donegal International.

A deal is being put together which will see the Wales-based Manxman driving a WRC Mini owned by Derek McGarrity on round four of the Irish Tarmac championship.

Higgins has been one of Britain’s most successful drivers for the past decade but in recent times has turned increasingly to film stunt work.

He was one of the drivers in the spectacular car scenes in Quantum of Solace and has just returned from Turkey where he was working on the latest James Bond movie, Skyfall.

Details for the Donegal appearance are still being worked out but it is planned that Higgins will team up with his old British championship-winning co-driver Rory Kennedy to drive a Prodrive Mini for the first time.

They finished second behind Andrew Nesbitt in a Mitsubishi one-two in 2006 and were second again the following year when Sebastien Loeb took his memorable victory ahead of Rally Ireland.

Indeed, Higgins led the World champion by nearly 40 seconds at the end of the first leg.

“You could say Mark and I still have some unfinished business in Donegal so it would be great to get another chance to set the record straight,” said Kennedy who was a three-time winner of his home international with Bertie Fisher.

McGarrity, meanwhile, will switch to last year’s Donegal winning car, the Tim McNulty S12C Subaru.

Reigning Tarmac champion McNulty, who trails leader Darren Gass by 46 points in this year’s series, is now expected to sit out the rest of the season.

Green Guide Ireland – Donegal and Northwest

Green Guide Ireland – Donegal and Northwest

Plan your holiday or short break based on our personal recommendations. Discover the unique beauty of Donegal and the North West. Experience the real Ireland, what to see, where to go. Explore hidden places, find local attractions, enjoy gorgeous 360˚ virtual tours with this free guide. Download the App now! Enjoy!

Brought to you by the Gysling family, this advert-free App is the result of a deep affection for this special corner of Ireland and a desire to share it with you. Each place has been personally selected on the basis that it highlights the best of the North West.

WHAT’S INCLUDED
Scenic drives, golf courses, walking trails, other activities, beaches, historical sites, restaurants. Packed with information and tips for your trip, it is easy to navigate and each location is pinpointed on a map so you always know how near the next great attraction is.

WORKS OFFLINE
There is no need for a live data connection while using this App, as everything is stored on your device after you do an initial update. This means you won’t be charged for expensive data roaming.

GPS-BASED
Most listings are GPS-based to guide you to a place once you select it.

EVENTS / PUSH ALERTS
We will keep you notified about what’s on in the region. These push alerts are free and non-intrusive and you will receive no more than 1 per month. You can also enable or disable the notification in the settings at any time.

MAKE HARVEY’S YOUR HOME!
You are welcome to use Harvey’s Point as the perfect hotel base from which to tour Donegal and the North West or simply as a destination to relax and enjoy palatial accommodation, exquisite cuisine and warm Donegal hospitality. Located just outside Donegal Town, Harvey’s Point enjoys a magical setting on the shores of Lough Eske and at the foot of the Bluestack Mountains.

CÉAD MÍLE FÁILTE
We hope that you will enjoy using our Green Guide App, and it will be our pleasure to welcome you to the Hills of Donegal and beyond.

Download the App now! Enjoy!

The Gysling Family & Harvey’s Point Team.