Other activities in Ireland
Life
aftergolf
There is life after a game of golf, and Seán Carberry suggests some of the events and activities that might take your mind off your handicap.
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on the course. And unless you’re a professional golfer on tour, you’ll want the occasional time away from driving and chipping. So let’s look at what the small island of Ireland (300 miles by 150 miles, or 480km by 240km) has to offer, after your game. If you’re not familiar with the Emerald Isle, you’ll be both
ven if you’re the most dedicated of golfers, there are only so many hours in the day that you can be out
Above: Festivals are lively aff airs in Ireland.
Below: The newly-opened Grand Canal Theatre boasts state-of-the-art facilities.
such as Croke Park (the 85,000-seater headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association) in Dublin, the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick city, Páirc Uí Chaoimh in Cork city and Semple Stadium in Thurles, County Tipperary. The recently opened state of the art Aviva Stadium in our capital,
surprised and gratifi ed at the range and quality of things to do other than playing golf. As with many other nations, sport is an obsession in Ireland, but it’s not the only diversion on offer. For instance, recently the New York Times had this to say about our theater: “A four-day visit over this summer revealed a small but energized theatrical community producing works that felt refreshingly different from the conventional instincts that seem to determine much of what ends up in New York and London. With a mix of leading Irish, American and British actors regularly on stage; award-winning international directors; and wildly affordable tickets, Dublin is a rich destination for theatergoing, with an intimate personality to match its snug playhouses.” As well as the major theaters in Dublin – the world-famous
Abbey and Gate – there is a plethora of stage productions around the capital and the country, including such luminaries as Druid in Galway and the Opera House and Everyman in Cork. But back to sport, of the spectator variety. Depending on
the time of the year, there are thrilling encounters of hurling and football to be witnessed in our Gaelic games stadiums
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which replaced the ageing but fondly remembered Lansdowne Road venue, has 45,000 seats, and over the sporting calendar you can catch some scintillating games of soccer and rugby, as well as concerts by stars such as Michael Bublé. If racing is the sport of kings, then just about every man and
woman in Ireland is a monarch, because it is a part of the national DNA. We have 26 racecourses – more per head of population that any other country in the world – and for such a tiny island, we are the third largest breeder of thoroughbreds in the world.
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