A look at today's other stories
Index
WHAT’S HOT
Our favourite YouTube video of the holidaysDriving around Dublin in 1976. Have a look. It'll do you good
A scale and polish at your dentistTo remove the Christmas excess
A snow-free ChristmasEveryone was quietly relieved – even the kids. They don't want to see their parents that stressed again
Rooney MaraShe might come over all frosty insouciance in interviews, but we forgive her – her turn as Lisbeth Salander in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoois mesmerising
Prince PhilipAn inspiration, and a salutary example to all those who were ill or recovering from illness over the Christmas , and to 90-year-olds everywhere. Rock on, Phil
Race-goersUp from the country and on their way out to Leopardstown on the Luas. They were already having a good time. They'd no change for the ticket machines because, a helpful fellow traveller explained, race goers only carry big notes. God bless them
The salesQuite manageable, even pleasant, this year, because customer numbers were down. It's an ill wind
WHAT’S NOT
Recession radio schedulesWhy are all programmes suddenly stretched to two hours, and padded out with medical horror stories?
Gym membershipsForget the special offers – your January resolution will forever remain that, and your year-long membership will cost you almost as much as a summer holiday in the Maldives
The Christmas coldCutting a swathe through the revellers. Pass the Lemsip
Easter eggs in the shopsIt's not fair Tesco, we haven't finished our Christmas Roses yet
The Irish Revival is trying too hardWe've got fewer Irish speakers, but a lot more bi-lingual signs. "Meaisin Ticéad", anyone?
No tattoos hereHM's much-publicised Girl With the Dragon Tattoocollection never came to stores in the Republic. A trend we're having to get used to
Sinéad O'ConnorThe gory details on why her marriage broke up. TMI, Sinéad
LeftoversThe extra two nets of sprouts, the pâté past its sell by date; the piles of unsent Christmas cards left over from this and previous years . . .
Sing in the new year
Three arts are beautifully combined in this book on European sacred music that comes with a CD, a description of each song, and illustrations from paintings and stained glass across Ireland. The book is by Tim Thurston. “The making of music together is the most intense form of human co-operation, requiring the highest degree of shared desires and understanding, of listening and working closely together,” he says. No wonder it helps to sing in the new year, a time to promote human happiness and world peace.
Gloria by Tim Thurston, €20, associatededitions.ie. Available in bookshops.
Emma Cullinan
5 places to ring in 2012
Fireworks in Dingle
In Dingle tonight, the celebrations begin with a fireworks display on Dingle Bay at 10pm with locals and visitors gathering at the pier to watch the illuminations. Afterwards, the Dingle Fife and Drum Band tunes up outside O’Flaherty’s pub where the gathered crowd follows the band down to the bridge to ring in the New Year. The evening culminates with a march around the streets of Dingle led by the band.
Go west
Located on a longitude of approximately 10 degrees west, Achill Island is one of Europe’s most westerly points. Watch dusk fall over Keel and Achill Head and say goodbye to the final sundown of the year. Head to the pub where later that night a pipe band will enter the premises and escort you to a crossroads, where the group will meet another band coming from another village, Dooagh. In the shadow of the church at the crossroads the musicians pipe in the New Year. It’s wild and windy. The road overlooks an expanse of sea where the next stop is America. For the morning after the night before, how about a bracing dip in the Atlantic at the traditional New Year’s Day swim at Dugort’s Golden Strand? Or you could go sightseeing. Take in the Deserted Village and a much more modern monument – developer Joe McNamara, the so-called Anglo Avenger, has built his own Stonehenge. Achilltourism.com
Craic agus ceoil in Gweedore
Scoil Gheimhridh Frankie Kennedy in Gweedore, Co Donegal is an annual event attracting some of the world’s finest musicians to the northwest. Tonight there is ceol, craic agus céilí with Brendan Begley, the Dingle peninsula singer and button accordion player, who is accompanied by trad guitar player Steve Cooney. The Bonny Men, a new young Dublin trad band, kick off proceedings at 9 pm at Ionad Naomh Pádraig, the community centre in Dore. Admission is €20. Expect all manner of surprise guests.
Tel: 074-9532949, frankiekennedy.com
On to a winner at Punchestown
Back a winner at the New Year’s Eve racing festival at Punchestown and start off 2012 prosperous. The event is a family affair. For the kids there are pony rides, bouncy castles and a great big open space to run off some of the Christmas fizz. For adults, there’s complimentary mulled wine on arrival. The first race is at 12.15pm, the last at 3.30pm. General admission is €10, free for women and children.
Tel: 045-897704, punchestown.com
Capital idea
The highlight of this year’s Dublin New Year Festival is the event at the Guinness Storehouse, featuring a Kings of Leon tribute band, Royseven, Ryan Sheridan and U2 tribute act Rattle and Hum. There will be a dining area and you can watch the whole city ring in the New Year from the Gravity Bar. Tickets are €69. Dublinnewyearfestival.com
Alanna Gallagher
