Tourism

New Paris Tourism Event

Kilkee and Ennis Hotels Sold

Kilkee Bay Hotel in Kilkee and Ashford Court Hotel in Ennis have been bought by former hotel employee J. J. McCabe.

The 74 year old worked in the Regency Palace Hotel in London 50 years ago. He has bought the 41 bedroom Kilkee hotel for a reported €320,000 and has paid a reported €305,000 for the 22 bed Ennis property. Both hotels are currently closed and thge new owner is planning to re-open them in May.

Hotel Invests in Festivals

Hotel Doolin in Co. Clare is investing €100,000 in three festivals during 2013, including the Doolin Folk Festival, Doolin Writers Weekend & Short Story competition from 24th to 26th May 24-26, and the second annual Doolin Craft Beer Festival August from 23-25 August.

Luka Bloom, Martin Hayes, Donal Lunny, John Spillane, Steve Cooney and Hermitage Green are amongst the acts lined up to perform during the inaugural Doolin Folk Festival on June 14th to 16th 2013. Sponsored by Smithwick’s Pale Ale the three-day festival will take place on the grounds of Hotel Doolin, less than a mile from the site of the famous Lisdoonvarna Festival of the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Musician and Event Promoter, Conor Byrne explained that the Festival will feature “traditional and folk musicians who have had a connection with the area over the years as well as up-and-coming, cutting-edge folk and Trad acts to the village thereby reviving Doolin’s reputation as a hub for Trad and Folk musicians.”

Family Roots Gathering in Clare

The ‘Gathering the Scattering’ festival takes place in Ennis, Co Clare, next week (2-6 April, 2013) and will feature tours, lectures, book launches and film screenings. The five-day series of events, which is being hosted by the Clare Roots Society, will culminate on Saturday, 6 April with an International Family History Conference featuring contributions from genealogical experts.

Speakers include Michael Gandy, Editor of The Genealogist’s Magazine; Irish and UK Workhouse expert Peter Higginbotham; Catriona Crowe, Head of Special Projects at the National Archives of Ireland; and Steven and Kit Smyrl, RTE’s Dead Money. Meanwhile, Fiona Fitzsimons, Director of Eneclann will present a talk on pre 18th Century genealogy sources; while and Eileen O Dúill of the Association of Professional Genealogists in Ireland will explore the tracing of American relatives.