Tag Archives: Scotland

We had such a wonderful time during our first week in Scotland that I couldn’t wait to see what the next part of the holiday would bring. Bidding a fond farewell to our little cottage in Golspie, we headed off for the west coast, where I looked forward to seeing a Heilan Coo or two. There were a few little detours on the way, first to Black Isle Brewery, where we bought some of their organic beer. Scotland is dotted with small breweries and distilleries and even though my tipple of choice is a dogguccino, it would have been rude not to visit. Driving on, we came to Rogie Falls and had a nice stroll through woods until we arrived at scenic waterfalls where if you’re lucky, you can see the salmon leaping. They were fairly invisible when we arrived but it was really pretty and well worth the visit. It was a long drive to the coast and for …

Well the whole thing started with a competition run by Stena Line, the ferry people. Herself entered a picture of little old me gazing at London Bridge on my last visit to London and would you believe it, I won! The prize was a return trip on any of their routes to Britain. As it was my picture, I felt I should decide the destination and nothing would satisfy me but to visit my homeland of Scotland. And so the preparations began – accommodation booked, places researched and we were off to do the North Coast 500, a road that circles all the way around the highlands of Scotland. I couldn’t wait. I’m a Westie after all. I even got on the world wide woof and ordered a tweed collar, lead and NC500 dog tag from The Highland Hound. I had to be properly dressed for my holidays. We set off on a Thursday and stayed that night at Bellinter …

CURRENTLY based in Scotland, local man Andy Moloney is preparing to cycle from his new home back to Shannon, while raising awareness of autism and funds for groups that help with the condition. “I’m leaving Edinburgh on September 3 and then I have two days cycling in Scotland. Then I get on the ferry to Belfast and then cycle from Belfast to Shannon and that’s three days,” he says. In all, the journey is justunder 850 kilometres. Andy’s seven-year-old son Ellis has been diagnosed with autism, leading Andy to take on the challenge. “I wanted Scotland to benefit because I’m over here but I know seven families in the last 10 or 11 years who have had children with autism. As much as I wanted to do something over here, I wanted to do something in Ireland and Shannon too. I figured the best way to do it was to go from here to Shannon.” Last Saturday Wolfe Tones hosted …

The Minister of State for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection, Pat Breen is on a four-day official visit to Scotland, as part of the Government’s St Patrick’s Day “Promote Ireland” programme. During his visit, Minister Breen will meet with senior Scottish Government representatives in Edinburgh, undertake a range of engagements to support Irish companies operating in the Scottish market, and represent the Government at major St Patrick’s Day Festivals in Glasgow and in the town of Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire. The programme for the Minister’s visit has been developed by the Consulate General of Ireland in Edinburgh in conjunction with Enterprise Ireland and Tourism Ireland. Today, (Wednesday) Minister Breen met with Scotland’s Cabinet Secretary for the Economy, Jobs and Fair Work, Keith Brown MSP, to discuss Irish-Scottish economic cooperation and shared economic challenges. On Thursday, he will speak at a St. Patrick’s Day Business Breakfast in Edinburgh before travelling to Humbie in East Lothian to visit …

QUILTY girl Chloe Moloney will be a vital member of the Republic of Ireland’s U-19 soccer squad, as they seek to qualify for the European Championships next week. Managed by Dave Connell, all three games will be played at the Markets Field in Limerick in the elite qualifying round. Next Tuesday, Ireland will play Scotland at 7pm, followed by their second group game, against Ukraine, on Thursday, April 6, at the same time. On Sunday, April 9, at 2pm, Ireland will meet Finland in their final group game. This is Chloe’s final year playing at U-19 level and the Peamount United centre-half is hoping that Ireland can top the group. “One team comes out of the group to go to the European finals in Belfast in August. We had two recent friendlies against the Czech Republic in Barcelona. We won the first 3-0 and we lost the second 3-2. We were missing a few because three of our girls were …

DONALD Trump has cancelled his proposed trip to his golf resort in Doonbeg which had been expected to take place in or around the weekend of June 25. Last week the presumptive US Presidential election candidate said that he would be visiting Doonbeg but his Press Tour Director, Stephanie Grisham, confirmed in the early hours of Wednesday morning that the trip will only involve a visit to Scotland. However she did not explain to Irishcentral.com the reason behind the decision not to visit Ireland. Protests against Trump will were planned to take place in Doonbeg, at Shannon airport and possibly Ennis and Doonbeg. A ‘Trump Not Welcome’ group was established following a meeting in Dublin last week and the group confirmed that the first of their protests were due to be held in Dublin on Thursday June 23.

Tulla United has championed ladies soccer in recent years but trainer Murdoch Gleeson noted it was his daughter, Tara, who set the wheels in motion for ladies soccer back in 2010 when she asked ‘why girls can’t play soccer?’ On Thursday last, Ireland played Scotland in an historic U-19 women’s international friendly in Tulla. The impressive Cragg grounds looked immaculate as the sides played out an entertaining 1-1 draw, seven years after the FAI promised the club an underage international match. Speaking to The Clare Champion about his daughter’s eagerness to play soccer, Murdoch said Tara had a strong desire to play for her home club. “I had an U-16 boys team at the time and my daughter Tara asked me one day ‘how come girls can’t play soccer?’ “She’s 17 now so, at the time, she would have been about 11. She would have been playing with her older brother and younger brother basically kicking a ball around.” Murdoch …