by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua Under the gloomy skies of a stormy January I was thinking about Louis MacNeice’s poem “Dublin”. Written in 1939, with Europe on the brink of war and Ireland as a nation barely standing on its hind legs, it’s not surprising that MacNeice saw Ireland’s capital shrouded in grey: Grey… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua Travelling but not visiting I was miles away. “Sounds of Silence” kept playing on my mental jukebox. I thought how powerful it is as a portrayal of our contemporary culture, plunging headlong into a sort of individualist nihilism: People talking without speaking People hearing without listening People writing songs… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua Reputation, Reputation, Reputation I haven’t seen the movie “Hostel” (2005) but it does for the reputation of Slovakia and its capital what “Midnight Express” (1978) does for Turkey. To add insult to injury not a single frame of the movie was actually shot in Slovakia but in the neighbouring… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua The end of austerity In early 2014 following 4 successive years of severe belt tightening and austerity Ireland officially exited the bailout programme imposed by our masters in Europe. The years of hardship were not good for the hospitality sector in Ireland with many hotels re-possessed by the banks,… Read more »
by Padraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua 4th city in North America Toronto has recently overtaken Chicago to become the fourth largest city in North America after Mexico City, New York and LA. Yet when you mosey down Queen Street West or gaze at Lake Ontario from your eleventh floor room at the Westin Harbour Castle… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua The Marvels of Motivational Travel Many of us in the Meetings and Incentives Industry run successful businesses and make a good living because corporations know that extraordinary travel experiences motivate employees to achieve outstanding workplace results. Because this is our job and we’re not actual participants on these amazing… Read more »
by Padraic Gilligan, Managing Partner at SoolNua In the field of destination marketing Venice is Coca Cola. It’s up there, profile-wise, with New York and London in the super-brand category, known and recognized all over the world for its utterly unique topology, its ubiquitous gondolas, Carnevale, cruise ships and crowds. Within MICE it’s the incentive… Read more »
by Domingos Dirceu Franco (Brazil and Jordan) Earlier this week I received an e mail from Domi with this text. I met Domi while he was in Ireland for 3 months to learn English. He’s Brazilian but lives in Amman, Jordan. I really like what he writes because it underlines how destination experiences can be… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua *I recently co-produced the Gala Dinner Entertainment at the Hofburg Palace, Vienna with a dear friend and client in the Finance and Insurance sector. Here’s an account of the evening from the perspective of a fictitious programme qualifier, Bob Newman. A kind of homecoming It was 5:05pm and his… Read more »
By Padraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua * Fans of great songwriters will immediately recognize the reference to Paddy McAloon’s band, Prefab Sprout’s classic 80s album which was entitled “Jordan: the Comeback” [PART 2 on Jordan] The Wadi Rum desert valley where I meet Salem is enclosed by amorphous outcrops of sandstone that protect you from… Read more »