by Padraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua Up here it’s different! Pat Gallagher of the late lamented Goats Don’t Shave wrote a cracking song called “Las Vegas in the Hills of Donegal”. The chorus goes like this: And if I could I’d build a wall around old Donegal The north and south to keep them out,… Read more »
by Padraic Gilligan, Vice President, Ovation Global DMC Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk’s The Museum of Innocence is a long and sometimes tedious story of love gone wrong, told in the first person by an intensely annoying, socially privileged narrator whom, most of the time, you want to slap. It’s also a deeply engaging account of… Read more »
by Padraic Gilligan, Vice President, Ovation Global DMC Padraic is disappointed I’ve posted twice recently on technology and the DMC sector and while there has been some reaction and commentary I admit to being somewhat disappointed by the overall response. Maybe it’s silly season ennui or vacation time detachment but other than some Retweets, Tahira’s… Read more »
by Padraic Gilligan, Vice President, Ovation Global DMC Bodrum used to be called Halicarnassus, was the birthplace of Herodotus, the father of History and was home to one of the seven wonders of the ancient world – the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus. I learned this from classical scholar and teacher, Pádraic O’Sullivan, under an azure sky… Read more »
by Padraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua Cycling the Ring of Kerry – sometime after 04:00 A thin frame of bright light leaks out in the gap between the heavy drapes and the wall of the room. You reach for the phone. 4:30am. Too early. Far too little sleep for what lies ahead. You turn from… Read more »
by Padraic Gilligan, Vice President, Industry Relations, MCI A wild gene in the corporate DNA On Friday last week the entire MCI Dublin office decamped to the rather dishy Gibson Hotel and spent most of the day dreaming. Dreaming is often the illicit, unapproved by-product of the endless meetings that comprise an average day in… Read more »
by Padraic Giligan, Vice President Industry Relations, MCI Astoria 100 – A Grand and Lavish Affair I have a lot to say about St Petersburg but I’ll start with the party because, after all, that’s the reason I went there. The Hotel Astoria is celebrating 100 years of hospitality in 2012 /2103. I anticipated something… Read more »
by Padraic Gilligan On Curiosity and Looking into your Neighbour’s Garden There’s a deep curiosity at the heart of being human. We’re programmed to wonder what’s out there, beyond the limits of our own horizons. This gnawing curiosity drove countless explorers throughout the centuries to get into small boats and set out on perilous journeys… Read more »
by Padraic Gilligan, Vice President, Industry Relations, MCI Defining the Destination Experience Destinations need hotels like Villa Kennedy. Hotels like Villa Kennedy lift the destination experience beyond the ordinary and alter outdated destination perceptions and lazy prejudices. When you stay at Villa Kennedy your image of Frankfurt changes the way Clark Kent becomes Superman. The… Read more »
by Padraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua Head in the Air Once you run the gauntlet of checking in, depositing bags, negotiating security and finally boarding, the time on board an aircraft can be good head time if only for the fact that you’re your own captive audience and are usually free from the random interruptions… Read more »