by Padraic Gilligan Berlin, Early Morning, 7am The room is already flooded in bright light when my alarm squalls into life at 7am. I think my vintage football shirt might be appropriate in Germany’s capital, now that Arsenal FC has signed Poldolski so I wear it for my morning march. I try to capture on… Read more »
Posts Tagged: DMC
“Berlin: coolest city on the planet?” At Site EMEA Forum 2012
Site EMEA Forum 2012 The last 4 weeks or so have had me all over Berlin – Potsdamer Platz, Unter den Linden, Pariser Platz – but it hasn’t been as exhausting as may seem: Berlin was the key setting for two recent novels that I read – William Boyd’s The New Confessions and Esi Edugyan’s… Read more »
Florence – City of Art and Artisans
Matteo Renzi has been called the Barack Obama of Florence. He’s the young mayor of Florence who 3 years ago made the courageous decision to ban motorised traffic around the historic centre of the city. The net result of his decree is that you get to stand in front of the Duomo and marvel at… Read more »
24 Hours in Rome – Gran Melia Villa Agrippina, Roma
by Padraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua [This is part 2 of a two part post on Rome – it dates from 2012] 17:15 The sweeping views over Rome from Piazzale Garibaldi are breathtaking. Strangely, it’s a part of the city that I’ve never been to before. Now I wonder how a visit to Rome could… Read more »
24 Hours in Rome – Part 1
by Padraic Gilligan, VP, Industry Relations, MCI and VP, Ovation Global DMC At break of dawn 04:55 Alarm goes off. To avoid subconscious and ill-advised use of the snooze facility it has been placed far from the bed. It’s an ugly sound. I fall out of bed and snap it off. I head for the… Read more »
Coming Home – Revisiting Ireland’s Incentive Icons: Killarney Park, Europe, Dromoland, Adare
by Padraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua I’ve greatly enjoyed the opportunity over the past 4 weeks to re-acquaint myself with Ireland as an incentive destination. A combination of familiarisation trips and live programmes brought me, in quick succession, to two of Ireland’s premier locations for corporate meetings and incentives, the Shannon area renowned for its… Read more »
Memphis lives! Final tales from ADMEI
by Padraic Gilligan, VP, Industry Relations, MCI and VP, Ovation Global DMC A perfect job Many of us would like to be Kevin Kirby. Kevin has had a series of very fun jobs – Universal Studios, Disney and, for the past 6 years, Director of Global Sales for Hard Rock Café. He obviously understands the… Read more »
Memphis: Destination King
by Padraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolElla “I’m going to Graceland” So, like millions before us, we headed to Graceland. For me it was like participating on the Santiago di Compostella Camino or visiting Our Lady’s Shine at Lourdes. Snatches of songs from U2 ( “… early morning April 4 shot rings out in the Memphis… Read more »
Walking in Memphis – Tales from the ADME Annual Conference
by Padraic Gilligan, VP, Ovation Global DMC We arrived early in Memphis having managed to blag our way onto an earlier flight and avoid payment of the $50 dollar fee which Delta said they’d charge but then , for some reason, didn’t. For me this was small compensation for a nasty airline experience which I… Read more »
Global DMCs – a beautiful oxymoron?
Global DMCs – a beautiful oxymoron? by Padraic Gilligan Allegedly, when asked for his favourite oxymoron Irishman, global entrepreneur and former international rugby player, Tony O’Reilly, said “Great Britain”. But it may be regarded as crass and unfair to explain the meaning of oxymoron by reference to O’Reilly’s wicked quip (although given the current rumblings… Read more »