by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua Who are we? Are we travel and tourism professionals who specialise in meetings, incentives, conferences and events (MICE)? Or meeting and event professionals helping companies and associations communicate and connect? Or maybe corporate executives who organise meetings and events for our company? Or performance improvement specialists who dream up… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua Visitor numbers to Dublin have increased year on year by 16% in 2016 which means our message is getting out there and folks are anxious to catch a breath of fresh air, Dublin-style. Thankfully the scope and range of things to do around the city is increasing all the time… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua Stuck like Glue It never happened to me – I’ve been stuck like glue to Rita Smyth since I was 19 – but others tell me that relationship break-ups often end with a statement supposed to fill the jilted party with reassurance “it’s not you, it’s me”, meaning “you haven’t… Read more »
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 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 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 O wad some Power the giftie gie us To see oursels as ithers see us! Robert Burns “To a Louse” The sayings of my late mother have featured previously in this blog. This time I lead with one of her favourites, from Robbie Burns, written originally in 1785, but… Read more »
by Padraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua Collective Confusion Ireland’s historical relationship with food has tended to be problematical. Our DNA has tended to be encoded with vague, indistinct memories of famine and fasting leaving us collectively confused about the purpose and meaning of food in our lives. We were less unsure, mind you, about our… Read more »
by Padraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua For those of us who travel for a living, access to Social Media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Trip Advisor has become almost as essential as carrying multiple credit cards. If you’re in the meetings and events industry then social media become even more crucial because the content… Read more »
by Padraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua Off-Beat and Off-the-Beaten Path When the Travel Bloggers [TBEX] conference took place in Dublin a few years ago there were quibbles that these intrepid investigators didn’t really showcase anything new or different about the city. Their coverage tended to focus on what’s already known and loved – Trinity, Guinness,… Read more »