I blogged about Hurling a few month ago and now is time to talk about the other Irish sport: Football. Don't get confused this is not the Football played by Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo (this one is called Soccer in Ireland). And even if you can use your hands this is not American Football either.
This is pretty much like Hurling but in Football you just use your hands and feet to score goals with a normal football. I think it is fair to say that this is highly physical and it requires great football skills. Most kids have played Gaelic Football in school and they are very proud of it. There are many clubs in Ireland and like with Hurling it all finish with the All Ireland competition in Croke Park.
County Kerry is known as being the equivalent of Brasil in GAA. One of their best player is Colm Cooper and he is a scoring machine.
Dublin is also a good team and they have the big advantage of playing at home in Croke Park. One of their best players is Bernard Brogan.
Gaelic Football is highly entertaining and I strongly recommend a visit to Croke Park where the atmosphere is absolutely unreal!
Gilles
A Multilingual Recruiter in Dublin
Monday, 16 February 2015
Wednesday, 11 February 2015
Post 35 - 6 Nations Tournament
February is the launching of the 6 Nations Tournament! What
is this?
Every year the 6 main nations of rugby in Europe (Ireland,
England, Wales, Scotland, France and Italy) play against each other across the
months of February and March. This is the 6 Nations Tournament! It is a very
prestigious and high level competition.
This year is very particular and crucial since all nations
will try to take benefit from the tournament to train and build a strong team
in order to be ready for the World Cup which will be in England in September
2015.
Rugby is a very famous sport in Ireland.
Irish professional
rugby teams is divided in 4 different team which are:
·
Leinster (Blue jersey and the main city is
Dublin)
·
Munster (Red jersey and the main city is
Limerick)
·
Ulster (White jersey and the main city is
Belfast)
·
Connacht (Green jersey and the main city is
Galway)
Those teams are playing during the whole year in the two
main competitions which are the Rabodirect Pro 12 and the European Rugby
Challenge Cup.
Ireland plays usually in green jersey with a “clover stamp”
on the chest. They won the last 6 Nations Tournament and they are favourite to
win the competition this year too!! Let’s go!!
Thursday, 18 December 2014
Post 34 - Christmas in Dublin - Celebration Days!
Well into the Christmas countdown here in Ireland... less than a week to the big 25th of December! As mentioned by Gilles in the previous post, every night is now a mix of Christmas Jumpers and Festivities.
Having had the chance to spend Christmas in the country, here are some little traditions you may find intriguing, exciting and enjoyable.
How many of us would be rushing through the streets of our hometown to buy the last minute presents and table decorations... On December 24th, getting ready for an evening of big festivities around the table with the entire family...
Well, not in Ireland! December 24th is another great excuse to meet all childhood friends down the PUB! When most of the Irish who go home for the holidays, Christmas Eve is the perfect opportunity for a great catch up with friends and neighbours down the good old local pub. No family party or gift exchange, just another great night of pints and laughter!
Following another night out, December 25th in Ireland starts with a strong coffee, a shower and maybe a fry-up before getting ready for the traditional Christmas family dinner.
A traditional Irish table would have a big roast turkey, roasted potatoes, carrots, parsnip, the good old Brussel sprouts and stuffing. Desert would usually include a Christmas pudding made with mix fruits, sugar and obviously more alcohol (stout or whiskey). It is important not to forget the mince pies for everybody to nibble on.
Presents are open before or after dinner depending on the family traditions.
December 26th is another important day for Ireland. As most of us Expats would have to think of going back to work, Irish people would be enjoying another day off spent with more family members and dinner celebrations. Being a Bank Holiday in Ireland, St Stephen's day mark the beginning of the Sales! Yes, an entire day off to shop and exchange your unwanted Christmas presents. Ideal no?
So, if you are spending Christmas in Ireland... Do not hesitate to follow all these traditions, I can assure you... You will barely miss home!
Merry Christmas to you all!
Wednesday, 10 December 2014
Post 33 - Christmas in Dublin, PARTY!!!
Christmas is a big deal in Ireland and the festive season starts from mid November till the end of December. Irish people love to go out and meet friends and family in the run up to Christmas. At work everyone is busy with Team Night Out and Christmas Parties. I have to say that I really love it, I always loved Christmas but in Ireland it seems to be a bigger version of it. However I have never spent Christmas Day in Ireland so I don't really know what it's like in an Irish family (Leslie will tell you more about this in another post).
Oh and by the way here they call the big red man Santa (for Santa Claus), not Father Christmas!
Dublin city council is really trying to get a great festive spirit and there are lots going on:
Oh and by the way here they call the big red man Santa (for Santa Claus), not Father Christmas!
Dublin city council is really trying to get a great festive spirit and there are lots going on:
- Christmas lights
- Christmas Market on Stephens Green
- Christmas tree on O'Connell Street
- They even have a Radio station that only plays Christmas song!! http://www.christmasfm.com/
Merry Christmas everyone and be good if you want Santa to bring you something nice :)
Gilles
Tuesday, 2 December 2014
Post 32 - An amazing Food Blog: French Foodie in Dublin
I have been in Ireland for almost 9 years and one thing that annoyed me when I first moved here was that I could not find all the food and food ingredients I was looking for. Things have changed now and I know where to go to find all the stuff I love.
When I discovered French Foodie in Dublin's blog, I was really impressed and since then I follow this blog everyday: http://frenchfoodieindublin.blogspot.ie/
FFID as she calls herself has an amazing talent for finding news places where to eat, sharing recipes and taking great pictures. She is now organizing Cinema and Food nights and tours of Dublin. Everything she is doing seems to be a great success.
Here are a few tips if you are a foodie in Dublin (French or not):
When I discovered French Foodie in Dublin's blog, I was really impressed and since then I follow this blog everyday: http://frenchfoodieindublin.blogspot.ie/
FFID as she calls herself has an amazing talent for finding news places where to eat, sharing recipes and taking great pictures. She is now organizing Cinema and Food nights and tours of Dublin. Everything she is doing seems to be a great success.
Here are a few tips if you are a foodie in Dublin (French or not):
- Great bread: Hansel and Gretel Bakery and Patisserie, 20 Clare Street, Dublin 2
- Great cheese: Sheridans Cheesemongers http://www.sheridanscheesemongers.com/
- Great food hall: Fallon & Byrne http://www.fallonandbyrne.com/
- Great food magazine: Food & Wine Ireland
Gilles Cognard, another French Foodie in Dublin :)
Thursday, 27 November 2014
Post 31 - Weekend away : London
Dublin
is great and the city is not so far from London, UK, a proper British accent!
So, why not going to London for a weekend? Not too bad would say an Irish guy!
Indeed London is lovely, London rocks and London is massive, the city will fit
to all kind of people!
If
you arrive from Gatwick airport you will have to take the train to Victoria
station (15 pounds) and then the tube to go where your hostel/hotel/flat is!
You can get accommodation through airbnb or hostelworld, easy booking!
London
ok, but for what? You can go to Twickenham for a Rugby game, to Brick lane and
try excellent yummy Indian food, to Hyde park to meet with squirrels, to
Buckingham palace to watch the guard change, to Big ben to take the imperial
buses, to Leicester square or Piccadilly circus to go shopping, to spend hours and hours in the National Gallery and then to
Camden town to party in a very friendly
atmosphere!!
Florian
Monday, 6 October 2014
Post 30 - Never pay an apartment deposit without seeing the apartment
The housing market in Dublin is going through a difficult time at the moment because there is not enough apartments to rent. This is creating a difficult situation for whoever is currently moving to Dublin. I have been following a French community on Facebook and I can see that lots of people are struggling to find a place to live.
However it seems that people always manage to find an apartment. It is important to have a back up plan (hostel or friends...) and to be patient.
One of our candidates recently got a big problem with a landlord and I wanted to share this with you. The landlord had a place to rent online and our candidate wanted to secure this place. So he paid the deposit without meeting with the landlord or seeing the place. Then when he was supposed to get his keys the landlord told him that she was on an unexpected business trip and would only come back to Dublin the following Friday. Then she emailed him on Friday saying that she would only come back on Monday and now she has disappeared with his deposit...
We are investigating this issue and will try to help our candidate to get his money back but it seems that this is happening a lot.
Be careful who you are dealing with and never pay a deposit without meeting with the landlord and visiting the place!
However it seems that people always manage to find an apartment. It is important to have a back up plan (hostel or friends...) and to be patient.
One of our candidates recently got a big problem with a landlord and I wanted to share this with you. The landlord had a place to rent online and our candidate wanted to secure this place. So he paid the deposit without meeting with the landlord or seeing the place. Then when he was supposed to get his keys the landlord told him that she was on an unexpected business trip and would only come back to Dublin the following Friday. Then she emailed him on Friday saying that she would only come back on Monday and now she has disappeared with his deposit...
We are investigating this issue and will try to help our candidate to get his money back but it seems that this is happening a lot.
Be careful who you are dealing with and never pay a deposit without meeting with the landlord and visiting the place!
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