Canadian tourist’s spectacular video diary of Irish trip goes viral

Two Canadian tourists have made an incredible video montage of their three-week vacation in Ireland.

The 18-minute video entitled “A Fortnight Plus Half – An Ireland Adventure” covers everywhere from the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, to Belfast, to Kilkenny and Bushmills.

Stephen Parker edited the footage together after he and his wife Shannon captured it using a Panasonic GH3, 2 GoPros and an iPhone while they toured Ireland in a rental car.

“Shannon + Stephen Parker trek across the Atlantic for some Irish adventures. 3 weeks in Ireland distilled into a highlight reel for your enjoyment,” Parker’s video description reads on Vimeo.

The video shows lots of funny moments like a sheep running alongside their car. The montage certainly should encourage a few more tourists to come to Ireland.

A Fortnight Plus Half - An Ireland Adventure

A Fortnight Plus Half - An Ireland Adventure. from Stephen Parker on Vimeo.

Irish designer Orla Kiely launches tech cases for Target

Hugely successful Irish designer Orla Kiely

Dublin-born Irish designer Orla Kiely is working with retailer Target to release trendy new cases for your Apple products. Aiming for being both stylish and affordable, the designer is set to release cases for the iPhone 4 and 5, a wallet for the iPhone 5, and cases for both the iPad and iPad mini.

Kiely is known best for her bold print styles and bright, garish colors, which feature in the inspiration for these new accessories.

Kiely has been working with Target since 2009, when she launched a home decor line. In a brief Q&A with Elle, Kiely describes her work with Target.

"I've worked with Target before and they were a pleasure, very professional and respectful of our brand," says Kiely. "For this project we collaborated with Belkin, who have developed beautiful products that I am absolutely thrilled with."

When asked how she chose the prints for the cases, Kiely says, "I always consider the product and how the print is used." This time around, the designer "chose four classic prints from our archive, all doing a different job through color and design, but absolutely recognizable as Orla Kiely."

Irish couple sail 15,000 miles from New Zealand to Ireland

Myles Henaghan and his wife Eithne Sweeney
pictured with their parents at Old Head on Sunday

An Irish couple have completed a 15,000 mile sailing expedition from New Zealand to their home county of Mayo.

The Mayo News reports that Myles Henaghan and his wife Eithne Sweeney arrived at Old Head near Louisburgh pier shortly after 8pm last Sunday, ten months after they set sail from Onehunga, Auckland, New Zealand.

Over 300 people gathered on the pier to welcome home the sea voyagers to mark the completion of their journey of over 15,000 nautical miles, which began last September.

“It was like Christmas, a wedding and a school reunion all rolled into one,” a post about the homecoming read on their blog.

Originally from Co. Mayo, the couple have been living in Auckland, New Zealand since 2007.

“Myles had a dream,” Eithne said, “and I was up for the challenge. We got on great … in the confines of the boat ... I can’t tell a lie. We had our moments but y’know, you just have to talk when it’s only the two of you.”

“You’ve nowhere to go,” Myles said. “You have to talk, and we did. Seriously though, I had the best team mate you could wish for.”

The couple completed their voyage in a 5-foot cruising yacht called ‘Ashling’. They plan to holiday in Ireland for the next six weeks and sell the 11-tonne French-built yacht before they return to New Zealand.

Cork man's rendition of Robin Thicke’s ‘Blurred Lines’ goes viral – VIDEO

Brian Deady

A Cork man has given a unique twist to one of the biggest hits of the summer.

Cork music artist Brian Deady has given the domestic treatment to Robin Thicke’s ‘Blurred Lines’.

Deady’s version was created in his his apartment using just his voice.

Instead of being surrounded by models like the original music video, Deady and director Colm Walsh used a tennis ball, a can of deodorant, some loose change and the odd few pots and pans to add new layers of rhythm to the popular summer hit.

Deady says on the video’s description: “This version was created at home using just my voice and some kitchen utensils and domestic type sounds.”

“This track and video was made at home in my apartment.”

First flying saucer sighting reported in County Kerry in 1947 five days after Roswell UFO incident

An interesting piece of Irish curio was unearthed by the Irish blog Broadsheet this week in the shape of an Irish Times clipping from July 12, 1947. The clipping’s headline reads:

“Flying Saucer Seen in County Kerry”

Now an international hobby, UFOs and flying saucers are spotted on a daily basis around the globe and the existence of aliens is debated across the Internet but what is curious about this report is that it was published three days after the Roswell UFO Incident.

The sighting at Cahirciveen, County Kerry, was seen by five witnesses who saw a spinning disc traveling at speed through the air.

The Roswell Incident took place in Roswell, New Mexico on July 7, 1947 when an airborne object crashed near a ranch. The crash was attributed to a United States military surveillance balloon but the most famous explanation is that a spacecraft carrying extraterrestrial life crashed.

Maybe the rest of the flock of space ships traveled on for a quick spin in Ireland?

Leprechaun whisperer curses gang after two-foot fairy horse statue stolen - VIDEO

Ireland's National Leprechaun Hunt in Carlingford

“I can tell you that it will bring bad luck ....because it is a fairy horse,” says leprechaun whisperer.

A cast-iron pony was stolen from outside a cave at Folklore Park, in Carlingford, County Louth. The thieves who stole the fairy horse from leprechaun whisperer, Kevin Woods, are now being hunted down.

“The CCTV shows the horse being taken away in a white van but we don’t know who took it. All I can tell you is that it will bring bad luck to whoever took it because it is a fairy horse and is part of the folklore of the whole region,” Woods told the Irish Sun.

A police spokesman said, “It is the first time we will have ever searched for a fairy horse.”

Woods added, “They tried to take the brown bull, which was close to the horse but it looks like it was too heavy for them. It is made from cast iron too. They also took a cement mixer.”

The leprechaun whisperer has garnered a profile as the organizer of the annual Leprechaun Hunt in Carlingford.

He recently applied for planning permission for an enchanted Leprechaun’s Cavern with two tunnels. Wood said, “The leprechauns come down to the cavern at night from the Slate rock to dance with the fairies, many of whom come from the fairy glen in Rostrevor (Co Down).

“This dancing would have been witnessed by the fairy horse.”

Here’s video featuring Woods speaking about the Leprechaun of Carlingford:

A sign of the times in Ireland - backpack for sale 'ideal for traveling or emigrating' - PHOTO

Backpack spotted at a popular outdoors store on Mary Street, Dublin

A sad sign of the times, this back page was spotted for sale outside one of North Dublin City Center's most popular camping stores. The sign attached reads "idea for traveling or emigrating".

As of the end of 2012 emigration from Ireland was at levels not seen since the Famine. The Irish Independent reported that 87,000 people left the country in the year to April 2012. The paper said more than 200 people a day emigrated.

Although the Irish government reports that unemployment has remained around the 14 percent mark in Ireland they have no factored in the 300,000 plus Irish who have left the country to start a new life aboard in the past three years.

Source: Broadsheet.ie, photo by Michael McLoughlin.