This is a special day in the GAA calendar, even more so after last yearвЂ™s non-runner.

Go to Croker for the All-Ireland club senior finals LinnaneвЂ™s Lobster Bar, New Quay, The Burren, Co Clare. Sitting up at the bar is one of the things weвЂ™ve all missed and, while itвЂ™s perfectly possible to accompany your pint with a packet of Tayto and have a fine time, how much better to enjoy a couple of dozen oysters instead? The Flaggy Shore dainties are particularly lovely. Live at Iveagh Gardens, Dublin, July 2 and 3 14. Their songs are rooted in the Irish and Dublin experience.В (JM) One of the many things thatвЂ™s great about this band is their lack of homogeneity. There have been two acclaimed albums and a third, Skinty Fia, comes out in April. The Grian Chatten-led quintet who met at DublinвЂ™s BIMM вЂrock schoolвЂ™ have gone from strength to strength in just a few years. Catch DublinвЂ™s finest Fontaines DC live onstage The programme is yet to be announced but there should be lots of giant puppets, stilt walkers and cГ©ilГ bands. This year, St PatrickвЂ™s Day is extra special as everyone will be getting two bank holidays (hurray!), which means it will be twice the fun. Which, fingers crossed, may result in a better nightвЂ™s sleep. Not only do they offer some temporary respite to get a coffee and stare into space, they ensure your child will expend as much energy as humanly possible. The prospect of spending a Saturday morning in a padded room filled with the sound of screaming children may not appeal to most.Д«ut for parents, soft play areas have been sorely missed. I would look at those empty benches and pine for a time when jackets would pile up in the corner again and packs of peanuts spill on to the table. Is there any place snugger than the snug in your favourite pub? My most treasured artefact of last year was The Snug ProjectвЂ™s 2021 Calendar, a sepia-toned ode to this institution within an institution. It feels like a good way to tackle it without being away from home for too long. You can do it all in one go, or community group Knockmealdown Active has guided walks split over several dates this spring (March 19, 20 April 16, 30, May 1). It passes by Mount Melleray Monastery in Cappoquin, where you can spend the night. St DeclanвЂ™s Way is a sort of Irish Camino, a newly waymarked 115km hike from Cashel to Ardmore, done in stages over five days.

Walk St DeclanвЂ™s Way, Co Tipperary/Waterford Heidi Egan (3) with her Mum Erica Kelly from Offaly at the Kaleidoscope Festival in Russborough House in 2019. Kaleidoscope will take place at Russborough House, Co Wicklow, from June 24-26. If going to a three-day music festival sounds daunting, then family-orientated Kaleidoscope in Russborough House, which has circus entertainers, bouncy castles, and giant bubble machines on standby, may be more your thing. Watching them dance to live music and getting their faces painted would be a tonic. I have never done this before and may live to regret it while visibly ageing five years in the process. This summer, I am bringing my kids and their granny to Electric Picnic. Meanwhile, in Dublin, I see facialist Dawn Hill is doing the Floraison experience at the Westbury Hotel (February 6-7) and Eden One in Ballsbridge is offering tailored one-day spa packages. IвЂ™ve been using Peigin CrowleyвЂ™s Ground products for a year and now I fancy the idea of taking off to Cork with my daughter for the вЂGroundвЂ™ holistic rituals at the Hayfield Manor hotel. One of the rituals IвЂ™ve enjoyed at home during the pandemic is using nice face balms every night while watching the telly. The pool table is the perfect arena for dusting down post-lockdown social skills and remembering what itвЂ™s like to banter with strangers.

Irish pubs are all about the spontaneous connections you might make in them, where the idea of booking a table or keeping your distance seemed anathema from the get-go. Pop into a country pub for a post-walk pint and game of pool Neven MaguireвЂ™s MacNean House offers the ultimate in Irish hospitality and, while reservations can be hard to come by, itвЂ™s well worth signing up for the cancellation list вЂ“ you might just be lucky. The Indo Daily - Return of the Craic: The easing of Covid restrictions and what happens nextД®scaping for a night away safe in the knowledge that youвЂ™re going to be cosseted to within an inch of your life and very well fed is a treat many of us have been looking forward to for a long time.

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