Weekend Loves: Liss Ard Estate reopens; Cork's Carnival of Science feeds curiosity

Ruth O'Connor's guide to bright ideas and beautiful things

Sat, 28 May, 2022 - 06:00

Ruth O'Connor

Elegant Liss Ard Estate reopens following refurbishment

Skibereen’s Liss Ard Estate has reopened to the public following extensive refurbishment.

The Georgian country manor now features a lakeside wellness centre and 26 newly refurbished guest rooms as well as lush gardens, a glittering lake and the extraordinary Sky Garden designed by American artist James Turrell.

Relish the culinary delights of Head Chef Alex Petit whose menus showcase the very best of local ingredients including those grown on the estate.

Discover the serenity of the walled gardens, specially chosen meditation spots and walking trails, or indulge in a great cocktail at the bar.

To celebrate the reopening, a two-night stay with one dinner in ‘Garden’ restaurant and private access to James Turrell’s Sky Garden is available from €350.

lissardestate.ie

Carlow Arts Festival - dynamic cultural events for all ages

Performance artist Claudio Stellato: part of Carlow Arts Festival

Carlow Arts Festival is back with a bang from Thursday 9th to Sunday 12th of June with an exciting programme of events in venues across the town.

Discover visual art, theatre, dance, circus and street art including Goupil & Kosmao by French artist Étienne Saglio, For As Long As We Are Here by Darragh McLoughlin and Augmented Body, Altered Mind by Alan James Burns.

Musical performers at the event include Tolü Makay, Wyvern Lingo and Booka Brass Band.

As the festival coincides with Cruinniú na nÓg, Ireland's national day of creativity for children and young people, there’s a strong focus on family-friendly acts and events including Dance Battle with Tobi Omoteso, a stage-fighting workshop with Carlow Youth Theatre and giant living dolls The Bathers by Clédat & Petitpierre.

See www.carlowartsfestival.comtarget="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">, facebook.com/CarlowArtsFestival and @carlow_arts_festival on Instagram for more.

Cool threads with a charity spin by Human Collective

Sustainable and inclusive urban clothing company Human Collective is doing its bit to support victims of war with the release of a limited edition Ukraine organic t-shirt and beanie hat.

The designs feature the Ukrainian colours integrated into the brand’s logo as well as the equals symbol signifying equality.

The organic t-shirts in black or white cost €33 and the hats cost €25 with 100% of the profits from each sale going directly to the Ireland for Ukraine fundraiser supporting refugees arriving in Ireland as well as international charities including the Irish Red Cross, Concern and Unicef.

wearehumancollective.com

The Conscious Convert pops up offline

The Conscious Convert: organic bed-linen

Zelia Madigan founded Conscious Convert in 2021 to bring customers beautiful, luxurious home textiles that did not harm the environment.

The result was an online store featuring organic cotton bed linen, cushions and throws that are designed in Ireland and made in Portugal from GOTS certified materials.

The brand has just launched a new range of table linens and napkins at Brown Thomas in Dundrum Town Centre with a pop up shop that runs until June 27th.

Prices start at €45 for a set of four organic cotton napkins.

If you can’t make it to the Dublin pop up then you can still shop online at consciousconvert.com.

Get curious with Cork’s Carnival of Science

Mervyn Horgan, Lifetime Lab Old Cork Waterworks, Stiltwalker William Flanagan, Lord Mayor Cllr Colm Kelleher and Mary Walsh, Executive Scientist Cork City Council and Festival Organiser at the announcement that Cork Carnival of Science is back this June

Get ready for Ireland’s largest STEM event returning live for the first time in two years on the 11th and 12th of June.

Cork Carnival of Science promises to be a bonanza of scientific fun, education and entertainment.

Combining interactive experiences, live shows, circus tents, food and even mad scientists on stilts, this free event for people of all ages is designed to encourage curiosity in the wonderful world of science.

There will be live shows from RTE’s Mark the Science Guy, Belfast’s W5 and Edinburgh's Eureka.

Discover battery making, engineering with Lego, bubbly maths, the inner workings of robots, outer space, animals from Fota Island and how to extract DNA?

Fitzgerald’s Park will be turned into a STEM wonderland with circus tents, marquees, stands and stalls in the biggest temporary build since the Cork International Exhibition (World Fair) in 1902. Bring it on!

www.corkcity.ie

Dublin’s Arran Street East comes to West Cork

Arran Street East creative hub in Schull

Along with launching a new textile studio in their HQ in Dublin’s old market area, the folks at Arran Street East will open a new Creative Hub in the seaside town of Schull this summer.

The Hub will be a centre for the making and learning of traditional crafts with pottery, weaving and baking courses taking place in a restored barn behind Schull’s main street.

Both the Dublin and Schull locations will feature a range of workshops over the summer - ranging from two-hour sessions to seven-week evening courses with prices from €65 to €340.