I had planned to be gorging on sunshine and hummus in Beirut this week but instead I’m stressing about social distancing alongside an Aldi conveyer belt.

A friend of mine, J, lives in LA and although we text and phone regularly, we realised recently that we hadn’t seen each other in the flesh since the summer of 2016. It was a situation that must be remedied, we decided, and as soon as possible.

It comes after the government announced that all schools, colleges and crèches were to remain closed for two weeks to restrict the spread of Covid-19.

The sites which are owned or operated by the Shannon Group will close through Sunday, March 29.

This week we cast our sharp Munster Eyes over a selection of country homes in the southern six counties.

Heavy hail showers were reported around the time each of today’s incidents occurred.

The Guinness Storehouse in Dublin continues to welcome the largest number of visitors of any other attraction in Ireland while the Cliffs of Moher are still standing tall in second place over Dublin Zoo.

A man was injured after he became trapped beneath a gate that had blown open on top of him during Storm Brendan this morning.

Trish Dromey explores a lovely Scandinavian-style architect-designed stone and timber home set in woodland near Ballyvaughan, Co Clare.

Environmentally, the increasing number of visitors is unintentionally degrading the area that they come to see and admire most in the Burren.

Rory O’Connor, aka Rory’s Stories, is part of a new wave of Irish and international comedians – including Conor Moore, The 2 Johnnies and Giz a Laugh’s Enya Martin – who have used the power of the internet to carve tidy careers.

Higher wages and administration costs dragged pre-tax profits at independent tour company Paddywagon Tours down 40% to just under €740,000 last year.

US vice-president Mike Pence looks set to arrive in Ireland four days ahead of originally scheduled and is now likely to land at Shannon Airport on Monday.

Spike Island in Co Cork and the Cliffs of Moher in Co Clare are in contention to be named World's Best Attraction at the prestigious International Travel and Tourism Awards. (ITTA)

Howth Head features in the Lonely Planet 'Epic Runs of the World' book for 2019.

US vice president Mike Pence will insist that Britain must "uphold the Good Friday agreement" regardless of the Brexit crisis when he visits Ireland on September 6 and 7, the White House has confirmed.

The search for a woman feared missing in North Clare has been temporarily suspended because of deteriorating weather conditions.

A German couple saw a Trinity College Dublin (TCD) student take "lots of selfies" at the cliff edge moments before he fell to his death at the Cliffs of Moher in January.

Over the last 23 years, around eight or nine bodies have never been recovered from the seas around the Cliffs of Moher, a garda told an inquest.

Garda Andrew Monahan was speaking at the inquest into the death of German national, Max Tienert (31) who is believed to have entered the waters at the Cliffs of Moher more than four years ago.

The Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience has launched a new shuttle bus service to the famous Irish attraction.

Gardaí are appealing for information identifying a man who was found dead on a beach in Clare earlier this month.

Just days after US president Donald Trump left west Clare on Friday, the sound of helicopter blades were once again in the air as legendary rock band Metallica paid an unexpected visit to the tiny village of Liscannor.

Clare County Council is to put in place a new masterplan to rejuvenate visitor facilities at the country’s most popular natural visitor attraction, the Cliffs of Moher.

A body has been recovered during the search for a missing woman in Co Clare.

This is a Gael Warning.

Looking for a day trip with a difference this Valentine’s Day? Check out Ciara McDonnell’s top suggestions.

Ciara McDonnell rounds up 10 walks to blow the cobwebs away on New Year’s Day.

Holy water from a tiny well in Clare was transported across the Atlantic Ocean in the cockpit of an Aer Lingus flight on Sunday, to help a sick child in America.

Here's your morning bulletin.

Munster’s squad depth ahead of the new campaign was given a stern test by English heavyweights Exeter Chiefs as Johann van Graan’s team was well beaten in Cork last night.

Tourism is a key pillar of the Irish economy and is enjoying a strong recovery since the global financial crisis, writes Joe Gill

Limerick surged in popularity as a destination for staycations last year but neighbouring Clare fell out of favour with domestic tourists.

Having enjoyed the magic of Co Clare as a youngster, Eoin English retraces his steps — now with his own family in tow.

A driver who crashed causing the death of a close friend after he became confused over his SatNav telling him to go the wrong direction near the Cliffs of Moher today walked free from court.

A Polish tourist was killed in a car accident near the Cliffs of Moher two years ago after a driver was confused about his SatNav telling him to go the wrong direction.

A branch manager of a Department of Social Protection office earmarked for destruction to make way for a bridge left a council headquarters in tears yesterday.

Barring an unforeseen calamity in the world, 2018 should be another boom year for tourism in Ireland, following last year’s record 10.6m visitors.

At least a quarter of a million UK visitors vanished from Irish shores this year in what tourism chiefs are warning could be a worsening Brexit effect.

An elderly man has been airlifted to hospital after he was rescued from the sea in Co Clare this afternoon.

‘Traffic bottlenecks’ are developing on the Wild Atlantic Way tourist route in peak season. Fáilte Ireland has said long delays and capacity issues are “negatively affecting the visitor experience”, according to an internal brief.

Dubrovnik, Porto, Barcelona, and the Cliffs of Moher are some of the most attractive tourism locations in Europe. They are also becoming some of the most overcrowded and that has implications for the industry and policymakers alike, writes Joe Gill.

A member of the Doolin unit of the Irish Coast Guard has helped talk down “11 or 12 people” contemplating taking their own lives at the the Cliffs of Moher.

Shannon Airport is just an hour away from securing a new link with Cologne in Germany, after making it onto a shortlist for a world-first social media competition for an airline service

Aidan O'Brien is convinced Churchill will not fail for a lack of stamina when he runs over a mile and a quarter for the second time at Leopardstown on Saturday.