Tarquin Blake’s history of Irish castles charts beautiful buildings and a grant-aid culture that goes back six centuries, writes Tommy Barker

A Victorian mansion on the Ring of Kerry, which was seized and sold in 2000 by the Criminal Assets Bureau, has just sold once more, for less than what it made in a raw, abandoned state 17 years ago.

Take a stroll through Ireland’s majestic gardens with Donal Hickey.

Is there an architect in any period of Irish history with as many hotels and suites to his credit, as Kerry’s James Francis Fuller? 

It should be a ‘sum’mer to remember for maths lovers, with a mathlete summer camp taking place before students head back to school.

Little Red Gate Cottage is a warm and comfortable retreat with plenty of guest space, writes Rose Martin.

Martin Claffey enjoys a walking break in the stunning surrounds of Connemara.

ACCORDING to last Monday’s Irish Examiner, birdwatchers from far and wide travelled to Kylemore Abbey, County Galway, to see a rare American visitor.

Nostalgia is a great thing.

GOING on a weekend break with a surfer, a toddler and a bump takes a special kind of optimism.

THE Irish landscape, still the main attraction for the seven million plus tourists who come here each year, is just as exquisite in winter as it is in the summer peak season.

The 2011 Cannonball Run around Ireland has been officially started in Dublin this morning by Taoiseach Enda Kenny.

HERE ARE SOME GREAT FAMILY FUN IDEAS TO KEEP YOU BUSY FOR THE SUMMER!

THE Government was urged last night to restore a €44,000 grant to keep Cork’s Feis Maitiu show on the road.