Aurora Borealis in Northern Skies

Photographers are having a field day with the Aurora Borealis in our northern skies – with some outstanding results…

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Digital Media in 2014

We’re working with The Samsung Digital Media Awards which takes place on Friday week in the Double Tree by Hilton, Burlington Road, Dublin. The volume and calibre of entries this year is reflective of the explosion in digital media in Ireland. The industry has grown to become one of the country’s most thriving and innovative sectors, generating much needed employment.rsz_digital-media-lawThis is part of a global trend, which sees digital marketing budgets continue to grow in 2014. A recent report from Conservant shows that overall, agencies expect a 20% year-over-year growth in digital spend in 2014, and brand marketers expect a 38% increase.

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Video continues to play a dominant role in digital marketing plans, with advertising and marketing decision-makers saying that spend on video will increase in 2014. Approximately 61% of marketers surveyed plan to use the channel as part of their strategies. Cross-device spend is also set to grow substantially, with 59% of advertisers planning to invest in the channel.

Get the full report here or check out this infographic for more info…

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TBEX Europe 2013

The world’s travel bloggers, writers, and new media content creators will be descending on Dublin this Thursday and Friday for TBEX Europe 2013. To celebrate the occasion, Le Cool has created a once-off issue.

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And to give them a flavour of what to expect, this video from The Gathering was shown to all TBEX North American attendees in May

The Gathering at Glenveagh Castle

The Gathering at Glenveagh Castle  took place yesterday – a family fun day complete with treasure hunt, face painting, kids crafts and delicious home baking and cakes from the Tearoom.

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For those of you not familiar with Donegal, or for those who haven’t visited the place in a while, Glenveagh Castle is a must-see, (check out the reviews on TripAdvisor). It’s described as a remote and hauntingly beautiful wilderness in the heart of the Derryveagh Mountains and one of the best ways to experience its beauty is to walk The Bridle Path, pictured below. Bike rentals are also a good option and local company Grassroutes has everything you need to make it happen.

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Donegal Lighthouse Makes Top Ten

It’s great to see Donegal’s Fanad Lighthouse on this list of the world’s most beautiful lighthouses. We’re excited by its upcoming renovation and plans for a coffee and craft shop and look forward to the day that this impressive structure is open to the public. It’s exactly the kind of development required to boost tourism in the county.

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Brown Thomas CREATE

Irish Designers CREATE is a pop-up installation in Brown Thomas Dublin featuring fifteen Irish designers from the world of fashion, accessories, millinery and graphic print and textile design. There’s also a very special curated archival exhibition from Ireland’s famous couturier Sybil Connolly.

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Evian Baby Dance 2013

The Evian babies are back and dancing up a storm with the Evian Baby dance. And now you can unleash your inner baby with the Baby and Me app. Upload your photo and the app will create a baby version of your face using facial recognition software. Brilliant.

Seamus Heaney, Keeper Of Language

The country and wider world is mourning the loss of a great man with the passing this week of poet and Nobel Laureate, Seamus Heaney.

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We had the pleasure of meeting the Derry man, and his wife Marie, at Artists / Heaney / Books: An Exhibition at IMMA celebrating the poet’s 70th birthday in 2009. IMMA specially commissioned a beautiful pair of prints by English-born artist, Barrie Cooke, and Seamus Heaney. The above Louis le Brocquy portrait of Heaney was also part of Imma Editions.

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Heaney leaves behind a wealth of material to remember him by. Here he reads one of our favourite poems, ‘Digging’