Book this contemporary ballet

Ballet Ireland’s spring programme begins this weekend with “Bold Moves” a triple bill of dynamic contemporary choreography at the O’Reilly Theatre, Belvedere College, Dublin from Saturday April 16 – 23 at 7.30pm. The rock ‘n’ roll swagger of the Rolling Stones comes to life in Christopher Bruce’s Rooster, while internationally acclaimed Irish choreographer Marguerite Donlon has created Strokes Through the Tail after finding inspiration in Mozart’s Symphony No. 40. Her work, for six performers, combines virtuosic dancing with hints of humour and irreverence. Finally, Filipe Portugal’s Stepping Over weaves together precision and artistic elegance. Tickets for the O’Reilly Theatre range from €25 – €32.50. www.takeyourseats.ie 

Visit Kildare Village

It’s a hive of activity at Kildare Village this weekend: Irish designer Aoife McNamara is hosting an “Enchanted by Nature” wreath workshop on Saturday, April 16. Tickets, €95, are limited and available from www.aoifemcnamara.com. Visitors will also find a new Avoca boutique – making it the 14th store on the island – the perfect place to pick up some Easter treats. Do have a look at the new Max Benjamin pop-up, which is open until the end of May, where customers can receive up to 40 per cent discount when bundling products together. Scents include its popular French Linen Water, Pink Pepper, Lemongrass & Ginger, Dodici, White Pomegranate and many more. www.maxbenjamin.com 

Try this new summer menu

The Ivy Dawson Street, Dublin has launched a new menu embracing the flavours of spring. The menu will feature a number of artisanal suppliers, with dishes including garden pea and nettle soup (€7.95), grilled asparagus with Szechuan mayonnaise, capers, flaked almonds, quail’s egg and watercress (€10.50), and a selection of grass-fed John Stone steaks. For pudding there’s a new Healy’s honey and white chocolate cheesecake (€9.25) and a limited-edition dessert The Easter Nest, (€9.95) a dark and white chocolate mousse with Kataifi pastry, chocolate sponge and lemon balm, available on Easter weekend only from Friday April 15 to Monday 18. To book a table visit www.theivydublin.com. 

Participate in a family storybook event

Oakfield Park, Raphoe, Co Donegal is hosting its Easter Storybook event from Friday, April 15 to April 18 from 12 noon to 6pm. As one of the county’s best loved outdoor attractions it has over 100 acres of lush landscape to explore, including walled gardens, a hedge maze and heritage trees and sculptures. The storybook event will include Alice in Wonderland-themed games on the lawn, crafts with garden gnomes in The Dome, train rides with Thomas & Friends from the Isle of Sodor station (there is almost five kilometres of narrow-guage track within the grounds), treat making in The Gingerbread Van with Hansel & Gretel, Easter family photos in Godrick’s Hollow, puppet shows in The Castle Kiosk and a visit to Little Red Riding Hood’s Grandmother’s House. Oakfield Park’s on-site restaurant Buffers will be open for indoor and outdoor dining and there will also be competitions and Easter egg hunts throughout the grounds, with an Easter egg for every child who visits too; www.oakfieldpark.com.

Take a ferry to Inis Mór

Aran Island recommences its Galway City cruise to Inis Mór and the Cliffs of Moher for the tourist season on Friday, April 15. Awarded “Best Irish Experience 2021”, Freedom of the Sea is Ireland’s largest domestic  ferry. This state of the art, purpose built, 400 seater passenger ferry, offers a 90-minute luxury cruise along the coastline of the Wild Atlantic Way, as well as taking in all three of the Aran Islands, Inis Oirr and Inis Meáin before docking in Kilronan on Inis Mór, for almost five hours (from 11am to 3.30pm). Visitors can hire bicycles, or explore by mini bus tour, pony and trap and Aran Off Road Experience. Attractions include the Dún Aengus cliffs, the island’s many historical sites, beaches, Aran Islands Goats Cheese Food Tours, Aran Diving Academy and its many excellent seafood restaurants and bars. A wide range of accommodation options are also available on Inis Mór for those wishing to stay overnight. Ticket prices for a return journey from Galway City Docks are:  Adult: €49, Student/Senior: €44, Child: €25; www.aranislandferries.com. 

Pop in for a cocktail in Kinsale

If you’re in Kinsale over the holidays, pop into Blue Haven Hotel, near the harbour, where you’ll find Rare 1784, a new experimental dining and cocktail space. Not only can guests choose from a carefully curated Irish craft cocktail list and wines, the hotel’s master mixologist James Agar can tailor a drink to suit your style, the perfect preamble to dinner in Rare 1784. Head chef Meeran Manzoor, recently crowned in the top three chefs in Ireland at the Gold Medal Awards, has created a selection of elegant set menus (choose from five, seven or ten courses) inspired by local produce and given an impressive twist. Savoury dishes of halibut, fermented bean purée, wild garlic sauce and bean fasolada, tandoori spiced venison with curry sauce kebab salad and scallop with shellfish bisque, apple and Oscietra caviar are followed by sweet courses of rhubarb, rose and lime, and chocolate, sea buckthorn and tonka. To enjoy this culinary journey why not book the Rare Haven Experience and a one or two night stay at Blue Haven Hotel, from €298 for two people sharing; www.bluehavencollection.com or www.rare1784.ie. 

Break out the Whispering Angel

Whether it’s a good weekend (weather-wise) or not, why not stock up on some liquid sunshine – the medium bodied Provence rosé, Whispering Angel Cotes de Provence 2021, €26, now available in stockists including Brown Thomas, Avoca, Dunnes Stores and Super Valu. First created by Sacha Lichine, following his acquisition of Château d’Esclans in 2006, this new vintage has pretty aromas of lavender, rosehip, strawberries, cherries with crisp acidity and a supple creamy palate. This perfumed and elegant winsignals the start of the summer season for many. Cheers to that! 

Plot Dining Week

Hundreds of restaurants nationwide have signed up for “Dining Week” from April 19 – 28. Customers who book via the www.diningweek.ie website can enjoy a 25 per cent discount on their food bill, with the €1 booking fee being donated to St Vincent de Paul charity. The ten day promotion is a celebration of a return to normality after lockdown and so far over 200 restaurants have signed up for the initiative. Available for bookings from two to eight people, Dining Week presents another excuse to gather with friends or family at favourite restaurants, or the opportunity to discover a new one; www.diningweek.ie. 

Gift this Gardener’s Getaway

One of these must visit gardens in Ireland is June Blake’s garden in Blessington, Co Wicklow. Spread over three acres, the organic gardens were once nothing more than a big field but through inspired design and prairie-style planting are now breathtaking. The gardens, which wrap around Blake’s Victorian farmhouse, are famous for their annual tulip display – some 7,000 tulip bulbs are planted annually ensuring a riot of colour. Tulfarris Hotel & Golf Resort, also in Blessington, is currently offering “The Gardener’s Get Away” package which includes two nights at the four-star hotel, with dinner in its Fia Rua restaurant and and breakfast each morning. A guided tour of June’s garden and a gardening workshop with June Blake herself is included. The workshop will include top tips on propagation, what to plant and when, plus general tips on how to get the most from your own green patch.  The package also includes a picnic to enjoy at the gardens. The Gardner’s Get Away will run from Sunday, May 15 to Tuesday May 17 and is from €244 per person sharing; www.tulfarrishotel.com.