Belfast Pride 20th Anniversary

Belfast's Gay Pride is Ireland’s largest Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans festival appealing to audiences of over 15,000 people...



The event on Saturday was as loud and colourful as ever!

Manchester United (Milk Cup Tournament)

The Northern Ireland Milk Cup was established in 1983 and quickly progressed to become the most prestigious youth football tournaments in Europe, if not the world.
The event has attracted teams from almost 60 countries around the world, Some of the biggest clubs in the world have entered including Premier League giants Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur as well as top European greats - Feyenoord, FC Porto, Barcelona , Benfica, Sevilla, Bayern Munich, Fenerbahce and Dynamo Kiev.
Players who have taken part in the competition and went on to major honours include David Beckham, Joe Cole, Damien Duff, Steve Staunton, Wayne Rooney, Steve McManaman, Peter Crouch, Ryan Giggs, Belozoglu Emre, Gary Neville, Joey Barton, Michael Carrick, Craig Bellamy, James Milner, Jonathan Woodgate, Kris Boyd, Barry Ferguson, James Vaughan, David Healy and Dean Ashton to name but a few. In the 2002 Japan and Korea World Cup Finals there were no fewer than 30 Milk Cup veterans.

Wednesday 28th July 2010
Red Devils came from behind to beat County Down, in a truly hard fought game on both sides which was very entertaining to watch... Final score
County Down 1 Manchester United 3

"The Tunnel" Portadown

Heart of Down Pipe Band Championships 2010

Sound o' the pipes Newcastle Donard Park..

Ulster Fleadh Castlewellan, Co. Down

Comhaltas runs annual festivals of Irish traditional music, dance, song and language called Fleadh Cheoil. These events attract thousands of competitors and hundreds of thousands of visitors, from local right up to All-Ireland level...

L’Angelus play an intimate gig in Mulhollands Bar...

For those of you who don’t know L’Angelus, the trio are part of a large Catholic family from Louisiana. Their music is a combination of Cajun, bluegrass and Irish. Their musical, vocal, and songwriting abilities are top-notch. They do not disappoint. I have been lucky enough to hear them live on 2 occasions – including when they played an intimate gig in Mulhollands Bar on Sunday night...



A lucky fan gets a chance to perform with L'Angelus.

Tupelo

Ireland’s Tupelo have taken to the Rhythm & Roots movement in much the way the fictional band The Commitments took to Motown in the film of the same name two decades ago. Playing some of the finest venues in Dublin and beyond, Tupelo brings their original compositions to life in a sound that would be called Americana on this side of the pond... And boy they can rock!

Sharon Shannon (Celtic Fusion Castlewellan 2010)

Sharon, from Co. Clare, has achieved legendary status throughout the world and has made the much-maligned accordion 'cool' in her home country. Her recent hit The Galway Girl was in the top 5 in the Irish charts for over three months.Sharon has just won her 4th Meteor Award in a row.
Her 1991 album Sharon Shannon is the best selling album of traditional Irish music ever released!



Nickolas McCrickard,Sharon Shannon and BBC radio presenter Lynette Fay

Boley Fair, 25th Anniversary

Hilltown`s Boley Fair has something for everyone,young and old!
Sheep clipping, rope twisting, open air dancing and music, ceili dancing, tug o war, stone cutting, log cutting, flower arranging, bread making, milk churning and much, much more...

When I was eight years old I asked for a clown poster for my birthday. My sister bought me one from paper tiger in Leicester. Ever since then, clowns have gone from fun to freaky...
I don't know of anyone on the day who didn't`t think these "THINGS" weren`t freaky... You either loved them or hated them!

Summer Fun...

St Patrick's Grave, Downpatrick
My beautiful Great Niece Aamor enjoying some painting while staying with us over the summer.