SWANTON'S PLANT CENTRE…read more My poor Rosemary was a victim of the hard winter and but it took me a while to write off her chances of a full recovery. That decision out of the way, I headed to Swantons Plants at the Ballincollig Farmers Market to get a replacement. Told the man on duty my tale of woe and we concluded that the effects of the prolonged winter on plant-life were much the same as those of the banking collapse on business life. The market is held in a lane between modern buildings, quite a few of them empty. "I've been trading here a year, " said the man from Swantons. "And not one new shop has opened." Swantons' main business is in Skibbereen and they are also regulars at the market there. I had bought some parsley and sage on an earlier visit and added just a pot of thyme to the rosemary. The herbs by the way cost a very reasonable two euro each. The stock though goes away beyond herbs and you can buy all kinds of flowers and small plants there and get a bit of home-spun philosophy as well.

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I am so happy that I found this bookshelf in Clonakilty. I have seen loads of these around Munich…read moreand thought it was a great idea and was hoping that it would start happening in Ireland. I saw that one was opened up in Clonakilty and I LOVE IT! I only gave it 4 stars because it is only open from 9.00 to 17.00, Monday to Friday, in Munich they were open 24/7. I feel as if I would use it more at the weekend, when I am not working and would take advantage of it a lot more. Hopefully, this will happen sometime in the near future. Really looking forward to using this public bookshelf over the next few weeks and months

The Soundz of Muzic was a unique browsing experience in Downtown Kenmare. What struck me were the…read morevarious Irish-infused instruments that were available. that included Concertinas, banjos, mandolins, acoustic guitars, drums, and more. I don't play, and I was fascinated nonetheless. Folks here are super knowledgeable and excited about their inventory and craft, and we are in Ireland after all. And for those of us who deeply appreciate local music, it's easy to come away from the Soundz of Muzic with a CD or some cool accessory.

I wanted to buy a CD, an Irish Penny Whistle for myself and a hand-held Irish drum called a bodhran…read morefor my grandson. They had a wide range of the drums and whistles, so I welcomed the help offered by the young man behind the counter. He gave me lots of good advice and didn't try to sell me something more expensive than a beginner needs. Playing the whistle isn't as easy as it may look, but I'm making progress. Great store.

Moving house is a pain, but when it's your parents who are moving and they're at a ripe old age,…read moremoving house requires professional help with a lot of patience and TLC. Keith and his staff have this in abundance. They were calm, friendly, flexible, went way beyond the original scope, and offered an unbelievably competitive price. I can't recommend these guys enough - They were a dream to help us out in what was and unbelievably stressful and pretty unorganized house move (on our side). Thank you Keith for making this such a smooth and seamless ride.