The National Anthem !

 The latest from our roving  Irish Ambassador....

Hmmmm... where to begin!? I’ve had a busy few days! Saturday I took to the streets of City Centre London to explore and navigate the bustling avenues of this city. I availed of a great free walking tour which took us from Hyde Park past Buckingham Palace, into Trafalgar Square and down to the Houses of Parliament in Westminster. St. Stephen's clock tower was a great sight. What is St Stephen's clock tower? It’s more commonly known as Big Ben! Big Ben is actually just the bell inside the clock tower. The streets were alive with people, and though hard it was at times to get around all these people, it still made for a fantastic atmosphere. I happened to be wearing a green tshirt yesterday, so coupled with my ginger hair, I was practically a walking Tricolour. Essentially, I was Ireland's national flag for the day! It didn’t go unnoticed too as many people said "Hello" to by simply uttering “Irish yeah!?” I think I’m making it too easy for people! However, I didn’t let the opportunity pass me by and informed all I met of our own great big thing that sticks into the sky in Ireland. The Spire! It is only one of Dublins many landmarks, but is essential to see none the less! If you haven’t gotten a picture pointing right up the length of the Spire, then what else have you been doing in Dublin!?

Saturday evening was great fun, as I found myself having a bit of an international conference of sorts. alcohol included of course. There was me, three Argentines, four Canadians and one South African, sitting round a table, shouting probably a little too loud and drinking probably a little too much. Thankfully, I stopped short of singing the Irish National Anthem, but I was tempted into the first line!

Sunday was always going to be a great day. Around a month ago, I was lucky enough to win tickets to the Mens Single's final of the Olympics. How? Well, I had to go on air on a radio station in Ireland, against somebody else, and grunt, yes GRUNT, as if I was playing them in a game of Tennis! Luckily, my grunting seemed up to par and I won the tickets! Due to the very nature of competition, there could have been anybody in the final. However, as it happened, who was playing other than Andy Murray and Roger Federer! Fantastic! Seeing Murray race home with a three sets to zero victory was incredible, as the fans went absolutely bananas when he fell to his knees in glory! I brought along an Argentine by the name of Damian I had met in my hostel, and he was lucky enough to see a fellow country man, Juan Martin Del Potro recieve the Bronze medal for finishing third!

By evening Damian was probably sick of me trying to compare tennis to our own sport, hurling. If you haven’t seen it, then you must!. It is one of the fastest land games on Earth and played at such a fast pace that your eyes will struggle to keep up with the ball, or sliotar, as it’s called in Ireland. Damian and I ventured down to the Camden Market later on that day. What a place! Thriving with food and clothing of every design, this is a dream for those looking for an interesting place just to walk around and stare or for those wanting to splash the cash on some funky gear. I didn’t indulge in anything too off the wall, but you could easily spend a day in there just absording the atmosphere. I really enjoyed the place!

Monday evening I leave for Paris and I begin my travels of mainland Europe. I’ll talk to you then! Follow me and my travels on Twitter at @ciaran_o_connor and @IsaacsHostel

London Calling !

More News  from Ciaran: the Isaacs Hostel Ambassador 

Since winning this competition I’ve been interviewed on a few separate occasions relating to the opportunity I’ve been afforded by Issacs to travel Europe. However, on Friday the tables turned and I was the one interviewing somebody! Deirdre O’ Brien is the Assistant Features Editor with the Sunday Mirror here in London. We talked about everything under the Sun from living in London, to the Olympics, to her Irish background. Her parents originated from Cork and Limerick in Ireland respectively before leaving for Britain.

Born in Norfolk herself, Deirdre has had an illustrious past working in many publications, beginning her career in Newcastle before finding herself at the Sunday Mirror in Canary Wharf in this City. Where we really got stuck into conversation was when we began talking about reality television and debating the appeal it offers and subsequently receives from the Irish and British public alike. “Structured reality” as Deirdre put it, is how shows like Geordie Shore, Made in Chelsea and The Only way is Essex operate. Never heard of The Only Way... You’re more likely to see it in its abbreviated form TOWIE! Shows like these have made celebrities out of the likes of Amy Childs. Who is she? A star of the show, she brought the term Vajazzle to the public consciousness. I’ll let you find out what means yourself! Asking her about life in London, she informed me Brian Dowling, of Big Brother fame, regularly takes the same Tube as her! He’s a bit fond of the Sunbed too it seems!

Other than chatting to journalists, what did I do on Friday!? Went walking, to put it bluntly. There is no better way to see London than on your two feet. Before speaking to Deirdre, I ventured around taking in London Bridge (Yes the one from the nursery rhyme) the HMS Belfast and the Tower Bridge along my way. In the afternoon, I took a stroll down Cannon Street to the site of the recent Occupy London protests outside the historic St Pauls Cathedral. There was no one camping outside at the time but maybe the hordes of business men, who suddenly appeared in every pub and bar I saw after 5pm, may need a place to sleep later on. They must have that Friday Feeling!

Besides from chatting to other travellers and taking in the sights and sounds of London, I’ve been busy taking far too many pictures. No doubt they’ll end up in the glorious location of a folder on my laptop! My dorm is like Gatwick Airport with a number of nations being represented! There is no better way to learn curse words in multiple languages than in a Hostel dorm!

Until next time, ta ra!

You can follow my travels and me on Twitter at @ciaran_o_connor or @isaacshostels

I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane (or possibly Dublin Bus)

Ciaran O' Connor :Isaacs Ambassador ..at the off!

A First Blog from Isaacs very own Wild Rover: Ciarán O Connor

Does this count as an “Official Blog Entry”? I’m still in Ireland you know. It’ll have to! My name is Ciarán O' Connor and I was lucky enough to be chosen by Isaacs Hostel to be their Ambassador for Ireland. What does that mean? It means I won a competition of theirs that will lead to me travelling solo through Europe promoting Ireland and Issacs abroad along the way throughout August. It's not your everyday find a Euro in the couch kind of luck. This is BIG!! Thanks must be paid James Clancy and Alan Duncan of Isaacs Hostel and Colm Hanratty of Hostel World for giving me this opportunity! Mucho Gracias!!

Before setting out to mainland Europe for a few weeks, I took the time to venture around Dublin with my girlfriend Aoife to take in what our capital has to offer to visitors. This resulted in the use of a Hop On, Hop Off bus. Surreal though it was to be ferried around a city I know quite well already, it was also highly enjoyable. There were pieces and parts of Dublins story that I was amazed I never heard before. Staying in Isaacs that night, we got a great feeling of the vibe of the place. Pretty electric to say the least!

Thursday morning I begin my walkabout of Europe, first touching down in foggy old London, although I’m sure the fog will be held at bay by all the mass hysterics induced by the Olympics. I have visited London once before, as a young child and remember nothing other than sleeping on a couch. Hopefully, this time, I’ll see a little more of the city. I plan to soak up the Olympic atmosphere and also indulge myself in them too. I was lucky enough to win a pair of tickets to the Men Singles Tennis Final in the Olympics for this coming Sunday. So, if you want to locate me on Sunday, you’ll find me in Wimbledon. I’ll be relaxing by Murrays Mound or Henmans Hill, or whatever moniker it’s under lately.

Preparing for this trip has been an activity in itself. Firstly, there’s the whole notion that I still don’t know exactly where I’m going! I have an idea yes, but where exactly, nope! That will be decided along the journeys path. Packing my bag has been a never ending game of Tetris, finding room for this and that. My Mother has dutifully tried to include anything that might be needed. Really though, trying to pack a blender in my bag? I’m joking, it didn’t get that bad! My bag is full of what I will need, what I will want and what I will use. I won’t get into the details but everything that needs to be there is there! I’ve just one more thing to add before I finish; Applications are now being taken for my Official Bag Pack Carrier....

Follow my travels and me on Twitter: @ciaran_o_connor and @isaacshostel

Isaacs Ambassador winner announced

Ciaran -Isaacs hostel ambassador
 getting ready for the off    

We are over the moon to have selected a winner for our Isaac's Ambassador Competition. A brilliant guy – Ciaran O' Connor a DCU student of communications from Co. Roscommon will be setting off on a month long blast around Europe promoting all that's good about Ireland (and we hope Isaacs hostel here in Dublin too!) He will be blogging about his experiences along the way and getting paid for It ! We are green with envy! But there is no better man for the job. Ciaran is truly very Irish (see pic!) real easy going, a laugh a minute charmer and up for an adventure!

We chose Ciaran from more than 100 applicants to represent the hostel and his country to the European youth and backpacker markets. Competition was tough with entrants submitting a 300 word piece on ‘What it means to be an ambassador for Ireland’ followed by tough panel interviews for the shortlist

Ciaran is hanging out at Isaac's Hostel in Dublin this week (already charming Isaac's backpackers and half inching travel tips) whilst working out an InterRail route (a tough job but it has to be done!) Meantime we are booking his hostels and sorting his meetings with travel writers across Europe .

He will be leaving Dublin this week commencing his adventure in London with wait for it.... a ticket for Olympic tennis final! (Which he won in another competition- the luck of the Orish!!) And then across the English channel for the month of August to Paris and beyond. You can follow his progress on our Facebook page or website and at this blog. If you meet him along the way be sure to say hi!

 

Irish and Proud

Well the dust has finally settled on the ashes of Euro 2012... And though we (Ireland) took a complete pasting from the Spanish, here at  Issacs hostel we can take some consolation from our Irish supporters. They were just an amazing example of just how naturally effective the Irish are at promoting our country! They made international headlines by simply being their upbeat, cheerful selves against the Spanish onslaught with their moving renditions of the Fields of Athenry .

Though we sadly took down our Irish flags bedecking reception this week , we know that both our hostels and tourism in Ireland will be reaping the rewards from International visitors - spurred on by the might of the green army. Well done lads and C'mon Ireland! (We might not be the best at football but we sure know how to give our visitors a good time.)



Renata (Polish !)  Giving the thumbs up  to Irish supporters  in Euro 2012

P.S For anyone out there who wants to spread the word for Ireland this summer in Europe and get paid for it , don't forget to enter our Isaacs Ambassador competition.   - Click here for how to enter

Could you be the Isaacs Ambassador ?

Hey Bloggers.   Anyone out there fancy InterRailing across Europe for the whole month of  August, meeting new people and getting paid to blog about it? Sounds too  good to be true ?  Well  it actually could be an amazing reality if you enter our Isaacs Ambassador competition before 30th June 2012.

We are offering an aspiring travel writer the opportunity to inter-rail across Europe for a month to promote the hostel and Ireland as a destination of choice to backpackers abroad. The winner will blog all about their experiences, while meeting top travel journalists and bloggers!What we are looking for in an Ambassador:
-  Fun, outgoing and up for a challenge 
 - Demonstrate proficient writing skills 
 - Have experience of backpacking 
 - Have a strong knowledge of Ireland and its tourist attractions 
 - Speak more than one language.


Your Isaacs passport to Europe

Just click here for how to enter Simply tell us in no more than 300 words what it takes to be an ambassador for Isaacs  & Ireland and why you believe it should be you .

If only we could take the month off,we'd be off like a shot !

The Great Dublin Floods of 2011 at Isaacs Hostel

What a week we have had in Isaacs Hostel! Our basement flooded in the Great Dublin Floods of 2011. (Okay, okay, I made that name up. It was some epic flooding all over Dublin city, suburbs and parts of Ireland though)

We toiled through the night pumping water out of the basement and the crew here in Isaacs Hostel worked all day Tuesday cleaning up the mess. By Tuesday evening we were back in business, YAY! We were very happy with ourselves indeed; it seemed we were in the clear.

Unfortunately, one of our water pumps had malfunctioned and the knock-on effect of this was that a hot water pump gave up on us. When we discovered this it took some time to find a replacement. We found one and once again we were happy. A new pump was installed... we are good to go right?
Wrong, oh so wrong.

While trying to establish what the issue was with the pump, our boss (PHEW. It wasn't me) stood on the other pump and broke it in half. Bah! Back to the suppliers to source a new pump..... get the plumber out of bed once again....get the new pump from the manufacturers....have another ridiculously strong cup of coffee so that I stay awake..... get the new pump installed. And finally the job was done and we were back in business.

At each stage we were told that the pump was fixed and we'd tell all of you guys and then the bad news would filter through once again.

We're really sorry about any problems you had over the last week whilst staying with us. I promise that we were beavering away in the depths of the building fixing, then standing on and breaking and fixing the pumps again!

It's not a regular occurence and we are confident that the pumps won't malfunction again. And the boss is no longer allowed in the general basement area...just in case :)

Youtube video of the floods in Dublin http://bit.ly/uzUApZ