Tripod III is their company name, and showcasing contemporary art is their aim. Three Galway residents, Sybil Curley and sisters Mary and Ger Lambert, have pooled their skills in design, architecture and event management to curate an exhibition representing more than 20 contemporary Irish artists which goes on show in the western capital from next Thursday.
The mixed-media exhibition of oils, photography and sculpture includes work by artists who have never befpre exhibited west of the Shannon. Participants include Simon McWilliams RUA, Keith Wilson, Sheenagh Geoghegan, Neil Shawcross RUA, Anya Waterworth, Paddy McCann and Tadhg McSweeney and Colin Davidson RUA, whose Window (Piccadilly London) is pictured left. Sculptors include Bob Quinn, Cliodhna Cussen, Anthony Scott, Philip Cullen and Anna Linnane.
The venue is the Fairgreen Building, a light-filled industrial backdrop close to Ceannt Station and Eyre Square, where the work of artist Hughie O'Donoghue was shown very successfully during the 2006 Galway Arts Festival.
Slice, as the exhibition is called, will be opened by Cliodhna Shaffrey on Thursday, and public viewing runs for a week from Friday, June 6th, 10am-6pm.
Lorna Siggins
Bread is back
Great news for Dublin bread lovers: the old Jewish bakery, the Bretzel Bakery on Lennox Street in Portobello, Dublin 8, has reopened after a swift refurbishment and is back in business again. No longer will people have to queue outside on a busy Sunday morning, as the new layout has created plenty of room inside both for customers and staff.
Co-owners William Despard and Cormac Keenan (right) hired Kildare-based carpenter Robert Bracken to bring light into the shop by introducing smooth ash counters and fitting downlights that are also eco-friendly.
All the bread is made on the premises and is kosher - Rabbi Pearlman sees to that - and a new loaf to try is the delicious rosemary and raisin. Challah, the traditional plaited bread eaten on the Friday sabbath, is still an old favourite. The bakers are an international lot, though, with Irish, British and Polish among their number.
Best of all, the "new" shop front is based on the original one, built sometime in the 1870s. The lovely dark red colour, which gives it an old-fashioned feel, has been retained, and the whole façade is mirrored by the recently opened Lennox Cafe Bistro further along the street.
The Bretzel Bakery is open Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 6.30pm (Monday closing at 3pm), Saturdays 9am to 5pm and Sundays 9am to 1pm. Mary Russell
Lap of luxury
This has to be the smartest swimming pool in the entire Kingdom - 25 metres long and made of stainless steel. It's dug well into the landscaping surrounding The Retreats, the handsome new apartments next to the Park Hotel in Kenmare, Co Kerry, and as you float, belly-up, you can see your reflection in the ceiling and look out at the stands of silver birches planted all around.
It has to be seen to be believed. Bravo to architect Michelle Sweeney of Oppermanns, who also designed the Sámas spa at the Park. This has to be one of the smartest schemes anywhere, and it will do your heart good to see it.
Yes it is possible to find sound-proofed, well proportioned apartments, with mountains out the windows and a bustling town within walking distance. This should provide a model for the new generation of apartment dwellers all over the country.
I'm biased, of course, being a huge fan of the wit and vision of Francis and John Brennan, the proprietors of the Park Hotel, who always have something up their sleeves. They've outdone themselves this time.
Be sure to keep an eye on their website for special events and themed weekends in coming months, and save up to swim a lap or two in this groovy pool-in-the-wood. www.parkkenmare.com.
Patsey Murphy
Liver let live
To some it says "delicacy", to others "cruelty". Either way, it's legal again for Chicago restaurants to serve foie gras.
Less than two years after the city council banned the sale of foie gras after a 48-to-one vote, this month it swung 36-to-six to repeal a ban that many, including Chicago's mayor Richard Daley, decried as an embarrassment.
The August 2006 ban was little enforced but emotive - it prompted a lawsuit by chefs, the creation of a "Chefs for Choice" lobby and the wearing of T-shirts to support Doug Sohn, the first restaurateur fined $250 for an initial offence under the ruling.
Activist chef Didier Durand got around the ban by not charging for the foie gras he served. He dubbed his restaurant a "duckeasy", after the speakeasies that served alcohol during prohibition.
Animal rights activists have criticised the repeal. The production of foie gras involves force-feeding ducks and geese through tubes in their throats to fatten their livers ("foie" in French).
Galwegian Billy Lawless Jnr, co-proprietor of the Gage, a new gastropub in central Chicago, said he will serve foie gras now that he can. It's "decadent" and "a status thing", he says.
There was more talk about the ban when it first came out than now. "People were like, 'What a joke! They're trying to regulate what you can eat,' " he says.
Other US cities have rejected Chicago-style bans, while in Northern Ireland, the Green Party has called for a ban on the sale of foie gras. Last year, York became the first city in the UK to institute a ban on the sale of the product.
Orla O'Sullivan
Take a walk on the sunny side
If you want to add some instant sunshine to your wardrobe, head immediately to the Lanidor shop in the Pavilions Shopping Centre in Swords, to find very jolly, likable, wearable clothes and accessories drenched in colour. Lanidor is one of Portugal's most famous retailers - sort of their Dunnes Stores - and it is relatively new to Ireland, with shops in Drogheda's Laurence Town Centre as well as Swords, and two more branches on the way. The prices won't break the bank and they have a very distinctive look about them that is both smart and cheerful. Super clothes to send you packing for a holiday.
However, they're made first and foremost for Portuguese women, who tend to stand on the petite side of the scale, but the rest of us can enjoy oogling at the shoes, bags, hats and jewellery - one size fits all. Shoes priced about €79, handbags about €39, and dresses, such as the one pictured left, between €59.50 and €69.50. You can see the range on www.lanidor.com.
Patsey Murphy
Docklands festival
The Docklands Maritime Festival is a sturdy fixture of the June bank holiday weekend in Dublin, and this year it will bring its mix of tall ships and big entertainment to both banks of the Liffey for the first time. The fleet of ships, including the Lord Nelson, Artemis, Asgard and the Jeanie Johnston, are the centrepiece, with plenty of street theatre and music to keep the landlubbers entertained. See www.dublindocklands.ie/maritimefestival.