The Giro is second only to the Tour de France in terms of prestige and tv audiences and its beginning in Irerland is likely to attract many cycle racing fans to this counry as well as showing the Irish countryside to millions of tv viewers. Stephen Roche is a former winner of the race. His son Nicolas is likely to compete this year.

The service will operate until October 2013 and will help boost both leisure and business tourism from the US market.

Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, said: “This is wonderful news for tourism to the island of Ireland. We have worked closely with American Airlines for many years and look forward to co-operating with them to maximise the promotion of this new route. As an island, direct, convenient and competitive access services are critical to achieving growth in inbound tourism. Tourism Ireland is committed to working with American Airlines, Dublin Airport and other tourism interests, through co-operative marketing, to drive demand for this new service – as we work with other carriers and partners to promote and help maintain vital routes and services to the island.

Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport Leo Varadkar said the new service will provide important new capacity between Ireland and America for the Gathering next year.

“I’m delighted that American Airlines is opening a new route between Dublin and JFK. This new summer service will provide extra capacity to Ireland and help in our efforts to bring more tourists to Ireland next year for the Gathering.

“This news follows closely after the announcement by United of a new service between Shannon Airport and Chicago, which will also provide increase capacity into the west of Ireland.

“This year there was strong demand for seats from the United States to Ireland, but the limited number of seats available meant that fares remained relatively high. New services like this one between Dublin and JFK should help to bring down fares by adding to capacity, and help our efforts to boost visitor numbers during the Gathering Ireland 2013.”

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OVER 500 LIVE MUSIC EVENTS IN ALL 32 COUNTIES

EXAMPLE, TINIE TEMPAH, ELLIE GOULDING, MIKA, PROFESSOR GREEN, FATBOY SLIM, TEXAS AND AMY MACDONALD JOIN THE BEST OF HOME GROWN ARTISTS FOR THIS YEAR’S ARTHUR’S DAY LINE UP

GUINNESS® is delighted to announce that for the first time ever the magic of Arthur’s Day™, taking place on 27th September, will be coming to every corner of Ireland with the local pub at the heart of the celebration.

Due to its huge popularity among Irish pub goers and publicans alike, GUINNESS has significantly expanded the Arthur’s Day celebrations since last year to include live music events in local pubs across Ireland so whether you’re from Dingle, Derry or Dublin, it’s never been easier to take part in what is set to be no ordinary Thursday night.

This year there are no tickets on sale, just grab some mates and head to one of 500 free Arthur’s Day music events taking place in local pubs across all 32 counties. It promises to be a remarkable night of live music featuring hundreds of home grown artists but, as usual, Arthur’s Day will also be a night full of surprises….

GUINNESS is giving you the chance to bring internationally renowned artists such as Example, Tinie Tempah, Ellie Goulding, Mika, prolific UK rapper Professor Green, Fatboy Slim, Texas and rising star Amy Macdonald to one of the 500 Arthur’s Day music events taking place in a local pub near you. Simply get behind your publican and vote for your local in the run up to Arthur’s Day.

Voting will be open from 15th August to 16th September but in keeping with the spirit of Arthur’s Day, the winning pubs will remain a secret to the public until the night itself so you never know who might walk through the door. Check out www.Guinness.com for full details.

Arthur’s Day artist Tinie Tempah, who has recently had four top 5 singles in the Irish charts, said, “I played Arthur’s Day back in 2010 so I know all about the magic of it. I’m honoured to be invited back to Ireland for 2012 and couldn’t be more excited about playing a pub gig for a small, surprised crowd! We’ll be kick starting the global celebrations in Ireland on September 27th – hope to see you all there!”.

The DUBLIN CITY OF SCIENCE 2012 festival is a year long celebration that will bring together a community of cultural institutions, organisations and individuals who are passionate about showcasing the best of Irish culture, arts and science.

The new and innovative programme of science themed events across Dublin consists of photographic and art exhibitions, several theatre pieces, film festivals, tours, trails and treasure hunts, science buskers, large-scale interactive installations, experiments, public talks, debates and workshops.

For more details on events visit our online programme www.dublinscience2012.ie

The festival will peel back the layers of the city to reveal stories of Victorian Dublin, combined with a playful contemporary celebration of Halloween and all things vampire.

The two-day programme will include key interactive literary and film events, unique walking tours, as well as themed street animation activity, with a highlight being a Gothic spectacle for all ages on the bank holiday Sunday evening.

“Enter freely and of your own free will…”

Programme details coming soon on www.bramstokerfestival.com

Architecture Alive! is the title and theme of this year’s event and is an exploration of the vitality of the city through its architecture, and the people who live work and play in it. Cities are fluid, they have the capacity to live, grow and develop and Architecture Alive! wants us to think about the impact buildings have on our lives and how they shape our environment and us.

Nathalie Weadick, Director of the Irish Architecture Foundation, noted “ARCHITECTURE ALIVE! reveals the fact that architecture inhabits and embodies time, whether in design or construction, use or reuse. Buildings possess a life cycle and they also contain the lives of people. We hope to animate the impact the built environment has on our lives, we want to reveal new design and revisit our past through a dynamic programme that has something for everyone.“

As well as building tours, Open House Dublin 2012 includes Open House Junior, a series of creative and lively events to enable young participants to play architect for a day; Open Space walking, cycling and boat tours to explore the spaces between buildings; and Open Minds , a series of talks, discussions and exhibitions about architecture on the theme of Architecture Alive!.

Open House Dublin is the perfect opportunity to get to know Dublin better: to see behind the Georgian doors, to get up to top floors with city views, and to get a real sense of what it feels like to be a part of the city.

The Irish Architecture Foundation, who delivered its first Open House Dublin in 2006, has firmly established the project as Ireland’s largest architectural event with an estimated 23,000 building visits in 2011. Established in 2005, the Irish Architecture Foundation’s role is to be a vibrant and passionate organisation that excites its audiences about the value of architecture.

The Irish programme in the past has been made up of shows by some of Ireland’s most respected artists including Seamus Heaney, Roddy Doyle, Brian Friel, Sebastian Barry, Enda Walsh and Tom Murphy. International artists who have appeared in the festival include Ciarán Hinds, Vanessa Redgrave, James Cromwell, Neve Campbell and Geoffrey Rush. Within the theatre festival, there are many different programme strands which incorporate everything from music to dance and from cutting edge theatre to the biggest shows on Broadway.

The original Oktoberfest will come from Germany to Dublin, giving Irish people the chance to experience the authentic Oktoberfest festival. A marquee – representative of that in the Oktoberfest in Munich – and German markets, as well as 24 authentic Oktoberfest barmaids will descend on Georges Dock for some German fun, food and entertainment and authentic Bavarian beer.

The traditional German market will feature over thirty German speciality food producers and German traders, who are all travelling to Dublin for the Oktoberfest. Visitors will be introduced to the very best of Bavarian food and specialities from sausages, meat, pastries, Käsespätzle (cheese noodles) to mountain cheese and ginger bread hearts.

Alongside the many surprising foods on offer, visitors will have the opportunity to experience a truly authentic Bavarian style wheat beer. Learn to sing a yodel or dance a polka, as traditional Bavarian musicians, Die Alpen-show, will also play throughout at the event.

So whether you’re a book lover, a dedicated follower of fashion, or keen to see a show or participate in a workshop, head to Dublin this autumn.