TMO Travel and Sport brings together travel articles, travel tips and travelogues as well as in-depth city guides. We try to give info useful to holidaymakers, backpackers, or the just generally curious. You’ll also find travel writing, in the form of long essays that take their initial starting point from a destination. We welcome travelogues, so if you’ve a story to tell about a place that you’ve been, send it to us here.
Our sports coverage is skewed towards analysis and essays. Of all the TMO coverage our sports section is probably the thinnest – a sign simply that we’ve yet to find the right sportswriters to develop it. If you write, and would like to join the monkeys, get in touch with us here.
5 Reasons that Emilia-Romagna is ‘the new Tuscany’
Tuscany’s success in presenting itself as the ideal Italian destination is legendary. To the British it’s affectionately known as ‘chiantishire’, while for thousands of American and European readers it is linked indelibly with the romantic vision presented by Frances Mayes in Under a Tuscan Sun. The irony of it all is that the very things [...]
Walking in Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s Barcelona
When Daniel Sempere visits the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, his father invites the boy to take his pick from the shelves. Daniel settles on The Shadow of the Wind by Julian Carax; a Barcelona writer exiled in Paris. Carax’s work has become much sought after due to its rarity. Even the devil wants a copy. [...]
Sucidava
Southern Romania. On the buses that carry you between the small towns along the bank of the Danube a curious arrangement is in operation. At each stop the driver passes up and down the aisle collecting new fares. He offers me a student fare, for example, and then knocks ten per cent off that. To [...]
Ambushed and Frozen- A Keith Wood Interview
Keith Wood is in a jovial mood at the University of Limerick Ulster Bank this morning. He is here as an ambassador for the RBS Six Nations tournament and is accompanying the Six Nations trophy, as well as a considerable PR entourage, on a whistle-stop tour of Limerick city this icy Monday. Three Monkeys loiters [...]
Seven European Cities to Visit in 2012
It’s that time of year, when big newspapers publish long lists of hot travel destinations for 2012, often without rhyme or reason (and the distinct suspicion that lobbying and pr push have more to do with the compilation than attractions, charm, or interest). Having said that, we’re as partial to lists here at TMO as [...]
5 Things to do in Limerick City
Co. Limerick has a fairly distinct advantage over the Republic of Ireland’s capital, Dublin, in terms of its scenic setting. Limerick city itself curves around the full rush of the river Shannon- the largest river in Ireland and is the main touchstone location of the mid-west or Shannon region. Now, despite what you may have [...]
Red Card for Racism
Immigrants now account for ten per cent of the Irish population yet it’s rare we talk to them when we’re not at the McDonald’s drive-through. Stuck with low paying jobs Irish people don’t want to do, lodged in housing Irish people don’t want to live in and hidden from a society that treats their presence [...]
Lille Farce Churns Out Dangerous What Ifs
Now we’ll see how hard line Michel Platini really is. At the Stade Felix-Bollaert in Lens on Tuesday, Lille effortlessly undermined their sprightly, hard working performance against Manchester United with a display of petulance which could easily have enflamed a tense situation on the terraces. Football is always greater than the sum of its parts, [...]
Fights don’t come any bigger than this – Floyd Mayweather Jnr. Vs Oscar De La Hoya
On May 5th, Floyd Mayweather Jnr (37-0, 24 KO’s) challenges Oscar De La Hoya (38-4, 30 KO’s) for the WBC world light-middleweight title at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas. Not only is Mayweather’s 100% professional record still intact, but he has won world titles in four divisions, from junior-lightweight to welterweight. De La [...]
The Screenplay of Relegation
The so-called 'relegation battle', that joyous struggle for survival which permeates the entirety of Premiership coverage in the month of May (as X, Y or Z have already won the title and have begun showboating in earnest by that stage), can take on many different guises. At the core of this principle are the Shylock [...]
Forza Cork City! It’s a Love Affair
There are few transgressions less forgivable than that of supporting a second football team. If football is a ritual replication of warfare, then adopting a second squad is rightly seen as nothing short of mercenary. Peruse the fan forums on the sites of any of the Irish Eircom league teams’ websites and you’ll see a [...]
Roy Keane and the Old Trafford Legacy
Manchester United, more so than any other football club, is beset with icons. The legacy of Old Trafford is and always will be underpinned by the memories of those men who fought, and even died, for their cause. This is not to say that United are alone in this sentiment, for all teams have their [...]
Solo through the ‘Keyhole’.
Today, August 12 is the day I have slated for my final assault of the ‘Keyhole’ in British Columbia’s Kokanee Glacier Park. In a few hours I will find out whether months of training and meticulous planning (as well as well as several costly trips to the outdoor equipment store) have paid off. This is [...]
