red mum

EDIT: February 18th @10:50am:

Meeting place: Oak Pub, Oliver Plunkett Street and Caroline Street (map). (Thanks Donncha)

Time: noon in Cork City and 11.30am for those of us staying in the hotel to head into town

WE’VE done a bit of talking on Twitter about the photo meet before the Irish Blog Awards in Cork next weekend, February 21st and seeing as how the Ladies Tea Party begins at 4pm and some of the photowalkers are booked in for that, I would suggest that we finish up by 3ish so the lady lunchers can make it back to the Cork Airport Hotel.

So far we haven’t settled on what to do, but I believe there is a general consensus that we will make our way into Cork City and follow our noses. I imagine to give us a good shot at the afternoon that we should meet in Cork City at noon. For those of us staying in the Cork Airport Hotel, I’d say we should get taxis from 11.30ish into town.

I know a good gang have already said they are up for the photowalk so what about you? Any thoughts on what we should do, where we should go, what we absolutely cannot miss? Oh yeah where should we meet in town. As things are firmed up, I’ll update this post so do check back.

As always this event is open to absolutely anyone. If you cannot make the noon start, drop me an email with your mobile number and we can keep in touch over the afternoon.

You can find out about the other blog awards events on the awards blog. And thanks to Sabrina who made the photo walk graphic last year, hopefully she won’t mind that I recycled it.

If you have any thoughts let us know in the comments.

I AM delighted to have made it through to the first cull in the Irish Blog Awards into the long lists and in three categories, Best Personal Blog, Best Photoblog and Best Blog Post. There’s also the group blog nomination for Dublin Blog which I am proud to be part of. I am chuffed to bits, so thanks for the nominations and for my getting this far.

Do take some time to check out all the other blogs nominated, you will find many crackers. The sponsors of all the categories also deserve credit for supporting the awards, so do check out the people responsible for the categories I’m in and they are Pixie, Bubble Hits, Microsoft Ireland’s Developer and Platform Group and Dine to Meet. (You can find all the others on the Irish Blog Awards website.

The awards week/end are coming up fast, and like others we are planning the weekend in Cork, can’t wait it should be mighty craic.

NOMINATIONS have opened for the 2009 Irish Blog Awards and will close at 6pm on January 14th, so don’t forget to nominate your favourite blogs, you can find the nomination form on the awards website.

Damien has been hard at it working away organising this year’s awards which for the first time are moving to Ireland’s third capital city, Cork. Hey I am a nordie, Belfast is the number 2 city

But back to the weekend, personally I can’t wait, we have a full posse going, Young Wan, Nanny, as well as some pals and we are heading down for the whole weekend. It should be mighty craic. It is hard to believe it is already a year since the last awards.

Over the last couple of photomeets and other bloggy events we have talked about having a photomeet in Cork on the Saturday afternoon. Hopefully if you are interested in meeting up with a gang of photobloggers you’ll be about on Saturday afternoon. What do people think?

EDIT: I should have said, not that you don’t already know, but the 2009 Irish Blog Awards take place on Saturday February 21st 2009, at the Cork International Airport Hotel

WHAT a weekend. This post has been two days in the writing all the fun and frolics of Saturday’s Blog Awards saw me take to my sick bed/sofa for most of Sunday so a little was written then and then rewritten today.

Maman Poulet organising the registration

Maman Poulet, Ellybabes highfiving and Mrs Chicken

My weekend kicked off lunchtime on Saturday with the photo meet where nine of us met up at the Spire, headed to Trinity, then up Grafton Street before retiring at O’Donoghues. Rymus, Mcawilliams, 73man, Gingerpixel, Ellybabes, Phil, Andy and Keith were all present and snapping away. Hopefully this can become a regular thing, there are great meet-ups but it would also be great to meet up with other photobloggers more.

A wistful moment on Grafton Street

WWMD? in Trinity

Mcawilliams and Rymus

One thing that was really cool about the photo meet is that there were four nominees from the Best Photoblog category including the eventual winner and we didn’t scrap once.

At the end of the afternoon we had a competition to guess how many images we collectively shot, everyone put in a fiver before guessing the total amount. Then we reported on how many we actually took and it amounted to nearly 900 shots, not bad for an hour and a half’s shooting. It is a bad show when the proposer of the competition wins so eh sorry about that everyone.

Scores on the doors/ brown envelopes

At least I bought a round with my winnings before Elly, Gingerpixel and I headed back to my place and then hitting the Ladies tea held in the Market Bar. I couldn’t even begin to list them all here, even without my brain being mashed following the weekend madness. And wow what a yummy spread and so many women bloggers I didn’t know before but I did meet Debs (sorry Debs I had to duck out of Sunday’s bunch but I was rendered completely useless), Sabrina (we met once before though the first time was brief) and Sinead. I met Aoife and Una which was excellent as well as taking a pic suggested by Mary Rose of all the women from above, thanks for that Mary Rose.

Then it was time for the awards and we gasped at the size of the room, the decorations looked great and the video announcements before each category was really cool; the awards have really come a long way since 2006. I brought Nanny and the Young Wan and we all had a really great night.

I was delighted to meet up with so many new faces/blogs as well as catching up on others whom I read regularly and haven’t had the opportunity to meet before now people like Curly K, Darragh, Grandad and Granny lost the plot and of course Granny Mar and I was raging to have missed out on meeting Flirty and many others. It was lovely to chat with one of the girls from Beaut.ie, then there was Caitriona and Ken . I nearly met Conor O’Neill who came hooting down the room before standing in front of me with a manic grin and jazz hands before moving/running/hooting on but I did meet his wife Catherine who like everyone else was really lovely.

There were also a few funny/embarrassing/shameful moments such as my giving out for not being salsaed, my ahem joy at winning one of Fustar’s manky toys, Maureen the barbie, only for a stewards inquiry to be called by Elly who wrestled me to the ground for Maureen or when I heckled Rick O’Shea as he thanked the Young Wan for her beautifully executed trophy handing over – eh sorry about that, I’m just a proud Mammy.

Ellybabes and Maureen

We had a great crowd around us and we were all absolutely delighted when the lovely and fellow Nordie Sharon from the Family Voyage lifted the Best Specialist Blog, I got a great cheer during the photoblog category (thanks family) and was delighted for Claire when she took the honours in the category for her beautiful images. We claimed to have been robbed in the Group Blog category wearing my Dublin Blog hat but hey Beaut.ie are a huge force to be reckoned with, and as clichéd as it sounds we were really delighted to make the shortlist.

Sharon, Grannymar and Grandad

I had hoped to rob my print from the wall, but in the blurriness of alcohol we staggered out without it. Or maybe we weren’t allowed to do that… I also forgot my Twenty book for signing so I must get that sorted.

Checking out my pic

Towards the end of the evening I kept a beady eye on one of the Kilkenny musicos who was chatting away to my beautiful Young Wan just in case there were any ideas there.

I know I will have missed a load of people in this post and I apologise for that, I met so many people and unless I noted them down there is no way my memory + alcohol would hold onto everything. So if I have missed you out after bending your ear I am really sorry.

Rick O’Shea and Damien

So finally thanks to Damien for another cracking night/weekend and thanks to all of you who helped create the incredible buzz in the hotel. So here’s to all this year’s winners and to 2009

Oh and Thats Ireland (someone else I wanted to meet and didn’t bump into) has a brilliant box list of all 400 blog nominees, pre shortlist, head over there and do a pot luck on any number of wonderful blogs, you never know what you’ll find.

So keep uploading those images and tagging them irishblogawards!