Grand Irish Charity Ball

2nd July 2007

The Grand Irish Charity Ball which is one of the major annual events on the Irish/Melbourne calendar took place on the 30th June 2007 in The Palladium Ballroom, Crown Towers.

The event first began 13 years ago and aims to bring the Irish and Australian communities together for a night of good old fashioned craic. It provides an opportunity for all the Irish clubs, pubs, associations and all the local Aussies to celebrate their great Irish heritage and culture.

This years ball, hosted by AFL legend Jim Stynes, was both a roaring success and a very special night. Irish Sydney Swans star Tadhg Kennelly (pictured right) made a special guest appearance and the crowd was dazzled by the superb performances of Dave Hughes (pictured left) and The Cosgriff Dancers.

Taste Ireland got involved and sponsored the event by providing Tayto crisps to all guests upon arrival. We also designed and donated a huge Irish gift hamper for the raffle.

All proceeds went to the Reach Foundation and the Australian Irish Welfare Bureau.

Good Food and Wine Show

18th June 2007

The annual Good Food and Wine Show came to the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour on Friday 15th June and ran until Sunday 17th June 2007.

More then 300 exhibitors were involved in the three day event and it provided the perfect opportunity to explore different culinary delights from every corner of the globe.

With a vast array of exquisite food, exotic wine and cooking demonstrations by celebrity chefs (Ainsley Harriot pictured top right with Taste Irelands promotional staff Michelle & Denise) this year s show surpassed that of last year attracting close to 40,000 visitors over the duration of the exhibition.

Following the success of last year, Taste Ireland again teamed up with Tourism Ireland and designed an Old Irish Pub Setting as our exhibition stand (pictured bottom right). Amidst the homely theme, Tourism Ireland highlighted Irelands most appealing assets and provided valuable information to all those who professed an interest in traveling to the homeland.

Taste Ireland once more enlisted the help of a local baker and we displayed our exclusive range of Kerrygold Cheese & Butter and our Traditional Irish Soda Bread. The bread was baked fresh every morning and even we didn t anticipate the popularity and success of the traditional Irish Fare. Our entire range of Kerrygold Cheese and Butter & Irish Soda Bread were available for sampling and for sale to all visitors. Taste Ireland also offered visitors the opportunity to buy Tayto Crisps, Club Orange and Lakeshore Mustards. Exhibition hall & stand pictured bottom left.

 

 

 

Landsdowne Club St Patrick's Day Lunch

Friday 16th March 2008

The annual Landsdowne Club St Patrick's Day Lunch was held in the Grand Ballroom in The Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre at Darling Harbour on Friday 16th March 2007. With a spectacular waterfront location, this was an ideal location to celebrate the premier business networks 25th anniversary.

The St. Patrick s Day Lunch is the highlight of the Landsdowne Clubs calendar year and always a magnificent event, this year proved to be no exception. The St Patrick s day lunch is now the largest of its kind in the world no mean feat.

Entertainment included Luka Bloom who had the crowd mesmerized (pictured top left), Brian Doyle (pictured middle right) the cynical Dub who had the crown in tears of laughter and Jan Curry s school of Irish dancing who had the crown tapping their feet.

With the continuing support of both the Irish Embassy in Canberra & the Consulate General in Sydney, The St. Patrick s Day Lunch is an excellent forum with which to maintain the Tourism & Trade ties shared between all Irish Australian Businesses. Pictured bottom right the new Irish Ambassodor to Australia.

 

 

Tourism Ireland's Irish Village

16th March 2007

On Friday the 16th March 2007, Tourism Ireland transformed Martin Place, Sydney into a vibrant Irish village. Guinness was flowing as early as 6am, Sunrise 7 (with Koch & Mel) broadcast the event nationwide. Labour leader Kevin Rudd and Transport Minister Joe Hockey (pictured top right) made their last appearance together on Sunrise at the temporary Irish bar both sinking a cool pint of Guinness in less than 5 seconds!

There was music by Sydney s talented Bodhran player Kevin Kelly and his band Kelly s Hero s. The little village was complete with a number of food and information stalls. Taste Ireland saw this as an excellent opportunity to show case it s products to the main stream market (as opposed to its traditional ex-pat core market). The Kerrygold cheeses and Odlum s Irish breads were sampled by approximately 6000 commuters.

Pictured left is Michelle and Lisa (Taste Irelands merchandising and promotional experts) at the Taste Ireland stall.