Many of us will know the Swan Hellenic name but few will know that it has been given a rebirth, in 2020, with three new ships and varied itineraries that cover the globe.

The opportunity to learn, explore and in some cases contribute to knowledge is an important factor for many when choosing a holiday. Swan Hellenic have a long legacy of discovery tours, with their first cruise in 1954 organised for the Hellenic Travellers’ Club, which had been founded by Lord Byron in 1906. Head of Classics at London University, Francis Kinchin-Smith led the cruise and invited three guest lecturers for the 14-day cruise around the sites of ancient Greece.

SH Vega has just completed her inaugural circumnavigation of Ireland, stopping at Bantry, Dingle, Galway, Portrush and the Causeway Coast before heading to Skye in Scotland and down to Dublin allowing more people to see and experience Ireland's sights.

When I first see her from the Samuel Beckett Bridge looking down towards Dublin Port, she is moored at Cruise Berth 18 right beside the Thomas Clarke Bridge, more commonly known as the East Link and the Point / 3 Arena.

Dublin's Docklands underwent significant, almost complete redevelopment in the 2000s with the biggest names in the tech industry still building and locating in the area today.

Here in Grand Canal Square the public realm was designed by landscape architect Martha Schwartz and the choice of red paving blocks and these tall red glow sticks were designed deliberately to give a red carpet effect coming from Daniel Libeskind's 2,000-seater theatre.

On the right is the distinctive chequered pattern of the Anantara The Marker Hotel.

This is now a good-looking part of the city and the redevelopment has brought a lot of life into the area that was run down for many decades at the end of the 20th century.

Join Panoramic Ireland to photograph in Dublin at night on our award-winning photography tours and workshops.

We're big fans of sunsets here at Panoramic Ireland, you'll find plenty of images of the evening golden hour throughout the site.

It seems that someone with artisitic skills and a spray can in Dublin is also a fan, after painting this sagely advice on a wall in the city centre of Ireland's capital city.

Join Panoramic Ireland to photograph more sunsets and get yourself away from too much Netflix, all you need is your camera.

The Olympia Theatre needs little introduction to Dubliners having been in existence for 100 years this year, with its famous canopy standing over the footpath on Dame Street.

In 1879 it opened as Dan Lowrey's Star of Erin Music Hall on the site of Connell's Monster Saloon. Undergoing several name changes it was rebuilt and reopened as the Empire Palace Theatre in 1897.

Opening finally as The Olympia in 1923, a whole century of touring and local artists have happily performed at the venue.

Generations of Irish people have returned to the Olympia to see the most famous actors and musicians in the world performing at the venue including David Bowie, Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hady, Noel Coward, Alec Guinness, Blur, Foo Fighters, Florence + The Machine, Hozier, Dua Lipa and REM to name a few.

Major plans are afoot for Saint Stephen's Green, the shopping centre is due to be replaced and works are due to start soon for Metro North that will see a lot of major redevelopment.

In 2019, Davy Group bought the famous and unique Saint Stephen's Green Shopping Centre pictured above. They have submitted plans for complete redevelopment of the site which will add two floors in height, reduce the amount of retail space and add office space instead. 

As a consequence, the entire structure will be removed and replaced with something like this, below.

I wrote a few years ago about one of Ireland's most famous mariners, Admiral Brown, who was born in Foxford, County Mayo in 1777; pictured above is the statue in Dublin rather than Foxford.

It has been almost 10 years since my last visit to Foxford, another journey to this scenic part of Ireland is overdue.

Over many years, William Brown distinguished himself as a mariner and eventually rose to the rank of Admiral, having founding the Argentinian navy during its independence campaign from Spain in the early 19th century.

He is regarded as a national hero with almost every town in Argentina having a street named for Almirante Guillermo Brown as he was known in the country.

In recent years of course the interest in Argentine-Irish connections has received a boost, particularly with the current World Cup 2022 featuring Irish-Argentinian Alexis MacAllister.

I have written about Dublin at Christmas before, the city is of course well known for its nightlife and vibrant culture but recently Dublin has made it on to the Conde Nast Traveller best cities for Christmas list.

And I would have to agree, there are plenty of bars, lots of great museums and sights to see.

Strangely though the authors did suggest that it is somehow typical here in Dublin to eat black pudding on a night out "There’s no better way to warm up on a cold Christmas night than with some black pudding and a few pints—"  and this very line has raised a few chuckles from many Irish people, because no one eats black pudding in this way.

Of course, when you are here why not take a Dublin Photography Tour with Panoramic Ireland, it's one of the best ways to see Dublin and is an activity that doesn't involve drinking.

Dublin's Custom House is no stranger to the pages of Panoramic Ireland, the iconic structure was finished in 1791 and has been probably Dublin's most recognisable building ever since.

Architect James Gandon designed and oversaw the construction of the Custom House, literally the place where taxes or customs were paid on good coming in to and out of Dublin.

Built with Portland stone, a fine white limestone from the south of England, the Custom House exuded a strong sense of authority over the merchants in Dublin yet the location was obsolete by the time it was finished as the main port operations had moved much further downstream to accommodate larger ships of the late 18th and early 19th century.

The Custom House is seen here with half reflections on a calm River Liffey affected by a little wind.

Panoramic Ireland's Dublin Photo Tours are the original in Ireland and run all year round - learn how to improve your photography with a private experience from an Irish photographer who has worked for the biggest names in the travel and publishing world.

Sunset on Saint Patrick's Cathedral, one of Dublin's most famous buildings.

Founded on the site of Saint Patrick's conversion of a local pagan to Christianity in the 5th century, the first reference to the site dates from the 9th century but it is 1212AD before the church becomes a cathedral.

The original tower was destroyed and rebuilt in 1370, the spire as seen here pointing skywards was added much later.

Interestingly there was a university founded here at Saint Patrick's in 1320 that, had it still been in existence, would be the 10th oldest university in the world.

Join Panoramic Ireland to photograph Irish, and Dublin, scenes.

Photography workshops and tours available all year round, throughout Ireland.

Panoramic Ireland's Dublin Photo Tours don't stop during the winter, we enjoy photographing all year round in Dublin and throughout Ireland.

Just have a look through the Blog section for more.

Here from one of our photography workshops in Dublin this week, the colours of the Convention Centre set to those of the Irish Tricolour - Green, White and Orange.

And of course, this time of year is a good point to think about buying a voucher for friends and family to use throughout the year.