What's hot. (cross roads).

It has been a very good year for Irish actors and films, and now comes news that the Irish film, The Crooked Mile, is to receive the TRIBECA ENTERTAINMENT FIRST LOOK AWARD, the brainchild of actor Robert de Niro, at a ceremony in New York later this year. Directed by Stephen Kane and produced by Avril Ryan and Triona Campbell, The Crooked Mile has the distinction of being the first non-US film to receive the award. * Making waves of a different kind, is the uncharted wreck of a 17th century ship, which was found off BULL ISLAND in Dublin Bay some months ago. At about 150 feet long, the wreck is considered to be very large in comparison to normal boats from that era. Archeologists are thrilled at the find, and a thorough excavation of the wreck is scheduled to begin next year. * An even more famous wreck will be the subject of the WORLD TITANIC CONVENTION, celebrating the 90th anniversary of the building of the most famous liner in maritime history. The convention will be held next April in Holywood, a short drive from Belfast and the Harland & Wolff Shipyard. Log on to titanic2002.org to find out more about the convention. * An anniversary of a different kind was celebrated recently at BEAUFIELD MEWS, when the restaurant celebrated 50 years in business. Housed in a 17th century coaching inn, Beaufield has fed and sheltered many travelers over the years, including one Eamon De Valera who sought refuge there during the War of Independence. * Popular Irish fashion house RAMSAY has opened its second exclusive shop at Wicklow Street in Dublin, headed up by Irish designer, Michelle O'Doherty. Pundits have declared this season's collections to be very strong, with sensuous fabrics and textures and shapes that take their inspiration from 1950s feminine retro chic and contemporary strong tailoring. * The city of Boston is to have its own JURYS HOTEL following an agreement between the Jurys Doyle Hotel Group and the Saunders Hotel Group, which already owns three hotels in the city. The four-star hotel will be built on the site of the former police headquarters at a cost of $55m. Work is expected to commence early in 2002 with an opening date in mid-2003. Book that luxury suite now! * If you can't wait until 2003 for a little luxury, then check into THE WESTIN, a 163-room luxury hotel in Dublin, across the street from Trinity College. The piece de resistance is the restored elaborate barrel-vaulted banking hall of the Provincial Bank, a magnificent space that catapults this latest Dublin hotel into a class of its own. * If catapulting isn't fast enough for you, then travel in cyberspace instead. Limerick emigrants home sick for a glimpse of their county should be interested in the SHOW ME LIMERICK website, which allows them to pay a virtual visit back home. The site is based on the notion that an area requested by a visitor will be photographed and then posted on the site. See for yourself, at www.limerick.com. * While on the subject of hi-tech homecomings, the 1851 DUBLIN CITY CENSUS has been published on CD-ROM. Described as a landmark publication, the CD lists every household in the city from the 1851 census, including the names and ...