[caption id="attachment_70273" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="The architecturally extraordinary home of "Titanic Belfast. "]
By Hook or by Crook - an Irish geographic reference attributed to that less than welcome visitor to the island, Oliver Cromwell - I have planted my feet in all 32 counties.
And yet there are corners of some counties that remain terra incognita.
Top of the incognita list is the, well, top of the island, that stretch of land that extends north of Belfast, along the Antrim coast and/or through the famous glens, reaches its limits around the Giant's Causeway, and then stretches westwards to the history-laden city of Derry.
Beyond Derry there is, of course, Donegal. But I made it my business to drive to Malin Head a few years ago with the family, so this particular far reach is a proud notch on my belt.
I like the ends of places, and Malin is sure an end. Next landfall, as the seagull flies, is the Outer Hebrides. And they are seriously outer.
But back to those northern reaches.
It's not anybody's over reactive imagination, but the counties of Antrim and Derry have been occupying a lot of thoughts over the last couple of years, and for blessedly positive reasons.
Simply put, in terms of planned events and celebrations of times past, present, and indeed future, the folks whose job is to showcase this part of Ireland to the wider world have been working overtime.
They have help in their labors of course. The area has had its unique attractions for as long as anyone can remember, but it's fair to say that the troubled years put a bit of a dampener on the local tourist business.
All has changed. It's as if someone has opened a winter-sealed window on a spring day.
April, when springtime in Ireland is at its height, has long been a favorite time of year. This April, however, it's less the dazzle of daffodils and tulips in Belfast's parks that will lure a visitor to the city on the Lagan, but the 100th anniversary of the demise of the Titanic.
The great ship that we are all so familiar with, at least in the Hollywood sense of familiarity, was the Apollo 11 of its day: the greatest manmade vessel in human history.
And you can still stand and look into the enormous dry dock where Titanic and her two sister ships were born. I did so myself on a recent visit to Belfast and I have to say that it was a breath catching experience.
The dry dock, a huge rectangular excavation, was an extraordinary engineering feat in itself. The mind's eye picture of the great ship resting on its supports in its depths was helped by having seen old photographs.
But photos do not do the on-the-spot sight of it justice. In the movie, Leonardo DiCaprio proclaimed himself king of the world. In the early years of the twentieth century, the Belfast shipyards ruled the world's shipbuilding industry.
So it being the city that built the Titanic, it makes sense for Belfast to host the mother of all gatherings in the legendary liner's honor. Running through April and May, the Titanic Festival will be offering an array of events and opportunities for visitors who are still drawn to the story of Titanic, a story that just won't let go of our collective imagination.
Before April, on the last day of March to be precise, there will the grand opening of "Titanic Belfast," billed as "the world's largest Titanic visitor attraction."
The building that will be home to Titanic Belfast is described by its creators as being "wrapped in glittering aluminum, the edifice is designed to mimic the hulls of four ships and if what's outside impresses then what's inside may well blow your mind. The complex boasts state-of-the-art multimedia installations, a walk through the entire build and even a ride through a reconstructed shipyard.
"And to commemorate the night of the sinking, a Virtual Choir installation will be held there 100 years to the minute after the Titanic struck that iceberg on April 14th. Composer and conductor (and now Grammy-winner) Eric Whitacre collates recordings from singers around the world and syncs them to create an outstanding visual and vocal experience."
Having seen the building with my own eyes, I can attest to its extraordinary exterior. The next visit to Belfast will, hopefully, offer a chance to see and hear all the wonders within.
Beyond Belfast there are, of course, additional wonders, not least the aforementioned Glens of Antrim and the extraordinary Giant's Causeway, a creation of nature that gives you the eerie feeling that some unseen hands, and not just natural forces, were at work all those eons ago.
Once you have made it to this area of the north Antrim coast - and assuming a jaunt across the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge does give you too big a dose of the wobblies - the journey now takes you west and very quickly to the village of Bushmills, home of the world's oldest licensed whiskey distillery which dates back to 1608.
Bushmills has long been a big draw for visitors to Ireland but this year the venerable distillery if offering a new blend of attractions, not least a music festival being headlined as "Bushmills Live."
According to reports, the way of securing entry to the festival, set for the Celtic calendar midsummer dates of June 20-21, is somewhat unusual. Music fans will be offered the chance to win their place in the crowd by visiting the Bushmills Facebook page, posting a photo of themselves and a friend, and explaining why they should be there.
As well as being on hand to listen to what are expected to be top drawer music acts, winners will also have the opportunity to make their own blend of Bushmills whiskey. Smooth!
The road to Bushmills, or at least the festival, starts at facebook.com/bushmills1608. The entry period starts at 16:08 hours on March 17 and closes at 23:59 on April 27 - that being Irish time of course.
Westwards again, to the eye-popping Dunluce Castle. Talk about location, location, location. And at this point you are within a drive and a wedge of Royal Portrush, which this summer is set to host an Irish Open Golf Championship like no other.
Now, as we all know, Rory McIlroy has ascended to a place that no other Irish golfer has ever occupied, that being the number one spot in the official world rankings.
Who knows what the golfing fates have in story for McIlroy is the months ahead, but it's certain that his participation, and that of the other three Irish major winners, Padraig Harrington, Darren Clarke and literal local, Graeme McDowell, will make this year's tournament (set for June 28-July 1) one for the ages, a veritable Irish major.
The Discover Ireland website currently features a competition that could land you on the Royal Portrush links for the tournament.
Not too far down the road from Royal Portrush and you cross the county line into Derry and this arrival point is not far at all from the famous walls of Derry/Londonderry and also the setting for one of the highlights of the summer of 2012. This is the Peace One Day concert scheduled for June 21 in a place that seems especially appropriate - the former British army barracks at Ebrington, which overlooks the River Foyle.
The concert, and many other cultural events in the walled city throughout the rest of this year, are leading to an even bigger twelve months as the city is gearing up to be the UK's City of Culture in 2013.
People talk about a peace dividend, and it's a term that can mean different things to different people. But it's clear to even the most casual observer that the six northern counties of Ireland have blossomed in recent years, not, strictly speaking, in cultural terms because the culture was always present, but in offering a myriad of those long-held cultural treasures to the broader world.
The serendipitous twist of golfing triumphs that have been witnessed by millions of people around the world is just extra cream atop a splendid cake.
Some years ago, in a time when this part of Ireland wasn't so evidently a cornucopia of festivals, concerts, historical salutes, and landmark sporting events, I took an evening train out of Belfast bound for Derry. It was winter and the night had closed in before the train rattled and rolled into Ballymena.
My wife, who is from Chicago, was studying in Belfast at the time and also helping Brian Friel's Field Day Theatre with a production at Derry's Guildhall.
I was transporting, for want of a better word, a prop for the play, a 1940s era gramophone player. It weighed the proverbial ton and the train conductor wasn't sure at all about it so the thing had to stay in the walk space between two carriages.
I stayed with it for most of the journey, from time to time trying to imagine what lay beyond the narrow confines of this train in the stilly February night.
Well, it's time now to have a peek, this time in daylight, in high summer when the sky to the north never fully surrenders daylight, even at midnight.
For more details on all this summer's offerings in Belfast, Antrim and Derry/Londonderry, news about the newly minted Tourism Ireland "Jump Into Ireland" campaign, and indeed the latest air fares, go to www.discoverireland.com.
