{"id":2358,"date":"2019-03-16T09:01:45","date_gmt":"2019-03-16T16:01:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/?p=2358"},"modified":"2019-03-19T09:51:38","modified_gmt":"2019-03-19T16:51:38","slug":"tipperary-or-tiger-town","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/golf\/courses-and-travel\/2358\/tipperary-or-tiger-town","title":{"rendered":"Tipperary or Tiger Town?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Ireland

Ireland is celebrated in Central Florida and TigerTown. (Photo by Michael Patrick Shiels)<\/p><\/div>\n

St. Patrick\u2019s Day \u2013 Ireland\u2019s national holiday \u2013 is celebrated all over the Emerald Isle and around the world including, Lakeland, Florida \u2013 home of the Detroit Tigers spring training complex. The Major League Tigers will play the Atlanta Braves on the holiday, but it won\u2019t be your average game in Tiger Town.<\/p>\n

\u201cSt. Patrick\u2019s Day has become a tradition around here. We get into the spirit,\u201d said Zach Burek, general manager of the Lakeland Flying Tigers and Joker Marchant Stadium. \u201cWe have green bases and the Tigers wear green jerseys and hats with the \u2018olde English D.\u2019 Concession stand workers have their hair spray-painted green and we dress up one of the bat boys like a leprechaun \u2013 though I don\u2019t think he knows it until he gets to the park that day!\u201d<\/p>\n

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(Photo by Michael Patrick Shiels)<\/p><\/div>\n

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(Photo by Michael Patrick Shiels)<\/p><\/div>\n

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(Photo by Michael Patrick Shiels)<\/p><\/div>\n

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(Photo by Michael Patrick Shiels)<\/p><\/div>\n

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(Photo by Michael Patrick Shiels)<\/p><\/div>\n

Irishman Christopher Follenus has housed some of the Tigers. The Dubliner is business development manager for Balmoral Resort Florida, Irish-owned accommodations near Lakeland, where some of the Tiger players and management have stayed throughout spring training.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t play baseball in Ireland, but we all loved Babe Ruth and the culture of baseball and the nostalgia that would come across when we saw it in the movies,\u201d Follenus explained. \u201cBut when I visited America the first time and actually went to a game I said to myself, \u2018Oh god, now I know why they\u2019re selling beer here!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Follenus probably didn\u2019t find a Guinness at the ballpark, but after a laugh about the slow pace of the game, the Irishman insisted once he started to understand baseball, he liked it.<\/p>\n

The pace is what the players, fans and even Disney-going vacationers like at the easy going Balmoral Resort which rents only full-house townhomes daily, weekly or monthly, in a gated neighborhood setting.<\/p>\n

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(Photo by Michael Patrick Sheils)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cFamilies like the space to relax with a rental home away from home and have their own swimming pool, so it\u2019s like a vacation, too,\u201d said Follenus. All guests at Balmoral Resort also enjoy a waterfront area with a large, heated, zero-entry swimming pool, Jacuzzi, waterslides, a game room, bar and restaurant (including a traditional full English breakfast) and live music, plus beach volleyball and putt-putt golf. Follenus celebrated St. Patrick\u2019s Day a day early at Balmoral with a costume contest, games, dancing and green drink specials from Jameson for guests.<\/p>\n

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(Photo by Michael Patrick Shiels)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re Irish-owned and that famed \u2018Irish hospitality\u2019 is portable \u2013 even here in Haines City in Polk County, Florida,\u201d said Follenus. \u201cHalloween and St. Patrick\u2019s Day came from Ireland \u2013 and came back to us with lots of stuff added like costumes and fireworks. We\u2019re proud it\u2019s become a worldwide event even though we make jokes about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Follenus said he will, for the first time, visit Detroit this season. He will surely be taken to the Corktown area, settled by Irish immigrants from County Cork. Old Tiger Stadium used to stand virtually surrounded by pubs such as Reedy\u2019s,\u00a0Nancy Whiskey, and the Gaelic League in Corktown.<\/p>\n

Lakeland is where the Tigers have started each season for the last 83 years \u2013 by far the longest-running “Grapefruit League\u201d relationship between a team and a city.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe think of Lakeland and Detroit as sister cities. Some people visit Lakeland on vacation and some stay for months. And I love Detroit – I get there about four times a year,\u201d said Kris Keprios of\u00a0VisitCentralFlorida.org<\/a>. His organization operates a kiosk in\u00a0Comerica Park\u00a0all season to encourage and assist game-goers to plan a trip to the Sunshine State. \u201cWe have orange juice for people for a taste of Florida. And conversely, at the stadium in Lakeland, they serve the real deal Coney dogs they\u2019ve flown down from Detroit.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ballpark in Lakeland holds 8,000\u00a0people with a grassy berm in the outfield for picnicking, enjoying the sun, playing catch, and yes, napping if needed! Ticket prices are as low as $16. \u201cIt\u2019s a laidback and personal experience. You can meet the players and get pictures and autographs,\u201d said Burek.<\/p>\n

Delta flies directly to Orlando and Tampa airports \u2013 with Lakeland an hour or so from each. Balmoral Resort is very close to\u00a0LegoLand, Cypress Gardens, and Southern Dunes golf course. Streamsong golf course, designed by Michigan\u2019s Tom Doak, is an hour from Balmoral. Plan a trip via\u00a0VisitCentralFlorida.org<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0BalmoralResortFlorida.com<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0Ireland.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Contact<\/em>\u00a0Travel Writer Michael Patrick Shiels at\u00a0MShiels@aol.com<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0His radio program may be heard weekdays at\u00a0MiBigShow.com<\/a>\u00a0or in Lansing on WJIM am 1240\u00a0from 9-noon<\/a>. His latest book is \u201cI Call Him Mr. President \u2013 Stories of Fishing, Golf and Life with my Friend George H.W. Bush\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

St. Patrick\u2019s Day \u2013 Ireland\u2019s national holiday \u2013 is celebrated all over the Emerald Isle and around the world including,… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":2359,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,19164],"tags":[1023623,1023624,1023625,1023626,1044570,606,414,4998,152775,999623],"class_list":["post-2358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-courses-and-travel","category-offcourse","tag-lakeland-flying-tigers","tag-saint-patricks-day","tag-balmoral-resort-florida","tag-visit-central-florida","tag-detroit","tag-florida","tag-ireland","tag-michael-patrick-shiels","tag-detroit-tigers","tag-lakeland"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2019\/03\/IMG_9592.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2358","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2358"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2358\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2367,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2358\/revisions\/2367"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}