NEXT week Ireland will be just like Bethlehem on that first Christmas over 2,00O years ago – there will be no room at its inns.

Dublin’s five-star Merrion Hotel, for example, is booked up until January 4, with a three-night stay for two costing just over £3,000.

Belfast’s Merchant Hotel is offering Christmas dinner for £355 per adult and £210 per child, which means there will be no room for most people.

Meanwhile, in Dublin last week, 3,500 people queued from 4am for Christmas food vouchers at the Capuchin Day Centre.

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The Irish Times reported that by 6am, “there were women with infants in prams, holding hands of young children with woollen bobble hats and schoolbags. Others carried small babies wrapped in blankets, while elderly men and women sat in wheelchairs or rested on walking frames.”

At Cork’s five-star Castlemartyr Resort, Santa will arrive by helicopter on Christmas Eve and the guests’ children will receive hot........

© The Irish News