Musings, ramblings and thought provoking articles from our team of talented writers - all views expressed are their own!
You can expect a steady stream of pirates at your door this Halloween. Pirates are a staple of Halloween, along with vampires, superheroes, witches, zombies and ghosts. Part of the fun of dressing up as a pirate is that there are endless variations. Boys and girls, men and women can be pirates. No one is […]
Since the time of the Celts, glass has been used in Irish jewelry. Our earliest surviving artwork is beautiful, intricate stone carvings. The same swirling designs are in both early and modern Irish jewelry. Ireland quickly embraced crystal when it was developed. And we became one of the world’s most popular producers of crystal glassware, […]
As you carve the pumpkins, hang the fake spider webs and stock up on candy for trick or treaters, you probably are not thinking about romance. But the Celts of old were. Halloween’s roots are in Samhain, the pre-Christian Celtic New Year. People believed that a veil separated this world from the spirit world, where […]
Galway is known as the City of Tribes, but who were those tribes? Are you descended from one of them? Today we use the phrase ‘city of tribes’ in many ways to include all of the people of Galway and to celebrate the city’s history. But long ago, it referred specifically to 14 families who […]
Are you planning an Irish theme for your wedding? Maybe your beloved will slip a gold Claddagh ring on your finger, or perhaps you have chosen a Celtic wedding band. These Irish symbols have such deep meaning, they made a beautiful foundation for a wedding theme. If you have an Irish wedding theme, you probably […]
The sea is primal and wild. Its depths hide untold mystery and intrigue, as well as a world of creatures that range from terrifying to adorable. The ocean has captured the imagination from humanity’s earliest days. And on an island such as Ireland, the sea holds a special place in our hearts and minds. Irish […]
It’s getting cooler and wetter, and the sun is setting earlier. Autumn can be a dreary time, but a great way to warm it up is to treat yourself to some delicious soup. It’s no surprise that a cool, wet country like Ireland has some fantastic soup recipes. The kitchen is a key place to […]
Bogs, a particular type of land, play a quiet but central role in Irish life. It is quintessentially Irish that we would see a substance that is 90% water as burnable fuel and be correct. Bogs shape our language and cultural views. City dwellers jokingly refer to their rural counterparts as ‘boggers’. In small towns […]
For the children and grandchildren of immigrants, it is normal to wonder what your life would be like if you were in the country of your roots. What would you be eating and wearing every day? What would your house be like? If you are young, you might wonder about what school would be like. […]
While Ireland’s traditional music is famous, the nation is no slouch when it comes to rock and roll. U2 is Ireland’s biggest musical export. The band can brag of winning 22 Grammys in their 40-year career, and being in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They’ve been topping the charts since the 1980s, and […]
