Musings, ramblings and thought provoking articles from our team of talented writers - all views expressed are their own!
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 […]
Ireland is full of amazing destinations that are rightly famous around the world for their beauty and charm. The Cliffs of Moher. Blarney Castle. Dublin’s Temple Bar. Newgrange. No visitor is ever short of must-see sights in Ireland. But sometimes you want something different. Sometimes the joy of travelling lies in discovering something that not […]
It’s July in Ireland. The sun is (probably) out (most but not all) days. Days stretch out for 18 hours of sunlight this far north. The weather is warm(ish). Everything is relative. In Ireland, our peak summer weather is usually in the 70s Fahrenheit. A host of different bright yellow wildflowers are blooming. School is […]
We don’t get our fair share of sunshine in Ireland. The island is famous for rain, for the endless soft drizzle that gives us our 40 shades of green. So when summer comes and we do get some sun, which isn’t guaranteed even in summer, we tend to celebrate it. This isn’t new. Our ancient […]
It might take years to actually read James Joyce’s novel Ulysses, but you can celebrate it in just one day. June 16th, to be specific. The entire story of Ulysses takes place on that one day in 1904. And now we take that day to celebrate. Joycean scholars, Dubliners, tourists and everyone who likes to […]
Once upon a time, a whole generation of Irish Americans grew up thinking that the cuisine of Ireland consisted of corned beef and cabbage, fish and chips and a lot of potatoes. A lucky few knew that oatmeal porridge figured in there somewhere. The really fortunate ones had also heard of or maybe even sampled […]
Does creativity require a bit of solitude? Consider the stereotype of writers toiling away in an attic somewhere. Virginia Woolf said women need a room of our own, and long before man caves men were retreating to workshops to create all sorts of wood crafts. Our Irish ancestors had this figured out. In fact, they […]
Irish mothers are a special breed. And Irish people are extremely close to their mothers. North Americans living in Ireland often have a moment of culture shock when they realize it is perfectly normal for Irish professionals to phone their mothers from work daily. They aren’t ringing to check on any alarming medical issues. They just know […]
Ireland’s national holiday is upon us. It’s time to go green and break out the shamrock, cheer on parades, listen to trad music and celebrate this little island on the western edge of Europe. It’s St. Patrick’s Day. So who was he and what did he do? Why is Patrick so revered and what does […]
