Musings, ramblings and thought provoking articles from our team of talented writers - all views expressed are their own!
Ireland has always had a more personal relationship with ghosts and spirits than most places. This is the birthplace of Halloween, after all. The holiday grew out of Samhain, the last night of the Celtic year when the veil between the world of the living and the spirit world was worn so thin that those […]
Ireland is the birthplace of Halloween, aka Samhain. The holiday’s roots come from the ancient Celtic calendar, which ended on October 31st and began on November 1st. The ancients believed that a sort of veil separated the ordinary world of the living from the world of the dead and the supernatural. Over the year, that […]
Long before the modern goth music and fashion scene was born, the Irish were revealing in Gothic literature. It is no surprise that this island has produced so many exceptional writers of horror fiction. Howling winds, dense fogs, driving rains and old graveyards with tilted Celtic cross tombstones are all entirely normal, unavoidable parts of […]
The mention of pearls usually conjures up romantic images of pearl divers searching for oysters in tropical waters. But not all pearls come from warm seas. Some species of pearl-producing molluscs live in freshwater in much cooler climes, including Ireland. This wee island has never been a large producer of freshwater pearls, but it is […]
A generation ago, archaeologists discovered a complex of structures in a figure eight shape in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The complex series of buildings dates back to the Iron Age, and researchers determined that a timber structure there was built around the year 95 BC. The find was breath-taking, a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Experts heralded Fort […]
Does your dad wear his love of Ireland on his sleeve? He isn’t the first. From pre-Christian times to now, Irish men have had their own fashion sense. Archaeologists have identified jewelry and adornments for men dating back from the time of the ancient Celts. Once upon a time, men were the ones who wore […]
William Butler Yeats, who was born on June 13, 1865, is one of Ireland’s most celebrated poets. His poems are woven into our collective Irish psyche. Some of his works referenced his unrequited love for Maud Gonne, widely seen as his muse, and Ireland was a popular topic for him. His fascination with the supernatural […]
The Irish are known for being gregarious people, friendly and welcoming. We’re known as story tellers, and of course stories need an audience. Even in an impersonal modern world, this is a close-knit society made of communities, where neighbors have known each other for generations. The draw of the local pub isn’t the pints, but […]
We tend to throw the word ‘hallmark’ around – saying this or that is the hallmark of a good restaurant, business, student, leader, etc. But do you know the real significance of a hallmark and what it means for your Irish jewelry? A jewelry hallmark is no arbitrary, subjective claim. It’s a solid, objective, official […]
Ireland’s second patron saint, Brigid of Kildare, was known, loved and sometimes probably feared for her shrewd negotiating skills and her willingness to go head to head with male leaders. Her feast day is February 1st, but that isn’t the only day this month that we think of her. She left us another special day, […]
