Traditions, folklore, history and more. If it's Irish, it's here. Or will be!

"People will not look forward to posterity who never look backward to their ancestors."
-Edmund Burke

Quotes

Library: Books, Movies, Music

Prints & Photos

Poetry

Jokes

Shop for the best of Irish products from the comfort of your home

We combed the internet to find reliable resources for the most popular Irish products: Aran Isle sweaters, Guinness glasses, Waterford Crystal, genuine blackthorn walking sticks, the flag of the Republic and more. Some of these shops have become friends; others we trust from their reputations and some offer products that are completely unique. We hope you enjoy browsing through what's on offer and we are confident you will find gifts for any occasion or person, all with an Irish flair.



The Irish Link to St. Valentine
by Bridget Haggerty

As a young girl growing up in England in the 50s, I loved sending and receiving Valentine cards - messages that were always unsigned. As the sender, one would go to great lengths to disguise the source of the card. As the recipient, the fun was in trying to figure out the identity of your secret admirer.

When I came to the United States in the early 60s, imagine my surprise to learn that the custom here was to identify the sender. Not only that, cards were often sent to relatives, such as your mom and dad! It didn't seem very appropriate to me, then or now. In fact, I still think it's very odd and, while I have capitulated to custom and sign the card I give to my husband, there's a part of me that still wishes Valentine's Day could be like it once was - shrouded in romantic mystery.


The Irish In Love
by Bridget Haggerty

'The Realm of Romance' is bigger than West Virginia and smaller than Ohio. But for such a tiny place, Ireland is a magnificent, multi-faceted gem, blessed with an abundance of details and differences. Majestic mountains sweep down to the sea. Miles of stone walls line fields filled with black-faced sheep. Tall, flowering hedges shade narrow, winding roads. Ancient castles and mystical abbeys dominate pastoral vistas. And, pastel-hued cottages dot river valleys strewn with wild flowers. What a magical place to begin a romance or married life together!





The Irish In Love - part two
by Bridget Haggerty

There's still time to put some Irish flair into your St. Valentine's Day celebrations!

What follows is a brief compilation of proverbs, sayings, a poem and then a few ideas for Irish books to buy or borrow, music to play, and then a romantic menu that's sure to quicken the pulse. An alternate menu with recipes is also featured in the Irish Kitchen.







The Irish In Love - Still Waters Run Deep
by Bridget Haggerty

In my memory, my parents weren't very demonstrative when it came to expressing their affection for each other. On the other hand, when you're a kid, you don't notice subtleties such as a twinkle in the eye, a coquetish tilt to the head, or a brief brush against an arm or shoulder when putting the tea on the table.











The Legend of the Claddagh Ring
by Bridget Haggerty

According to 16th-century Irish folk lore, a fishing boat from the village of Claddagh was captured by Algerian pirates and the crew was sold into slavery. One of the crew was a young man by the name of Richard Joyce, who was to be married the same week he was captured. Instead, Richard found himself far away from his love and his homeland.






Give Me Your Hand
Music for an Irish Wedding Ceremony
by Bridget Haggerty

Recently, the Dublin Diocesan Liturgical Resource Centre compiled a CD to help couples identify appropriate music for a church ceremony. It hopes it will help avoid some of the more embarrassing choices couples have made in the past. As in: Waterloo, Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow or Help Me Make It Through The Night. We are not making these up. Among other choices on the list are: God Give Me Strength, Crazy, and The End of The World As We know It.






A Romantic Irish Menu for Valentine's Day

For starters, might we suggest Irish Oysters washed down with Black Velvets (half Guinness and half champagne). Next up is Lobster in Bunratty Potcheen, new potatoes & fresh asparagus. And, for the finale, Mocha Mist Mousse enhanced with raspberries. A decadent, delectable and delightful diet downfall. But when it comes to a romantic dinner, whose more deserving than an Irish couple in love!







The Language of Love - in Irish


This is a revised and updated version of our St. Valentine''s Day offering. The difference is that some of the following words and phrases can be used at any time of the year, whenever romance is in the air.













Kids' Ireland: The Nightingale and the Rose
Edited and adapted by Bridget Haggerty from a story by Oscar Wilde.
Oscar Wilde was both unhappy and unlucky in love and this had a great influence on his work. This beautiful story is from his collection of fairy tales for children. But it has such a sad ending that we thought young readers might enjoy it more if it ended on a happier note.

It was winter. The student leaned on his elbows and stared out through the window on a garden that was bereft of flower, leaf or fern.


The children of 4th Class Holy Family Senior School in Ennis, Co. Clare have been busy making St. Brigid's Crosses. If you'd like to make a St. Brigid's Cross, they have kindly given us their permission to reprint the instructions from their website - and also publish a couple of photos.





Music Review: Celtic Love Songs - Various artists
by William Ramoutar

Although this cd is out a while, it is one of those compilations that, maybe the record company didn’t spend enough time, or planning to market and thus, has slipped down the shelves until, in all probability, it is close to extinction. The truth is, if you are looking to find out more about the music, or to get a blás (taste) of many Celtic Artists, you really could look long and hard, to find one sampling equal to this one.





Book Review: Celtic Wisdom: Treasures from Ireland by Cindy Thomson
Review by Cathi Hassan

It was a long wait for me before I could buy and read Celtic Wisdom: Treasures from Ireland. It was published in the UK a year before the United States release, and I saw a copy back in 2008 when I first met the author, Cindy Thomson. Finally, I was able to sit down to really enjoy this precious gem this past week. Well, the wait was long, but I feel like it was worth it.





Letters
We receive many lovely letters from visitors to our web site and subscribers to our newsletter. As we’re fond of saying, your feedback helps to make all of the time and effort worth while. While we have a Readers Write Page where we post comments from time to time, we’ve decided to also select a Letter of the Month - one that, for whatever reason, tickled our fancy.




Dia duit!
Couldn't help but respond to your first newsy letter of 2010!
Can't begin to tell you how much I enjoy your mailings. I'm an artist who paints Ireland so am quite familiar with the back-roads and the 'News of the Counties' always is a favourite read!

Best of luck and many blessings to the both of you!

A fan,
Beverly Faulkner

ED. NOTE: We visited Beverly's site and her paintings are delightful. We show one here that Bridget particularly liked - Grace & Roses. To see more of her work, please click Eire by Faulkner.


Image: The Letter by Kirsten Soderlind, Note card from All Posters
Caption: We lost a lot when we stopped writing letters. You can't reread a phone call.
To read our previous letters, please click Letters



Live Music from Mayo

A link to the internet service from Midwest Radio out of Mayo. Broadcasting from their state of the art studios; Midwest Irish Radio plays nothing but the best Irish music. No matter where you are in the world, you are never too far from Ireland when you listen in.
Click here for: Irish Midwest radio.



Notices

Did you get your Newsletter?
We try to send one out every week or so. If you aren't receiving it, something is wrong. Let us know and we'll try to solve the problem. Note: subscribers are automatically deleted from the data base if the newsletter bounces back multiple times. Full or disabled mailboxes will also cause a subscription to be cancelled. If you have any questions, please contact Bridget.
If you think you may have missed an issue, newsletters are archived here: Archive.

The February Trivia contest is posted! Ugh! For the last few years February has been the worst month of the winter. So, stay inside and do the Trivia Contest; you will be more comfortable. Please click here for the Trivia Contest.

Be in to win an Irish music CD

As part of our annual fund-raising effort, we are sweetening the pot with a drawing for Irish music CDs including The irish Tenors, Finbar Furey and others. For every dollar you contribute, we will put your name in Russ' old top hat and we will draw the winners on St. Patrick's Day. Think you have the luck of the Irish? Then send a donation to Irish Culture and Customs. You can donate via PayPal at this email address:
bhaggerty@irishcultureandcustoms.com
or by post at this address:
Bridget Haggerty
5814 Blue Spruce
Cincinnati OH 45224
Any amount is welcome and will help keep our website going and our newsletter coming - plus any donation over $5 will also receive a lucky Irish Blessing coin.

Many thanks in advance for your kindness!
Photo Credit: Scene


ED. NOTE: CDs provided through the generosity of Anita Daly Communications.