Co. Galway has the best oyster beds in Ireland. In the unpolluted waters of Brady Bay and Clarenbridge, the oysters lie waiting to be harvested at the beginning of the oyster season on September 1st.

The first Clarenbridge Oyster Festival took place in September, 1954. In an extract from his diary, the late Paddy Burke, proprietor of the famous restaurant and bar.

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The Ould Lammas Fair
by Bridget Haggerty

The Ould Lammas Fair takes place in Ballycastle, Co. Antrim on the last Monday and Tuesday in August. It's one of the oldest fairs in Ireland and has been held without interruption for more than three centuries.

It once took place at Dunanyie Head, now known as Castle Point. Some say that it started out as a sheep market, others that it originated when Sorley Boy MacDonnell ordered a celebration for his nephew. Either way it grew and migrated to Ballycastle. Whether or not today's event is because Sorley Boy ordered it up, Lammastide celebrations have a long history in Ireland.

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Saint of 9/11: Fr. Mychal
A Compilation of Tributes & Memories
by Bridget Haggerty

He was administering the Last Rites to a fallen firefighter when he himself, was struck down. There was no priest available to give Fr. Mychal Judge the final sacrament of his faith. It was up to one of his own, a NYC firefighter, to give him a traditional Roman Catholic spiritual farewell.

Even before 9/11, many people considered Fr. Mychal a hero: the firefighters for whom he served as chaplain, the homeless to whom he gave winter coats, people with AIDS to whom he ministered. But after 9/11, his hero status became official, when Fr. Mychal became the first official recorded victim of the attacks on America that day. Also, according to all accounts of his life, he possessed that rare combination of qualities that are usually attributed to saints: nobility and humility.



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An Irish Halloween - Part 1
by Bridget Haggerty

Ever since the time of the Druids, many customs and traditions have evolved in celebration of Samhain, which is New Year’s Day in the Celtic Calendar. When Christianity came to Ireland, the church took a dim view of Druidic festivals and created the vigil of All Soul’s Evening, (or All Hallow’s Eve) on October 31st, the Feast of All Saints on November 1st, and All Souls Day on November 2nd.

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An Irish Hallowe'en - Part 2
by Bridget Haggerty

As in many other parts of the world, commercialism has crept into an Irish Hallowe’en, so that nowadays, you’re just as likely to hear kids yelling “Trick or Treat” as you will “Help The Hallowe’en Party”, and most of them now receive candy instead of the traditional apples and nuts. It’s also fairly certain that many of them will be disguised as their favorite TV or video heroes and heroines and that they’ll pester their moms and dads to outdo the neighbors when it comes to decorations. Still, many of the old customs are still observed, especially in the more rural areas.


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How the Irish invented Hallowe'en
by Brendan Sharkie

The Celts celebrated Hallowe'en as Samhain, the Feast of the Dead, when the deceased revisited the mortal world. This Oiche na Sprideanna (Spirit Night) marked the end of summer.

During the 8th century, the Catholic Church designated the first day of November as All Saints Day - all Hallows. Thus All Hallows Eve became Hallowe'en. It was an occasion of family reunion after booleying. (Booley - a milking place). Booleying was a system of moving cattle and sheep to summer pastures on higher ground or distant moorland. Young folk and even whole families left the village after the crops were sown and migrated to the booley area. Small homes were built with turf or sods, or of wicker work, and roofed with branches or heather. A chair or two, the cast iron pot, a creel and a few household items would have been strapped to the donkey's back. The little churn was slung on one side of the animal, into which the youngest child was often thrust, its head being the only part visible.

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Ghosts
by Wm. B Yeats

Ghosts, or as they are called in Irish, Thevshi or Tash (taidhbhse, tais), live in a state intermediary between this life and the next. They are held there by some earthly longing or affection, or some duty unfulfilled, or anger against the living. "I will haunt you", is a common threat; and one hears such phrases as, "She will haunt him, if she has any good in her". If one is sorrowing greatly after a dead friend, a neighbour will say, "Be quiet now, you are keeping him from his rest; or, in the Western Isles, according to Lady Wilde, they will tell you, "You are waking the dog that watches to devour the souls of the dead". Those who die suddenly, more commonly than others, are believed to become haunting Ghosts. They go about moving the furniture, and in every way trying to attract attention.

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The Irish Kitchen: Irish Oyster Recipes
Contributed by Hartson Dowd

In honour of the annual Oyster Festivals in Galway, our Irish Kitchen offers tempting recipes contributed by our resident recipe collector, Hartson Dowd. We like our oysters raw on the half-shell with a dash of lemon and hot sauce - but we are equally as fond of these tender mollusks fried, sautéed, or simmered in stews.
Photo Credit: Old Recipe Book

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Basic Irish: Halloween and Samhain

It's Trick or Treat in the USA and Help The Hallowe'en Party in Ireland, but wherever you are, this week's lesson focuses on words and phrases associated with the day before the Celtic New Year - Samhain (sow-en).


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Kids' Ireland: The Changeling

Once upon a time in Ireland, there lived a woman called Shiela. Shiela had a small baby whom she loved above all else.

One Saturday morning, she noticed that her baby did not look right. Her baby boy was fat, healthy, and happy. This "thing" in her baby's crib was thin and looked like a skeleton. It was ugly and had shifty eyes, not at all like Shiela's baby. This baby "thing" never stopped crying. Shiela was at wit's end. Where was her son? What was in her son's crib? And would it never stop wailing?

Shiela's neighbors came and tried to comfort her. They told her that what was in her baby's crib was certainly a changeling. She must ask the wise woman what to do.

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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.


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.

Wed, Sep 25, 2019

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This Web Site Bashed, Kicked & Glued together by Russ Haggerty.