Irish culture and Irish customs - World Cultures European

Fáilte
Welcome to Irish Culture and Customs, a labor of love we began several years ago. What started as a surprise milestone birthday trip to Ireland became the beginning of a journey through time. A 2,000-year voyage on a quest to learn as much as we can about everything Irish. So here's where we are so far - more than 700 pages that range from Irish poetry, superstitions , Kids Stories and recipes to specific Irish calendar celebrations such as St. Patrick's Day , Beltane, Samhain and the Feast of St. Brigid. Whether it's an Irish symbol such as the shillelagh, the Shamrock and the Book of Kells or an Irish craft like Aran Isle knitting, you'll discover a wide range of topics in our index. We hope you find the little bit of Ireland you may be looking for.

Lughnasa - Celebrating the Harvest
by Bridget Haggerty

Traditionally, August marked the beginning of the Harvest season and it was a time of great celebration in rural Ireland.

The season began on the first of the month with the festival of Lughnasa, the Irish word for August. Since it was impractical to take farm folk away from their work during the week, it was generally celebrated on the first or second weekend. The weather was usually fine and it was traditional for entire communities to gather at a chosen meeting place in the hills, by a river or lake, or perhaps at a holy well. Of the four great Celtic festivals - Imbolc, Beltane and Samhaine, Lugnasa was the most joyeous because, after 'Hungry July', when stores were being rapidly depleted, farm folk could look forward to the fruits of all their hard work during the previous months.

Haymaking in Ireland long ago
by Bridget Haggerty

In days gone by, preparations for making hay were begun as early as February. Farmers usually set aside one or more fields for meadow. Later in the spring, they'd encourage the pasture-quality grass to produce a higher yield by spreading farmyard manure on it. This was known as "top-dressing."

Season of the Corn
by Bridget Haggerty

While we were surfing the net, we came across a fascinating story about a group of Donegal farmers who stepped back in time and used the old ways to raise and harvest the crops.

We are a group of five farmers from the Inishowen Peninsula in Co. Donegal, Ireland, who have come up with a novel way to raise funds to provide a local facility for mentally challenged adults.

Putting out the hare, putting on the harvest knots
by Bridget Haggerty

Small animals retreated from advancing harvesters by hiding in the remaining crop, and in the old days, every farmer went to great lengths to ensure that his last field would be harvested before a next door neighbor or other man in the village. Thus the call..."Have you put the hare out yet?"

Puck Fair - one of Ireland’s oldest festivals
by Bridget Haggerty

While at one time it was notorious for drinking, with the pubs open round-the-clock for three days and nights, nowadays, Puck Fair is famous for meeting up with old friends, forging new friendships and putting the cares of everyday living on hold. But how did it all get started? Nobody knows the exact origins, but it ‘s said to date to medieval times - or perhaps even before then.

Who was Behind The Doors of Dublin?
by Bridget Haggerty

It was 1970 around St. Patrick’s Day that a colourful collage of Dublin doors appeared in the window of the irish Tourism offices on Fifth Avenue in New York City. People on their way to watch the parade were stopped in their tracks by what they saw. Drawn by the uniqueness of the image, many of them went inside to find out where they could get a copy. There were so many requests that Joe Malone, North American Manager of Bord Fáilte at the time, commissioned the poster that has since become an icon of Ireland.

Irish Kitchen - Kerry Pies
Adapted from Darina Allen's Festive Food of Ireland

These are the pies that were traditionally served at the Puck Fair in Killorglin. They would also be taken up the hills to the men who were herding the sheep. Originally, the hot-water crust pastry was made with mutton fat which, if you're a die-hard traditionalist, you can still do. Here, butter replaces the mutton fat, and makes for an equally as delicious crust.

Basic Irish - Hobbies & Sports Terms
By no means an all-inclusive list, just enough to have fun with! Next week, we'll have a few phrases incorporating some of the following words.

Kids Ireland: Irish children learning through film
Adapted from an article by Apple UK

Teaching through film is helping Ireland’s children learn key skills in communication, teamwork, problem solving and critical thinking. The Government’s FÍS film project has proved such a success that all of Ireland’s 3,500 primary schools will soon be using film right across the teaching curriculum.

Music Review: Daybreak - Fáinne an Lae
by William Ramoutar

She is from a small town in West Kerry, but she is a singer and musician of such power and virtuosity that she can hold her own on any stage. And for the past five years she has been fronting one of the most exciting bands to come out of Ireland for many a year.

The band in question is, of course, Danú. A powerhouse of wonderfully individual players, together their music is at once traditional and also impressively modernistic. They have all the presence of a rock band in their sound.

Letter of the Month - June
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.

Greetings

We went to Ireland a little over a year ago and between RTE radio and your news letter, I can hold on to the wonderful feelings we had. Must admit, I love Clare FM the best. Around here from 6 -11 pm our time (including the 5 hour time difference) there is a DJ named Mike who is just like a step down memory land. A time when D J's were live, requests were taken and I must admit that the passion for "they fell in love and one of them died" music keeps me laughing! You must try it sometime.
As for the reason for this message, when I was in Ireland I bought a bottle of perfume called FROND. Haven't been able to find it on any websites. It is wonderful for summer, especially with the humidity we have been having in PA. It is light and floral. Just reminds me of walking through a field. Any idea where I can find more?

Thank you for your newsletter, I love it.
Donna K. Fetter

ED. NOTE: We always appreciate positive comments and it spurs us on to repay the kindness. In this case, we went looking for FROND perfume and after a bit of digging we found it here: Wee bit of Ireland Store.
Photo Credit: Gift Box

We also looked up the URL for Clare FM and here it is. Enjoy!
http://www.clarefm.ie/

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 of the Month

Live Music from Mayo

A link to the new internet service from Midwest Radio out of Mayo and the opportunity to request a song.
Click here for: Irish Midwest radio.

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The August Trivia contest is Posted!. Ah, summer is over, or at least, coming to an end. Time to gather for winter and you may as well start by winning the trivia contest - click here for the Trivia Contest.