Besides St. Patrick and St. Columcille (Columba) there is another revered saint. Mary of the Gael, Ireland’s female patron saint, Ireland’s first nun–however you refer to her, today is her feast day and a great day to celebrate!

St. Brigid's Catherdral in Kildare, built in 1223. Photo by Chris Cotterman

People often ask me how I got interested in St. Brigid. It’s not a very profound story, but I suppose you can say that she found me. Several years ago I knew little about Irish saints, but I was beginning to get more interested in my Irish heritage. I did what many of you do to connect to your Irish side. I went to an Irish festival, the Dublin Irish Festival in Ohio. I was browsing around in a cultural tent and began to read about St. Brigid.

Who Was St. Brigid?

Photo by Lawrence OP

Briefly, this is what I learned that day at the festival.

Brigid lived from approximately 451 AD to 525 AD. From ancient times Celtic pagans worshipped a goddess named Brigid. Some believe that St. Brigid is actually the goddess adapted by the church as a saint. Others believe that she was a real person named for the goddess. Her father was Dubthach. Her mother a slave girl named Broicsech. Her birth was foretold: she would be special–neither born inside the house nor outside–and she was born on the threshold when her mother slipped on her way inside. She was born a slave to her very own father because her mother was his slave. She was Ireland’s first nun. She was known as a generous soul. She even gave away her father’s jeweled sword to a passing beggar because she had nothing else nearby. If she gave away milk and cheese from her dairy to the poor, it was always returned to her, miraculously. She wove a special cross out of rushes to explain salvation to a dying pagan. She once hung her cloak up on a sunbeam.

I was enthralled. And then my son called. He needed to be picked up from work and couldn’t wait. So, I had to leave the festival, but I hadn’t learned everything I wanted to know about this woman so I continued the research on my own.

That eventually turned into my first novel, Brigid of Ireland. I also wrote a chapter on her in my non fiction book, Celtic Wisdom, Treasures from Ireland. And St. Brigid has continued to fascinate me ever since.

Making a St. Brigid Cross

Especially that odd shaped cross. Traditionally school children in Ireland wove a new Brigid’s cross every Feb. 1. In some parts of Ireland the eldest daughter in a family would play the part of St. Brigid and knock on a door. In Irish she would say, “Go down on your knees, do homage, and let blessed Brigid enter the house.” The people inside would say, “O, Come in, you are a hundred times welcome.” In some places in Ireland (and in Scotland) people hang strips of cloths on a bush on St. Brigid’s Eve in hopes that St. Brigid would pass by and bless them.

You can buy a cross made from authentic Irish rushes at Irish import stores. You can also make your own. Any flexible material will do. I teach people how to weave them using pipe cleaners. You can use straw.

This is one of the best instructional videos I’ve found. This Irish girl shows you how to weave a cross from rushes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eDUXepmNLY

Cindy Thomson is the author of Celtic Wisdom and Brigid of Ireland. She is currently working on a three book historical series set to begin releasing in Feb. 2012. She enjoys exploring Irish history, especially the Early Christian period. She has written numerous articles on Irish genealogy. Visit her blog Celtic Voices and her web site where you can sign up for her monthly newsletter.

Have a look. I think you’ll enjoy it: http://blog.goireland.com/

I simply can’t resist the charm of this Irish lottery video.

And here’s a peek at the making-of the colorful event.

National Lottery :: Rainbow Over Dublin from Myles of Smyles on Vimeo.

In addition to finding amazing places to take your kids, there are many other ways to prepare your children for experiencing new cultures. Our friends Dr. Jessie Voigts and her daughter Lillie Forteau over at www.wanderingeducators.com have written a nice resource guide that offers some suggestions for parents looking to raise “Intercultural Kids.”

The Kindle book is only 99 cents… FREE if you shop today.

Every once in a while it’s nice to be swept away to Ireland. Here’s a great mix if scenery and music.

Well-known visitors, a bump in tourism numbers, new travel apps, great deals for travel, and a renewed interest in Irish heritage filled the plus side

Rough economic times, an increase in taxes (not for Irish tourism products though), and the passing of Ireland Expert Pat Preston on the negative end.

As we look back on the year, we celebrate the many wonderful posts published last year by highlighting our favorite Irish-interest stories of 2011.

It’s almost 2012 (at least in my corner of the world), and I was thrilled to spot this list of Irish toasts at the Irish American Mom blog…

http://www.irishamericanmom.com/2011/12/30/irish-toasts-blessings-for-a-happy-new-year/

Irish Moonshine from Richard Bangs on Vimeo.

Richard Bangs has a very nice series of Irish segments that are worth a viewing. This one gives us a taste of poitín!

It reminds me of this day from our Irish-American Roadtrip… which includes our friend Bit telling us the connection between cowboy music and Irish music…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1BpDvP3UjI

Ireland’s Brown Bag Films made this animated short in 2008… now they’ve got a series that will be appearing on the Disney Junior channel. Mind you, it will NOT be starring Ding Dong Denny.

• Felicity’s Blog: An Irish Christmas Eve Tradition
• Irish Culture and Customs: An Irish Christmas – the Day Before
• Irish Culture and Customs: Memories of Christmas Eve Past
• Merry Little Irish Mince Pies
• Engaging Ireland: Christmas Traditions Episode
• Bitesize Irish Gaelic: Phrases for an Irish Christmas
• Irish Christmas Music
• The Irish Connection to the Twelve Days of Christmas
• Recipe: An Irish Kiss for Christmas
• Christmas in Ireland: Married an Irish Farmer Interview
• Perceptive Travel: Oiche Nollag, Christmas Eve
• Every Christmas we listen to this song by our friend Theresa Larkin

In the Perceptive Travel post by Kerry Dexter that we found this video featuring Máire Mhac an tSaoi’s Christmas Eve poem… it’s in Irish but the English words appear in the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GallVs75Qw

Our Christmas gift to you

Bitesize Irish Gaelic is offering Irish Firesiders an exclusive FREE LESSON and 50% OFF coupon code. After you enjoy the free lesson, you’ll find an exclusive coupon code for 50% off your first month of Bitesize Irish Gaelic. They offer a full 30-day moneyback guarantee, so if it’s not your thing, you can try it risk-free… AND a portion of your membership will benefit the Irish Fireside!

Here are a few of the gift reports… we’ll add more as they come in:

Episode Guide – Podcast

Karl Elliston answers all our questions about the new Certificate of Irish Heritage.

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON below to listen.

Our Podcasts are availble on iTunes – here’s our link for Techies

Show Notes

http://www.heritagecertificate.ie/

00:00

• Intro

00:20

• Intro: The Devil’s Bit by Theresa Larkin & Noel McQuaid

00:40

• Giveaways
• Michele Erdvig Ireland Dream Trip guide book
• Ursula Cerano notebooks
• Irish Coin Cufflinks
• Jodi Halsted’s Favorite Irish Recipes
• www.bitesizeirishgaelic.com Membership
• Irish Tea Cozy
• Liam Shard Jewelry

01:12

• Our Favorite Ireland-Inspired Gifts
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Blog
• www.irishcultureandcustoms.com
• Secret Santa

01:33

• Certificate of Irish Heritage

02:30

• Karl Elliston

02:50

• The Global Irish Economic Forum

04:00

• Purpose of the Certificate

04:20

• Certificate Designs and Content

06:20

• A Unique Program

07:00

• Benefits for Certificate Holders

08:11

• What Are the Steps for Application?

10:00

• Online Application and Timeframe

11:40

• Validation and Behind the Scenes Support

13:10

• What has been the Response from Certificate Holders

14:40

• Certificates as Gifts
• Celebrating Heritage

15:30

• Reminding Young People of Their Irish Background

16:40

• Family Members Usually Share Documentation

17:40

• How Much Does It Cost?

18:40

• Any advice for people having trouble tracing their ancestors?
• Help locating your documents

24:40

• Using Irish Talent and Craftspeople

Closing Song – Ashokan Fareweel / The Grey Chair by Theresa Larkin & Noel McQuaid

http://www.heritagecertificate.ie/

Winter Solstice at Newgrange

For over 5,000 years a mystical celestial event has occurred in Ireland. On the winter solstice every year the rising sun penetrates a 60-foot-long passageway inscribed with mysterious carvings and lights up the interior chamber of Newgrange. Is it a tomb? A temple? A calendar? Perhaps we will never know the Neolithic mind-set that built such a complicated monument.

Although described by archaeologists as a passage grave, Newgrange keeps its secrets. Why is the inner chamber lit up for 17 minutes at the solstice – and for several days on either side of that date? What is the meaning of the triple spiral symbol inside the cave-like chamber and the beautiful abstract art inscribed on the stones? Why are we today fascinated by an ancient pile of rocks? Thousands of articles and hundreds of books raise more questions than answers.

Instead go to Newgrange at Brú na Bóinne and see for yourself. Walk where the ancients walked. View prehistoric carvings and Viking graffiti. Marvel at the sparkling wall of white quartz interspersed with granite boulders. Gaze out over the majestic Boyne River Valley. Touch the weathered standing stones. Enter the cramped passageway into the surprisingly large inner chamber with its corbelled roof. Listen to the history and legends of warriors, gods and kings.

More in-depth info:

Watch the Newgrange winter solstice streamed live at 8:30 am Irish time on Dec. 21, 2011: Heritage Ireland & RTE

Mythical Ireland

Knowth

2011 Solstice Photos

Stone Art Blog

Videos

Newgrange by Celtic Woman

© 2011 Michele Erdvig

“Ireland Travel Expert”

Web: IrelandYes.com

Book: Ireland Dream Trip

Custom Itineraries

Michele’s Irish Shop: www.zazzle.com/irelandyes*

Follow Michele on Twitter

FREE Ireland Travel Forum

An Irish fireside via www.ballybegvillage.com

We’re usually busy giving things away and sharing bits of Irish news, but today, we could use your help to keep the Fireside going. Sure, you can give money (we appreciate every penny), but there are many other ways you can help our community grow.

Donate

Your financial contribution helps pay the bills that keep our site and podcasts going.

If you have a business or service that would be of interest to Irish Firesiders, you should consider contributing to one of our giveaways or becoming a sponsor. Both are excellent ways to get great exposure to a targeted, engaged audience.

Shop for Shard Jewelry

When we’re not creating content for the Irish Fireside, we’re busy making jewelry from shards of broken dishes. Support our online store, and you help make it possible for us to continue the Fireside.

Write an Article or Leave a Comment

We’d love to include your article on Irish or Irish/American travel, history, culture, etc. If you have an idea for an article, email us. You maintain all rights to your work and are simply granting us permission to do some basic editing and to reprint. We’ve also had some great photos and videos submitted, so feel free to get creative.

Every time you leave a comment on our blog, you’re contributing to our online community, and we appreciate every single word you type. So comment often and participate. Same holds true for our Facebook Page and our Twitter updates.

Tell Your Friends

I realize most of you do this already, but if you know anyone with a true passion for Ireland, be sure to tell them about the Irish Fireside and our e-newsletter.

Happy holidays, everyone… and here’s to another year of sharing our love of Ireland.

2011 Continental Christmas Market by Patrick Dinneen www.photoblog.ie

Patrick (Pa) Dinneen hails from Cork but lives in Galway. His photos capture many scenes from around Galway and elsewhere. This image was from the 2011 Continental Christmas Market in Galway’s Eire Square. Be sure to visit Patrick’s website where you can see more gorgeous photos from Ireland and purchase cards and prints of his work.

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Celtic Christmas

The fellowship and festive side of things is the focus of Celtic Christmas, a collection from Putumayo World Music which includes artists from Ireland, Scotland, England, Canada, and the United States through its eleven tracks. That hearty song of holiday invitation Here We Come a-Wassailing is the opener, as performed by the Albion Christmas Band. You can almost see the steps of medieval dancers and you listen to Druid Stone sing Noel Nouvelet, and David Huntsinger continues the dance idea, turning the carol Angels We Have Heard on High into a piece that will have your feet tapping as well. Harpist Aine Minogue adds a wintry feeling with the Jezebel Carol, Lasairfhiona Ni Chonaola sings White Christmas in Irish, and Dougie MacLean closes things out with a song from his fellow Scot Robert Burns, Auld Lang Syne.

Song of Solstice

Jennifer Cutting and the Ocean Orchestra hold both festive and contemplative sides of the season in good company with each other on Song of Solstice. The orchestra comprises instruments including bouzouki, acoustic bass, accordion, flutes, whistle, bodhran, guitar, keyboards, and voice. The title track, Song of Solstice, celebrates both the joys and the work of winter, and the good fellowship which come along with all that. It may just become a seasonal classic, and it will certainly have you singing along, and as the song suggests, raising your glasses high, as well. People Look East invites a quieter look at the season, as does Christmas Day in the Morning, which is offered in a spare version featuring just Celtic harp and bodhran. Green Man takes things in a lively direction, in a celebration of flourishing through winter and the male spirits of Celtic legend. From celebration to contemplation and back again, Song of Solstice is a fine weaving of traditional and original music for the winter season.

An Nollaig

Her parents came from the west of Ireland to New York, which is where Eileen Ivers grew up and became, among other things, a top notch fiddle player and composer whose background includes Cherish the Ladies and Riverdance. With the album An Nollaig, she offers holiday themed jigs and reels mixed in with seasonal favorites to make a collection of music both old and new, “Like the ornaments of the Christmas tree, lovingly passed down over the years,” Ivers says. Susan McKeown adds her voice to Don OIche Ud i mBeithill, and there’s a very Celtic twist on Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring among the offerings.

Fine Winter’s Night

You’ve met Matt and Shannon Heaton’s music in the Irish gift list here at the fireside, and I’ll second that recommendation. Their seasonal album, Fine Winter’s Night, is a lovely mix of voice and instrument, lead and harmony, and new songs with familiar ones. The title track, in which Shannon contemplates the work, beauty, and changes of winter, is one of my favorites, as is Matt’s original imagining of the beginning of a holiday romance, First Snowfall of December. There’s a tender version of O Little Town of Bethlehem, and the crisp instrumental set Day Dawn which pairs a an air on the flute with two jigs on guitar is also a keeper, as are all the tracks in this gathering of song and tune.

The Best of Celtic Christmas

Narada Presents the Best of Celtic Christmas really sounds like Christmas in Ireland and Irish America. There are two discs. One is all music by the Ireland based group Dordan, and it’s called The Night Before. Through songs and tunes including Wayfarer’s Welcome, Oiche Nollag, and Mistletoe Waltz, they invoke the sense of anticipation that the holiday season brings. On the second disc, Cathie Ryan starts things off with an understated take on It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, with just her voice and guitar, and fiddler Bonnie Rideout caps the collection fifteen tracks later with an anthemic version of Adeste Fidelis.. In between, Kathy Mattea offers a lullabye, Boys of the Lough play a set of jigs, Mairi MacInnes and William Jackson join for Silent Night, and Maddy Prior takes a rollicking look as I Saw Three Ships. John Whelan, Altan, and Natalie MacMaster are among the artists who also join in.

Irish music around the fireside is always a good choice. May these suggestions add to your holiday celebrations.

Kerry Dexter writes about music, the arts, Ireland, and Scotland at Music Road. Strings, Perceptive Travel, and other places

The Christmas Market in Eyre Square, Galway from Mark Coughlan on Vimeo.

Because it’s Christmastime and I’m feeling a bit homesick for Ireland right now… Here’s the scene in Galway’s Christmas Market in Eyre Square.

This holiday season has Irish Firesider Pam Stucky thinking about great tunes. Here are two brilliant CDs she recommends from two amazing sister acts:

Sephira Starlight

The brand new Christmas CD “Sephira Starlight” features Ruth O’Leary and Joyce O’Leary, violists/vocalists/sisters from Ireland. Ruth and Joyce, who together are Sephira, toured for two years with the group Celtic Thunder and are now touring on their own with their unique, emotive, engaging and energetic sound. “Starlight” is their first Christmas CD and it’s absolutely gorgeous. Their Carol of the Bells is heart-pounding and dynamic; their Believe and O Holy Night top Josh Groban’s versions. This is absolutely a perfect gift for oneself or anyone with the Christmas spirit!

Web – www.sephirastarlight.com
iTunes
Amazon

Gothard Sisters’ Christmas

The Gothard Sisters are three amazingly talented sisters from Edmonds, Washington, a little north of Seattle. They started Irish dancing when they were young, and then to help pay for competitions they began doing performances with a little singing, a little dancing, a little singing, a little dancing. They have won world titles in Irish dancing and are now making waves in the music world with their vast talents. They sing, play violin, and each of them is also skilled on several other instruments. Their newest album, “Story Girl” is their sixth CD, full of original compositions that will get feet tapping!

Web – www.gothardsisters.weebly.com/store.html
Recent article – http://edmonds.patch.com/articles/family-matters-a-trio-of-singing-sisters-releases-their-6th-album
iTunesAmazon

You can read more from Pam Stucky on her blog at www.pamstucky.com

With Christmas just around the corner, here’ s a list of great gift ideas that might round out your holiday shopping this year. Have a look, but be warned, you might be adding a few things to your own list for Santa.

Donegal Pens

They’re only 14 and 10, but brothers Ronan and Conor from Loughanure in West Donegal craft each pen by hand. Not only are they the youngest members of the Irish Woodturning Guild, they have established themselves as two of Ireland’s most promising entrepreneurs.

Ursula Celano’s Irish-Themed Notebooks

Launched earlier this year, Ursula Celena’s cheerful notebooks capture scenes from Ireland… Irish dance, Dublin landmarks, Irish hedgerows, the Aran Islands, and my favorite, Green Cottages. Each notebook has been crafted in Ireland.*

Artware by Wannaree

Wanaree Tanner has created a line of Celtic-inspired artwork that is unlike anything we’ve seen… a bit ancient Irish, a touch steampunk, a hint of elegance. For those with an interest in Celtic knotwork and ancient symbolism, her work is sure to please.

Aileen Clarke Crafts

Much of Aileen’s work is inspired by her favorite remote parts of Ireland and Scotland. To create her vibrant jewelry and art pieces, she combines hand dyed and carded fibres to felt her artwork using traditional wet felting and needle felting techniques.

Irish Song and Sayings Posters by Paul Gibson

Dublin-based artist Paul Gibson takes his favorite Irish phrases and traditional music lyrics and gives them his own visual artistic spin. His collection of striking graphic posters manage to be both modern and nostalgic… not an easy task.

Irish Turf Fire

There’s no substitute for a real Irish fireside, but Dermot Ryan at least gives us an alternative. His Irish Turf Fire DVD brings that wee bit of Ireland to any home without the cost of an airplane ticket. As an added bonus, this video features hand-cut turf! Dermot also handpicks the products featured at www.Eportireland.com.

Liam Shard Jewelry

With a keen eye for detail, Liam recovers pieces of antique and contemporary dishes in Ireland. He then transforms them into shard jewelry. His collection includes Irish Belleek, Donegal Parian, Nicholas Mosse Pottery, Arklow Pottery, and transferware shards dating to the 1800s.*

Dublin, Ireland Print

Featuring the Fair City’s landmarks – the Poolbeg Chimneys, the Spire, Liberty Hall, and a PINT OF GUINNESS, this screenprint from me&him&you uses the same paper on which the original Guinness posters were printed… and for good measure, there’s a drop of Guinness in the ink.

Favorite Irish Recipes

Jody Halsted put together this assortment of recipes, photos, and recollections from Ireland for her website www.irelandwithkids.com. Fortunately, family members of all ages can enjoy this book which is available in hardbound and digital editions.*

Charles Gallen Irish Linen

It’s becoming harder and harder to find true Irish linen, but Charles Gallen Irish Linen in Northern Ireland has been in the business since 1870. And if you’re looking for a more contemporary style for your linen, be sure to check out their line from Jackie Llewelyn.

Irish Coin Cufflinks

These unique cufflinks are made in Ireland from old Irish coins — the Irish Punt coins that were Ireland’s official currency before the euro). To make your gift even more personal, they also offer coins based on a specific year and you can also choose coins from other countries.*

Ruby Clover Bookmarks

An Ireland photo bookmark from Ruby Clover would perfectly compliment a great Irish book… for those who haven’t gone completely digital yet. In addition to three bookmarks, you may also find other photos, jewelry, and art for that creative Celt on your list.

Bitesize Irish Gaelic

Whether someone wants to tap their Irish heritage or are planning to visit one of Ireland’s Gaeltacht regions, the online lessons at Bitesize Irish Gaelic help them understand the basics and begin learning to speak the language at their own pace.*

A Cut Above Coins

Wally Charm captures the beauty of Ireland’s old coins and continues the ancient craft of piercing which involves drilling small holes in a piece of metal (in his case unique coins) and cutting out an often detailed design by hand. He works with coins from around the world and includes many Irish coins… including coins that were in circulation before the introduction of the Euro in Ireland.

Celtic Harp Music by Anne Roos

The splendor of the Celtic harp in the hands of Anne Roos creates an absolutely mesmerizing experience. She offers a diverse collection of CDs for everyone on your holiday list. May I recommend “Blue Jeans” for a mix of something contemporary with a classic feel?*

Icons by Agnessa Kessiakova

Agnessa Kessiakova from Sofia, Bulgaria creates old-style icons in the orthodox tradition. She combines traditional centuries old techniques with modern materials by using tempera paints on wood panel, gold leaf and matte finishing varnish. Her Saint Patrick, Christ, and Virgin Mary icons might be of special interest to Irish-Americans.

Music from Matt and Shannon Heaton

The Heatons have been creating beautiful music together for quite some time. Their holiday album is always a favorite, and those with an love for traditional Irish music will savor any musical treasure from their acclaimed collection.

Ireland Dream Trip Guidebook

Our regular contributor Michele Erdvig has been publishing her travel guide for over 20 years. With that many Irish breakfasts and fairy-led adventures under her belt, she has acquired an unmatched volume of knowledge about where to visit and memorable places to stay.*

A few other items to consider:

• Bit Devine’s Ireland-Inspired Calendars & Accessories*
• Camillion Creations Celtic Mermaid Prints
• CapallGlas Fine Art and Hand-Pulled Prints
• Celtic Journey Artwork
• Christy Nicholas’ Magic of Ireland Calendar*
• Earthen Craft Pottery*
• Irish & Celtic Music Podcast
• Irish Turf Incense
• Michele Erdvig’s Ireland-Inspired Items*
• Michelle Masters’ Irish & Celtic Topiary Art*
• Soapourri Irish-Themed Soaps
• Tanya Bond Art from Ireland
• Texas Eagle Gallery Ireland Art Prints
• The Wider Eye Panoramic Prints of Ireland*

Did I miss anything? Feel free to suggest a few things in the comments section

* These businesses have provided items in our holiday giveaway or have served as site sponsors in the past.

Bitesize Irish Gaelic‘s online language lessons teach Irish from the perspective of a beginner, and Eoin from Bitesize Irish Gaelic has offered year-long memberships to FIVE Irish Firesiders!

To enter, you’ll have to post a message in Irish below. Include the Irish and English versions, and PLEASE, let’s save the naughty words and phrases for another time

Need some help learning a bit of Irish? Get some inspiration from this article from their blog or these Irish Fireside articles. Winners will be announced Tuesday, December 20, 2011.

Keep track of all our 2011 Holiday Giveaways by bookmarking this page.

The online application is open to persons who were not born on the island of Ireland who provide supporting documentation connecting them to one or more Irish ancestors. The process is easy to use provided you have a digital copy of your ancestor’s birth certificate, death certificate, census document, affidavit, or other document.

Applicants can choose from three certificate designs and they also offer an selection of Irish-made frames. Certificates begin at €40.00 (US-$54 plus delivery costs). Learn more about how to apply >>

Tell Us What You Want to Know

We’ll be interviewing the folks coordinating the program later this week, and we’d love to hear what you’d like us to ask. Feel free to leave your questions in the comments. In the meantime, you’ll find a video about the program below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5McSnfPduY

This gift will make it to the home of one lucky reader, AND she’s “sweetening the pot” by including a box of tea, a teapot, and one of her hand-crocheted angels. Someone is going to be very lucky.

For your chance to win, answer this question…

Congratulations to our winner, Mary Devine.

If you could have tea with anyone, living or dead, who would you choose?

Leave your answer in the comments below… the winner will be announced Wednesday, December 20, 2011.

For your chance to win, tell us about your favorite Irish/Ireland-inspired recipes in the comments below. The winners will be drawn Monday, Dec 19, 2011.

This book makes a great gift, and you can purchase a hardbound copy for $25 or a digital copy for $4.99 (save an extra $2 by using the code IRLXMAS through December 24, 2011). Details at http://irelandwithkids.com/best-irish-recipes-st-patrick/.

Congratulations to Julia Sacco for winning this prize!

Keep track of all our 2011 Holiday Giveaways by bookmarking this page.

Here’s a giveaway item you probably haven’t seen before… Ursula Celano’s new line of handcrafted Ireland-themed notebooks.

Ursula’s handcrafted notebooks are designed and made right in Ireland and feature images inspired there… Irish dance, Dublin landmarks, the Aran Islands, Irish hedgerows, and the cottages of Eire.

Ursula is giving away some of these beauties, but in order to be entered into the giveaway, you’ll have to visit www.ursulacelano.com.

Once you’ve poked around her website (be sure to read her detailed product descriptions), come back here and use the comments section below to tell us why you’d choose her notebooks for yourself and for a gifts.

The winner will be drawn Sunday, December 18, 2011.

Congratulations to SJ Velasquez… her comment was randomly selected as the winner of this giveaway!

Keep track of all our 2011 Holiday Giveaways by bookmarking this page.

A vintage shard of Irish Belleek china from Co Fermanagh

Liam is offering a piece of his Irish Belleek shard jewelry to one lucky Irish Firesider, by offering a $115 gift certificate to his online store (answer the question at the bottom of the post to enter).

He has several pieces crafted from broken dishes that were recovered in Ireland, so you can take home a bit of Ireland.

$10 OFF

Use the coupon code “IRISHTEA2” and get $10 off your online order or shard jewelry (one coupon per customer/cannot be combined with other promotions/online sales only/expires December 31, 2011).

To enter, simply leave a comment below by Thursday, December 22, 2011, that tells us:

What is your favorite Irish or Ireland-inspired product?

Leave your reply below… winner will be announced December 24, 2011…

Congrats to Tonia M the winner of the $115 gift certificate.

Keep track of all our 2011 Holiday Giveaways by bookmarking this page.

For those who don’t know, these cufflinks are made from the coins used in Ireland before the arrival of the euro in 2002.

This prize will be given away on Saturday, December 17, 2011. To enter this giveaway, you’ll have to answer the following trivia question.

Keep track of all our 2011 Holiday Giveaways by bookmarking this page.

We’re starting with a copy of Michele Erdvig’s travel guide “Ireland Dream Trip.” Currently in its 20th edition, you’ll find the annually updated book a one-stop resource for planning a trip to Ireland… especially because it’s filled with all of Michele’s favorite places in Ireland.

The prize doesn’t stop there. Michele has added several other goodies to the mix… just for good measure:

• A copy of Ireland Dream Trip
• A Map of Ireland
• Celtic Christmas CD
• A copy of Bed & Breakfast Ireland 2011 Guide
• A copy of A Flavor of Ireland (71 page book about food in Ireland – includes recipes)
• A copy of Irish Country Hotels 2011-12
• A copy of Manor House Hotels 2011-12
• A Tourism Ireland shamrock pin

To win… Leave a comment below telling us the #1 site or experience you want to include in your Ireland Dream Trip. Winner will be announced in this post, on Facebook, and on Twitter on Monday, Dec 12, 2011. This prize is available to US-based entries only.

Congrats to our winner Roy Nelson!

More about Michele:

• Visit Michele’s Website and Irish Travel Q&A Forum
• Read Michele’s Irish Fireside Posts
  
• Read Our Interview with Michele
• Listen to Our Fireside Chat: Michele vs the Volcano
• Listen to Our Fireside Chat: Michele on Ireland

Keep track of all our 2011 Holiday Giveaways by bookmarking this page.

The Local Way Dublin—from Trad to Jazz from RPP PRODUCTIONS on Vimeo.

Thought you might appreciate this look at some of Dublin’s music venues with the city’s residents at www.dublinthelocalway.com.

Leah Carri tells about her visit to Wexford's Great Saltee Island and includes photos from her sister Elva.

We’re heading to the Saltee Islands on the advice of my mother. I’m home from Australia with my Aussie husband, and she deems it a fitting daytrip for us and my two younger sisters. She’s been there before. Although Great Saltee is Ireland’s largest bird sanctuary, she assures us we won’t need binoculars or an extensive knowledge of ornithology to enjoy it’s many charms.

The Saltee Islands lie about 5 km off the southern coast of County Wexford in Ireland’s Southeast. The islands are uninhabited but have been privately owned by since 1943 when they were bought by the late businessman and farmer Michael Neale. Neale was a colourful character who gave himself the tongue-in-cheek title of ‘Michael the First, Prince of the Saltee Islands.’

Great Saltee covers a distance of 89 hectares, and the Neale’s have kindly made it accessible to birdwatchers and day-trippers. Little Saltee, which is about half the size, is not accessible due to hazardous landing conditions.

Across the Water from Kilmore Quay

The boat to Great Saltee leaves from Kilmore Quay. It’s a charming little village in it’s own right, particularly today, brightly lit with blue skies and August sunshine. We admire the fishing boats and quaint seaside cottages, conjuring up romantic images of an alternate life where we owned one or the other.

We also make a mental note of seafood and fish ‘n’ chip outlets with which we may reward ourselves on our return. It is Ireland of course… the sun shines now, but we’re not naïve. We could be pelted by wind and rain rolling in off the Celtic sea for the next few hours. We may return drenched and miserable. Chips are the best cure for that.

We buy a few final bits and pieces to add to our picnic. We each have a bag; extra clothes and rain gear in case the weather turns, sandwiches, flasks of tea with little plastic cups, swimsuits in case we get brave (or crazy). You need to be prepared heading out to Great Saltee. There are no facilities out there. No shop, café, toilets, shelter. That’s the beauty of it.

It’s best to book your boat trip from Kilmore Quay in advance. The trips are made weather permitting and generally you’ll leave around 10am and they’ll return to collect you at around 4pm. Expect to pay approximately €20 per head for a round trip.

It’s a short and enjoyable boat trip. We watch as the already small Kilmore Quay shrinks in the distance. The sea is blue and sparkling. The salty breeze is refreshing. We smile and nod to our fellow passengers and keep our eyes peeled for the dolphins that are sometimes seen in the area.

A Birdwatcher’s Paradise

We pull into the landing point for the island where steps lead up from a rocky cove to a welcome sign from Michael the First which says that, “All people young and old, are welcome to come, see and enjoy the Islands, and leave them as they found them for the unborn generations to come, see and enjoy.”

We decide the first thing we should do is eat our picnic and find a good spot near one of the island’s large gannet colonies. We watch as hundreds of birds wheel and glide and circle and land and squawk and repeat, as we enjoy our sandwiches and tea.

It’s a birdwatchers paradise with over 220 species of bird recorded on the island including Puffins, Guillemots, Razorbills and a range of other seabirds that breed here.

Seals and Other Wildlife

Picnic finished we set off to explore, chatting and admiring the beautiful scenery as we go. Our plan is to follow the route along by the cliffs to ‘The Head’, the highest point of the island.

Along the way, we spot a grey seal in one of the island’s little coves. Then we spot another, and another. There are six altogether, their calm doglike faces bobbing gently in the swell. They bob and stare, seeming as interested in us as we are in them.

We continue on to ‘The Head’ at the south end of the island, home to the biggest bird colony. It’s an amazing sight, and we take our time watching hundreds of birds swirl and soar all around us.

As the afternoon presses on, we make our way around the other side of the island. We take our time and watch out for wildlife, spotting wrens, rabbits, black and red cinnabar moths and blackberry bushes whose fruit is unfortunately not yet ripe.

Eventually, we arrive back at the cove where we were dropped off earlier in the day. We still have time to spare. Some of our fellow passengers are already there. Like us they want to make sure they’re there in good time – there’s only one boat back to the mainland this afternoon. We relax on the warm rocks, pleasantly tired from all our walking. We spot another seal a bit away from shore. The sun sparkling on the water, the happy looking seal and the sun warmed rocks prompt us to consider a swim as the perfect end to the day. Dipping our toes in the water changes our mind. It’s freezing! The bikinis stay in the bags, but it’s nice to cool off our feet with a paddle, until the boat arrives, and we head back to Kilmore Quay for a seafood dinner.

Leah Carri is an Irish freelance writer now living in Australia. You can read her blog at www.leahshome.com. Photos by Elva Carri – all rights reserved by the author and photographer.

Every year, the travel blog community unites to support Passports With Purpose (PWP)… a very special fundraiser offering you a chance at a full menu of desirable prizes.

This year, Ireland with Kids sponsors two nights at any Irish bed and breakfast in the B&B Ireland network… that basically means two FREE nights anywhere in Ireland! Score!

Click the “Donate” button at PWP to see the very loooooong list of great prizes.

In the past, the effort has raised money to build a school in rural Cambodia and an entire South Indian Village. This year, Passports With Purpose works to build two libraries in Zambia.

Irish Fireside and our online community have been involved with PWP in some form since the beginning, and we’re happy to support it again. Please give generously… it increases your chances of winning the prize of your choice

Give Some PWP Love >>

Before you begin imagining a dark, dank, cold vault, realize that the Cathedral’s crypt offers a much more elaborate (and warm) environment than one would expect from the city’s oldest building.

The Christmas Market will be held at Christ Church Cathedral every Saturday through the 17th of December from 11am-4pm.

Restoring the Church and Saving the Belfry

2011 is an important and challenging year for the Cathedral. In need of urgent repair and restoration work, a major fundraising campaign to raise the €2 million needed has been launched and all proceeds of the Christmas Market will go towards its upkeep. The high profile campaign has already seen a host of names get behind the donation drive to save Christ Church including model Rosanna Davison, dancer Michael Flatley, singer Roger Whittaker, actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Irish Ambassador for Culture, Gabriel Byrne.

Situated in the heart of medieval Dublin, Christ Chuch Cathedral is one of the best known and loved landmarks in the City. Easily reached by public transport or on foot from the main shopping areas, the Cathedral attracts thousands of visitors every year who come to enjoy the unique and magical experience that Christ Church has to offer.

Read our post about The Secrets from Christ Church Cathedral >>

There’s no shortage of information about County Kerry, Ireland, but I couldn’t help feeling enchanted by the place hearing Jessie Voigts talk about Ireland’s most famous corner on The Amateur Traveler Podcast.

Gotta admit, Jessie’s giggle is contagious, and she was was quite honest about the Kingdom County’s abundance of tourists while still showcasing its appeal. Yes, it’s got a lot of tourists. Yes, it’s got must-see sites. Yes, there are still some lesser-known experiences to be found.

Here’s to Kerry… and all the other wonderful places to visit in Ireland!

Have a listen at The Amateur Traveler Episode 304: Travel to The Ring of Kerry in Ireland

You can also read more about Jessie’s trip at Wandering Educators: Ireland or her posts here on the Irish Fireside.

B&B Ireland Blog – This newcomer to the blog scene has become a consistent source for authentic Irish travel information. Check it out.

Bitesize Irish Gaelic Blog – For those interested in learning the Irish language, these folks keep everything fun and informative. Be sure to sign up for their e-newsletter.

Discover Ireland Blog – Since it’s launch, Irish tourism’s official blog has been providing a steady stream of original articles covering every corner of the Emerald Isle.

Diddlyi Magazine – Centered around the Irish dance community, Diddlyi also gives a generous helping of Irish culture and history.

Engaging Ireland Podcast – Their latest audio episodes visit Northern Ireland, but their archives give great tips for sites all over Ireland.

In Your Pocket Belfast and In Your Pocket Dublin – these sister publications have both capital cities covered.

Ireland Yes – When it comes to travel forums, Michele and her online community have answers for everything you want to know about Ireland. And her book is a hit as well.

Ireland with Kids – This site goes beyond family travel in Ireland and offers suggestions everyone can use.

Irish and Celtic Music Podcast – Irish Music! Celtic Music! Need I say more?

Married an Irish Farmer – We’re still charmed by Imen’s accounts of life on an Irish farm… and her site is loaded with delicious recipes from the countryside.

Irish Culture and Customs – Bridget has compiled a veritable encyclopedia of information on Ireland. Click around and you’ll love what you find.

Looking for a few more sites of interest. Visit our Links Page.

To be considered for our guide, suggestions must:

• Have a connection to Ireland or Irish-interest
• Deliver a unique gift idea for individuals with a passion for Ireland
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If you sign up, PLEASE fulfill your duties as a Secret Santa… we’ve had a few deadbeat Santas in the past – don’t be a deadbeat Santa… it goes on your permanent Kris Kringle record.

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Photo by FreckledPast

The Tale of the Irish Bees

The history of beekeeping is a long one in most cultures, and the Irish are no different. As mentioned in Early Medieval Ireland, 400-1200 by Dáibhí Ó Cróinín, honey was utilized as a sweetener in brewing ale and in making dairy spreads.

The Bee Laws

Bech Bretha (Bee Judgments) was a part of ancient Brehon Law. Ownership of hives was to be clearly determined. There were laws against stealing hives, and even compensation for those stung by another man’s bees. Destruction of bees was a grave offense and a devastating tradegy. The Annals of Ulster in 993 recorded a plague of people, animals and bees across the island.

Honey was not to be given to the ailing because it caused digestive problems, but owners of hives were expected to share their honey if their neighbors came down with a craving. I wonder if we could apply the same rule today to chocolate chip cookies.

The Monks as Beekeepers

The ancient monks were beekeepers, as were many common folks. Tracking a swarm of bees was one of the few activities the church allowed on Sundays. Beeswax candles came to be popular and beeswax was also used for practice writing tablets in monastery schools.

Photo by Andreas

Kerry Ross has written an interesting blog post on Irish beekeeping laws you might be interested in.

How the Irish Got Their Honey

Mo-Domnóc, a 7^th century Irish saint is traditionally credited with bringing the first honeybees to Ireland. Apparently he was working with the bees in a monastery in Wales, and when he returned to his native land he unknowingly brought the bees with him. Bees are so loyal that way, you know. They follow you, unless your name is Winnie the Pooh. In that case you have to go raid the hives. Mo-Domnóc’s bees, however, supposedly never returned to the Welsh monastery.

Some sources say that Mo-Domnóc was actually Welsh, not Irish. In that case this is something the Irish can thank the British for.

St. Gobnait, a 5th or 6th century nun from County Clare is the Irish saint of beekeepers. Gobnait is Irish for Abigail, but she’s also known as Deborah (Honeybee.)

The believed burial site of St. Gobnait in County Cork. Photo by Buckeye Beth

I picked this up at the grocery store recently. You know, for research!

Cindy Thomson is the author of Celtic Wisdom and Brigid of Ireland. She enjoys exploring Irish history, especially the Early Christian period. She has written numerous articles on Irish genealogy. Visit her blog Celtic Voices and her web site where you can sign up for her monthly newsletter.

Tourists flock to Kilkenny in their droves all year round, drawn to the compact city’s medieval heritage, its vibrant atmosphere, and its packed calendar of cultural events.

Amongst the best-known attractions are Kilkenny Castle and gardens, the remaining City Walls, Saint Canice’s Cathedral, and Rothe House and Garden – but Kilkenny’s appeal runs much deeper. Spend a few extra days there to enjoy the craic and dig a bit further into the region’s food and heritage, and you’ll have the chance to try traditional dishes in one of the hundreds of Irish pubs dotted about town, and to hunt down dozens of far-fetched, weird and wonderful local stories of medieval madness, witchcraft, and ghostly goings-on.

Whatever time of year you visit Kilkenny, you’ll find traditional regional dishes on the menus in many of the local pubs and restaurants. And while you’ll stumble across a pub every few steps you take, the Kyteler’s Inn on Kieran Street has a particular allure for those with an interest in history – or the paranormal. With Irish Stew and Bacon & Cabbage on the menu, washed down with local beers or Guinness, you can enjoy a bite to eat while learning about the inn’s amazing history from the information board on one of the walls.

The site of the inn was once the home of Dame Alice Kyteler, born in Kilkenny in 1263, who gained increasing notoriety as her succession of four husbands each passed away in turn – while she accumulated a healthy fortune.

Suspicious locals conspired to accuse Alice of witchcraft, and
she became the first person in Ireland to be accused and condemned for witchcraft. As the angry mob approached her home, she is said to have fled the country – but her maid, Petronella de Meath, was captured instead, perhaps mistakenly, then flogged and burned at the stake on 3rd November 1324. And adding to the Inn’s fascination is the fact that local paranormal enthusiasts say the maid still haunts the site to this day.

Amongst other Kilkenny ghostly legends is the female form that is said to occasionally appear on a staircase and in the garden at Kilkenny Castle, a presence which is said to guarantee that no guest enjoys a restful night’s sleep in the castle. And in the vicinity of St John’s Parochial Hall, sightings have been reported of a tall, thin woman using crutches who wears a long coat, no stockings and has flowing white hair.

Foodie appeal

If you’re more into food and fantasy, time your visit to coincide with October’s Savour Kilkenny festival, which takes place over Ireland’s October Bank Holiday weekend. The festival features a free, open-air food market on the Parade Plaza and in the Design Yard where visitors can sample gourmet treats from local and regional producers.

Cooking demonstrations take over the Set Theatre in John Street, featuring celebrity chefs such as Donal Skehan and Catherine Fulvio, and other highlights include the Dame Alice Medieval Banquet on Sunday 31st October in the Kilkenny Castle Kitchens.

This article was written by Rebecca Burns on behalf of InsureandGo Travel Insurance.

Photo of Kilkenny Castle & Garden by seanP on Flickr.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWadjU5gF68

An unexpected early announcement by the New 7 Wonders Foundation of the top ranking 14 candidates in the New 7 Wonders of Nature online global contest were announced today. The Cliffs of Moher, Ireland’s finalist in the global campaign, did not appear in the list and therefore the Cliffs cannot now be named among the New 7 Wonders of Nature. The Cliffs of Moher vote, which had gained significant momentum in the final weeks of the campaign, was not sufficient to overtake the front runners.

Ennis, county town of Clare where the Cliffs are located, is twinned with Phoenix, Arizona, where the Grand Canyon also missed out on a Top 14 spot. The Bay of Fundy in Canada which had linked with the Clare landmark early this year was not named in the list either.

Speaking from the County Clare landmark earlier, Director of the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience, Katherine Webster congratulated the front runners and thanked all those who had supported the Cliffs campaign over the four years of the contest. “We have been delighted to have the Cliffs of Moher contending for a spot in the New 7 Wonders of Nature and we know that a great number of Irish people and members of the Irish diaspora around the world weighed in with their support”

Mayor of Clare, Councillor Pat Hayes had this to say, “All of us in County Clare know that the Cliffs of Moher is a special place and this campaign has put the Cliffs of Moher on the “must see” list of many potential visitors to Ireland. Of course, we’re disappointed the Cliffs of Moher didn’t make it to the final 7, but it was always going to be a huge challenge given the relative sizes of the population versus some of the successful candidates. More people than ever have heard of the Cliffs of Moher now and we will certainly look forward to welcoming them to County Clare in the years ahead.”

The New 7 Wonders of Nature contest was organized by the Swiss non-profit New 7 Wonders Foundation, an organization who in 2007 completed a previous campaign to choose the New 7 man-made Wonders of the world which saw over 100 million votes cast. They had previously estimated that the current campaign would see one billion votes cast. The foundation have announced plans to release verified voting tallies in the coming days and they are already planning for their next voting campaign – New 7 Wonders Cities.

More info on the competition at www.n7w.com >>

More about the Cliffs of Moher at www.cliffsofmoher.ie >>

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

A chance encounter and shared moment with one of natures greatest and most fleeting phenomena.

In one of nature’s amazing occurances, two British women captured a flock of starlings (known as a murmur) over Lough Derg.

Starlings over Lough Derg

To tell the story of his grandfather’s life, Daniel McGarrigle turned to film, animation, and the “Sharing Stories” project run by the Regional Cultural Centre in Letterkenny (Republic of Ireland) and the Nerve Centre in Derry (Northern Ireland).

As part of a social media experiment, “Sharing Stories” is using YouTube and Facebook to promote Daniel’s film “Brighter Days.” Over the next three weeks, they will track how people use social media to view and share the film, and they will present that information to show how artists can use technology to reach an extended audience.

You can get involved

Just by watching the film… (we’ve embedded it below), you are taking part in the experiment. However, you can help the project (and the fine folks in Ireland Northwest) by sharing it with friends.

• Like the Film on Facebook – www.facebook.com/sharingstoriesbrighterdays
• Visit the Film’s Blog – www.sharingstoriesbrighterdays.blogspot.com
• Watch the Film on YouTube – http://youtu.be/gC_T6y9Oy9U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gC_T6y9Oy9U

Colm Melly (Daniel’s grandfather) was born in 1923 and lives in Glenties, county Donegal.

Daniel McGarrigle was born in Derry in 1986 and raised in Letterkenny, County.Donegal. A keen artist from a young age, his academic achievements include an MA in Motion Graphics, a Bachelors Degree in Design for Visual Communication and a BTEC Diploma in Art & Design.

More recently Daniel has been an Artist in Residence at the Regional Cultural Centre in Letterkenny, county Donegal and worked as a graphic designer as well as a documentary film director and editor. Daniel currently lives in Toronto, Canada.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQFyxOLH2Vw

Ireland’s Harry Clarke created masterpieces of stained glass. Although he died young his reputation was comparable to Tiffany. His art can be found worldwide but Ireland contains the largest concentration of his glorious artwork.

You can watch Part Two of the documentary about Clarke  on YouTube.

Harry Clarke Window in Saint Joseph's Church, Carrickmacross, County Monaghan, Ireland

© 2011 Michele Erdvig

“Ireland Travel Expert”

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For me, it was a visit to Woodstock Gardens in Inistioge, County Kilkenny. We wandered the gardens, and then when we tried to get a photo of Liam and me next to a California redwood… the camera wouldn’t work. The photo came out with haunting hands and hooves…

Liam and mysterious hands at Woodstock Gardens, County Kilkenny.

Truth is, there was low light and a long exposure on the digital camera… those hands were mine, but boy oh boy, getting back to the B&B and seeing the haunting hands kind of freaked us out.

What’s your favorite spooky destination or experience in Ireland? Share below…

And remember, you can always submit a story or photo.

Emily on her rented Dublin Bike. Photo by Sebastian Rasch - all rights reserved.

Emily Westbrooks tells us, “One of the best ways to get around Dublin City Centre is on a Dublin Bike. The rental bikes arrived in Dublin last year, and they’re a huge hit!”

Emily gives us five excellent tips for a smooth ride at www.fromchinavillage.com/2011/10/dublin-bikes/

Emily Westbrooks is a freelance writer from Maine who now lives in Dublin. She writes daily about her life and travels on her blog, From China Village.

A traditional Halloween treat is the Barmbrack Cake (or “Bairin Breac”). The dense bread is served year-round, but the Halloween tradition inspires a fruitcake baked with a piece of rag, a gold ring and a silver coin that is shared by the family after dinner.

Great interest is taken in the hidden trinkets and their ability to foretell the future. Beware if you get the slice with the rag, for your financial future is in doubt. However, if you reap the slice with the coin, you can look forward to a most prosperous year. And the slice with the ring is a sure sign of impending romance or continued happiness.

Halloween Barmbrack Cake
3-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp mixed spice (a mixture of spices such as cinnamon, coriander, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, ginger)
1/4 tsp of nutmeg
pinch of salt
3 tbs butter
1 pkg (2 teaspoons) active dry yeast
1/2 cup superfine sugar
1 cup milk
1 egg beaten
1 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup dried currants
1/3 cup candied peel
ring, coin, thin piece of rag all wrapped in parchment paper
1 egg yolk
water
1 tbs sugar

Sift the flour, cinnamon, mixed spice, nutmeg and salt in a medium bowl. Using your fingers (or a pastry blender) work butter into the flour until it forms coarse crumbs

In a small saucepan, warm the milk (do not get it too hot).

In another medium bowl, mix yeast and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Then add one teaspoon of warm milk. Stir and allow to rest for 4 minutes until bubbles form. Then add the remaining warm milk and egg to the yeast mixture.

Add remaining sugar to flour mixture and add yeast mixture. Knead until stiff and elastic. Fold in raisins, currants and candied peel. Cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap and leave in a warm place until dough doubles in size (about 1 hour).

Punch down dough and knead for 2 to 3 minutes. Divide dough into two balls and place in two loaf pans. Add ring, coin and rag in the dough. Allow to rise for 30 to 60 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix egg yolk, water and 2 tablespoons of sugar and brush over loaf. Bake for 1 hour or until golden.

Slow But Easy Brambrack Recipe

1 cup currants
1 cup raisins
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup cold tea

Mix the above ingredients together, cover and soak overnight.

The next day, prepare the following:
1-1/2 cup flour
1 level tsp. baking powder
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. mixed spice (i.e. cinnamon, nutmeg, etc.)
warmed honey

Add flour, baking powder and spice to soaked fruit mixture. Mix in beaten egg. Spoon mixture into a well-greased loaf pan. Bake at 300 degrees for 1-1/2 hours. When cool, brush top with warmed honey for a beautiful glaze.

You can listen to a podcast with Claire Nolan on The Writer’s Passage. The novel was adapted into a play, which met with local success. You can read about it here.

The Historical Setting

Kilkenny Castle Photo by jpverkamp John-Paul Verkamp

In the 13th century on the banks of the River Nore, the town of Kilkenny, located in the center of County Kilkenny, was a Norman stronghold.

Dame Alice was the original owner of Kyteler’s Inn, a 13th century establishment still serving folks today in Kilkenny after it was saved from destruction in the 1960′s.

Photo by By byasoni

The inn is a popular gathering spot for both tourists and locals who enjoy the history, food, drinks, and live traditional music. But as with many sites in Ireland, there is a story or two to tell about Kyteler’s Inn.

Fiction Comes to Life

But sometimes the most creative authors cannot pen a tale more spooky than what happens in real life. I asked Claire about a painting that hangs in Kyteler’s Inn in Kilkenny.

Well, a gentleman by the name of Paddy Shaw, who works in New York, came across a reference to Alice in some records late at night in the Public Library. In 2003 he painted a picture of Alice Kyteler, and this was later exhibited in New York, as well as Japan. Eventually, he donated the painting to Kyteler’s Inn, in Kilkenny.

I started writing my novel in 2004, and it was published in 2008.  When the painting arrived in Kyteler’s, it made quite a fuss, as there was a feeling that the Alice depicted in the painting looked very much like me. The subject in the painting has pale skin and long red hair, and this would be a fair description of me. She also wears a long black velvet dress and I would in fact have done my readings in just such a dress. However, the Alice in the painting is very fierce looking, and I’m pleased to say that I don’t normally look like that!

More About Author Claire Nolan

“Claire Nolan is a 38year old woman who is originally from Kilkenny. She has always written, but only recently considered publication, and the history of her beautiful home town is an excellent place to start. Having learnt of the story of Alice Kyteler as a child, she decided in 2005 to write her own version of the story. The Stone is the result.

She lives and works in Dublin and is currently working on her second novel which will be about the Ladies Marathon, which takes place in Dublin in June of each year.

If you would like to contact Claire you can reach her at thestonenovel@gmail.com.”

Cindy Thomson is the author of Celtic Wisdom and Brigid of Ireland. She enjoys exploring Irish history, especially the Early Christian period. She has written numerous articles on Irish genealogy. Visit her blog Celtic Voices and her web site where you can sign up for her monthly newsletter.

A sea of Celtic crosses in a cemetery at Glendalough Abbey in County. Photo by www.greendragonartist.com - all rights reserved by the artist.

Submitted by Kat Behling
Each November 1st, a decrepit old woman with an iron hammer appears across the Irish countryside, pummeling the ground with such mighty force that her hammer turns the soil to solid rock. She then takes to the sky casting stones every which way from her massive apron creating majestic, snow-capped mountaintops in her path.

Known in Irish folklore as Cailleach, the Goddess of Samhain, she is considered the female version of who we know as Old Man Winter. Often at odds with her nemesis Brigid, the Goddess of spring, Cailleach possesses the magical power of renewing her youth and vitality with the change of the seasons.

Winter is known in ancient Ireland as Samhain (pronounced “Sow-in”) and is one of four seasons marking the Celtic calendar. The others are Imbolc (spring), Beltane (summer) and Lughnasadh (autumn). Each season consists of three months, each concluding with a communal celebration.

A Time for Reflection and Renewal

The festival of Samhain is held the eve of October 31st and celebrates both the end of the harvest and the welcoming of the New Year. As the days become shorter, the nights become colder and the lightness fades, the growing cycle has come to a close. The trees, having shed the last of their leaves and nuts, appear stark and lifeless. Not coincidentally, this important festival marks the beginning of the “dark half” of the Celtic calendar.

The ancient Celts believed Samhain opened the “gateway” to the rest cycle, as it is during these long dark days of winter that the cycle of renewal is set into motion – seeds quietly germinate anticipating the first gentle rays of spring’s light. The seasons were believed to possess a spiritual energy connecting its people to the layers in time. As a result, Samhain has long been – and continues to be – a sacred time for introspection, remembrance of loved ones and personal reflection.

Of Spirits and Saints

According to ancient beliefs, the gateways to the physical and spiritual worlds are overthrown on the Eve of Samhain, making it possible for humans, ancestors, gods and faeries to visit each other’s realms. Beloved elders were honored and ancestors remembered. Souls were thought to return in the guise of a faerie or spirit, seeking out their descendants, offering loving guidance and words of wisdom. Over the centuries, the celebration of Samhain eventually became known as “All-Hallow-even”, “All Hallow’s Eve” and finally, “Hallowe’en”.

In fact, what began as a pagan festival evolved over the centuries into a Christian-interpreted holiday when Pope Boniface instituted “All Saints Day” (also known as “All Souls Day”), a Catholic day of observance loosely based on pagan traditions and honoring those saints who did not have a specific day of remembrance. Originally observed May 13th, the date was later changed to its present day of November 1st by Pope Gregory III.

Hallowe’en Traditions Alive Today

With the Christian observance of All Saints Day, Hallowe’en eventually evolved into a celebration for children. Dressed in scary masks and costumes resembling wandering spirits, children roamed door-to-door, begging for sweet treats along the way – or beware the trick played on the owner of the house. The custom was brought to America with the Irish immigrants of the 1840’s. Today, better known as “Beggar’s Night” or “Trick or Treat”, witches, goblins and ghosts remain the most popular choices for Hallowe’en costumes.

Hallowe’en is also known in Ireland as “Pooky Night”, referring to a “púca” or mischievous faerie. Although unseen to the mortal eye, faeries were said to live among humans, so it was considered to be in one’s best interest to stay in good relations with these kindred spirits throughout the year. For instance, it is considered extremely bad manners to remove an ash, hawthorne or oak tree to make way for a new home, as faeries tend to seek out these favorite trees for their own habitats.

Instead, the Irish have a custom of placing a small gift or token under a hawthorne tree on Hallowe’en to attract good-natured faeries. In return for the hospitality, faeries are known to bring good fortune and protection the remainder of the year.

The tradition of the bonfire has its roots in Ireland where the highlight of village festivities was the gathering of neighbors and loved ones and the anticipation of the lighting of the great fire, usually atop a hill. Once the fire reached towering heights, the head of each family then solemnly took from this common flame to light their hearth at home, a powerful symbol of solidarity. Today, it is customary to leave a candle burning in the window on Hallowe’en.

Another custom included leaving the door open and food on the table on Hallowe’en in the event a departed loved one might return that night. The candle in the window also served as a sign of welcome.

Carving faces into turnips and setting them on doorsteps was said to ward off evil spirits. Irish immigrants who migrated to America carried on the tradition by carving pumpkins, which were more plentiful here than turnips. The tradition actually dates to the 18th century when an Irish blacksmith named Jack was said to have colluded with the devil. As a result, not only was he denied entry into Heaven, but was condemned to eternally wander the earth in complete darkness and given a single burning ember as light which he placed inside a hallowed-out turnip. Thus, the tradition of the “Jack O’Lantern” was born.

Placing a perfect ivy leaf into a cup of water before going to bed was believed to tell the fate of family members. If in the morning, the leaf was still perfect and had not turned spotty, then the person who placed it in the cup would have twelve months of good health.

“Bobbing for Apples,” once a popular Hallowe’en game, was known in Ireland as “Snap the Apple.” Instead of placing apples in a tub of water, an apple was suspended from a string and children were blindfolded.

A traditional Irish Hallowe’en dinner might include Colcannon – boiled or mashed potato, curly kale (a type of cabbage) and raw onions. Sometimes clean coins were placed inside the potatoes for children to find.

Dublin experienced some serious flooding yesterday… thought you might want to check out some of the images via Irish Weather Online. Fortunately, the waters have receded since this footage was collected.

A sample of the Irish artwork from Ruby Clover

I know you all love a good Irish-themed giveaway (our autumn giveaway is underway), so I thought I’d alert you to some gorgeous images from Ireland that Ruby Clover has on offer. Right now, if you LIKE and SHARE her work on Facebook, you’ll be entered to win some prints.

Here are the details >>

Dublin-based Paul Gibson takes his favorite Irish phrases and traditional music lyrics and gives them his own visual artistic spin. His striking graphic posters manage to be both modern and nostalgic… not an easy task. Browsing his online gallery reveals the inspiration behind each piece, such as the first Irish phrase he learned, “glens” hidden in the images, and the songs that prompted the artwork.

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It may be unpredictable, but Ireland manages to be beautiful no matter what Mother Nature kicks up. Enjoy this video collection of images from Irish Weather Online.

Kick off the cool, crisp days of Autumn with an Irish Fireside giveaway! The winner will be able to snuggle into a warm, cozy hat and scarf set hand-crocheted by the Crochet Divas.  Done in the colors of Ireland – green, white and orange – the scarf has a whimsical shamrock fringe. The fringe can easily be snipped off if you prefer a plainer scarf.

How to Enter: Visit the Crochet Divas’ website and view their items under the Shop tab. Leave a comment here telling us about your favorite crocheted product on their website. Be creative! Give us a good description of the product. Then tell why you would like to win the hat and scarf set. NOTE: This giveaway is for those in the USA only. The scarf and hat set can only be mailed within the US.

Closing Date: The giveaway will close on November 1, 2011. The winner will be announced by November 3, 2011. Let the fun begin!

UPDATE: Congratulations to our winner… Sharlene Peerson.

http://www.crochetdivas.com/

© 2011 Michele Erdvig

“Ireland Travel Expert”

Web: IrelandYes.com

Book: Ireland Dream Trip

Custom Itineraries

Michele’s Irish Shop: www.zazzle.com/irelandyes*

Follow Michele on Twitter

Photo by Jim Berkeley - http://www.dublinontheliffey.ie/ - All Rights Reserved

It wasn’t long after reader Joe Conway sent me a link to Dublin on the Liffey that I found myself hypnotized by Jim Berkeley’s images of Ireland’s capital as reflected by the River Liffey. It’s a whole new way to see Ireland’s capital. Have a look for yourself.

www.dublinontheliffey.ie

Scone & cream at McCathy's Tea Room www.donegalsquare.com

Liam and I pretty much ate our way through the Celtic Classic in Bethlehem, PA, September 23-25. Our visit began with hearty meal at McCarthy’s Tea Room. Then was time for some pre-festival drinks at the Bethlehem Inn.

Once the festival kicked off, we had to sample a little bit of everything. I have to say, Celtic Classic serves up some of the best festival food we’ve tasted… and we’re at a lot of fests. And our calorie count didn’t include the snacks we picked up at Donegal Square and the tea and scones from McCarthy’s.

The food, combined with great entertainment, Highland games, great vendors, and a warm welcome, made for a memorable weekend.

Saying “Hi!”

While we were there, we met a few folks who wanted to say a heart-felt, “Hello,” from the Celtic Classic.

Links to the folks above:
www.celticfest.org
www.celticsigns.com
www.DonegalSquare.com
www.ecptile.com
www.haymancelticjewelry.com
www.heartsofgalway.com
www.HealyEngraving.com
www.LiamShardJewelry.com
www.pamelasforgetmenots.com
www.theCelticCross.com
www.twitter.com/fatstinkindrunk
www.twitter.com/gingirlee

Just off the coast of the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry are the scenic Blasket Islands. They poke out of the ocean like the tops of drowned mountains, so close yet so far away. In 1953 the hardy Irish-speaking  islanders left their insular homes to relocate to a more friendly environment. In their books they recorded a poignant lost way of life that seems romantic and sad at the same time. Today their once snug homes are abandoned ruins left to the elements. Their accomplishments are celebrated at the Blakset Island Center in Dunquin. The next Parrish is America!

© 2011 Michele Erdvig

“Ireland Travel Expert”

Web: IrelandYes.com

Book: Ireland Dream Trip

Custom Itineraries

Michele’s Irish Shop: www.zazzle.com/irelandyes*

Follow Michele on Twitter

T With the Maggies CD release concert at City Halls in Glasgow. Photo courtesy Kerry Dexter - All Rights Reserved

A collection featuring the music of Northern Ireland, the debut recording of a New England based Celtic band, and a collaboration of four superstar musicians from Donegal: three more Irish and Celtic recordings to know.

Sound Neighbours

Is the music of Northern Ireland different from the music in the counties to the south which make up the republic? I’ll give a resounding yes and no on that one. As you’ll know if you’ve spent time on the island of Ireland, there are different accents and phrases and rhythms to the way people speak, in Irish and in English, all through the counties, north and south. The same is true of tune and song, which well may vary from one townland to the next, never mind county, in accent and emphasis.

That said, the twenty track collection Sound Neighbours, produced by Smithsonian Folkways and with liner notes by Northern Ireland musician Colum Sands, is good introduction to both music and musicians of the six counties. Sands himself has a song, The Donegall Road, which speaks of history and the promise of a new day.

Colum’s brother Tommy is there too, with There Were Roses, which puts a human and next door neighbor face on the sadness of the Troubles. It’s not all about politics by any means, though. Northern Man, performed by Different Drums, talks of love across borders, while Briege Murphy offers a traditional love song with a different ending in The Verdant Braes of Screen. Brothers Niall and Cillian Vallely join up for the tune The Singing Stream, while Roisin White offers the lively and funny praise of place in Omagh Town, and piper Jarlath Henderson gives a taste of the best of contemporary piping with The Old Bush Set.

Alternate Routes

Sarah Blair, Ariel Friedman, Liz Simmons, and Shannon Heaton each have careers as professional musicians, teaching, touring and performing in a variety of ways. None of them was exactly looking for another band to join. Still, the four friends found that the music they made together and the ways they thought about presenting music kept calling them to do just that — and so they did. The result is the band Long Time Courting. Their first album is called Alternate Routes.

It’s an engaging gathering of songs and tunes, which kicks off with Maggie Dean, which takes a twist on the story of a woman disguising herself as a sailor. Shannon Heaton wrote the words which she set to a traditional melody, and sings the lead. Polska Efter Elias Tallari is a set of tunes which takes things in a bit of a quieter direction for a moment, as does the band’s take on the song Barbara Allen, which they treat almost as a lament. In the Dog House is a set of tunes that kicks things up into high gear, pairing the set’s namesake tune, an original by Shannon Heaton, with two tunes from the tradition. Liz Simmons gives the right touch of storytelling to the lead on the tale My Johnny Was a Shoemaker. The York Street Stepper is another lively set of tunes, started off by the namesake piece, penned by fiddler Ellery Klein, founding member of Long Time Courting. Sarah Blair handles fiddling with the group these days. Friedman plays the cello, Simmons guitar, and Heaton flutes and whistles.

T With the Maggies

Moya Brennan, Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill and Maighréad Ní Dhomhnaill each spent part of their growing up years Donegal, in the far northwest of Ireland. Each of them also went on to make a career in music, gaining acclaim as members of bands including Clannad, Nightnoise, and Altan, and as solo artists as well. As the years drew on, the women would cross paths, and they’d remember how much they ahd enjoyed singing with each other when they were growing up. Several years ago Maighréad’s daughter invited them to perform together at the the Temple Bar Trad Festival in Dublin, and the seed of an album was planted

That seed has come to flowering on the album T With the Maggies, which is also what the four women call the group they’ve formed together. It’s a thoughtful and graceful collection, including songs from the tradition and several that the women wrote themselves. In them you can hear and feel the salt sea of of the Donegal coast as well as its haunting mountains and glens, and the humor and sorrow of the people.

Many of the songs are in Irish, but they start of with the lively and perhaps a bit enigmatic song Wedding Dress, which gives a taste of the fine harmony and stellar playing which carry through the project. Ceol an Phíobaire, A Stór A Stór A Ghrá and Bíod Orm Anocht are among the songs in Irish. Mother Song, which the four wrote together is a spare song inspired by the fact that people are emigrating from Ireland again these days. Domhnach na Fola, the most haunting song of on the album, is a response to the recent release of the findings of the Bloody Sunday enquiry in Derry.

Kerry Dexter writes about music, the arts,Ireland, and Scotland at Music Road. Strings, Perceptive Travel, and other places. More Irish Fireside posts from Kerry.

Cahir Castle - Photo courtesy Peter and Dalene Heck - all rights reserved by the artist.

Among Ireland’s largest and most memorable castles, Cahir Castle in County Tipperary finds its way to the favorites list of many visitors. Dalene and Peter Heck from www.hecktictravels.com would likely agree. The couple shared this image of Cahir Castle… follow the path and it will take you to the enchanted Swiss Cottage.

More photos of Cahir at:

www.hecktictravels.com/photos/cahir-castle-cahir-ireland

www.hecktictravels.com/cashel-cahir-ireland-photos

Dalene & Peter Heck, a Canadian couple, sold everything and have been on the road since 2009. Join their journey at www.hecktictravels.com.

We’re making our way from Milwaukee and will be hanging out in the Donegal Square tent all weekend long. We would LOVE to see you there. If you’re in the area, stop by and say, “hello.”

A Special Giveaway

We’ll be having a special giveaway for everyone who stops by and tells us they follow the Irish Fireside, so be sure to chat with us when you visit.

We’ll also have my shard jewelry on display… with an emphasis on the shards I recover in Ireland. You can save $10 on your favorite piece of shard jewelry at the Celtic Classic or in my online store.

$10 Off a piece of shard jewelry at www.LiamShardJewelry.com or the 2011 Celtic Classic. Use the code CLASSIC when checking out online to redeem your discount. Mention “Irish Fireside Discount” to Corey or Liam to get your discount at the Celtic Classic. Valid for shard jewelry only. Expires September 29, 2011.

The unique environment found in northern County Clare known as The Burren has been awarded the prestigious designation of membership of the UNESCO-supported Global Geopark network.

The Burren now becomes part of a unique group of world locations that form part of the Global Network of National Geoparks. There are currently 78 Geoparks in 26 countries worldwide and only two other sites in Ireland and Northern Ireland — Copper Coast Geopark and  Marble Arch Caves & Cuilcagh Mountain Park.

Vincent Cunnane of Shannon Development said “the Burren is recognised throughout the world as an iconic landscape of outstanding geology and breathtaking coastal scenery.  North Clare is famous for traditional music, dancing, match-making, Gaelic games, food, art, and literature. Integral to all of this is a thriving natural and cultural landscape that is difficult to find anywhere else in the world. This award now gives a platform for the further development of eco tourism businesses and other initiatives in the area.”

The new designation will not change anyone’s visit to The Burren or the nearby Cliffs of Moher, but it will raise International awareness for the this beautiful and unusual gem on Ireland’s West Coast.

Start Planning Your Trip the Burren >>

More about The Burren >>

Following a recent visit to Ireland I felt compelled to tell the story of my father who, like many men and women in the early 1950’s, left Ireland for British shores for what he perceived as a better life.

On arriving in England he made his way to Sheffield where some former school friends and a cousin were already residing. They helped him find accommodation and, most importantly, work.

A few years later he headed further south to Birmingham where, on the brink of the modern Industrial Revolution, one can imagine work was a plenty. It was in Birmingham that he met and married my mother and went on to have seven healthy children, of which I am the youngest.

However, the marriage was not a happy one. My father suffered underlying depression – such a condition was poorly recognised in those day’s and so, went untreated only to find the condition worsened and his health deteriorated over the subsequent years.

Making Memories in Ireland

Despite this however, this unhappily married couple made their way to County Offaly, Ireland, to my grandparents’ home each summer without fail. My family would stay sometimes for the duration of six weeks, while dad would return to England, to work. These were happy times. We kids had freedom and played from dawn till dusk amongst ourselves and also, of course, our cousins, our extended family. It was here that I recall first tasting a gooseberry.

Our Grandmother was so very kind to us and gracious to us, but you’d see the other side of her when she found out we were chasing her hens!

Of course, the most wonderful thing about our visits to Ireland was my father whose whole demeanour would change, as soon as he touched Irish soil, it seems. He would become relaxed, animated and joyful. Only at these times were we ever to witness such an attitude in him.

A Return to Offaly

Years later, my mother and father became officially divorced, my mother citing she could no longer ‘cope’ with my fathers ‘condition’.

My father returned to his native Offaly, a place he loved, buying a house which had belonged to an old school pal, Jimmy Mulligan, who resided at the ‘Old Post Office’, in Fahy Cross.

Visiting the town of Rhode now as I do with my own two children , one cannot help feeling a profound sense of vulnerability and intense sentiment in equal measures, as I walk throu’ the wonderful countryside, taking in the breath taking views along Ballyburly and even as far as Croghan Hill – a place which will always hold significant memories for me.

My dream now is to return to Ireland as often as circumstances permit me to do so.

I am proud to be Irish and truly value my Irish roots and would never deny my two children the chance to know their rich, cultural, lively and diverse heritage that is, IRELAND.

Words have a magical power.

They can raise up the spirits or dash them down.

They can bring laughter as easily as tears.

Spend words like a miser counting coins.

Make each word count.

~ Old Irish Proverb

Magical Books

Book of Durrow image from Wikipedia

Some ancient people believed books were magical, powerful, and could bring fortune. That might be difficult to comprehend today. Sure, we like books, but we wouldn’t go to war over one. We can just make a copy (legally or illegally.) But wars were fought over books in ancient Ireland. It’s the reason Columcille (St. Columba) was banished to the island of Iona. The book he illegally copied is thought by some to be the Cathach or Battler, an incomplete Psalter dating to Columcille’s day. (You can read about it in my post, Book Wars: http://irishfireside.com/2011/06/10/book-wars/

A Cure For Sick Cattle

The Book of Durrow, an ancient manuscript thought to have been created around 680 AD, seemed to have the magical power the Irish proverb quoted above speaks of. This book is considered as the earliest of the magnificently decorated Gospels created by Irish hands.

In the 17th century a man named Conal Mac Geoghegan of Lismoyne recorded in the Annals of Clonmacnoise, “I have seen myself part of that book which is at Durrow in the Kings County in the custody of an ignorant man. When sickness came upon cattle, for their remedy put water on the book and suffered it to the rest there a while and saw also cattle return thereby to their former or pristine state and the book to receive no loss.”

A man dunked the ancient book into a cattle trough! According to The Ancient Books of Ireland by Michael Slavin, The Book of Durrow does show signs of water damage and “a hole in the top right-hand corner of the leaves indicates that they could have been suspended by a thong in the ‘cure’ process.”

The Books Today

Book of Kells image from Wikipedia

I had the opportunity to see the Book of Durrow displayed alongside the pages of the Book of Kells when I visited the library at Trinity College in Dublin. Most folks were crowded around the Book of Kells, which is a treasure, but ignored the Book of Durrow, which is older and just as fascinating.

These books were treasured not only for the scriptures they contained, but also for the incredible works of arts on the calfskin pages. (The Book of Kells is estimated to have taken 180 meticulously prepared calfskins to produce.) In addition, some of the ancient books contained genealogies and other information that helped establish the rights of a kingdom, making them invaluable to ancient clans. Copies were rare, and that’s understandable when you consider that only a small percentage of people (monks) could read or write.

The fact that some of these manuscripts survive is a wonder, maybe even a miracle.

Cindy Thomson is the author of Celtic Wisdom and Brigid of Ireland. She enjoys exploring Irish history, especially the Early Christian period. She has written numerous articles on Irish genealogy. Visit her blog Celtic Voices and her web site where you can sign up for her monthly newsletter.

This sculpture by Betty Newman Maguire offers a nod to Ireland's Viking past. This resemblance to a Viking longboat can be found on Dublin's Essex Quay. Photo by "infomatique William Murphy" - click photo to view original.

“Ann. 793 – In this year dire forewarnings came over the land of the Northumbrians, and miserably terrified the people; these were extraordinary whirlwinds and lightenings, and fiery dragons were seen flying in the air. A great famine soon followed these omens; and soon after that, in the same year, the havoc of heathen men miserably destroyed God’s church on Lindisfarne. . .” (Anglo-Saxon Chronicle)

The “miserable heathen” of whom these dire events forewarned were the Vikings. Popular legend has portrayed them as swift, merciless marauders, pagans who attacked the holy places of Ireland, Scotland and the surrounding islands without regard for anything but accumulating wealth and destroying everything they could. No wonder Celtic monks prayed regularly, “From the fury of the Northmen, O Lord deliver us.”

But God apparently had other ideas. For, despite the Vikings’ plundering of all things holy, the Irish eventually gave them the richest gift of all: Christian faith. In return, the Vikings gave the Irish towns and a place in the international economy.

An Island of Petty Chieftains… and Monasteries

In the late eighth century, Ireland was a land of petty chieftains and kings, all of whom fought vigorously and frequently with each other for the ultimate achievement of becoming High King over all kings. Ireland’s economy had not yet risen above that of a pastoral society, and it possessed no true towns or cities.

It did, however, possess monasteries – lots of them. The monks, according to historian Thomas Cahill, were in the process of saving civilization. After the fall of the Roman Empire, salvaged ancient manuscripts and knowledge found a home in the tiny, beehive-shaped Irish monastic cells called clocháns. The Irish monks extended their hunger for learning and recorded their culture’s own tales and legends. And, of course, these holy men became famous for their meticulous and ornate work in copying the Holy Scriptures. They created wonderfully ornate illustrated manuscripts, like The Book of the Kells and The Linisfarne Gospels.

The Cultural and Financial Wealth of Ireland

But these monasteries were more than just religious havens for monkish scholars. They were themselves miniature towns, attracting craftspeople, artisans and masons as well as monks. These artisans crafted wonderful works of art, such as the magnificent Ardagh Chalice and numerous intricately carved stone crosses.

Because Ireland’s many kings frequently served as priests and sponsored individual monasteries, these holy places also became centers of economic and political power. In fact, the monasteries functioned as the main financial institutions of their time, the repositories of the rich accumulation of their priest-kings. The rivalry between tribes meant that they plundered these repositories repeatedly, long before any Viking raiders appeared on the scene.

These Irish-initiated raids made it clear to the Vikings that the miniature towns contained a good deal of wealth – and that it was pretty much there for the taking. Archaeologist Magnus Magnusson explains, “A short experience of the country would have taught even a freelance Viking band that a raid on an Irish monastery was a sound economic proposition.” (Vikings, Dutton 1980)

The Earliest Viking Raids

Viking raids led the monks of Iona to move with their illuminated manuscripts to Kells.

Pragmatists that they were, the Vikings could not resist the lure of wealth. Initially motivated to explore the Orkney and Shetland Islands and Scotland with a view to settling there, they soon realized that land was not all the area had to offer. Thus in 793, the Vikings performed their first recorded raid on a monastery – the one on Lindisfarne.

Other raids followed with disheartening regularity. At first, the Vikings held a raiding “season” from May to September each year, then returned home to winter in Norway. Over a 25-year period, 26 important attacks were recorded in the Irish Annals alone. But many more remained unrecorded.

The first Irish monastery plundered was Rechru on Rathlin Island off the northeast Irish coast in 795. The monastery on Iona, off Scotland’s west coast, must have been rich pickings. It was raided in 795, 802 and 806. The monks finally gave up in 807 and moved the entire community to Kells in Ireland, where the inland location offered greater safety from Viking raids. The large, wealthy monastery of Armagh, which held a protected place inland in northern Ireland, was plundered three times within one month in 832. The Vikings’ audacity hit these monks particularly hard, since the Abbot of Armagh was also head of the Irish Church.

Drawn in by Ireland’s Riches, Slaves and Hostages

At first, the Vikings interested themselves only in valuables hidden in the monasteries. These included gold and silver (usually decorations wrenched from their ecclesiastical host objects), valuable and useful secular items (such as buckets or chests) and slaves. This last category quickly gained importance to the Northmen. The monasteries may have lost their wealth after a Viking raid, but that did not stop repeated attacks. The Vikings soon learned to hold rich or important Christians for ransom. The Northmen sold those who could not be ransomed into slavery.

But riches did not deter the Viking invaders from their original intent forever. By the 830s, the Northmen targeted larger inland monasteries and set up settlements in Ireland proper. They attacked Armagh and took Forannán, its Abbot, captive along with St. Patrick’s halidoms. Forannán returned, with St. Patrick’s relics, the next year – no doubt having been ransomed at great expense.

The Irish Fight Back

Irish Begin to Fight Back as the Vikings Extend the Raising Season and Establish Permanent Settlements
The marauding season extended itself into the winter, originating now from Viking-established longphorts (fortresses) like Dublin and Limerick. In 841, one Irish annalist recorded laconically, “Pagans still on Lough Neagh.” Despite his curtness, the annalist found the Vikings’ over-wintering surprising and important enough to warrant recording.

But now the major Irish kings began to fight back, and found themselves successful at fending off Viking raiders. The King of Tara, Niall Caille, gained victory over Northmen in Donegal in 841. Cerball, the King of Osraige, killed over 1200 Vikings in 846-7. In 848, Olchobar and Lorccán, kings of Munster and Leinster, together defeated their foes in County Kildare. So successful were the Irish against the Vikings that an emissary to Charles the Bald wrote in 848, “The Irish attacked the Vikings and with the help of our Lord Jesus Christ they were victorious and drove them out of their territory.”

Towns, Trade and Integration

Dubh Linn Garden behind Dublin's Chester Beatty Library stands in the spot where the Vikings once secured their longboats. In Irish “dubh linn” or "Dublin" means “black pool.” Photo by Robert Beaverson.

The Irish kings, although sometimes victorious, made no real effort to drive the Viking foreigners from their land. Instead, they hired seasoned Viking raiders as military “extras.” Longphorts like Dublin and Limerick soon became thriving centers of international trade, nurtured by Viking merchants. These Scandinavian merchants and warriors began a chain of events that created the first true Irish towns, among them Wicklow, Wexford and Waterford. These towns became important economic forces, lifting Ireland out of a pastoral economy.

Economics began the integration of the Northmen into Irish society. Irish and Scandinavian artistic motifs became entwined, creating beautiful and sought-after metal work. It wasn’t long before the Vikings forsook their own pagan religion and followed the Irish into Christianity. They began to endow their children with Irish names. By the end of the ninth century, the Vikings had become permanent inhabitants of Ireland. The raiding continued on into the tenth, ending conclusively in 1014 with Brian Boru’s victory at the Battle of Clontarf.

The End of an Era

Viking expansion signaled the beginning of the end of the monastic era in Ireland. But while the Vikings stole away something with their right hand, they did give the Irish something back with their left. The Vikings gained wealth, a new land in which to settle and the comfort and challenge of the Christian religion. The Irish acquired converts, towns and international trading, bringing them out of a pastoral economy and into the “modern” world.

As Thomas Cahill asserts, the Irish did save civilization through the work that went on in their tiny clocháns. But the marauding Vikings helped bring that civilization back to the world.

Writer G Beaverson has a passion for Ireland, and she blogs about cool shoes worn by children’s book literati at http://gbeaverson.livejournal.com.

Many Americans visiting Ireland for the first time have a stereotypical view of what Ireland is. They expect thatched cottages around every bend, sheep dotting the landscape, dancing at the crossroads, rainbows and leprechauns. Although I have yet to meet a leprechaun I have seen plenty of rainbows and sheep. But – alas – thatched cottages are a dying breed and to find them you must go searching or stumble across them.

In this “Hollywood” film of a bucolic Ireland of 1934 I can read between the lines and see plenty of hard work and poverty. Much as we tend to romanticize old Ireland it was and is a real place where people live and not the Disneyland of our imaginations. Those traveling to Ireland can find remnants of the past everywhere but they should leave their rose-colored glasses at home. Instead they can enjoy Ireland of today with enticing glimpses of Ireland’s storied past.

© 2011 Michele Erdvig

“Ireland Travel Expert”

Web: IrelandYes.com

Book: Ireland Dream Trip

Custom Itineraries

Michele’s Irish Shop: www.zazzle.com/irelandyes*

Follow Michele on Twitter

Ulster History Park 9-11-01

I remember 9-11 differently than a lot of you do. You were at home in the USA watching events unfold on TV. I was far away in Northern Ireland. My husband Barry and I were touring the Ulster History Park – sadly now defunct and closed. It was a gorgeous day with blue skies, fluffy white clouds and crisp weather. The director of the museum gave us a personal tour and then we wandered through the various outdoor exhibits. There were re-creations of a monastic settlement, various towns and houses.

When we look back on a couple of photos we took that day we can see the effects of the World Trade Center attacks even though we didn’t realize at the time what was happening. If you look at the photos in this article you can see the contrails of jets high over Northern Ireland. Usually when you see jet contrails they are straight. The ones we saw were curved. Why? Unknown to us, American airspace was closed and jets were making U-turns to return from where they departed.

After our tour we stopped in the museum’s café for lunch. While Barry was in the men’s room the museum’s director came up to me and said, “Planes have been hijacked and buildings in New York are falling down. It is on TV.” Then he left. The words didn’t make any sense to me but I could tell something was terribly wrong. Barry returned and I told him something was going on and we should go out to the car and turn on the radio. Without the pictures that everyone else was seeing of the tragedy, even the radio report seemed disjointed, unbelievable and still didn’t make sense.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words and that is true. When we reached out self-catering cottage the first film we saw was of a plane hitting one of the towers. Barry yelled, “That was United!” At the time he worked for United Airlines. Later we learned that he knew several flight attendants and one of the pilots on the United planes that were hijacked.

Click here to Read more of the story . . . 

© 2011 Michele Erdvig

“Ireland Travel Expert”

Web: IrelandYes.com

Book: Ireland Dream Trip

Custom Itineraries

Follow Michele on Twitter

Ireland, its quite nice actually! from jonny pardoe on Vimeo.

I fell in love with Ireland again this summer! With all the bad press and recession talk I thought I’d put together something a little more positive. These photographs were all taken in Ireland, the vast majority in the last few months. All photos are copyright Jonny Pardoe Photography but feel free to share the link! Music by The Heathers “Remember When.”

More from Jonny Pardoe >>

Founded in 1142, Mellifont Abbey in County Meath was the first Cistercian Abbey built in Ireland. The remnants of the octagonal lavabo (shown above) are one of the sites most notable features.

While you’re planning your itinerary, you may also include the Boyne Valley, Newgrange, Monasterboice, and the town of Drogheda.

John Quinn Ceramic Artist from Mark Long on Vimeo.

One of Ireland’s leading ceramic artists speaks about his work, inspiration and method. www.bizarroceramics.com. For those visiting Cork, John has also been invited to exhibit at the forthcoming Glucksman Gallery Craft Fair in the city on November 4-6th – www.glucksman.org.

Irish Coin Cufflinks has been busy turning these beauties into, well, cufflinks. And they are giving one lucky Irish Firesider a set of 1968 3d Cufflinks (those are the ones with the Irish hare on them). To enter the drawing, you’ll need to answer bit of Irish coin trivia.

I’ve been staying in B&Bs since my very first trip to Ireland. I’ve watched the days of shared bathrooms disappear, the rise and fall and rise again of a boutique breakfast menu, and sadly, the number of B&Bs in Ireland drop from 4,500 in 2000 to under 1,900 today.

It may come as a surprise, but even with fewer B&Bs, there are still plenty of rooms available. According to a recent article by Pól Ó Conghaile, 80% of Irish B&B guests come from outside Ireland… the Irish seem to have abandoned B&Bs in favor of hotels with leisure centres and restaurants. Adapting to the trend, Irish B&Bs are changing how they do business and relying on their greatest asset — personal service!

Recommendations

My advice… before you book your accommodation, make sure you’ve lined up at least a few nights in an Irish B&B. They will likely rank among your most memorable stays on the Emerald Isle. My other advice:

Read Brave New World for Irish B&Bs by Pól Ó Conghaile >>

Visit B&B Ireland >>

Read Our Review of the B&B Ireland iPhone app >>

Photo courtesy B&B Ireland

Those are just a few of the recipes Jody Halsted from www.irelandwithkids.com has included in her new e-book. In it, the lover-of-all-things-Irish talks about some of her favorite places, displays an assortment of gorgeous photos, and shares her most-requested recipes. I’m getting hungry and homesick just turning the pages

My first attempt at Bailey’s Crème brûlée is about to begin… wish me luck with the torch (and I’m not talking Irish for “flashlight” when I say that).

Win a Copy

To celebrate the launch of her e-book, Jody’s giving away a copy on her website. To enter, just leave a comment at www.irelandwithkids.com/favorite-irish-food-recipes/.

While nosing around the TripBase website, I spotted a few widgets they created that help answer those questions.

Travel Cost Calculator

Their “Travel Cost Calculator” estimates how much you will likely spend in a specific place. All the major Irish towns and cities are covered, and it’s fun to compare one place to another… especially pitting a small town against a city and getting a feel for how much each would cost.

As you review the results, you should imagine my voice in the back of your head saying, “now, these rates really depend on your travel style and what kinds of things you buy and what types of sites you visit and…” Yes, the how much will it cost question can be the hardest one to answer.

Oh, and at the moment, the “Budget” rates are coming in higher than the “Mid-Range,” so I’m thinking the numbers are “swapped.”

Travel Weather and Season Predictor

The second widget uses weather data to give you an idea of what the weather will be like when you travel Ireland…

Well, it does the best it can for a place like the Emerald Isle. It’s important to remember the widget is showing you averages, so don’t get discouraged… or overconfident. Irish weather is going to do what it wants

Annual Weather Conditions At-a-Glance

The third widget gives you a snapshot of annual weather conditions for a specific town or city.

I’ve put in a few for you already…

Megaliths: Stone Circle from Mark Long on Vimeo.

Drombeg Stone Circle, also known as the Druids Altar is one of Ireland’s most famous Bronze Age monuments. Also present at the site is a Fulacht Fiadh or ancient communal cooking pit.

Megaliths: Standing Stone & Burial Ground from Mark Long on Vimeo.

Derrara Standing Stone is located in the grounds of the Sacred Heart Church. Standing Stones are sites of ancient religious ceremonies, sometimes containing burial chambers.

Megaliths: Wedge Tomb from Mark Long on Vimeo.

The wedge tomb at Island Bridge, Burnfort, Cork, Ireland, was constructed in the early Bonze Age. Evidence of cremated burial was found in several areas of the main chamber, as well as worked flint and scrapers.

You can see more videos by Mark Long at www.vimeo.com/user2586152 (including some gorgeous views of Kinsale Harbor) or visit his website at www.marklong.ie.

Painting during the Festival. Photo courtesy of Paul Freeney Photography - all rights reserved by the artist

You could say my Irish experience began way back when I was just a teenager. I read stories about Ireland, looked at photography books about Ireland, and was routinely given books about Ireland for my birthday.

Move ahead, many years, to 2011. I decided the way to get to Ireland was to find some painting pals there.  I did the only logical thing to do in 2011 — I Googled it and found the website, Plein Eire.  The site had just begun, and I helped me start talking to the other, mostly Irish, artists on the site. I soon heard about their relatively new plein air festival, Art In The Open, which had started in 2007 (more about the artform of “en plein air“).  Held each summer, in 2011 it would run July 29 to August 1, and I started hatching a plan to attend!

The Largest Plein Air Painting Festival in Europe

This year’s event was going to be the largest to date, with 122 artists from around the world, and billed as the “largest plein air painting festival in Europe.” It was to be packed with extras, such as three paint-outs (on-location painting sessions) before and after the festival, BBQs, figure drawing, workshops, and always lots of good craic! The paint-outs would meet at a different location each day, ranging from lighthouses, local fishing villages, beaches, and local towns.  The festival itself was held in Wexford in the southeast of Ireland, along the coast.

I arrived in Wexford, via bus from Dublin, on my own, dragging my bag with painting things in it behind me and a pack on my back. I had a room in a local B & B, which had several rooms partially sponsored by local businesses, a real bonus.

Time with the Locals

On the first full day in Wexford, I walked to Spectrum Art Supplies, owned by Tony Robertson, who had come up with the idea of a festival four years before.  I thought I’d have a leisurely walk around the town to see what was where.  Once in the store though, I found I had a lift in 5 minutes to Kilmore Quay for a paint out!  With help, I retrieved my painting things and headed, with Neil the driver, a local painter, as well as Antti, an artist from Finland, to Kilmore Quay.  It turned into a chilly, blustery, typically Irish day — wet, but wonderful.

So began a week’s worth of wonderful painting, wonderful new friendships, and experiences.  The festival itself had everyone painting in Enniscorthy and Wexford.  On Monday, August 1, a bank holiday, there were workshops given by three wonderful international artists, with the day culminating in an art opening and exhibition of 250 paintings.

Our first main evening was taken up with a fantastic BBQ at Wexford’s T. Morris pub with burgers, Guinness, and lots of great craic!  There was a group playing instruments that surprisingly for me were performing Bob Dylan tunes!  I walked over to tell them that I played the same ones on guitar at home, and I was handed an instrument!  Despite having broken my left hand before leaving the states, I was determined to make the most of this experience.  What fun!  To get to play everything from Dylan, to trad Irish music with a great group of people!  What a night!

There is no way to include all the experiences I had in Ireland and at Art In The Open, but I will say that I feel as if I have a whole new family of friends, who will stay in my heart forever.  Here’s a 10 minute video, that will give you a glimpse into Art In The Open:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_uVrAZPRGk

For more information on the event, to see more photos, or to receive information on next year’s festival:

• www.artintheopen.org
• www.pleineire.ning.com
• www.facebook.com/artintheopen

Photo courtesy of Paul Freeney Photography - all rights reserved by the artist

This article was submitted by painter Elaine Hurst. You can visit her website to learn more about artwork at www.elainehurst.com. You may recognize her as one of the first artists featured in our Artist’s Eye series.

The arrest of Christ depicted in the Book of Kells.

The color of one’s hair, the way it was cut or not cut, and the grooming was extremely important to the ancient Irish. The issue of the cut of a monk’s tonsure was even a highly debated subject at the Synod of Whitby in 664. The Irish tonsures mimicked the druids while those of the Roman tradition represented the crown of thorns Jesus wore.

The Importance of Hair

The head represented the essence of one’s soul. That’s why during battles heads of the enemy were collected and displayed. Hair had a kind of magical symbolism, an indication of one’s supernatural connections. It was considered disgraceful to cut short one’s hair or beard. If you wanted to humiliate someone you would cut his hair and he would have to hide out and let it grow before showing his face in public again. Bad hair days have been around since ancient times, apparently.

However, for practical reasons tradesmen were not permitted to have full beards and some , according to the Geisi Ulchai, or Prohibitions of Beard, were even expected to shave once a month. The better your position in society the bigger your beard it seems.

 Hair Color Mattered Too

Photo by Kiley Arrendale via www.dublinirishfestival.org

Brunettes had a terrestrial connection, while blonds were thought to be closer to God. Redheads, however, had magical power. That is probably where the idea of rubbing a redhead’s hair for good luck comes from. (Although some legends say it is bad luck if you see a redhead when you set out on a journey.) In the Book of Kells Jesus and the apostles are often depicted as blonds with red beards—all bases covered. Even silver hair was important, the symbol of a connection between this earth and the next.

Photo by Steve Wolfe via www.dublinirishfestival.org

Both men and woman generally wore their hair long and loose, bringing condemnation from Anglo-Normans who thought this was barbaric (or in other words, different from what they did with their hair.)

For ceremony the hair of both men and women was elaborately curled. (See the Book of Kells photo above.) P.W. Joyce in his A Social History of Ancient Ireland (1913) speculates that some kind of curling iron was used to produce this. That surprised me because I thought of curling irons as being a more modern invention. Women today think they spend a lot of time wrestling with one of those appliances. Imagine the effort it must have taken without the benefit of electricity!

Joyce notes that the style of long hair applied to priests, monks, and nuns as well. And certainly braids were worn. In 1780 a body was found preserved in a small bog near Drumkeeragh, County Down in Ireland. A portion of plaited hair over 16 inches long was found with the body. You can read more about that here.

I have to wonder if Joyce took all this personally. It’s a good thing we don’t put that much importance on hair today, right?

The scholar and author P. W. Joyce in 1911, nearly hairless.

Cindy Thomson is the author of Celtic Wisdom and Brigid of Ireland. She enjoys exploring Irish history, especially the Early Christian period. She has written numerous articles on Irish genealogy. Visit her blog Celtic Voices and her web site where you can sign up for her monthly newsletter.

Mobile Booking

After testing the booking features of the iPhone app for a few dates and routes, I can say it works pretty well. If there are no dates for your query, the app deadends with a “no match found” message, but the back button lets you try again. I also had to be careful when I changed airports because the app seemed to switch to a default airport (I really didn’t plan on a trip to Aberdeen-ABZ or Amsterdam-AMS).

The biggest turnoff in booking via the app is that when it came time for the final booking, the app sent me over to the Aer Lingus website. Sadly the site is absolutely not mobile friendly. In order to complete the booking, I’d need to do a lot of zooming and scrolling. Therefore, it was doable, but quite annoying. The verdict… I’ll still be booking my tickets online.

Information

The information tab is basic and helpful with only six options, so it won’t answer all questions. Hats off to Aer Lingus for making the baggage info clearer and easier to find than on their main website – it’s amazing how simplifying the text and adding “Shorthaul – within Europe” and “Longhaul – from USA” to the baggage info can eliminate a lot of confusion.

The contact information is listed, but it is NOT set up for one-click calling, texting, or emailing — that’s a pretty shameful omission for a mobile app, but at least I can write it down… if I have a pen handy.

My Booking

Since I don’t have any pending bookings with Aer Lingus, I wasn’t able to test the most notable features of the app under the “My Bookings” tab. These include information on specific bookings, mobile check-in, seat selection, and flight status (many of these features are only available on a limited number of routes between Dublin and the UK).

Mobile Website

The headline in the Aer Lingus press release claimed they have a new mobile site. Sorry, but www.AerLingus.com is NOT mobile friendly… at least not yet. When I visited the site via my mobile browser today, it had no mobile-friendly features. It even included that annoying popup window that appears on their desktop page. Grrrrrr.

Conclusion

The app is free and works smoothly. Without testing the My Bookings features, I can’t really give it a full review. That said, the Flight Status feature (under “Flights”) will come in handy for those of us collecting friends and family at the airport as it quickly tells when a flight will arrive.

Aer Lingus says “This is phase one of a number of phases to be introduced as mobile technology advances,” so we’ll see what features they add (but that description sounds pretty vague to me).

Download the Aer Lingus iPhone App >>

Download the Android Phone App >>

Read the Press Release “Aer Lingus Announces New App and Mobile Website”>>

Here are some screenshots from the app:

I would have loved to have been in Ireland last weekend, but I was perfectly content with the hundred thousand welcomes I received at Milwaukee Irish Fest. There’s something about an Irish festival that gives us an interim taste of the Emerald Isle between trips (even if it includes a few things that don’t resemble anything I’ve seen in Ireland – Can anyone say shamrock sequined feather boas and leather kilts?).

Some Folks Wanted to say, “Hello!” to You

I met loads of people from Ireland and the US promoting Ireland who want to say, “Hello,” to YOU! Just for fun, I snapped their pics (links to their web addresses can be found at the bottom)…

My Favorite Moments

The very best memories from the festival came when some of YOU stopped by to say hello. I’m glad I had a chance to chat with so many of you… and my apologies to those whose visits were cut short because our booth was so busy (a popular booth is both a blessing and a curse).

A special shout out to Andy, Anne, Annie, Barb, Bill, Bit, Breda, Brendan, Bridget, Cari, Carol, Chris, Christian, Christine, Doug, Eileen, Flano, Fran, George, Gillian, Gwen, Heidi, Jayne, Jeanette, Jessie, Jill, John, Joyce, Judy, Karen, Katie, Katy, Kelly, Kieran, Laura, Liz, Maureen, Michele, Mike, Nancy, Pat, Patty, Peggy, Pete, Ronan, Rory, Ryan, Sarah, Sean, Shawn, Sheila, Siobhan, Susan, Tim, Tom, Tristan, and anyone I might have missed. All these Irish Firesiders took time out of their day to visit us, and we really appreciate it!

Our next stop, the Celtic Classic in Bethlehem, PA, on September 23-25. If you’ll be in the area, definitely stop by and visit us in the Donegal Square tent.

If you’d like us to visit your local Irish festival, be sure to recommend us to festival organizers. We’d be happy to join the craic, talk about Irish travel, and/or show off our shard jewelry from Ireland.

7NewWonders – www.new7wonders.com
Ballynahinch Castle – www.ballynahinch-castle.com
Causeway Coast and Glens – www.causewaycoastandglens.com
Clanree Hotel – www.clanreehotel.com
Cliffs of Moher – www.cliffsofmoher.ie
County Clare - www.clare.ie
Derry Visitor – www.derryvisitor.com
Discover Ireland – www.discoverireland.com
Earthen Craft Pottery – www.ecptile.com
Edel MacBride – www.facebook.com/pages/fashionknitwear#!/fashionknitwear
Galway – www.discoverireland.com/us/ireland-places-to-go/counties/galway/
Harvey’s Point – www.harveyspoint.com
Ireland of the Welcomes – www.irelandofthewelcomes.com
Kilrush – www.kilrush.ie
Liam the Extra Large Leprechaun – www.facebook.com/pages/Liam-the-extra-large-Leprechaun/59093542158
Loughs Agency – www.loughs-agency.org
Manor House Hotels – www.manorhousehotels.com
North West Ireland -  www.irelandnorthwest.ie
Support Irish Theatre – www.supportirishtheatre.com

I think video shows that even on an overcast day on the Dingle peninsula (Corca Dhuibhne in Irish)… and all of Ireland can still be gorgeous. I’m not sure why I’m finding so many Dingle videos lately… must just be a photogenic area

Thanks to Eurodestination for the video.

I can’t say I’ve ever seen anything described as Hindu-Gothic before finding Dromana Gate. The arched opening covers a little road between Cappoquin and Villerstown in County Waterford. It was built as a temporary wedding present for a popular landlord around 1830, and he and his bride liked it so much, they had a permanent version constructed.

Abandoned Ireland has a nice write-up about the site. The gate is near Lismore and I often stop there on my way from the Waterford Coast to The Vee which is an enchanted lookout on the Waterford-Tipperary border… especially in rhododendron season (yes, I know the rhododendrons are an invasive species, but they’re so darned pretty).

Gary Arndt on one of his travels.

We were pleasantly surprised to hear the Irish Fireside mentioned on Wisconsin Public Radio this morning. Notable travel blogger Gary Arndt from www.everything-everywhere.com was Joy Cardin’s guest and when the topic of Ireland came up… well, Gary was quick to recommend a stopover to our little corner of the internet.

Have a listen to the Monday, August 15, 2011, episode. The whole show is worth a listen, but we’re at the 41:24 and 47:25 minute marks.

Irish Sky – Can you spot the Troll? from CPPHOTO on Vimeo.

I couldn’t pass up sharing this great time-lapsed imagery from County Kerry. This scene is on the famous Ring of Kerry and shows some of the varied skies you might find on your travels. Click the link for more info.

If you’re attending, make sure to stop by and say hi. We’d LOVE to meet you, talk about Ireland, and have some great craic. We’ll also have a display of Liam’s jewelry that is crafted from shards of broken dishes on hand. A large number of his pieces are recovered in Ireland including Irish Belleek, Nicholas Mosse Pottery, Kilkenny Pottery, Arklow China and more.

The Cultural Village is on the south end of the festival grounds and tends to be slightly calmer and cooler (thanks Lake Michigan) than the rest of the park. We’ll be there Friday, Saturday, Sunday from opening until sundown, so unless we’re on a break, you should have no trouble finding us… just look for the broken dishes

Map of the Festival Grounds

Samples of Liam’s Shard Jewelry

But not everyone knows about the university’s Science Gallery which currently presents “Elements: The Beauty of Chemistry” through September 23, 2011. Whether you’re heading to Ireland or not, this certainly offers a new way of looking at the periodic table… definitely watch the videos below.

Visit the Trinity College Dublin Science Gallery >>

Read the Guardian article “Beautiful Elements” >>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4XIOpKWc1Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbZEJ7fTH7s

For some reason I’ve got Valentia Island on my mind. It’s located on the tip of the Ring of Kerry and is reachable on one side by ferry and the other by bridge.

This cottage shows the wear and tear of life on the edge of the sea, but on the day I was there it was warm and sunny… a wonderful day indeed.

Magnificent Sky from McKay Glasgow on Vimeo.

This video brings me back to my first experience driving on an Irish beach. For me, it was at Dungannon on the Hook Head Peninsula in County Wexford. This one was filmed on Inch Strand on the Dingle Peninsula (Corca Dhuibhne in Irish… even if the film-makers say it’s Ventry Bay).

]]> http://irishfireside.com/2011/08/06/ventry-bay-dingle/feed/ 6 http://irishfireside.com/2011/08/03/ireland-great-famine/ http://irishfireside.com/2011/08/03/ireland-great-famine/#comments Thu, 04 Aug 2011 00:22:44 +0000 Corey http://irishfireside.com/?p=13247

Skibbereen 1847 by Cork artist James Mahony (1810–1879), commissioned by Illustrated London News - via Wikipedia

Do you have any recommendations for a good book on the potato famine?

– Dana S via Twitter

Ireland suffered more than one famine in its history, but the years between 1845 and 1852 mark the era many call the Irish Potato Famine. A million died and another million emigrated… quite a grim time in Irish history. Yet, it is also the period in which many of the Irish diaspora recognize as their family’s direct ties to Ireland… making the period an important part of their personal history.

For book suggestions, I asked our readers to peek into their personal libraries and give a shout out to the books they’d recommend in both fiction and non-fiction…

• The Great Hunger: Ireland: 1845-1849 by Cecil Woodham Smith — recommended by Kerry Dexter/Felicity Hayes-McCoy/R L Larking via Twitter and Nancy Curtis Caramanico via Facebook
• Black Potatoes: The Story of the Great Irish Famine, 1845-1850 by Susan Campbell Bartoletti – recommended by Georgia Beaverson via Google+
• Life on a Famine Ship: A Journal of the Irish Famine 1845-1850 by Duncan Crosbie — recommended by Guinness Tart via Facebook
• Irish Famine (Abrams Discoveries) by Peter Gray — recommended by Claudine X. Ypsilon via Facebook
• The Hungry Land by Michael Mullen — recommended by Mindie Burgoyne via Facebook
• Galway Bay by Mary Pat Kelly – for those looking for fiction — recommended by Kerry Dexter via Twitter
• Whitest Flower by Brendan Graham — recommended by Catherine Clarke via Twitter
• The Great Shame: And the Triumph of the Irish in the English-Speaking World by Thomas Keneally — recommended by Ruth Speir Kuehn via Facebook
• Great Famine: Ireland’s Agony 1845-1852 by Ciaran O Murchadha — recommended by KeelaCom via Twitter

And if you need a break from the page, Cindy Thomson reminds us that the Rosie O’Donnell episode of “Who Do You Think You Are?” had a very moving segment on the Famine.

Feel free to add your recommendations in the comments section below.

Visit Amazon.com’s Section on Books About the Potato Famine >>

Tilt Shift – Limerick Toytown from Conor Bryce on Vimeo.

When I spotted this video of Limerick streets, I just had to share. Firstly, the tilt-shift filming technique facinates me… it makes places look like toy towns. Secondly, it gives a little peek at the Limerick I know… a bustling city with shops and restaurants and pubs and people.

Limerick often gets a bum rap from guidebooks. It’s a Viking city that had a notable building boom during the Georgian era… that means some wider streets and big, gray stone buildings that are usually much more interesting on the inside. So, comparing it to places like Galway or Cork with their their quaint, narrow streets with clusters of small buildings is a bit like comparing a six-pack of one beer to a keg of another… it really depends on what you’re looking for.

Limerick also gets labeled as a dangerous city… gotta say, in all my years, I haven’t seen anything that made Limerick appear more dangerous for tourists than any other Irish city… standard travel safety tips apply in Ireland, and Limerick is no different.

While in Limerick, I’d recommend the Hunt Museum, the Milk Market, the pedestrian shopping streets in city centre… and I’m keen to inspect the new Frank McCourt Museum when I get over there… and since Limerick is the European City of Sport in 2011, I might suggest a visit to Thomond Park Rugby Stadium.

Galway Arts Festival Parade 2011 from Christopher Tierney on Vimeo.

Held every July, the Galway Arts Festival delivers one of Ireland’s premier arts festivals that includes theater, dance, comedy, music, visual arts, and glorious street performance like the scenes from the parade featured in the video above.

It’s a lovely time to be in Galway. Accommodations can be limited at peek times, so it’s a good idea to book in advance (although I managed get a room at a B&B within walking distance of city centre by just walking up).

And as an added bonus, here’s another segment on street performers.

Galway.com – Arts Festival 2011 Street Performers from Galway.com on Vimeo.

Submitted by James Burke from www.biggerpictureweb.com

Download the Croke Park Game Guide to learn more about Gaelic Games

Although I’ve been watching the Irish sports of Hurling and Gaelic Football for years, I still rely on my Irish neighbors to explain the rules during every match. Like any sport, there’s more to it than scoring a goal… and each game seems to bring in to focus a different rule.

My visit to the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) Museum at Dublin’s Croke Park filled in many of the gaps of what I know about the games, but more importantly, it displayed the cultural identity these sports offer the Irish.

Croke Park offers a Downloadable Game Guide  that gives info about the stadium and a quick overview of the games.

You can learn more about Croke Park and the GAA in our interview with Julie Manahan – The Thrill of the Gaelic Games at Croke Park.

And here’s a video clip to help you Feel the Buzz of Croke Park:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCYSflQwc7o

The first weekend in August marks Ireland’s changing-of-the-season festival of Lughnasa. You may recognize the name from the title of the Meryl Streep film “Dancing at Lughnasa” based on the play by Brian Friel.

Felicity Hayes-McCoy delves into the festival’s tradition in Corca Dhuibhne, Ireland’s Dingle Peninsula.

Read The Festival Of Lughnasa >>

Felicity also recommends Máire MacNeill book The Festival of Lughnasa.

And a bit more from Bridget Haggerty from Irish Culture and Customs:

Read Lughnasa: Celebrating the Harvest >>

The sun might not be shining much in Ireland today, but this photo from the Ring of Beara in County Kerry reminds me of the gorgeous weather I had while touring around the area last summer. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, “When the weather is good, there’s no place more beautiful than Ireland.”

This video from County Tipperary offers a little insight into the a bit of history many wouldn’t think about.

She could use your help collecting coins. If you have some one and two cent Irish euro coins you’d like to donate, mosey over to www.irelandwithkids.com/kansas-city-irish-fest-2011/random-bits/. Have fun digging around for coins

Marconi Monument in Ballycastle. Photo by Cindy Thomson

Odd But Interesting

Now I wish I had done my homework. Of course I did glance at the plaque (and photographed it for future reference) and knew that it was a memorial to Guglielmo Marconi of wireless telegraph fame. I remembered that I had seen a memorial to Marconi in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. What I didn’t learn until later (and if you paid more attention in history class than I did you already know this) is that his mother, Annie Jameson, was Irish. (Yes, she was a Jameson Whiskey family member.) The monument in Ballycastle, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, memorializes a venture he undertook there in 1898 to transmit a radio signal from a lighthouse on nearby Rathlin Island to White Lodge on Ballycastle harbor.

Plaque at Ballycastle. Photo by Cindy Thomson

The American Connection

Photo by blacque_jacques

In Cape Cod the memorial is found in South Wellfleet where the first successful transatlantic wireless telegraph transmission originating in the United States was made in 1903. The message was made for President Teddy Roosevelt to England’s King Edward VII.

Well, okay. They are not really twin monuments, at least not visually. But there are two memorials marking the work of this Irish/Italian man, one in Ireland and one in America. Well, okay, there are more than two, but so far I’ve only seen two. I’ve since learned that there are many. Marconi traveled a great deal to find proper sites for his stations and many of these places set up memorials in his honor.

Learn More

Learn more about Marconi’s Irish connection here.

The Marconi Radio Group set up a Marconi Festival in Ballycastle.

Learn more about Marconi’s Cape Cod wireless station here.

 

Yet another connection between America and Ireland. Finding such links is fast becoming my hobby!

Cindy Thomson is the author of Celtic Wisdom and Brigid of Ireland. She enjoys exploring Irish history, especially the Early Christian period. She has written numerous articles on Irish genealogy. Visit her blog Celtic Voices and her web site where you can sign up for her monthly newsletter.

This article features some beautiful photos and a video from a motorcycling adventure.

Eager Riders – Motorcycling in Ireland >>

And if you enjoy that, you will also want to read one from the Montreal Gazette that tells the story of an Alberta motorcycling quartet who take a circle tour around Ireland they dubbed ’50 Pints in 50 Pubs’.

An Easy Ride Around Ireland >>

Tall Ships leave Dunmore East from onefortynine on Vimeo.

Waterford hosted the exciting Tall Ships Festival earlier this month, and this adventurous kayaker used his camera to capture the ships in open water.

This one is definitely worth watching for the views of the gorgeous coast, lighthouse, and of course the tall ships (which come into view at about the 1:30 mark).

An Irish pub in Denville, NJ, will be going for a traditional thatched roof… which will cost the equivalent of about 7,000 pints of Guinness. Along with the video above there is a nice article to accompany it called Thatcher’s traditional craft lends Irish ambience to Denville bar.

B&B Ireland now offers a free app in the iTunes Store that lets you browse and book B&Bs from your iPhone or iPod Touch. I’ve noodled around with it a bit, and I’m happy to say it delivers a clean interface with an abundance of features.

All the Features of the Website

Firstly, hat’s off to B&B Ireland for making their entire database of accommodations available for browsing… that gives me over 1,100 accommodation choices. Even better, I can book right in the app!

Several Ways to Search

The “Search” feature allows me to choose a county, date, number of guests, number of rooms, and currency (Euros, US Dollars, or British Pounds). The search can take a few seconds, but results appear with a list that includes B&B name, preview image of the property, star rating, and price per person. I appreciate being able to sort by price, star rating, and name. The app also lets you filter the search by Town House, Country House, or Farm House.

When I select a property, I get nearly all the details that appear on the B&B Ireland website! The sections I didn’t see were the “Activities” and “Special Offers” tabs from the website (maybe we’ll see those in the next version of the app). I’m not sure I can express how excited I was when I saw they included ALL that in their mobile app. This app does not take the back seat to the B&B Ireland website… it’s a full, mobile extension of it!

That means I can view description, directions, address, contact info, proprietor name, sat nav (GPS) coordinates, map view, ammenities, reviews, and galleries (I just wish more properties posted more than one photo and more guests posted reviews).

While in Ireland, “B&Bs Near Me” feature is especially nice as it uses your phone’s GPS location to recommend places within 25, 50, 75, or 100 km from your current location… just click the pins in the map. There is also a “Browse” feature which puts you two clicks away from viewing accommodations in any county… unfortunately, some of the information runs off the screen, so sometimes you won’t quite know all the options until you click through. I’m happy to see the app makes it easy to call or email a B&B with just a click.

Other Details

As for performance, I was satisfied with the overall speed of the app over the 3G network, and it’s slightly faster on wifi. The booking feature took longer to load than other sections which could be frustrating while traveling, but it did work well. The “Useful Info” section is stuck in “coming soon” mode at moment… one of my app and website pet peeves. We’ll forgive them because the app lets me add a B&B to “Favorites” to browse later… a feature not available on the website.

It’s important to note that the app requires an open wifi connection for iPod Touch/iPhone devices or access to cellular data for iPhones. For those traveling from outside Ireland, that means you’ll need to either search for open wifi or make sure you have a data plan that will support usage if you plan to use the app during your travels. Of course, you are subject to call and data rates if you decide to make a phone call or use this app over the mobile network.

The app does not let the user adjust font size, so users who struggle with readability when using apps may have similar issues with this one… especially in sections where green text appears over a faded B&B Ireland logo. Otherwise, this app easy to use and information is simple to follow.

Download the Correct App

When in the App Store, be sure you download the app named “B&B Ireland – Bed and Breakfast Ireland.” There is another free app called “B&B Ireland” that is not worth the time it takes to download. This one stands out on the page… it has the attractive B&B Ireland logo (vs the amateurish looking logo of the other app).

I must admit, if you’re looking for a comprehensive B&B app in Ireland that best uses the available features of your iPhone, this is it… need I say more?

Download the App on iTunes >>

Screenshots:

Note:according to B&B Ireland, there are currently no plans for developing an app for Android devices.

We’ve touched on the topic of money several time, but today I wanted to point you to Michele Erdvig’s Ireland Top 10 Money Tips. As usual, she does a great job of outlining the topic and gives us some excellent advice.

Read Michele’s Tips >>