Christmas with Cead Mile Failte

This is the time of year when those who celebrate Christmas remember the nativity story.  We set up little nativity scenes in our living rooms and many churches set up life sized ones – some with real animals for a petting zoo.  Children put on Christmas pageants re-enacting the story of Mary and Joseph’s arrival […]

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Christmas Pudding versus Christmas Cake

Nothing captures the traditional Christmas spirit quite like the food your people love to indulge in over the holidays.  Some foods are enjoyed over large parts of the world.  A turkey with stuffing is a popular Christmas dinner staple on both sides of the Atlantic.  Americans have sugary Christmas cookies in the shape of Santa, […]

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Four Reasons to Love Cork City

Cork City is something of an outsider among Irish towns.  Dublin is the capital, of course, and Galway is famous for its stunning Atlantic coast and romantic link with the Claddagh ring.  But what about Cork?  Ireland’s third most populous city has a lot going for it.  It’s surrounded by tourist hotspots such as Bantry […]

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The Rebel Cork

Cork, the southernmost county in Ireland, is separate from the others not only in region. The “rebel” in its name seems to indicate an anti-authoritarian spirit that puts opposition against a higher power. Cork, the incubator for the gritty, hard-stanced Irish that would soon take no comment lightly,  also becomes the homeland of those most proud […]

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Irish in New York–Take to the Streets

For the rural Irish immigrating to New York for the first time, it’s hard to imagine what mighty impact the big city left on them or what they noticed first. It could have been The Statue of Liberty, of course; or Ellis Island; the amass of lights, or the fast pace of the people.  Onlookers, later to become […]

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The Itinerant Irish–Macweeney’s story of the Irish at Large

Irish travelers, also referred to as tinkers or gypsies, are said to have broken off from the “settled” Irish about a thousand years ago. They have a long history as craftsmen and tradespeople. As one source notes, “the sound of a hammer hitting an anvil,” warranted them the nickname of “tinkers” (Rock, Lauren).   The […]

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Near the heart of Ireland–Athlone and Beyond

In leaving Ireland, I remember a song I heard on RTÉ radio a few days before returning to the United States. Its lyrics went: I left my heart in Athlon, my heart is an empty stone.” Still, I think of those lyrics today and envision the images of the place that captivated me as a stranger to the land. There is a […]

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The Leprechaun and its Untold Connection with the Sea

 The Leprechaun is an exaggerated symbol the world associates with Ireland. For instance, it might be just as welcoming for a stranger to spot a leprechaun as it would be a spot of tea, on arrival to the Emerald Isle. Yet, the stories of “little people” are diverse in their origins, not associated only with […]

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The Best Women for the Job, Emain Macha and the Debility of the Ulstermen

Cú Chulainn is one of the fiercest, most infamous warriors of Irish mythology. He is an Ulstermen and a hero, who fought fearlessly defending his land and himself against the threat of invasion, the threat of change. That being said, he was said to transform wildly during battle, so that his face would distort into what is known […]

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