Ireland’s café culture is a mix of warmth, hospitality, and simplicity. Whether you’re enjoying a cupán tae (cup of tea) in a bustling Dublin café or ordering a slice of soda bread in a quiet rural tearoom, knowing a few key phrases in Irish can enrich the experience. This guide explores essential café-related vocabulary and…
In Ireland, weather is more than just a topic of conversation—it’s a way of life. The country’s ever-changing conditions often result in experiencing “four seasons in one day,” making weather discussions a vital part of Irish culture. For beginners learning Irish, mastering weather-related vocabulary not only enhances your conversational skills but also deepens your connection…
There are few institutions more enduring than family. Moral judgment aside, family as a structure of society is something we can all relate to for better or worse. This is perhaps only more true of the Irish than other cultures and certainly an important place to turn to next. Learning to describe your family in…
Written language is something we all take for granted. Even as I write, I can’t help but see the irony in my reliance on such a medium to communicate with you the reader. By putting into words what I am thinking, I am connecting with all who read this both now and in the future.…
There are few more exhilarating sites that standing on Ireland’s west coast and staring out across the seemingly endless ocean before you. The chill breeze, pungent smell of kelp, cawing of gulls, and sound of crashing waves. It’s a scene that has stood still for millennia; a frozen tableau that Ireland’s ancient forbears would have…
Each year, as we approach Christmas, many of us will don the charade of Santa Claus for our children, portraying a wonderful joy-wrapped lie. We put out our shortbread and milk, hang up the stockings, possibly even ring a few bells to pretend the reindeers are nearby. The wonder and excitement of our children fuels…
Earlier this summer I watched the road outside my home slowly broken up and resurfaced. The many weeks of hard labour (granted they took far longer than needed), disruption and chaos created, and the army of trucks carrying materials, all got me thinking about how such roads were built and used in our ancient past.…
If I were to list out the Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and Norse cultures, I can almost guarantee that their respective pantheons will come to mind. But if I now add the Irish to this list, I wonder how many would be able to list even one of their gods. Even as someone who grew up…
Every morning all of us share in a ritual that dates back as far history itself. For, without exception, each of us will decide what we will wear for the day ahead. The questions we will ask to form our choices are the same questions our ancestors would have asked some 2,000 years ago: ‘What…
There are few more iconic sites than the lone, solitary stones of a once great castle standing tall above the sea. Dunseverick, as it is known today, is but a shadow of its former glory. Now a National Trust site, all that remains are but a few stone walls displaced along a small headland –…