Ancient Ireland and Irish Wool

Céad míle fáilte, welcome to your Letter from Ireland “Shorts”. Each Tuesday we’ll bring you a quick-read of some of our favourite and interesting Irish things for this week.

FAVOURITE PLACES IN IRELAND
Navan Fort, County Armagh. Photo Credit: DiscoverNorthernIreland.com.

Go here and you will be transported 2,000 years back to ancient Ireland. This was home to the myths and legends of the Ulster Cycle and seat of the King of Ulster. Located just outside Armagh city, it’s a unique place where you can learn about the history of ancient Ireland or even get involved in recreations dressing up and experiencing life as a Celt. Or – watch a video of Carina explain more here.

FEATURED IRISH SURNAME

This week we’re going to look at surnames from County Cork, a county close to our hearts as we live there! Did your ancestors come from County Cork? See if your surnames are in the Top 50 list here.

BOOK I’M READING NOW
“The Táin: Translated from the Irish Epic Tain Bo Cuailnge” by Thomas Kinsella. The Táin Bó Cuailnge is one of the most epic stories in the Uster Cycle legends. This version is a translation of many ancient manuscripts and sources into a well written epic. Click here to see the book on amazon.

IRISH WORD OR PROVERB

“Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine“

Which translates to “It’s in each others’ shadow/shelter that we all live”, or in other words, “No man is an island”.

Click here to listen to how a native Irish speaker would say it

IRISH CRAFT/PRODUCT WE LOVE (not an advert – just things we like)

Ériu (pronounced “air-oo”) make’s beautiful knitwear out of 100% Irish wool. We were shocked to learn that this is quite unusual given the proud history of knitwear in Ireland. Now thanks Ériu we can recommend some amazing Irish wool products like the beautiful jumpers you can see below. Ériu have also decided to give readers of this letter a special 20% discount on all purchases, just use the code “LETTER” at checkout. Any order over $100/€100 also qualifies for free worldwide shipping.

That’s it for this week. Send us an email with any of your own favourites for inclusion in future emails, or if you’re a plus member leave a comment below.

Slán for now,
Mike & Carina.

Note: The above article may contain some affiliate links (for example the Amazon and Ériu link) which means we get paid a small amount should you choose to purchase, at no extra cost to you. This helps us keep the show on the road!