Aran knitwear, an Aristocratic House and a Friend's Eye...

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

FAVOURITE PLACES IN IRELAND
Moore Hall, County Mayo. This old aristocratic house overlooking lough Carra was burned down during the Irish civil war and has since been swallowed up by the surrounding forest. Click here for a more detailed read on the history and info for visiting. The history of the house and it’s family (originally protestant, then catholic) is a symbol of the complicated history of Ireland. It’s has been slowly restored over the last few years and a walled garden is now open to visitors. To watch a video on the house and it’s planned restoration, do have a look here.

FEATURED IRISH SURNAME
Our Irish surname of the week is Moloney. Also anglicised as Maloney and Maleney, it originates from the Irish Gaelic “Ó Maol Dhomhnaigh”, meaning “the descendant of the servant of the Church.” Originally a Dalcassian sept from Tulla in County Clare, the Moloneys have also spread to neighbouring Limerick and Tipperary. To see where the name appears in Ireland in the mid 1800s go to this page on Johngrenham.com

BOOK I’M READING NOW
“Modern Ireland: 1600-1972″ by R.F. Foster. A very comprehensive book covering key parts of Irelands history. Not always an easy read but it’s a wonderful reference and if you want to go deeper into the Irish history of that time. Click here to see the book on amazon.

IRISH WORD OR PROVERB

“Is maith an scáthán súil charad“

It translates as “A friend’s eye is a good mirror”

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

But we may not always like what they see!

IRISH CRAFT/PRODUCT WE LOVE (sponsored)

Did you know that “Grá” (pronounced “graw”) is the Irish word for love?

So, when Carrolls Irish Gifts asked us to help on their “Gifts with Grá” holiday season promotion, it caught my attention! We’ve used this Irish-owned company many times over the past years – and are always delighted with their selection of meaningful Irish gifts. US readers can see Carina’s favourite piece of Aran knitwear here (non-US readers click here to see it).

US readers can see Carro l ls Irish gifts here (and all other readers can go here) – tell them Mike sent you!

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 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!