Irish Culture & Customs Resources
In this section I share articles on Irish music, dancing, poetry, writing, story-telling and history. Many of the topics that we consider to be quite unique in our shared Irish heritage.
Browse the features listed on this page and jump to one that interests you, or enter a placename, surname or other item in the search box below to see related letters and podcasts.
Irish Culture & Customs Letters
I was inside O’Flynn’s butcher shop yesterday, and something happened to trigger a memory long forgotten – three memories in fact. It seems they’re a bit like busses – they often come in groups of three! The first of those memories brought me all the way back to my early school days in the seaside…
He has sent on the above message especially for our readers and members on this Saint Patrick’s Day. For those of you who do not know President Higgins, he is held in high esteem by the vast majority of the people on this island. He is a scholar, a poet – and was a political…
Do you have any school teachers in your family tree? Perhaps they have fond memories of the hallowed halls in which they taught, the ordered classrooms, fully stocked with the supplies of a good education. In this letter, we will visit a humbler school setting, that was the only option for many Irish schoolteachers during lean times.
Céad Míle Fáilte – and you are very welcome to this week’s Letter from Ireland. It’s a bring day here in County Cork – and shaping up to be a very nice day for the sea and maybe a few photographs. I hope you are doing well wherever you are in the world today –…
The following are the words contained in the proclamation: IRISHMEN AND IRISHWOMEN: In the name of God and of the dead generations from which she receives her old tradition of nationhood, Ireland, through us, summons her children to her flag and strikes for her freedom. Having organised and trained her manhood through her secret revolutionary…
Irish Culture & Customs Podcasts
Discover eight standout Irish male singers in today’s episode. Did we miss any of your favourites? Tune in and be swept away by Ireland’s melodic charm!
This episode spotlights two Irish families from Bantry, West Cork: Francis O’Neill, who preserved Irish music in Chicago, and the Keohanes, ancestors of Broadway composer George M. Cohan.
Join us as we toast to the birthday of the Letter from Ireland, celebrating a decade of connecting with 60,000+ global Irish descendants through our letters and podcasts – thank you for being part of our journey!
Listen to the origins of the iconic Steeplechase in Irish racing history and unravel the surprising Irish roots of the famed ‘British Racing Green’ in a thrilling 1903 motorcar race
Listen to the story of Viking-era water sources, the Franciscans’ art of brewing Irish beer, and the captivating tale of alcohol, social chaos, and the rise of the Irish temperance movement!