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

Let’s Chat To A Native Irish Gaelic Speaker

This man grew up in an Irish Gaelic speaking household. He wants you to learn just a few words of Irish – and tells us why!

Are Your Irish Surnames On This Saintly List?

Have you ever had something in your possession that you are minding for future generations? Perhaps a ring, a piece of jewellery a book or a piece of furniture? Here, in Ireland, we often tend to pass down baby christening robes through several generations. Our grandson was recently christened in a robe that was also used by his father and his grandmother – both standing proudly beside him!

Stone circe with blue sky and green grass

How The Celts Celebrated The Start Of Summer

The month of May, or as we call it in Irish “Bealtaine” (pronounced “ba-yowl tanna”) heralds the start of our Irish Summer.

Looking down the long room in Trinity College University library, Dublin.

Irish Books – TOP 10 As Chosen By Readers

This is a list of popular books that are mentioned many times in our Green Room Book Club. 

The books listed cover the topics of Irish history, The famine, colourful country life, letters, Irish cooking, fictional genealogy, murder mysteries and Celtic spirituality. Something for everyone!

The Irish Shamrock – Does It Best Represent Ireland?

A somewhat contentious question for this week. Does the Irish shamrock best represent Ireland – or is there another contender? This question was on the mind of our guest contributor for this week – Simon O’Flynn, who recently retired from his Butcher’s shop after 68 years in the business. Simon often shares a story or…

Irish Culture & Customs Podcasts

One Story from The Irish Land Wars – (#606)

Join Mike and Carina as they chat about just one reader story from the Irish Land Wars of the late 1800s. Our reader shares an amazing story of immigration and now understands the reasons why her family were so reticent about talking of their Irish family history.

A Creative Mind Born of a Pandemic – (#603)

We are (hopefully) at the closing stages of a pandemic as I write. However, our ancestors had to endure many pandemics and famines through the centuries – and all without the same access to medicines we enjoy today. Today’s show is all about one famous Irish author whose mother had to endure a pandemic in her native Sligo town before heading off for a new life in Dublin.

Scottish river, the Clyde in Glasgow with Carina

The Irish Scots – A Trip to Glasgow in Scotland (#503)

In this episode of the Letter from Ireland Podcast show, we travel to the city of Glasgow in Scotland to meet two proud Glasgow natives of Irish ancestry. Come with us as we get a unique perspective on this city that saw the arrival of so many Irish immigrants from the 1800s onwards.

Patrickswell, County Limerick, Ireland with Carina

The Holy Wells of Ireland – Saints, Cures and Tradition (#501)

In this episode of the Letter from Ireland Podcast show, we visit a Holy Well in County Limerick and chat to the “keeper of the well” about cures, traditions and the Saints associated with these wells.

A Tale of Two Cities – The Tenement Museums of Dublin and New York (#408)

In the late 1800s, hundreds of thousands of Irish people moved into the Tenement Buildings of Dublin and New York. In this Podcast, we travel to the Tenement Museums of both Dublin and New York to get an insight into what life was like in these buildings for our Irish ancestors.