Cork City, Irish Nicknames and Blackthorn Walking Sticks...

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
Crawford Art Gallery, County Cork.

The Crawford Art Gallery in Cork city is a national cultural institution housing almost 3,000 historic and contemporary visual artworks. Check out this walking tour video to get a feel of the sights and sounds of the city – it will take you right by the gallery.

FEATURED IRISH SURNAMES – Irish nicknames

Do you have a nickname? In Ireland, a nickname often evolved into a surname overtime! Have a look at the relationship between Irish surnames and nicknames – you may spot some of your own Irish surnames!

BOOK I’M READING NOW

“Small Things Like These” by Claire Keegan. A recommendation from Bob, one of our Green Room members. Here’s what he says about the book: “A sweet but powerful little story about self-discovery, compassion, personal values and the meaning of family. It was a great read for the holidays.” Click here to see the book on amazon.

IRISH WORD OR PROVERB

“Is trom cearc i bhfad“

Which translates to “Heavy is a hen over a long distance”. You can also translate the meaning into “even a small burden grows with distance”.

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

IRISH CRAFT/PRODUCT WE LOVE

McCaffrey Crafts, based in County Kerry, has been making walking sticks carved from Blackthorn wood since 1847. It’s now in the hands of their 5th generation artisan, Francis McCaffrey, and their stick-making tradition continues! Check out their selection of Blackthorn walking and hiking sticks, including Shillelaghs.

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 Amazon) 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!