Croagh Patrick and Your Surname in Irish…

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.

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FAVOURITE PLACES IN IRELAND 
Croagh Patrick, County Mayo.

Also known as “The Reek” or “Ireland’s holiest mountain”. Croagh Patrick is named after St. Patrick himself – he is said to have fasted for 40 days on it’s peak. It’s now a pilgrimage site for many Irish people, some even climbing it barefoot! Here’s an interesting video from the archives of what it was like back in the 70’s. If you plan to visit some day, this guide has some great advice.

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THE EVOLUTION OF IRISH SURNAMES

This week I thought we would look at the evolution of Irish surnames, one of the oldest surname systems in the world. Click here to see if you can find your surname and when it came to be.

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BOOK I’M READING NOW

“We Don’t Know Ourselves: A Personal History of Modern Ireland” by Fintan O’Toole. A great recommendation from one of our Green Room members. “Fintan O’Toole does a great job of weaving the history (old and recent) and the culture of Ireland together. He grew up in an working-class family Dublin in the 60s and 70s so he presents an insider’s view.” I certainly agree. Click here to see the book on amazon. 

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IRISH WORD OR PROVERB

This week we have ALL our Top 10 Irish surnames translated into Irish with a recording of how a native Irish speaker would say each one:

Click here to see if your name is on the list and how to pronounce it.

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

Paul Connolly makes handcraft jewellery and gifts in his workshop in West Cork. One of the things we loved last time we saw him were his brass plaques of the Irish proclamation. There’s even more beautiful pieces in his shop including money clips, brooches and earrings. If you’re looking for something handcrafted and Irish before St. Patrick’s day I would certainly check his work out.

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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!