Galway Clans, Knitting and Practice...

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
Dunguaire Castle, County Galway. You will find this castle beautifully situated on the edge of Galway Bay. It looks especially picturesque when the tide comes in on a sunny day like this one. Click here to see Carina tell us about the clan that built this castle and more!

FEATURED IRISH SURNAME
Our Irish surname of the week is Hynes (yes, it is pronounced just like “heinz”). While there is a version of the name of English origin, the Irish version originates from the name “O’hEidhin”. The clan descends from “Guaire the Hospitable” who was a king of Connaught and held the lordship of Aidhne (South Galway). Mulroy O’Heyne was Brian Boru’s father-in-law, and led Connacht’s forces in the 1014 Battle of Clontarf. To see where the name appears in Ireland in the mid 1800s go to this page on Johngrenham.com

BOOK I’M READING NOW
“A Letter From Ireland Vol.3″ by Myself!. No false modesty here.If you are enjoying your letters on Sunday then perhaps you would like to read a selection of our best letters in a book? Click here to see the book on our website.

IRISH WORD OR PROVERB

“Is namhaid ceird gan chleachtadh“

It translates as “An unpractised craft is an enemy” – a modern equivalent is “practice makes perfect”.

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

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

Something a bit different this week but I think it’s a combination of two passions a lot of our readers have. Knitting Tours to Ireland! This was recommended to us by one of our Green Room members who is teaching on one of the tours next year. See more on their 10 night tour of the Aran islands, Donegal and the Antrim coast here. Knitting your way around Ireland? I know that that will sound like heaven to some of our readers!

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.

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