Irish Proverbs, Winding Piers and Beautiful Enamels…

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 
Dunquin, County Kerry. Dunquin pier has to be one of the most dramatic and photographed piers in the world. The scenery of the Dingle peninsula inspired Phil and June Colclough to write “Song for Ireland” following their visit – and it’s easy to see why! Just offshore you will find The Blasket islands. We documented our trip to Dunquin and around the peninsula a short while back which you can read all about it here.

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FEATURED IRISH SURNAME
Our Irish surname of the week is Byrne. Known in Irish as O’Broin, and descending from Bran, the king of Leinster, this clan had a large amount of land in County Kildare but following the Anglo-Norman invasion they relocated to Wicklow. The Byrnes were known for fiercely resisting foreign invasion and maintained their chieftain traditions until the 1600s. Those times are celebrated in the “Leabhar Branach” or “Book of the O’Byrnes“. To see where the name appears in Ireland in the mid 1800s go to this page on Johngrenham.com

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BOOK I’M READING NOW
“Proverbs in Irish” by Garry Bannister. Green Room members have been asking for more Irish proverbs and Emma from Bitesize Irish recommended this book by Garry Bannister. It’s very comprehensive, well categorised and if it’s good enough for Emma, it’s certainly good enough for me! Click here to see the book on amazon. 

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IRISH WORD OR PROVERB

“Níl saoi gan locht“

It translates as “There’s no wise man without error”.

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

Many the fool is right – and many the wise man is wrong!

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

Meab Enamels is a niche family-run Irish jewellery company offering something a bit different. I find the process of their craft so interesting. They’ve got a lovely video here of how they hand make their enamel pieces. I really love their cufflinks but all the pieces are quite unique and artistic.

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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!