Irish Roses, Druids and Ogham

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 
Tralee, County Kerry. (see it on a map here)

Every year, the town of Tralee in County Kerry hosts the Rose of Tralee International Festival. Named after the popular Irish song, the Rose of Tralee is best known for bringing together 30 “roses” or young women of Irish descent from all over the world to take part in the festivities.

For Letter from Ireland Plus members: Also check out our County Kerry Homelands Feature here for much more.

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FEATURED IRISH NAMES – Druid Surnames

Do You Have Celtic Druid Surnames in Your Family Tree? Let’s have a look at some of them – and see if you spot any of your own Irish surnames!

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BOOK I’M READING NOW

“The Story of the Irish Race” by Séamas MacManus. “The Story of the Irish Race” takes a very comprehensive look at the beginnings of Ireland all the way up to the Easter Rising. Reading the whole thing through in one sitting may be a tough ask, but certainly worth dipping in and out of, and it has something to say for almost every period of Irish history. Click here to see the book on amazon.

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IRISH WORD OR PROVERB

“Go ndéana an diabhal dréimire de chnámh do dhroma ag piocadh úll i ngairdín Ifrinn!“

Which translates to “May the devil make a ladder of your backbone while picking apples in the garden of Hell!”

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

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IRISH CRAFT/PRODUCT WE LOVE

O’Dalaigh Jewellers is a family-owned jewelry business from Clifden in County Galway. We’re big fans of their Ogham collection which is particularly beautiful. We’re also not the only ones to think highly of them – apparently Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters is a fan! And the Irish government even gifted the US president one of their pieces before. Have a look at a video of their story here.

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RIDDLE OF THE WEEK

“What goes to Dublin but never stirs?“

Click here to see the answer.

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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 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!