The Kingsroad, the fighting Irish, and dog commands in Irish

Your Letter from Ireland shorts from the 14th of January 2025

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The Kingsroad, the fighting Irish, and dog commands in Irish

Cรฉad mรญle fรกilte, 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
The Dark Ages, County Antrim. (See it on a map here.)

Do these trees look familiar? The Dark Hedges in County Antrim is a mesmerizing natural tunnel created by beech trees and this atmospheric avenue has become famous worldwide after being featured in the TV series “Game of Thrones” as the Kingsroad. It simply looks like the stuff of fairy tales and fantasy – and has spawned many legends! Check out this video about one of the spooky legends surrounding the site here.

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


FEATURED IRISH SURNAMES – The Fighting Irish

We’ve often heard the phrase “The Fighting Irish”. Did you know that many of the “faction fights” in 1800s Ireland went on to be subsumed into the modern Irish game of Hurling? Read more about the fighting Irish here  – and perhaps you can see some of your Irish surnames mentioned as part of this particular faction fight!


BOOK I’M READING NOW
“Beidh Tรบ Alright: An Irish Language Journey” by Joe McHugh

Joe McHugh was a minister in Ireland who was put in charge of Irish-speaking areas. He was initially heavily criticised for his basic Irish when he was appointed to his role. He went on a journey of learning the language on the job and eventually gaining a lot of Irish speakers respect. This book tells his story. While this is still on pre-order at the time of this email coming out, we still want to encourage our readers to give this a read.ย Check out the book on Amazon.ย 

"Beidh Tu Alright: An Irish Language Journey" by Joe McHugh

IRISH WORD OR PROVERB

“Tar anseo”

Which translates to “Come here.” Bitesize Irish has many more useful dog commands, so you can teach your dog Irish as well!

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


IRISH CRAFT/PRODUCT WE LOVE

Birthday Cufflinks Irelandย turnย little pieces of Irish history – think old sixpence and shilling coins that are no longer in use – into stylish cufflinks and pendants. Need a special birthday or anniversary gift? They can create a piece using a coin from a specified year, like thisย 1933 Irish threepence pendantย – so long as it’s from 1928 to 2014!ย ย Check out their shop here.ย 

birthday cufflinks - Irish coin necklace

RIDDLE OF THE WEEK

“A Fiddler in Newbridge has a brother, a Fiddler in Naas. But the Naas Fiddler has no fiddler brother in Newbridge. How can that be?”

Click here to see the answer.


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.

Slรกn 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!

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