Ireland

  • The Blarney Stone

    “Tis there’s the stone that whoever kisses He never misses to grow eloquent; ‘Tis he may clamber to a lady’s chamber, Or become a member of Parliament. “A noble spouter he’ll sure turn out, or An out and outer to be let alone; Don’t try to hinder him, or to bewilder him, For he is a pilgrim from the Blarney stone.” – Francis Sylvester Mahony The Blarney Stone is a block of Carboniferous limestone built into the battlements of Blarney Castle. The stone was set into a tower of the castle in 1446. Legend has it that Cormac Laidir McCarthy, the builder of Blarney Castle was involved in a lawsuit…

  • St. Stephen’s Day

    The first feast day after Christmas is December 26, St. Stephen’s Day. This is usually a quiet day spent with family and friends, probably because everyone is so wiped out after all the Christmas feasting. In some countries, it is a day of parties and families go from house to house visiting friends. In Finland everyone rides down the street on horse drawn sleighs with festive bells for “the ride of St. Stephen”. In Catalonia, part of Spain, there is a large festive meal with canelons, which are stuffed with meat from the previous day’s Christmas feast. In Ireland, it is called “Day of the Wren”. In some parts of…

  • DRUIDS

    Ah the druids. For most, the very name conjures images of white-robed, long bearded pale guys with a “special” relationship with nature and a penchant for speaking in riddles and cryptic messages. Dark druids who chant around purple bonfires at midnight and sacrifice babies on an altar of antlers and bone…. Okay, I totally ripped that last one from a D&D game I played once, but lets face facts, it was meant to be allegorical. Druids get a bad rap overall and I totally don’t think that is fair. What follows are a series of theories based on new(ish) archeological research and speculation by people smarter than me, because the…

  • Gráinne Ní Mháille or Grace O’Malley

    In honor of Talk Like a Pirate Day, I decided to dedicate today’s post to one of the best. Grace O’Malley was a queen, a pirate and all around bad ass. She went toe to toe with Queen Elizabeth I and won. Not many people did that. Gráinne, or Grace as it was Anglicized, was born in 1530 on the west coast of Ireland to Owen O’Malley, a wealthy trader, seafarer and chieftain. Legend says that as a teenager she begged her father to let her serve with him aboard his ships. He told her no saying her hair would get caught in the rigging. The next day, she showed…

  • Tir na nOg – Oisin and Niamh

    Irish Folklore tells the story of Oisin, son of Finn, of the Fianna, who fall in love with the fairy Princess Niamh from the mystical island of Tir na nOg, the Land of Perpetual Youth. For many centuries the fabled island has been sought, which legend says lays off the coast of Ireland. In the twelfth century Giraldus Cambrensis told the story how one day a strange island appeared off the west coast of Ireland, but when the people made out for in in a boat, it vanished as they drew near. Later, as it reappeared, another group attempted to reach it again, and when they were within range, fired…