Thatched roof cottages are one of the most iconic symbols of rural Ireland. Whether you're Great Grandad grew up in one or your looking for one to stay in on your next vacation, read on to learn about the history, architecture, and modern fates of these one-of-a-kind homes.
When people think of Celtic culture, sometimes their mind goes straight to a man wearing a patterned kilt playing a matching set of fabric bagpipes. It’s a vivid cultural image, in part thanks to to the rich fabric that man is wearing. The kilt of this imaginary man is tartan, a pattern of interlocking lines of varying width that run horizontal and vertical across the fabric. In Scotland, the Tartans have large cultural significance. The oldest known tartan item in Scotland dates back to the third or fourth century. In early times, tartan would have been homespun with wool. The...
Ireland is known as the land of saints and scholars, but it’s also the land of craftspeople! Ireland has a long tradition of developing textile, leather, wood, and metal crafts. Knowing the history of these crafts will make you treasure them even more. Here is the brief history of some of our best-selling Irish crafts! The Irish Sweater The Irish sweater you know and love originated on the Aran Islands, off the western coast of Galway and Doolin. Off the mainland, the Aran Islands are the last point of land until you reach America; covered in stone, the stark landscape...
Kirsten Fedorowicz studied abroad in Ireland in January-May 2017. She now works as a Content Writer for Biddy Murphy. When I arrived in Ireland for my study abroad tenure, I was surprised to see two languages appear on all of the street signs. As we road on our bus through western Ireland on that first day, I noticed how different the street signs were from my native Michigan. On each sign we passed, the English name for something- a town, the airport, the nearest exit- appeared below another language, which I soon learned was Irish.... A language I didn’t know...
