Why the Irish Wrote a Folk Song About Mashed Potatoes — and Why It Still Makes People Cry
Colcannon is Ireland’s most beloved comfort dish — and it has its own haunting folk song. Here’s why this mashed potato dish made a nation weep.
Colcannon is Ireland’s most beloved comfort dish — and it has its own haunting folk song. Here’s why this mashed potato dish made a nation weep.
Irish hedge schools were outdoor classrooms where children learned Latin and Greek in secret. Discover the remarkable story of education under the Penal Laws in Ireland.
The seanchaí were Ireland’s professional storytellers — ranked by law alongside kings, trusted with every legend, genealogy, and secret the land had ever held. This is their story.
The uilleann pipes are Ireland’s unique national bagpipe — played sitting down, inflated by elbow bellows, and capable of sounds no other instrument quite matches. Here’s the story behind them.
Ireland has thousands of abandoned villages — stone walls, open hearths and empty doorways on hillsides across the country. Here is what they mean, and how to find them.
Discover the ancient superstitions Irish fishermen kept for centuries — forbidden words, unlucky colours, and the rules that could end a voyage before it began.
Ireland still has over 3,000 medieval tower houses standing. Discover who built these private castles, what daily life looked like inside, and how to find them on your visit.
Discover why Irish farmers buried butter in bogs for millennia — and why hundreds of ancient deposits are still being found in Ireland today.
Discover why 45,000 ancient Irish fairy forts still dot the countryside untouched — and why even modern roads are rerouted to avoid disturbing them.
Dublin’s Donnybrook Fair ran for 651 years until its brawling reputation became too much. Discover the true story behind the word ‘donnybrook’.