The Book of Kells is Ireland’s most famous treasure: a Latin Gospel book made around 800, probably by Colm Cille’s monks on Iona, at Kells or both. Here’s where it came from, who made it, the Chi Rho page, what its colours really are (lapis lazuli was probably never used), the 1007 theft and lost gold cover, how it reached Trinity College, and how to see it in Dublin or free online.
Ogham is the oldest way of writing Irish: 20 letters of strokes and notches cut along the edge of a standing stone. Here’s how it works, what the 400-plus ogham stones actually say, the truth about the “tree alphabet”, the legend of Ogma, where to see ogham stones in Kerry, Waterford, Cork and Dublin, and a letter chart for writing your own name.
Two hearts, a dot for each child and one unbroken line. Here’s what the Celtic motherhood knot means, how to show your children in it, and the honest story of where this modern design came from.
What the Celtic love knot and Serch Bythol mean, how old they really are, the documented love knots of Chaucer, sailors, Welsh lovespoons and Scottish brooches, and how to choose one for a wedding or anniversary.
The Celtic shield knot is sold as the Celtic symbol for protection. The four-cornered shape really is carved on early Irish and British stones, but the name and meaning are modern. Here’s the honest history, with sources.
The Dara knot is named after the Irish oak and stands for strength. The knotwork method is early medieval, but I found no Dara knot before the internet age. Here is the evidence, the oak’s real history, and how it compares to the shield and trinity knots.
Two hands, a heart and a crown. Here’s what the Claddagh ring means, which hand and which way to wear it, and the real Galway story behind it, with the legends marked as legends.
Nollaig na mBan (pronounced NULL-ig na MON) means Women’s Christmas. It falls on the 6th of January, the last day of the Irish Christmas, and it is the day the …
The real St Brendan the Navigator: the Kerry monk behind the Navigatio, the island that was a whale, Tim Severin’s leather boat, and whether he ever reached America.
Grace O’Malley, Granuaile, was a real Mayo sea captain who met Elizabeth I in 1593. Here is what the records say, what is legend, and where to find her today.
The best-known Celtic symbols are the Celtic knot (eternity), the Triquetra or Trinity knot (three-in-one), the Celtic cross (faith), the triskele (life, death and rebirth), the Dara knot (strength), the …
In the vast lands of Ireland, where myths weave through the hills as easily as the morning mist, the tales of Oengus and Áine hold a special place in the …
St Brigid’s Day (Lá Fhéile Bríde, pronounced law AY-luh BREE-juh) is the 1st of February, the first day of spring in the old Irish calendar and the festival of Imbolc. …
The Great Silkie of Sule Skerry is Child Ballad 113, a Shetland song about a seal-man, his son and a gunner. Here are the old words, a plain-English guide verse by verse, the tunes, and Ireland’s own seal-folk stories.
Irish mythology is not something I have covered much on Irish Around The World. But I thought there was no better time to start than today. And what better way …