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.
Merry Christmas in Irish is Nollaig Shona duit to one person and Nollaig Shona daoibh to a group. Here’s how to say it, how to reply and what to write in a card. You’ll also find the Scottish Gaelic version and 35 Christmas words in Irish.
Over 50 real Irish quotes about life, love, friendship, drink, home and writing, each with the speaker and source. Plus the famous lines Yeats, Wilde and Shaw never said.
The Irish passport gives visa-free access to 186 destinations in 2026. See the most powerful passports, what an Irish passport lets you do, and citizenship through grandparents.
St Patrick wasn’t Irish, Ireland never had snakes, and it’s Paddy, not Patty. Here are 20 myths about Ireland and the Irish, each with what’s actually true and where the truth comes from.
63 Irish toasts for every occasion: classic, funny, for friends, wakes, weddings, birthdays and St Patrick’s Day, plus toasts in Irish with plain pronunciations and the honest story of which “old Irish toasts” are really American, Scottish or English.
Over 120 Irish dog names for boys and girls, each with its meaning and a rough guide to saying it. Gaelic words checked in the dictionary, Fionn’s hounds, pub and place names, and Ireland’s nine native breeds.
Ah, Dry January – the annual attempt to give the liver a holiday and swap pints for pints of water! After the indulgence of Christmas, thousands of people across Ireland …
Time, the great leveller, is both our companion and nemesis. It speeds past us when we’re enjoying ourselves and drags its heels during life’s more trying moments. In Ireland, where …
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 …
160 old Irish proverbs (seanfhocail), each with the Irish, an easy pronunciation, a literal translation and what it means, sorted by theme: life, love, friendship, family, death, hard times, work, travel, drink, the weather and the funny ones. Plus an occasion finder, famous fakes and their true sources, spelling mistakes to avoid and where the proverbs come from.
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 …
Are you staring at a blank Valentine’s Day card, looking for the best Valentine’s Day messages for your partner? Don’t worry, we have all been there. You want to express …
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.