Aer Lingus is planning ten new routes from the US to Ireland over the next five years, says the CEO of International Airlines Group Willie Walsh.

IAG is the holding company for British Airways, Iberia, Vueling (Spanish low cost airline), and Aer Lingus.

Among the markets believed to be under consideration are Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, San Diego, Seattle, Detroit among others.

The flights are possible thanks to Aer Lingus' planned purchase of eight Airbus A321 long range aircraft.

“It is unlikely that we would operate to all 10, some would be competing with each other, but we are out there talking to airports that could be served,” Walsh, former CEO of both Aer Lingus and British Airways, told The Irish Times.

He stated that US airports frequently approached him saying they “would love to see” Aer Lingus and Level, IAG’s new long-haul airline, flying there.

Aer Lingus chief operating officer, Mike Rutter, said the airline plans to buy the A321s, priced at around €100 million each, this month.

Read more: Aer Lingus launching game-changing $201 transatlantic flights

Aer Lingus is seeking to grow its American passengers at Dublin Airport to 4.5 million by 2020 from the current 2.5 million this year.

Aer Lingus has begun flights to Miami. In 2016, it re-launched services to Los Angeles and Newark, New Jersey, plus a new service to Hartford, Connecticut.

Walsh stated the entire IAG fleet was doing well. “All our companies performed well. Passenger unit revenue was up 2.2 percent at constant currency, boosted by improvements in the Spanish and Latin American markets. Our commercial performance was good despite underlying disruption from severe weather and terrorism,” he said.

Where would you like to see an Aer Lingus route? Let ius know in the comments section below. 

Read more: Aer Lingus ranked one of the top 10 airlines in the world

Halloween is as Irish as the love of the humble spud! From the Celtic festival of Samhain to wearing black and orange the secrets behind the festivities

Halloween itself, is Samhain

It is an ancient Irish festival, created for Samhain, the day when the undead walk among us and we must ward off evil spirits.

Start of winter

It marked the end of the long days and the drawing in of winter. In the same way that the Celts celebrated Lughnasa, the festival when the harvest was brought in, Samhain represented the beginning of winter.

Blindfold games meanings

A favorite game was to blindfold the Irish person and ask them to place their hand on some Halloween items. A bowl of water meant emigration, a piece of earth meant a death in the family, a ring meant a wedding and so on.

James Joyces' Clay

One of the greatest short stories by James Joyce, ‘Clay,’ refers to this very custom when the main character touches the clay saucer but is quickly moved on by her worried relatives.

A ring in a barm brack

The ring was also hidden in the barm brack, the fruitcake specially made for the occasion. The person who got the ring-- if you didn’t swallow it-- had a happy marriage ahead.

Bobbing for apples

Bobbing for apples is when couples try to bite an apple that is bobbing in a bowl of water. The symbolism was biting into the seed, which meant fertility in the year ahead.

A red-haired woman

Meeting a red-haired woman was a bad omen especially for fishermen, but meeting one on Halloween was even more dire. A man had to turn around and go right back home, but funnily, a woman did not.

Orange and black

Orange and black, the colors of Halloween, are the colors of death in Celtic legend.

The power of druids

Druids were especially powerful at Halloween when the spirit world was closest. Their visions and predictions were most closely listened to then.

The custom of Halloween was brought to America by Irish famine emigrants in the 1840s.

* Originally published in October 2010. 

Irish Halloween recipes for all your costumed monsters!

Halloween festivities are never complete without some traditional Irish treats to help you celebrate. For a great way to get the whole family involved in the holiday, here is a list of simple recipes for our favorite Irish-inspired Halloween dishes. Not only can you enjoy these delicious traditional dishes, but you can also have fun with making future predictions!

Irish Halloween recipe – Colcannon

Colcannon is a traditional Irish potato dish eaten on Halloween. Its unique, yet simple recipe has become popular around the world. It usually includes chopped kale, cabbage or green cabbage mixed with hot, floury, mashed potatoes.

This tasty dish is a popular favorite at Oíche Shamhna (Halloween) and is easy to make, especially with the kids. The word colcannon is from the Irish cal ceannan, which literally means "white-headed cabbage."

In the past, as is done with barmbrack, charms were mixed into the colcannon. Charms found were seen as a portent for the future. A button meant you would remain a bachelor, and a thimble meant you would remain a spinster for the coming year. A ring meant you would get married, and a coin meant you would come into wealth.

Some women filled their socks with colcannon and hung them from the handle of the front door in the belief that the first man through the door would become their future husband.

Ingredients

4 lbs potatoes, or about 7-8 large potatoes (‘old’ potatoes or russet potatoes are best, waxy potatoes won’t do)
1 green cabbage or Kale
1 cup milk or cream
1 stick of butter, divided into three parts
4-5 scallions (green onions), chopped
Salt and Pepper
Fresh Parsley or chives *Not everyone adds scallions to colcannon, but they are worth having, in my opinion. 

Method

Peel and boil the potatoes. Remove the core from the cabbage, slice it thinly, and place into a large saucepan. Cover with boiling water and keep at a slow rolling boil until the cabbage is just wilted and has turned a darker green. This can take between 3-5 minutes, depending on the cabbage. Test it and don’t let it overcook. If anything, it should be slightly under-cooked.

When the cabbage is cooked, drain it well and squeeze to get any excess moisture out, then return to the saucepan.

Add one-third of the butter and cover. Leave it covered and in a warm place, but not on a burner, with the butter melting gently into it while you continue.

When the potatoes are soft, drain, and then return to the saucepan with the drained potatoes in. Put burner to low, leaving the lid off so that any excess moisture can evaporate.

When they are perfectly dry, add the milk to the saucepan along with a third of the butter and the chopped scallions (if you are using them). Allow the milk to warm but not boil – it is about right when the butter has fully melted into it and it starts to steam.

With a potato masher or a fork, mash the potatoes thoroughly into the butter/milk mixture. Do NOT pass through a ricer or, worse, beat in a mixer as it will make the potatoes gluey and disgusting.

Mix the cabbage thoroughly through the mashed potato.

Before serving, season with a pinch of salt and sprinkle with fresh parsley or chives. Most importantly, make a well in the center of the mound of potato and put the last third of the butter in there to melt.

Irish Halloween recipe - Barmbrack

In the weeks leading up to Halloween, homes are littered with the delicious treat known as barmbrack, which is an Irish fruit loaf. The title comes from the Irish 'bairín breac' which literally means 'speckled loaf.'

Traditionally in Ireland, each member of the family would get a slice of the cake. But you had to be careful when chewing the delicious treat, as there were several charms hidden inside, wrapped in baking paper, which signified omens for the finder's future.

If you found a ring, you’re in for some romance. If you got the coin, then you're in for a prosperous year, but if you found the rag then your financial future was in doubt. If you find the thimble, then you will never marry! Nowadays, all barmbracks sold in Irish shops around Halloween contain a ring.

Ingredients

375g dried fruit
300ml cold tea
225g self-raising flour
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon mixed spice
125g caster sugar
Honey or Golden Syrup (optional – for decoration) 

Method

Soak the fruit in tea overnight, then drain. Mix together with the rest of the ingredients (apart from the honey/golden syrup) and stir in the charms. Don’t over knead the dough or your delicately re-hydrated fruit will break up.

Line the base of a 20cm round cake tin or 900g loaf tin with greaseproof paper. Grease the tin and pile in the mixture.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 340F for about an hour until risen and firm to the touch.

You can brush melted honey or golden syrup over the brack before cutting. Or glaze the brack with a syrup made from two teaspoons of sugar dissolved in three teaspoons of boiling water.

Love Irish recipes? Visit our recipes page or like IrishCentral’s Recipes Facebook page and never miss a recipe again!

* Originally published October 2010.

Ireland has a rich history of sightings of ghosts and spirits all around the country. This Halloween ask yourself do you believe in ghosts?

Ireland has a rich history of sightings of ghosts and spirits all around the country. From specters to strange appearances, here are ten of some of the more recent encounters just in time for Halloween.

Are you a believer or a skeptic?

Virgin and Child on a tree stump, Rathkeale

Legend has it that a female specter who haunted the churchyard in Rathkeale, Limerick was so terrifying that all who looked upon her died soon after. A local man banished the ghost by slicing off her arm with his sword and praying for the rest of the night. In an odd coincidence in 2009, the Limerick Newsire reported that a tree stump in the churchyard contains the image of the Virgin Mary and Child, and that hundreds of visitors had come to the area to pray.

Short Green Men, Galway

Perhaps a leprechaun sighting? In 1992, a fifteen year old boy spied two figures just over three feet tall sea-fishing on the Aran Islands in Galway. The figures were each reportedly dressed in green and wearing brown shoes, and were speaking to each other in Irish before they disappeared. One of the small figures left behind a pipe which the 15 year old witness took possession of, although it curiously disappeared later despite being “safely” locked away.

Waiting Lady at Ardgillan Castle, Dublin

In a location known as The Lady’s Stairs at Ardgillan Castle in Dublin, there have been reports of a recurring apparition of a lady, known as the Waiting Lady. The phantom woman is said to be waiting for her husband, who had drowned one night leaving his wife waiting on the bridge for him. One version of the story says that whoever sees the Lady on Halloween night will be picked up and thrown into the ocean.

Lilac Balls of Light, Dublin

Reports are split as to what these apparent Balls of Light spotted in Glenasmole, Bohernabreena Dublin, actually are. Some locals believe that their lilac color lends themselves to be fairies, while others believe the lights are the manifestation of a lady who lost her way in a snowstorm in the middle ages and died. It’s said that she now manifests herself in these balls of light to guide others home safely.

Headless Horseman, Dublin

Roper’s Rest, off Blackpitts Road in Dublin, was the home of Thomas Roper who became Viscount Baltinglass. Local residents have reported seeing a headless horseman riding by after nightfall. Although no specific connection has been established between Roper’s Rest and the horseman, it is rumored to be associated with a gruesome incident in which a member of the Roper family died and was unattended to for several days before burial.

Screams of Spanish Soldiers at Dun an Oir, County Kerry

Over eight hundred Spanish soldiers landed in the area of Dun an Oir in 1580, overrunning an English garrison. Spanish reinforcements failed to come, however, and their victory was short lived when more English troops arrived forcing the Spaniards to surrender and meet their deaths. Their death throes echo around the area on October 1, the anniversary of their defeat.

Robed Figure at Kilbeggan Distillery, Westmeath

Whiskey isn’t the only spirit at this distillery! In 2007, several people reported having seen a robed figure walking around the site, which is the oldest distillery in the world, dating back to 1757. The Westmeath Examiner reports that Derek Acorah, the star of TV`s `Most Haunted` and `Ghost Towns,` said he felt ‘engulfed’ by spirits when he entered the distillery.

Weeping Statue in Dungloe at the Kerrytown shrine, Donegal

The Irish Independent reported that on September 29, 2009, fourteen people claimed to witness crosses that formed in the sky above the shrine, before the statue became animated and began to weep. The shrine has become a popular site after producing a religious apparition seventy years ago.

War Staff Apparitions, City of Derry Airport

This Derry Airport, formerly known as Eglinton Air Base, was a thriving location in the 1940s as it served as a base during WWII. Staff there have reported seeing figures dressed in World War Two clothing around the airport.

Rocking Virgin Mary at Ballinspittle Grotto, Cork

* Cathy O'Mahony and her mother observed the statue of the Virgin Mary rocking on its heels on July 22, 1985. The following night they returned with friends who observed the same event. Since this time, tens of thousands of people have visited the shrine in the hope of seeing something. The Irish Independent reported more recently that O’Mahony stands by her observations, despite others ridiculing her.

There have been many more famous ghost sightings in Ireland. Do you have a favorite? Have you ever seen one? Let us know in the comment section. 

Forging transatlantic ties to deliver real economic benefits to Northwest Ireland will be the focus of the ninth annual Golden Bridges conference in Boston on 17 November.

A high-powered delegation from Derry and Donegal will showcase the very best of the Northwest to an audience of influential Irish American business and political leaders keen to learn more about the region’s offering.  The conference and luncheon will be addressed by Brendan Griffin, TD, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport and Joe McHugh TD, Minister of State at the Department of Culture with responsibility for Gaeilge, Gaeltacht and the Islands

“Through the Golden Bridges conference, we’ve come to know more about the exceptional companies and individuals who are flying the flag for Northwest Ireland,” says Boston-based Golden Bridges moderator Sean P. Moynihan. “In particular, we’ve been thrilled to follow the upward trajectory of the Northwest Science Park and the success of companies like Bemis, Pramerica, Randox and Seagate. Now, we’re keen to hear more about plans to create a medical school at the Magee Campus of the University of Ulster and be brought up to date with the 2023 European City of Culture bid. Derry and Donegal have firm friends in Boston and Massachusetts and our intention is to ensure that relationship is strengthened and enhanced at the Golden Bridges gathering.”

Among the Boston welcome party will be Senator Thomas McGee and Representative Dan Ryan of Massachusetts, attorney Maureen Bennett of Jones Day LLC in Boston, and Christine Kinealy, Chair Institute of Ireland’s Great Hunger at Quinnipiac University, Connecticut.

Heading the delegation from the Northwest will be Mayor Maolíosa McHugh of Derry City and Strabane District Council and Cllr Gerry McMonagle, Mayor of Donegal. Also taking part in the conference will be representatives of Ulster University, Údarás na Gaeltachta, Tourism Ireland and Invest Northern Ireland.

For full agenda and to register, go to www.aisling-events.com.

Today, October 31, is not just Halloween but also Magic Day 2017.

We’ve put together a list of ancient charms and spells based on this Irish magic.

Whether you are seeking a spell for love, luck, or healing, emotional charms, or even potency, these charms and spells will have something for you.

Irish love spell

On the night of a full moon, walk to a spot beneath your beloved's bedroom window. Whisper his/her name three times to the night wind (el alder).

The night breeze is believed to have a guardian who is compassionate toward requests from mortals between midnight and 1 am (the witching hour).

Irish spell to find stolen goods

Place two keys in a sieve, cross ways. Two people hold the sieve while another makes a cross sign on the forehead of the suspected thief, calling out their name loudly three times. If the person is innocent, the keys will remain stationary. If the person is guilty, the keys will start to revolve slowly round the sieve.

Irish spell to attract good fortune

You will be damn lucky with this one. You will need a candle, some string, and a trinket.

Light the candle and loop the string in through the trinket and tie it. Then start swinging the trinket above the flame and chant:

“A candle flickers, this trinket I pass, good energy and fortune come to me, wealth, knowledge, influence, energy.

"By good means come to me, wealth, knowledge, influence, energy.

"This trinket I pass into power, to attract to me wealth, knowledge, influence, energy, come to me!”

Repeat this three times, then wear the "necklace" around your neck. The more you do this, the more powerful.

Read more: The ancient race who ruled Ireland and their magic harp

Irish beauty spell

This spell makes you prettier than you think – just follow the instructions.

During a full moon, take a mirror and go outside (if you can't then open a window, make sure the moon is reflected on the mirror), take a piece of a picture of your hair, lips, eyes, or whatever you are interested in changing, and place it on the mirror. While concentrating on it, say, "Moonshine, Starlight, let the wind carry your light, let your glow cover my body, and let your shine cover every eye."

Say it three times and concentrate on the part you want to change. Then say, “Moonshine, Starlight, shape and mold my body, as a rose is granted beauty, let me blossom in your light, the light that brings me beauty, and grant me beauty three times three."

Say it three times and when you are finished light a pink candle or incense.

Irish spell to get someone to call you

Take a piece of parchment or fine quality writing paper and inscribe the name of the target. Write it in a circle twice, so the ends meet. As you do this, concentrate on the person's face and your desire for them to call you. Then, while still concentrating, put a needle through the center of the circle created by the name. Place the charm by the phone.

The call will come within five minutes, five hours or five days depending on how well the spell was cast and how much will power was used.

Read more: The history behind Ireland’s ancient Druids (PHOTOS)

Irish Hair binding / Bond of trust

In ancient Ireland, it was customary for a man to braid a bracelet from his hair and give it to the woman he loved – a gift of trust – knowing what can be done to someone magically if you possess their hair.

The binding is not activated unless she accepts the gift, thus accepting him and agreeing to the spell. This is not a binding that can be imposed on another person without their knowledge.

Irish healing charm for a wound

Close the wound tightly with the two fingers, and repeat these words slowly:

"In the name of Dagda, Bridget and Diancecht. The wound was red, the cut was deep, and the flesh was sore; but there will be no more blood, and no more pain, 'till the Gods come down to earth again."

An Irish charm for always having money

Take the feather of a black rooster, go to the crossing points of three fairy-paths, and while holding the feather and a gold colored coin, call the name of the Goddess Áine three times, to bring you everlasting prosperity.

Irish elixir of potency

Two ounces of cochineal, one ounce of gentian root, eight grams of saffron, four grams of snakeroot, four grams of salt of wormwood, and the rind of ten oranges. All of this should be steeped in a quart of brandy, and kept for when it is needed.

Irish charm against depression

When a person becomes low, depressed and careless about everything, as if all vital strength and energy has gone, he is said to have got a 'fairy blast,' and blast-water must be poured over him by the hands of a fairy doctor while saying, "In the name of Lugh with his shining sword, who has strength before the gods and stands among them." 

Be careful to ensure that no portion of the water is sullied. Whatever is left over after the procedure must be poured onto the fire.

* Originally published in September 2012.

I had mighty craic locally last week relating the absolutely true story of how I was once so innocently angelic that an actual halo was seen by all in our Arney Chapel over my head on a Good Friday afternoon.

Little wonder that the entire congregation gasped with wonder at the spiritual sight.  You probably would too even today. Upon reflection I decided that I should share the yarn with you lot so that ye will read my words with even more respect in future.

It is true that the apparition of the halo was brief. It is equally true, to my sorrow, that it never has happened since to date.

But, above all, it is the truth that I was an absolutely angelic altar boy in my surplice and soutane standing beside the priest inside the Arney altar rails on that Good Friday afternoon of great devotion and veneration. I was 10 years old then, you see, had bright green eyes, a ready and friendly smile, and a fine head of coal-black curls.

Indeed one of my only problems at the time around Arney was the frequency with which large women would pick me up and hug me and coo over me and press my face against what I now know were whalebone corsets. Being angelic, naturally, I smiled and put up with that without any protest at all. That is probably how one lays down the foundations for a halo to appear over your head.

Some of you who were born over here will recall the solemnity of the Good Friday gatherings in little country chapels like ours back then. At the climax of the event the people would file up reverently to kiss the crucifix held by the priest. He would wipe the crucifix with a cloth between each kiss and was flanked by two altar boys bearing brass candlesticks.

I was the one on his right hand side on the day. Standing guard on the other side was my neighbor, now Father Brian D'Arcy, one of Ireland's best-known priests.

But it was not over Brian's head that the halo appeared. It was over mine. I'm still very proud of that.

It is relevant that the ceremonies in the chapel were so central to our Catholic community that my dear mother made certain that I was well washed and cleaned up for the afternoon.  And she had freshly laundered my small surplice and soutane. And she put a dash of brilliantine atop my curls to make them glisten ever more brightly before heading out to the chapel.

There were no selfies in that era, of course, only Box Brownies, but I recall she told me I was looking really well before I headed into the sacristy to get robed and ready for the ceremony.  And the chapel was packed to the doors when we began.

Incidentally, things and arrangements were very different then to now. The women’s side was to the left of the single aisle with the men occupying the brown benches on the other side. You knew when there were strangers in the parish if they went into the wrong benches by accident.

The line of devotees coming up in the queue to kiss the crucifix moved very slowly too, and maybe there was a social and economic context to that too. The men, overwhelmingly farmers, were getting stiff and slow on their legs, even in their forties, from the hard manual labor on small boggy farms.

Their womenfolk, in that ascetic time when they were ordered by their church authorities to increase and multiply, were frequently the mothers of up to 10 and 12 sons and daughters, and that slowed them down in the queue as well.  Anyway it was a slow process.

And just like that, the entire congregation uttered a loud gasp as, suddenly, the halo appeared over my angelic young head.  I now know, by way of explanation, that what happened was that I had closed my eyes for a second, my head had dropped down slightly over the candle flame and the brilliantine which my dear mother had applied to my curls was, apparently, as highly flammable as petroleum

So my hair went quickly afire and that fire produced a perfectly circular blue class of a halo over my head. And what followed was stunning in more ways than one.

A neighbor man in the queue, a man bearing the locally common surname Love, rushed forward and began beating me around the head with the tweed cap he had in his hands.  He put out the flames before they did me any harm at all and the halo disappeared too. Afterwards I was very disappointed that I was about the only one in the chapel who had not seen it.

So there it is. A final truth, I suppose, is that I was saved by Love that Good Friday from joining my fellow angels high above Arney Chapel in another dimension long before my time!

A couple weeks ago, we asked IrishCentral's readers to share your scariest Irish ghost stories and spookiest encounters... and we haven't slept a wink since. 

The following three scary stories stood out in particular for their scariness (and, in one case, hilarity) and we're pleased to be sharing them with you now on Halloween, the spookiest day of them all. 

Prepare yourself for a good scare, and here are some Halloween blessings for after! 

Didn't get a chance to tell yours? Share it in the comments. 

The Ghost of Damer, and faeries who don’t want you to leave

Over the course of three wonderful trips to Ireland, I have had two experiences which I cannot explain in any way other than some kind of supernatural agency.

The first occurred in 2005 when I was performing an original one-man musical play, On Yonder Hill: An Irish-American Love Story, as a part of Heritage Week in Roscrea Castle in County Tipperary.

Built in the thirteenth century the castle is steeped in history and I knew that using the hearth of the fireplace as the stage for my play involving Irish history would provide an experience I would never forget.  Little did I know how true that prediction would turn out to be.

I rehearsed the show the afternoon prior to my performance and everything went splendidly including the playing of my prerecorded musical accompaniments on a CD player which had been provided by the Heritage Ireland at the castle.

The night of my performance I waited in my dressing room, the medieval toilet chamber, for my entrance music.  When I didn’t hear it begin at the appropriate time, I started to wonder what was happening.  I waited a bit longer.  Still no entrance music.  Finally, after about ten minutes, I decided I had best sneak out to where the CD player operator was seated and enquire as to why the show was being delayed.

“I can’t get the CD to play,” he told me.  He tried pressing play several times in front of me and I could see that he was right.  Although the CD player had functioned perfectly only hours before, it now refused to function at all.  “I have a great CD player at home, only a couple of blocks away,” he suggested.  “I’ll go home and get it.  “You tell stories to the audience until I get back.’

So that was what I did.  

When he got back he plugged in his CD player.  We put my CD in and it played perfectly.  We announced to the crowd that we were now ready to go but when he pressed play again, again nothing happened.

“It must be your CD,” he suggested.

Fortunately, I had a back-up CD.  We put it into the player and it played perfectly.  Again, we announced to the crowd that now we were ready to go but, when he pressed play again, again nothing happened.

I had performed this show many times before and had never had the slightest problem with my CDs but, at this point, I had no choice but to perform the play without music, singing thirteen songs a capella.  The audience seemed pleased with this decision and everything was going fine until, in the middle of the show, I clearly saw a tall, dark form appear in the middle of the audience.  The figure moved a few feet to the left and, then, vanished before my eyes.

I did my best to continue my performance as if nothing had happened.

Later that night an official with Heritage Ireland who had not been able to attend the show asked me, “How did it go?”

When I told her what had happened, she gave a look of concern and, without missing a beat, said, “The ghost of Damer!”

Now John Damer was a wealthy Englishman who, back in 1722, had bought the castle and the entire town of Roscrea as well and had built the elegant Queen Anne style mansion on the castle grounds.  As Damer was a member of the English Ascendency who lorded over and subjugated the native Irish, it was easy for me to understand why, if his ghost had seen the rehearsal of my play with its pro-Irish independence theme earlier that day, he would have wanted to stop me from performing it that night, something in which he almost succeeded!

When I asked the official from Heritage Ireland to tell me more about the ghost, she immediately began to backtrack, denying that the castle was actually haunted.

However, when I mentioned my experience at the next castle in which I performed the play a few days later, the official there said, “Oh, everyone knows that Roscrea Castle is haunted.  They just don’t want to admit it for fear of scaring away the tourists!”

My second experience occurred eight years later while visiting the ruins of the abbey on the Holy Island of Monaincha one morning on the outskirts of Roscrea.

I was there all by myself and found myself so intrigued with the place that I found it almost impossible to leave. When I finally decided to leave, every ounce of strength seemed to leave my body and I felt as if I didn’t leave immediately, I would pass out and, perhaps, even die. This was very strange as I was in very good health, had gotten enough sleep the night before, had enjoyed a full Irish breakfast and was full of energy when I had ridden a bicycle about a mile from my B&B to Monaincha.

I immediately recalled stories I had read of the fairy folk taking people who remained too long in the wrong place down into the realm of the Otherworld and, while I had never before believed such stories, I now became concerned and, though still feeling faint, I managed to summon up enough strength to leave the island and make my way to the edge of where, centuries before, a bog had originally surrounded the island. The further I got away from the island, the better I felt until, upon reaching what had been the far bank of what had been the bog, I was feeling absolutely normal again.

When I looked back at the island I realized for the first time that, from a distance, if one can eliminate the abbey from one’s mind, the island looks very much like a fairy fort.

After leaving Monainhia via the unpaved road which leads to the island, I turned to the left and bicycled a mile or so up a paved road heading away from Roscrea, exploring the countryside.

At length, I turned around and headed back toward Roscrea.  When I neared where one could make a right turn onto the unpaved road leading to the island, all by itself, the front wheel of my bicycle turned and sent me heading back to the island.  This was so frightening that I yanked the handle bars back in the opposite direction and pedaled for all I was worth until I was far from the unpaved road which would have led back to the island.

When I returned to the States and had a chance to look carefully at the attached photographs I had taken in Ireland I was stunned to see a strange circular rainbow effect in the upper right hand area of the above photo taken in the interior of the abbey.  Similar circular rainbow effects appeared in this other photograph taken from a distance after leaving the abbey.

I have taken hundreds of photos with the camera I used on that day and nothing like this has appeared in any photograph other than these three taken at Monaincha.  Although I am not an expert on the subject of optics, I do not believe these to be sun flares as I was not shooting into the sun and such artifacts did not appear in any of the other numerous photographs I had taken while at Monaincha from similar viewpoints.

While there may well be some “normal” explanation for what I had experienced that morning on the Holy Island of Monaincha, I have yet to find one.

Mark Lyon, www.hauntedisles.com

“Hey, you feckin’ ghost!”

I live in Pennsylvania and my wife and I take our family to Ireland every two or three years for vacation. Four years ago we rented a small castle near Adare for our family vacation. There were five of us, my wife, our two youngest children, my mother in law and myself in the castle. It was a really unique vacation rental for us and a great place from which we could explore western Ireland everyday. We got back so late each evening that even in the long Irish summer evenings the sun was setting when we'd return.

There were several full bathrooms on the second floor and another one on the first floor. Starting with the very first night, family members who used the first floor bathroom experienced the lights going off and on while they were taking care of their business. This went on for several days. We actually found it more entertaining than frightening and we joked about the ghost in the bathroom.

I don't believe in ghosts and assumed it was just a loose wire or something. However, about the middle of the week I was using the bathroom and had taken some reading material with me. As I sat there on the "throne," the games began with the lights. Since I was reading, this really annoying. After the lights went off for the third time, I was pissed off. So, thinking on the off chance that this was more paranormal than something that could be explained;  I shouted into the darkness "hey you feckin' ghost, I can't feckin' read, so quit feckin' with the lights. They immediately came back on and never went out again while anyone else was in the bathroom the remainder of the week.

Paul Pasqualini, Carlisle, PA

We both saw the same ghost

It was March 1960 and the location was Room “Ardilaun” in the old wing of Ashford Castle in County Mayo.

My first wife and I were on our honeymoon.

Somewhere around 2 or 3 am I was wakened by the sight of a figure in a monk’s robes standing right beside me.

There was no face and the figure stood, head slightly bowed looking down at me. I froze, but didn’t actually feel threatened.

It quickly disappeared.

I didn’t sleep much, and decided not to say anything about it to my young wife for fear of scaring her.

First thing in the morning, having mentioned absolutely NOTHING of this to her, my wife said to me…

“I have not slept all night because I saw a figure of a monk moving across the room to the bed from the window.”

I don’t know how to explain that! I was told at the hotel that a ghost has, in fact, been seen in that part of the hotel from time to time.

A short distance from the hotel is the village of Cong where the ruins of an old abbey can be visited.

As a professional artist, I eventually did this painting of our ghost and I show myself asleep in a pose rather like a bog body in a Heaney poem.

The painting is oil and mixed media on canvas and is 30 x 36 ins in size.

John McConnell, Vancouver Island BC Canada,  www.johnmcconnellpaintings.com

Be careful what you look for

One famous author who was born and lived close to my grandparents' home in Sligo was Bram Stoker. He was very successful in arousing fear in the hearts and minds of his readers and, at a much later time movie viewers. In 1832 a severe cholera epidemic in Sligo formed the basis for Bram's “Dracula” novel. His mother Charlotte lived through this epidemic where it was recorded over one thousand, five hundred people died while thousands more fled the area.

At that time, over fifteen thousand residents lived there until it was reduced to about four thousand due to this widespread disease. Sligo’s commercial district was forcibly shut down. An average of fifty people died per day when this epidemic was at its height. The rate of death was so bad the local carpenters ran out of wood used for making simple coffins. The bodies were then wrapped in pitched sheets and quickly rolled into mass graves. In a rush to bury many of the dead, some of those diseased victims were believed to still be alive.

Charlotte witnessed many sick people, (for fear of spreading the infection) being pushed by long poles back into graves and then literally being buried alive. In later years Charlotte told her son of the horrors she had experienced.  It was the thoughts of those victims being buried alive which formed the genesis for Bram Stoker’s macabre creation of “Dracula”. The name ‘Dracula’ comes from the Irish word "Droch Ola" meaning "bad blood".   

Many years ago, when I worked in Dublin City, I attended classes at Bolton Street Technical College two evenings a week, and all day on Fridays studying automotive engineering. On one particular Friday our class was released early so I had to return to work along with fellow class mate and co-worker, Gerry. We both worked for Linder’s of Smithfield, a large automotive company located in the historic Smithfield Market, a ten minute walk from the college.

One curious point of interest we always passed on our way was one of the oldest churches in Dublin called Saint Michan's. (St. Michan’s was said to be an old Danish saint although old Irish records claim him as their own.) This church was built on the site of a Viking chapel, founded in 1095, for the Viking population who were expelled from within the walled city of Dublin.

Bram Stoker who lived in Dublin at the height of the great famine visited this church often where his family had a burial vault.  Below the church is a large limestone crypt which is believed to create the atmospheric conditions where many bodies have been preserved through the centuries by natural mummification, one of whom dates all the way back to the crusades.

This setting was to give Bram Stoker the inspiration he needed to set the scene for his Dracula books, which along with the bible, would become one of the biggest selling books of all time. His first book was published in 1897 and has never been out of print, as well as its having been translated into over fifty different languages. Some believe that Bram’s vampire bloodsucking was a metaphor for the landlords throughout Ireland, living up in their fine castles, draining the life out of the tenant peasants who were dying in the hundreds of thousands as a result of the ‘Great Potato Famine’.

As Gerry and I felt we had a little extra time on our hands and given it was Halloween, we decided to go in and creep ourselves out a bit by exploring the graveyard. For many years both Gerry and I were well acquainted with the history here and the fact that it was Dracula’s storyline birth place. I could see clearly the inspiration for Bram's gothic images as we meandered between the crypts encircling the church. If it were late at night, added with a little fog, the ghoulish scene would be set.

With the passage of time and the grounds uneven settling, many of the crypts had become fractured and partially split opened. Naturally as two young lads and full of curious mischief we dared each other to peer into one of those crypts. Not wanting to appear weak and allowing Gerry to get the upper hand I bent down to view the contents of one partially opened tomb which had a large crack running down its side.

As my eyes became accustomed to the dim light within, I began to make out the skeletal remains lying in that dark, damp place. The coffin had long crumbled to a pile of dust encircling its occupant. It was an unsettling macabre scene. At first I wasn’t sure, but I thought there was a slight movement of the skull. Then, suddenly…there it was again! A very subtle movement leading me to believe, perhaps I was seeing things. Abruptly the ghastly, blotchy grey skull with its blank, gaping stare turned its head to face me. In that shocking moment I launched myself backward in horror, knocking Gerry over, (who had bent in behind me, and had witnessed this also)!

I also in that moment caught a glimpse of the shadowed outline of a rodent as it emerged through one of the eye sockets. With heaved sighs of relief, this gave us both small comfort. Needless to say when we had gotten some distance from the crypt and grounds we laughed it off. But with an air of caution we gave the church and Dracula a very wide berth after that.  

It would be many more years before I returned to Saint Michan’s Church again.

Do you have a scary story to share? Start putting it together for next Halloween, or if you don't want to wait until then, tell us in the comment section here! 

Guinness has been in America for 200 years! Here's the full history of the iconic Irish beer and how you can celebrate with the limited release Guinness 200 brew. 

The story begins on October 16, 1817 with a single line in a brewer’s log. The handwritten note reveals the first eight barrels of Guinness beer – a porter to be exact – meant for America would make their arrival in South Carolina. Ever since then, the bond between America and Ireland has continued to grow, from Irish immigrants searching for a better life to community leaders to, of course, Guinness and the countless pints – shared responsibly – with the people of the United States.

The anniversary this fall is a celebration of a 200-year love affair between a brewery and a people: Guinness and America. There’s no better time than now for the Guinness brand to say thank you to America by introducing the limited-edition Guinness 200th Anniversary Export Stout; bringing back a few favorite stout releases for a festive variety pack; and hosting a pair of public events in New York City and Los Angeles.

“Two things have always been at the heart of the Guinness brand since our founding in 1759: brewing great beer and sharing our story,” said Emma Giles, Guinness Brand Director. “When we started brewing beer for America 200 years ago, that story became a shared one. Now, every time you share a pint with someone else, another chapter begins.”

Guinness 200th Anniversary Export Stout is the latest beer created by the Open Gate Brewery – the pilot brewery located at St. James’s Gate in Dublin – where Guinness brewers experiment with new styles and reinterpret historical brews. Inspired by a recipe Benjamin Guinness – the son of Arthur Guinness – originally developed in 1817, this beer is brewed with Black Patent Malt and Golding Hops and has a 6% ABV.

“We took a look at that export stout’s recipe from 1817 in our brewing records and used that as our inspiration here, but it’s not just an homage to who we were as brewers then or who America was as a country,” said Peter Simpson, Head Brewer at the Open Gate Brewery in Dublin. “We’re also using this beer as a way to show how much we’re looking forward to the next 200 years. We knew it had to be special, and we really think this throwback recipe captures exactly what we wanted from 1817 all the way through 2017.”

This October, Guinness will also release its newest limited-edition Guinness Draught cans, featuring artwork from the legendary Guinness ads from the 1930s and the 1950s that featured various zoo animals. Previous limited edition cans have featured the much-loved Guinness toucan and tortoise, among other works.

The 200 Years of Stout in America Mixed Pack – also on its way from Guinness – will bring back a few favorite stout recipes to add to the festivities. The full list of celebratory releases includes:

Guinness 200th Anniversary Export Stout – A deep, dark, authentic export stout with smooth, rich flavor; brewed with Black Patent Malt. (MSRP: $8.99, 6-pack)

Guinness Limited-Edition Mount Rushmore Cans – Classic Guinness Draught stout in limited-edition cans depicting everyone’s favorite toucans flying across the iconic American monument of Mount Rushmore from a rarely seen Guinness ad from the 1950s. (MSRP: $8.99, 8-pack)

Guinness 200 Years of Stout in America Mixed Pack – A collection of brews in honor of America’s love of stouts – Guinness Original, 200th Anniversary Export Stout, Antwerpen Stout and Foreign Extra Stout – all of which have been exported to the U.S. over the past 200 years. (MSRP: $21.99, 12-pack)

Along with Guinness 200th Anniversary Export Stout, these brews will be available in stores nationwide.

While the past 200 years are the reason for celebration, the next 200 years have even more possibility. The newest chapter in this Irish-American story will be set in Maryland, where the first Guinness brewery on U.S. soil in more than 60 years will open in 2018. The brewery’s name, the Open Gate Brewery & Barrel House, is a combination of the pilot brewery at St. James’s Gate and a nod to the plan for this new brewery to be a center for barrel-aging beer. The new home for Guinness in the U.S. will also be the permanent brewing site for Guinness Blonde American Lager and other new beers created specifically for the states.

Whether you’re celebrating the 200th anniversary of Guinness in the U.S. or toasting to the next 200 years, please remember to drink responsibly.

Ireland’s Irish-language station celebrate their 21st birthday with an impressive Halloween prank by their presenter.

After being struck down by lightning last Halloween, Irish presenter Caitlín Nic Aoidh fell foul of yet another prank this year, with some interesting looking Snapchat filters appearing as she made her continuity announcement.

With the Irish-language television station TG4 celebrating its 21st birthday today, the Co. Donegal presenter took part in a slightly more playful Halloween prank, as viewers watched her line up the evening’s Halloween schedule through a series of the app’s most popular filters. The dog filter, of course, had to be included.

The station thanked their Snap-Gremlins for making an appearance:

Is maith linn 'Snap-Gremlins' ar Oíche seo na Samhna! @mikegriff89😂https://t.co/7qc1XPFogc

— TG4 (@TG4TV) October 31, 2017

The popular presenter's previous Halloween prank having gone viral last year, viewers were just as amused to see her take on another one this Halloween:

Anyone else see this babe on @TG4TV earlier? #cleasmaith#gaeilge#tg4#halloween#oícheshamhnapic.twitter.com/wqpC77tvFa

— Michael Griffin (@mikegriff89) October 31, 2017

Ah go on ... #tg4https://t.co/y3M0C28hp1

— Loretta Ní Ghabháin (@LorGMedia) October 31, 2017

This is the third year in a row that TG4 has made their audience laugh with a Halloween prank from Nic Aoidh.  She appeared from their Co. Galway studio presenting the weather via a magic carpet in 2015 before her brush with a storm last year.

Read more: These spooky story submissions will scare your socks off

The appearance of the Snap-Gremlins will do nothing to put off TG4's social media game, however. Back at the start of 2017, IrishCentral named them as one of the top Irish Snapchat accounts you can follow and we're sure that'll continue, gremlins or no gremlins. 

Know somebody who loves a good Halloween prank? Be sure to share this with someone who needs a laugh this Halloween. 

A midnight tractor drive spells trouble for this 18-year-old farm worker.

Derry City may currently have been taken over by ghouls and goblins for their massive annual Halloween festival but night owls in the city in the north of Ireland may have received more of a shock last August to see a tractor rolling down their streets.

An 18-year-old agricultural worker from Co. Donegal was found guilty this week of two motoring offenses for taking his tractor out for a midnight drive in Derry City last August 16.

But it wasn’t for any runaway livestock that the teenage farmhand was on the hunt but for a local woman who might have a fondness for a man with plenty of road frontage (i.e. the amount of land you own close to a road, a now often jokingly used term to describe someone’s potential as a future significant other).

Read more: Irish farmer proposes to girlfriend in the most Irish farmer way possible

Anthony Breslin from Gortnaskeas in Burnfoot was stopped by the police after he had been spotted driving his tractor around the city center through Foyle Street, Shipquay Street, Ferryquay Street, and Orchard Street just before midnight in mid-August.

When questioned about why he was bringing such an unsuitable vehicle into the city, Breslin told police that he was "using it for social purposes in that he was driving around the city center to see if there were any women about.”

As a learner driver, not only did Breslin not have his “L” plates on display but he was not accompanied by a qualified driver, making him guilty of two motoring offenses in this late-night look for love.

Read more: Irish farmers go viral for their amazingly difficult accents

"He admitted the offences to the police and told them he was stupid. He also told the police he was using the tractor for social reasons rather than for agricultural reasons,” a solicitor for the Public Prosecution Service told District Judge Michael Ranaghan.

Breslin was not present in court but has been asked to appear in two weeks time for sentencing.

Have you ever had a strange encounter with a tractor in Ireland? Let us know about it in the comments section, below. 

H/T: Irish Independent

As the remaining games of the World Series are played, a time-honored tradition will take place during the seventh inning stretch of each game, the crowd will sing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”

Regrettably, the song they sing will be incomplete, as only the chorus will reverberate through Dodger Stadium. The original verses, highlighting the pivotal character Katie Casey, a dyed-in-the-wool baseball fan, have been lost to time and all that remains is a lighthearted homage to “peanuts and Cracker Jack.”

Katie Casey was baseball mad,

Had the fever and had it bad.

Just to root for the hometown crew,

Every sou [a low-value French coin] Katie blew.

On a Saturday her young beau

Called to see if she'd like to go

To see a show, but Miss Kate said

"No, I'll tell you what you can do."

Chorus

Take me out to the ball game,

Take me out with the crowd;

Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack,

I don't care if I never get back.

Let me root, root, root for the home team,

If they don't win, it's a shame.

For it's one, two, three strikes, you're out,

At the old ball game.

Katie Casey saw all the games,

Knew the players by their first names.

Told the umpire he was wrong,

All along, Good and strong.

When the score was just two to two,

Katie Casey knew what to do,

Just to cheer up the boys she knew,

She made the gang sing this song.

The idea for the beloved ditty, composed by Jack Norworth in 1908, was inspired by a poster he saw when riding a New York subway train. The sign, “Ball Game Today—Polo Grounds,” spurred the composer to pen the lyrics for his act at Brooklyn’s Amphion Theater.

Norworth’s decision to include a female, moreover an Irish one, as the protagonist of his ballad was unusual for the time. It would have been a rare sight to see any woman at a ball game, let alone one as animated and enthusiastic as Katie Casey. Baseball was the province of men and it was considered socially unsuitable for women to be seen in such a raucous sporting environment.

Read More: Top Irish American baseball players set to play for Ireland

However, times were changing as women were raising their voices to claim equality through political activism and participation in the suffrage movement. The same year the song was composed, the “Women’s Sunday” demonstration took place in Hyde Park, London where thousands of women gathered to draw attention to their cause; additionally, the Democratic National Convention in Denver permitted women to participate for the first time.

The “New Woman” emerging at the outset of the 20th century was formidable, vocal, and political and demonstrated these characteristics by demanding access to higher education, jobs in the workplace, and the right to vote.

Katie Casey was the personification of the “New Woman.” When her boyfriend asked her to go to a show, she did not submissively agree, instead, Casey made her preference to go to the game known. Her love of baseball emboldened her to claim an equal place with men in the ballpark, where she undauntedly told “the umpire he was wrong.”

Casey’s simple acts of attending a ball game and expressing her views represented a microcosm echoing women’s loftier demands for equality and empowerment in the community-at-large. 

So, who was the model for the fictional Katie Casey? Some theorize that the seeds for Casey’s character originated with the real-life Trixie Friganza, a vaudevillian actress who was the mistress of the song’s composer.

Friganza, whose birth name was Delia O’Callaghan, was active in the suffrage movement in New York, participating in rallies and delivering speeches imploring equal rights for women. Norworth admired Friganza’s strong character and independent spirit and these characteristics are clearly evident in the heroine of his song.

Read More: Ireland's greatest baseball family - the O'Neils from Galway

Casey’s persona also reflects the image of an archetype young Irish woman in New York – single, independent, and employed, probably as a domestic servant. More than half of Irish immigrant women worked as domestics, a role in which they were generically referred to as Katie or Bridget. Employment enabled these women to save money for dowries and to send funds across the Atlantic to struggling families in Ireland.

A small sum of their wages was set aside for modest luxuries like a new hat; or, in Casey’s case a ticket to a baseball game. At the ballpark, Casey could simultaneously enjoy the national past-time alongside equally zealous male attendees, and retain her Irish identity while assimilating into American culture norms. 

The song, an immediate hit, was number one on the charts for seven weeks and was sung at movie theaters and in vaudeville shows. Ballpark owners approved of the song and liked the idea of women attending games, believing their presence would mitigate the rowdy atmosphere and add an element of refinement.

In effect, Katie Casey’s role in securing women’s attendance at ballparks across America helped to make baseball’s theme song, a de facto anthem to feminism. Over time, the verses of the song were overshadowed by the pithy chorus and the iconoclastic Katie Casey was lost to history.

Today, at this watershed moment when women are again raising their voices to be heard, perhaps it’s time for this independent and expressive woman to resume her place in the center of America’s favorite past-time.

Although it’s over one hundred years since the song was composed, in many ways, Katie Casey is Everywoman.

---

Maureen Dunphy Brady is an historian who holds an M.A. in Irish and Irish-American Studies from Glucksman Ireland House, New York University. Her areas of interest are gender studies, transatlantic tourism, the Irish diaspora in America, and women in Irish history. She is the winner of the 2017 Francis P. Beirne Scholars Award sponsored by the St Patrick’s Day Foundation of New York City.  

When will Ireland discover the full truth of the Tuam Mother and Baby home?

Dan Barry’s “The Lost Children of Tuam” published in the New York Times last week draws a searing portrait of Irish society; the society in which the Tuam Baby Home operated (1925-1961) and the society in which Catherine Corless fights to dignify infant remains interred on the grounds of the former institution (2012-2017).

Ireland seems no closer to the truth of what happened to these and other children born to the nation’s institutional care system.

“The Lost Children of Tuam” foregrounds the need for a truth telling mechanism to cultivate understanding and thereby help survivors come to terms with the system’s legacy of pain and suffering.

The response to Barry’s story on social media is unequivocal. The litany of tweets signal dismay as readers from around the globe struggle to comprehend: “devastating-incredible-shocking-heartbreaking-State sanctioned genocide-harrowing-powerful-haunting-sad-extraordinary-lost for words-powerful-wrenching-stunning-moving-shameful-brutal.”

Irish readers, perhaps, are somewhat immune, saturated after twenty years of reports detailing “endemic sexual abuse” of children, of women enslaved behind convent walls, of infants exploited by pharmaceutical companies, trafficked for profit, discarded in death, experimented on by University medical schools.

Read more: Woman at center of Tuam babies story reveals her own sad past to NY Times

Some in Ireland plead “enough already.” “Its time to move on!” They ignore stories of Artane, Ireland’s largest Industrial School where abuse was rampant. They pass by High Park where 155 Magdalene women were exhumed in 1993, forgetting that the nuns only expected to uncover 133 human remains. Twenty-two additional bodies dicovered but no police investigation came. The remains were cremated and interred in a “communal plot” at Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin. 

They evade discussion of Sean Ross Abbey, from which Michael Hess, Philomena Lee’s son, was forcibly adopted to America, growing up to become the RNC’s Chief Legal Counsel and working in President Reagan and President Bush’s administrations.

These names, like Tuam, map a landscape of national self-delusion, whereby the Irish deliberately un-know what was always and already known.

But for the victims, survivors, and family-members of these institutions, the past remains deeply traumatic, unfinished, and not so easily forgotten.  Silence is no longer an option. They demand truth. And, they recognize in Catherine Corless a woman who speaks their language. Dan Barry’s essay captures the essence of this indomitable woman—dignified, determined, and self-effacing. She speaks truth to power, quietly but effectively. She informs on Ireland and thereby subversively reclaims that most pejorative of Irish epithets.

Read more: Tuam Babies: “It would be... kinder to strangle these children at birth” said doctor

Tuam is but one institution, the tip of a much larger iceberg yet to be navigated.

Other Mother and Baby Homes, and County Homes, where unmarried women also went to give birth to their so-called “illegitimate” children, have “angel” plots, as infant burial grounds are called. Some locations also have graves of women who died in childbirth. No one knows the exact number or their names, and no State body has yet produced the requisite death certificates, a precondition to burial in twentieth-century Ireland. Some graves are marked. Others are not. Similar end-of-life anomalies persist for women who died in the Magdalene Laundries.

The Tuam Home is distinct in one respect: The Bon Secours inexplicably interred infant remains in a series of underground chambers, part of a disused septic tank system. There was a town cemetery directly across the road from the institution. The nuns opted, apparently, to avoid paying the fee.

Tuam had high infant mortality rates, but so did Bessboro in Cork and St. Patrick’s in Dublin. Infant morbidity across all these institutions looked much the same—congenital conditions, contagious diseases, and “marasmus,” otherwise known as malnutrition or, to put it more bluntly, starvation.

The children who survived beyond childhood—some “boarded out,” others adopted at home or abroad, still others growing up in an industrial school—are looking to understand a past constructed to remain abstract and opaque.

For example, the ongoing Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation has yet to advertise in the US, despite the fact that 2,000 plus children were adopted here between the 1940s and 1970s.

Countless hundreds more were likely trafficked illegally to America. A government memorandum from 2012 suggests that as many as 1,000 infants were trafficked from the Tuam institution alone. How can the investigation achieve understanding or arrive at the truth when it ignores such a significant constituency?

Survivors seek to ascertain their birth identity, to know what became of their mothers, and to learn something of their family medical histories. The institutions fractured connections to place, separated siblings, and oftentimes deliberately falsified official documents. And, Ireland’s system of closed adoption, still in 2017, perpetuates a culture of secrecy, shame and stigma about the past.

Understanding is hindered by lack of access to records in the possession of the religious congregations—private actors formerly providing services on the State’s behalf, to Church and State policy archives that are invariably embargoed in accordance with the Commissions of Investigations Act, 2004—the very legislation that purports to facilitate justice, and by the destruction of files mysteriously wrought by “fire” and “flood.”

Many of the mothers and children in these institutions were poor and vulnerable. They did not count for enough in the Ireland of the time to have their constitutional rights protected nor their human rights safeguarded. And, many assert that they are treated little better today.

Read more: Has decline of religion led Ireland to a “moral wasteland”?

Earlier this year, in the days following confirmation of significant human remains at the Tuam burial site, Ireland’s Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Katherine Zappone, T.D., heralded a role for transitional justice in responding to the nation’s history of institutional provision: “I believe there is also a need for us as a society to look beyond the important legal questions surrounding mother and baby homes by developing complementary comprehensive understanding into the truth of what happened in our country.”

Later this summer, during Ireland’s examination before the UN Committee Against Torture in Geneva, the deputy chairperson Felice Gaer echoed Zappone’s suggestion when she asked: “Will the government consider a broader truth-telling process in respect to these and other historical abuses?”

The question remains whether the Irish State has the political will and Irish society the appetite to ensure that survivors obtain the truth and thereby achieve a measure of justice?  Catherine Corless bravely, courageously, fearlessly points the way. Dare we follow?

James M Smith is associate professor in the English department at Boston College. He is author of "Ireland’s Magdalen Laundries and the Nation’s Architecture of Containment" and a member of Justice for Magdalenes Research.

An Australian Minister has apologized after telling homeowners who open the door to someone with an Irish accent to “automatically ask them to leave”.

Marlene Kairouz, who serves as Minister for Consumer Affairs for the state of Victoria, made the comment after a spate of reports about dodgy tradesmen turning up unannounced at homes in Melbourne.

Read more: No Irish Need Apply once more as truth of life for Irish Down Under revealed 

Elderly people complained that the conmen usually had Irish accents and swindled them out of thousands of dollars for nonexistent repairs on their homes, which led Kairouz to issue her unusual warning.

Yesterday, however, the contrite Labour politician took to Twitter to issue an apology.

Yesterday I made a comment at a scam awareness campaign launch that caused offence to people with Irish heritage 1/3

— Marlene Kairouz MP (@MarleneKairouz) October 31, 2017

Recent scammers have been backpackers from the UK & Ireland & I was giving this info to the public. I admit I delivered this msg poorly 2/3

— Marlene Kairouz MP (@MarleneKairouz) October 31, 2017

I sincerely apologise for causing offence and my poor choice of words 3/3

— Marlene Kairouz MP (@MarleneKairouz) October 31, 2017

The apology was not good enough for a lot of Irish people living Down Under.

After the remark you made and the amount of Irish people living in Australia that you offend, an apology on twitter is NOT good enough.

— Vanessa Lynch (@VanessaLynch_) October 31, 2017

Hi, I'm Irish and actually work to help protect Australians from being scammed & find your racist comments disturbing. I don't think Twitter is the appropriate place for the apology

— Catháir (@CathairK) October 31, 2017

A poor choice of words is calling this "my poor choice of words" rather than "my deep-seated prejudice against Irish nationals".

— Myles McK (@MylesMcKenna3) October 31, 2017

Howeve,  not everyone was bothered by her words. 

Sorry but she was right. The Irish who pull these scams should be run from anyone’s door

— Joe McCormac (@JoeMcCormac) October 31, 2017

Do you think she was right or racist? Tell us in the comments below. 

Back in the 70's and 80's the Halloween masks would begin to appear in the local shops about two weeks before the big night. They were always a very welcome sight. The anticipation was almost as good as Christmas.

This was in the long ago of course, before the internet or fancy costume stores, before glowing white screens and selfies and Instagram and Snapchat and the myriad horror stories of our own times. I'm speaking of the late 70's and the early 80's to be precise, times the young people call the olden days now.

Cheaply made but oddly cheerful looking, those colorfully painted face masks depicted Dracula and Frankenstein and the Werewolf, or scaresome red faced devils or green faced witches with their pointy black hats. Part of the fun was deciding which you would wear that year, who you would be.

They fastened behind your head by a thin rubber string that usually broke on the second or third wear. Your breath quickly filled their narrow insides with beads of perspiration, too; it didn't matter what age you were or what kind of face you had, you'd soon be inhaling the strange industrial chemical smells of their making in far away China, and sometimes your face would turn red in the scientific exchange.

Most places called them Halloween masks, but up north we only ever called them false faces. That was probably because the idea of wearing any face other than our own was especially frowned upon by us, even if all we wanted to do was play dress up for an evening.

They weren't a bit scary, these masks, which was their point I suppose. Instead of frightening you they reassured you. We would take what scared us – death, monsters, the supernatural – and turn it into something homespun and silly and non-threatening. We're not afraid of the dark, see. Boo.

You don't really see those old false face masks around now that the times and fashion have changed. All their silly inventiveness has been replaced by the the even blander look-at-me masks of TV celebrities, pop stars and politicians, faces calculated to get a cheap rise out of you without making much of an appeal to your imagination.

That's a shame, because if there was ever one holiday calculated to appeal to your imagination it's Halloween. Thank the Irish. They have never needed an excuse to fall back on their own creativity. For our ancestors the line separating this world from the next has never been firmly fixed. They invented Halloween after all, originally calling it Samhain.

Up north in the 70's and 80's it was still quite possible for an extraordinary winter darkness to fall over whole counties without much relief from the sparse street lights. Woods became otherworldly, trees cast long shadows, old houses became even spookier after sunset. On those nights the line between day and night, between life and the afterlife, lost their edges.

No wonder we all needed a special night to come to terms with it. Everyone could feel it, this liminal moment, when ordinary life threatened to become extraordinary. So instead of going silently into the darkest nights of the year we did what generations of the Irish before us have done when faced with unavoidable solemnity: we threw a party.

Not many traditions have kept faith with the pagan origins of ancient Irish festivals, but scratch the surface of Halloween and you'll see a celebration that stretches back before christianity. That's because the great mysteries of life that we spend so much time trying to avoid looking at these days have lost none of their power, even in these fraught times of social media freak-outs and the endlessly breaking news.

We can still be as frightened by the unknown as our ancestors, still be as shocked by what we can't make sense of, still as unnerved by how fragile the line between this world and the next really is. But these days we contend with those troubling realities by looking and then running the other way.

Our ancestors decided to look these mysteries clear in the face instead. They accepted the great realities of life of death with a wisdom and a resignation that we have lost. Halloween once had something profound to teach us about our transient place in the world, and it expressed the deep respect for all existence that comes from that awareness.

It seems as if more and more people in Ireland are slowly recalling that Halloween is not just a silly opportunity to request candy from put-upon strangers, it's actually a rich celebration of what it means to live and die.

It's about time, after all.

The murder of a 15-year-old girl, Ellen Scanlan, in 1819, County Limerick, at the request of her husband is still one of Ireland's most talked about crimes

The story is shocking. The murder of a young girl at the request of her husband is still to this day one of Ireland's most talked about crimes.

The gruesome true tale tells of the poor Ellen Scanlan (nee Hanley), who was only 15 years old when she was murdered in 1819. She has since become known as the "Colleen Bawn," an anglicized spelling of "Cailín Bán" meaning the "pure/innocent girl."

A young happy bride

Ellen was known for being a beauty that would turn heads everywhere she went, with a friendly and joyous disposition that made all those who met her instantly warm to her. Her father was a Co. Limerick farmer and her mother died when Ellen was a child, so Ellen was brought up by her uncle John Connery.

Just shy of 16 years old, she met with John Shanley, of the Ballykehan House, near Ruff in Co. Limerick, who was in his twenties Despite her reservations about his station in the world compared to her own, he convinced her to marry him, eloping from the home of her uncle in early July 1819.

Tiring of his wife - organizing her murder

Her happiness was no to last, however, as, despite Shanley's claims that he wasn't concerned about his family when he saw that she wouldn't be accepted by them, and he began to "tire" of his wife, he persuaded his servant Stephen Sullivan to kill her.

Sullivan took her out on the River Shannon near Kilrush, County Clare, where he killed her with a musket, stripped her, and dumped her body in the river, tied to a stone.

Her body washed ashore six weeks later at Moneypoint, Co. Clare. 

Defended by Daniel O'Connell

Both men had fled, but Scanlan was found first and arrested for murder. The famous barrister Daniel O'Connell, generally known as the Great Emancipator for his work to win the vote for Catholics in Ireland despite himself being Protestant, defended him at his trial. (Modern-day Dublin's main street, O'Connell St, is named after the great O'Connell.)

He was found guilty, however, and hanged at Gallows Green, the place of execution on the Clare side of the Shannon.

Sullivan was apprehended shortly afterward, confessed, and also hanged.

Ellen's death has since been the inspiration for novels, plays, and operas, including this silent film from 1911, thankfully now restored by the Irish Film Institute and Trinity College Dublin. 

Ellen is buried in Burrane cemetery near Kilrush, Co. Clare but the headstone over her grave has now vanished, as souvenir hunters gradually chipped off piece after piece over the past 200 years.

Her headstone in the shape of a cross that once read:

"Here lies the Colleen Bawn,

Murdered on the Shannon,

July 14th, 1819. R.I.P."

* Originally published in October 2010.

Follow in the holy path of Irish saints by visiting top blessed Irish locations associated with them. 

If you're planning a vacation or pilgrimage to Ireland it's worth taking a look at some of the top blessed and beautiful spots in Ireland with an association to an Irish saint. There are over 300 saints directly associated with the island, so it's no wonder Ireland earned the title of “the land of saints and scholars.”

Here are a few wonderful places in Ireland that are associated with Irish saints:

St. Dervla's Well, Belmullet Peninsula, Co Mayo

Having plucked out her eyes to avoid marriage, St Dervla’s sight was later miraculously restored; and her holy well on the Belmullet Penninsula in Co Mayo is not only a sight to behold, it’s also the go-to place for those suffering from eye ailments.

St. Canice's Cathedral and Round Tower, Kilkenny

The town of Kilkenny gets its name from this saint, and at St Canice’s Cathedral visitors get the unique opportunity to climb to the top of the round tower.

Read more: Top ten sites in Ireland where history comes alive

St. Ciaran - Monastery at Clonmacnoise in Co. Offaly

Ciaran founded the monastery at Clonmacnoise in Co. Offaly which is a popular stop along the Shannon River for those planning a trip between Dublin and Galway.

St. Columba - Derry City

The city of Derry offers a self-guided walking tour of sites associated with their city’s patron saint. He later left Ireland for the island of Iona and also went on to become closely associated with Scotland.

St. Finbarr - Gougane Barra, Co. Cork

It is said that Finbarr built the first church at Gougane Barra in County Cork. Although a popular pilgrimage and hiking destination, the idyllic valley doesn’t see many tourists from beyond the Emerald Isle.

St. Brendan - Cathedral at Clonfert, Co. Galway

Known as Brendan the Navigator, it’s believed he traveled by sea to North America almost 1,000 years before Columbus. The cathedral at Clonfert, Co Galway, displays a beautiful Romanesque doorway, and Craggaunowen – the Living Past Experience in County Clare - houses the boat used by Tim Severin who followed Brendan’s possible route.

St. Brigid - Shrines across County Kildare

Ireland’s second most well-known saint, Brigid is likely based on a pre-Christian goddess. Although she’s most associated with Kildare, shrines and holy wells bearing her name pop up throughout Ireland. St Brigid’s crosses which are woven from reeds or rushes often appear in Irish homes.   

St. Kevin - Glendalough, County Wicklow

The famed hermit lived in a cave in the valley of Glendalough, Co. Wicklow. The peaceful spot attracted disciples who built a church, round tower, and monastery. They are now a popular tourist destination that includes beautiful nature walks.

St Oliver Plunket - The head of St Oliver Plunket in Drogheda, County Louth

When canonized in 1975, St Oliver Plunket was the first new Irish saint in nearly 700 years. Executed by Charles II, Plunket’s head is displayed in a reliquary in St Peter’s Church in Drogheda, Co Louth.

St. Buíthe - High Cross at Monasterboice, County Meath

St. Buíthe is known as the founder of the religious settlement at Monasterboice in County Meath. Today visitors explore the church and round tower ruins, which are surrounded by some of the best Celtic crosses in Ireland.

St. Cronan - Monastery at Roscrea, County Tipperary

Although he founded several monasteries, his most famous one was in Roscrea, Co Tipperary, where visitors can wander the ruins which include churches, a round tower, and high cross.

St. Colman - Kilmacduagh, Co. Clare

Spending most of his holy life in County Clare and on the Aran Island of Inishmore, Colman is associated with the monastery at Kilmacduagh, near Gort in County Galway, which is home to a round tower that leans … a bit like the Tower of Pisa.

St. Declan - Along the “Irish Camino” St. Declan’s Oratory overlooking Ardmore beach

St. Declan’s Pilgrim Path between Cashel, Co. Tipperary, and Ardmore, Co. Waterford, has been nicknamed the “Irish Camino.” In Ardmore, the dramatic seaside walk takes visitors to ruined churches, old holy wells, and sacred spots associated with the saint.

St. Féchín - Fore, Co Westmeath

With ties to Fore, Co. Westmeath, visitors can walk a path celebrating the Seven Wonders of Fore which represent seven miracles associated with the site and St Féchín.

Saints associated with places that aren’t quite holy sites:

St. Bécán - Killbeggan distillery, County Westmeath

Founded a monastery in Killbeggan, County Westmeath, which is a town that is home to Ireland’s oldest whiskey distillery and is situated only a few miles from Tullamore, Co. Offaly, the birthplace of Tullamore Dew.

St. Brendan of Birr - Telescope at Birr Castle and Demesne, County Offaly

This Brendan founded a monastery at Birr, Co Offaly. At Birr Castle and Demesne, visitors can visit a science center and view the enormous telescope, which was built in the mid-1800s and held the title of largest telescope in the world for over 70 years.

St. Lomman - Trim Castle, County Meath

The Irish saint is associated with Trim, Co Meath, which is home to notable Trim Castle.

* Liam Hughes is a jeweler and Irish Fireside podcast host who splits his time between County Tipperary in Ireland and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the United States. You can follow him @LiamJazz or read more at IrishFireside.com.

* Originally published in July 2014. 

On this day, All Saints Day, 1920, the execution of an Irish medical student propelled Ireland down its road to independence. 

On November 1, 1920, 18-year-old medical student Kevin Barry was hanged in Mountjoy Prison. He had been apprehended during an IRA raid gone wrong in North King Street in Dublin several weeks before. Barry was sentenced to death because a young British soldier was killed in the ambush. Michael Collins tried to break him out of Mountjoy Prison but was unsuccessful.

As someone who has studied the Big Fellow for over fifty years, I believe this was the final straw for Collins. Since September 1919 when he had assembled his infamous assassination Squad—AKA, “The Twelve Apostles”—Collins and his intelligence network had been inching towards a full-blown confrontation with the British Secret Service. The pressure on Collins had been mounting for several weeks before Barry’s death.

On October 14, the British Secret Service had found the desperately wanted Tipperary rebel Seán Treacy at the Republican Outfitters shop at 94 Talbot Street (the building is still there, marked by a plaque). As Treacy came out a gunfight ensued—caught by a passing photographer—and Treacy was shot and killed.

On October 25, Terence MacSwiney, the Republican Lord May of Cork City, starved himself to death at Brixton Prison in England. His body was returned to Cork on Halloween, the day before Kevin Barry’s hanging. The British came out in force—DMP, RIC, MI-5—looking for Michael Collins because they knew Collins frequently attended funerals despite the danger of being recognized. But Collins was not there; he was in Dublin, plotting.

As the rope tightened around Collins and his intelligence Squad, Collins—with supreme patience—waited. Collins was, like many great men and women, likely bi-polar. His depression over the loss of his friends quickly turned to mania and the Squad went to work.

Three weeks after the death of Kevin Barry, on Sunday, November 21—now known as “Bloody Sunday” in the annals of Irish history—Collins sent out his Squad resulting in the deaths of 14 agents of the British Secret Service. For the first time in Irish history, the Irish had actually terrorized the British. It has been recorded that the lines of terrified British agents and their relatives clogged up the gateways trying to get into Dublin Castle. For all real purposes, the war was over. It would take the British eight more months to figure out how to free themselves from their Irish quagmire, but by July 1921 a truce was called. By the autumn the negotiations had begun—again with Michael Collins as the lead player—and the rest is history.

There is one interesting footnote to this story. Barry was buried in the yard at Mountjoy Prison like a common criminal. After Bloody Sunday, nine other young rebels were also hanged and buried next to Barry in the yard at Mountjoy. Today, they are known as “The Forgotten Ten”: Barry, plus Thomas Whelan, Patrick Moran, Patrick Doyle, Bernard Ryan, Thomas Bryan, Frank Flood, Thomas Traynor, Patrick Maher and Edmund Foley. [For more information on this mostly forgotten period of Irish history from early in 1921, see Tim Carey’s “Hanged for Ireland: A Documentary History”. Blackwater Press, 2001.] Finally, on October 14, 2001—nearly 81 years after his heroic death for his country—Barry’s remains and those of the other young rebels [except for Patrick Maher who was buried in Ballylanders, County Limerick at his family’s request] were reinterred at Glasnevin Cemetery next to the remains of Roger Casement and in front of the appropriately named Republican Plot where many famous Irish revolutionaries are planted.

The then-Taoiseach [Irish Prime Minister], Bertie Ahern, said at that time: “These 10 young men were executed during the War of Independence. The country was under tremendous pressure at the time. There was a united effort. Meanwhile, elected by the people, Dáil Éireann [Irish Parliament] was developing, in spite of a war going on. Democracy was being put to work. Independent civic institutions, including the Dáil courts, were beginning to function. Before their deaths, the ten had seen the light of freedom. They understood that Ireland would be free and independent.”

Dermot McEvoy is the author of “The 13th Apostle: A Novel of a Dublin Family, Michael Collins, and the Irish Uprising” (Skyhorse Publishing).

*Originally published in October 2015. 

Practically every day of the year is the feast day of at least one Catholic saint, giving you a special connection with the saint whose feast day shares your birthday. 

The folks over at NameNerds compiled this handy list of saints’ feast days.

What patron saint’s feast day do you share your birthday with?

(Find your name by pressing control and F and searching for your name, the Irish version of your name or try for your last name.)

January

1 - Oisín, Comnait
2 - Ainfean, Scoithín
3 - Fintan
4 - Fionnait (Feenat), Mochuma
5 - ---------
6 - Muadhnait (Mona), Curnán, Tuilelath (Tallula), Osnait, Díoma
7 - Donnán, Eimhín (Evin), Sean (John)
8 - Fionán, Sárán, Cúach, Neachtan, Bron
9 - Faolán, Guaire, Suaibhseach
10 - Diarmaid (Dermot), Díomán, Tuaimmíne,
11 - Suibhne (Sweeney), Fáilbhe (Falvy), Anfudán,
12 - Conan, Laidgeann
13 - Aillil
14 - ---------
15 - Ide, Aithche, Breac, Darearca, Bláthmacc
16 - Mael Iosa, Dianach, Iarlugh, Líthghein
17 - Molaisse
18 - Aodhamair, Scoth, Bláth
19 - Fachtna, Suibhne (Sweeney), Faolán
20 - Fechín, Aonghas (Aengus), Aona, Sárán
21 - Fainche, Séighín, Brigid
22 - Lonan
23 - Lucan, Canice, Manchán
24 - Gúasacht
25 - --------
26 - Eirnín
27 - Flann, Lucan, Crón, Muirín, Nóe
28 - Meallán, Acobhrán, Cainnear, Eochaí, Bláth
29 - Bláth
30 - Ailbe, Énán
31 - Canice, Aobhnait, Lughaodh, Maolanaithe, Siollán, Adamnan

February

1 - Brigid
2 - Fionnach
3 - Caoilfhionn, Conna, Faoileann
4 - Loman
5 - Fínín (Fineen), Dufach, Liadhnán (Leannan), Ceara
6 - Macha, Mel, Ríofach
7 - Meallán, Loman, Lonan, Tressan
8 - Fiachra, Fáilbhe, Ceara
9 - Caíreach, Ríonach
10 - Dearlú, Siollán
11 - Fionán Gobnat Dubhán
12 - Siadhal, Fionán, Farannán, Lughaidh, Damhán
13 - Fionán, Cúachnait
14 - Manchín (Mannix), Manchán, Fínneachta
15 - Bearach
16 - Aengus
17 - ---------
18 - Aengus
19 - Feichín, Odhrán
20 - ---------
21 - ---------
22 - Feichín
23 - Eirnín
24 - ---------
25 - ---------
26 - Eithne, Becan, Aodhlugh
27 - Comgan
28 - Eirnín, Díocuill, Siollán

March

1 - Baodán
2 - Lughaidh, Conall, Cuan, Finnian, Sléibhín
3 - Conall, Fachtna
4 - -----
5 - Carthach
6 - Cairbre, Brigid, Odhrán, Muadhán
7 - -----
8 - Siadha, Beoaodh Mochonna
9 - Lughaidh, Proinnseas, Séadna
10 - Séadna, Fáilbhe, Kessog
11 - Aonghas
12 - Daghán
13 - Mochamhóg
14 - Caomhán
15 - ---------
16 - Fionán, Bairfhionn (Barrion), Abbán
17 - Patrick, Becan, Faoiltiarn, Tiarnach
18 - Maodhóg, Caomhán, Tommán
19 - Lachtín
20 - ---------
21 - Éanna
22 - Fáilbhe
23 - Mannix
24 - Lughaidh, Manchán, Mochta
25 - Caimín,
26 - Carthach, Garbhán
27 - Mochonna
28 - Cairneach
29 - Eithne
30 - Mochua, Tóla
31 - Faolán

April

1 - Ceallach (Kelly)
2 - Brónach
3 - ------
4 - Tiarnach, Corc
5 - Becan
6 - ------
7 - Sean / Senan / Seanach (John), Fionán, Ruisín, Ceallach
8 - Tiarnán, Cionnaola
9 - ---------
10 - Bercan
11 - Frossach
12 - Eirnín
13 - Riaghail
14 - Tassach
15 - Ruadhán (Rohan), Greallán, Molaisse
16 - Fáilbhe
17 - Donnán, Garbhán, Eochaidh, Lughaidh, Luachán
18 - Laisrean
19 - ------
20 - Donnán, Fáilbhe
21 - Bearach
22 - Ceallachán (Callahan), Tuama
23 - Rían (Ryan), Iobhar (Ivar)
24 - Éighneach
25 - MacCoille, Oilithír
26 - Becan, Donal, Cass
27 - Breacán
28 - Suibhne (Sweeney), Lúithearn, Coileán (Colin)
29 - Énán
30 - ---------

May

1 - Aodhlugh, Breacán, Díocuill
2 - Fiachra, Neachtán,
3 - Cairbre, Bairrfhionn (Barrion), Conlaodh
4 - ------
5 - Faolan
6 - ------
7 - Breacán (Brehan)
8 - Oran
9- Banbhán, Sanctán
10 - Comhghall, Cathal, Cúnla,
11 - Caoimhín (Kevin), Críodán, Laoire (Leary)
12 - Eirnín, Díoma, Oilithir
13 - Damhnait (Devnet), Abbán
14 - Carthach, Garbhán, Mochuda
15 - Muiríoch, Comán, Damhnait, Sárán
16 - Brendan, Oran, Caireach, Fionacha
17 - Finnén (Finian,) Críodán
18 - Bran, Breasal
19 - Richael
20 - ------
21 - Bairrfhionn (Barrion)
22 - Conall, , Baoithín, Luíseach
23 - Criofán, Faolchú
24 - Bercan, Séighín
25 - Dúnchadh
26 - Beccan
27 - Cillén
28 - Faolán, Eoghan, Maolóráin
29 - Briúnseach, Cumman
30 - -----
31 - Eoghan, Eirnín, Maolóráin

June

1 - Ronan, Laobhán
2 - ---------
3 - Caoimhín (Kevin), Maolmhuire
4 - Eirnín, Cassán
5 - Bearchán (Bercan),
6 - Iarfhlaith, Lonán, Faolán
7 - -----
8 - Braon, Murchú (Murphy)
9 - Colm, Amhalgaidh, Baoithín
10 - Bearach, Ainmire, Faircheallach (Farrelly), Feardomhnach
11 - Mactáil, Riaghail, Tochmura
12 - Giolla Easpaig (Gillespie) Tuammíne
13 - Damhnait (Davnit), Coireall, MacNisse
14 - ---------
15 - -----
16 - Séadna,Fursa
17 -Caomhán
18 - Ana, Ninnidh
19 - -----
20 - Cormac, Faolán
21 - Suibhne (Sweeney), Diarmaid (Dermot)
22 - Cronán, Suibhne (Sweeney)
23 - Faolán
24 - ---------
25 - -----
26 - -----
27 - ---------
28 - Eirnín, Cruimín
29 - -----
30 - Caolán (Kelan), Fáilbhe (Falvy)

July

1 - Eirnín,
2 - -----
3 - , Maolmhuire, Breacnait
4 - Fionnbharr (Finbar)
5 - Etain (Aideen)
6 - Blinne, Eithne
7 - Crón
8 - Cillén (Kilian), Tadhg (Teague),
9 - Garbhán (Garvan), Onchú
10 - Cuan
11 - Fáilbhe (Falvy), Lonán, Oliver Plunkett
12 - ---------
13 - Eirnín
14 - -----
15 - Rónán
16 - Scoth
17 - Craobhnait
18 - Fionntán, Fáilbhe, Ceallach,
19 - -----------
20 - Fáilbhe
21 - Curchach
22 - Oisín
23 - Cróinseach
24 - Deaglán (Declan), Comhghall (Cole), , Oilleóg
25 - Fionnbharr, Caolán, Fiachra, Neasán
26 - Tommán
27 - ---------
28 - ---------
29 - Caolán
30 - ------
31 - -----

August

1 - Fáilbhe (Falvy)
2 - Lonán, Feichín, Comgan
3 - Feidhlimid (Fidelma), Dairile
4 - Míonait, Molua
5 - Rathnait, Eirnín, Dúinseach
6 - Lughaidh, Cainnear, Mochua
7 - Cillén, Teimhnín
8 - Curchach, Dáire
9 - Feidhlimid, Laobhán, Naithí
10 - -----
11 - Attracta, Donnán
12 - Iomhar (Ivar), Bríd (Brigid), Laisrean
13 - Laisreán, Muiríoch (Murry), Íomhar
14 - Fachtna
15 - Mac Cáirthinn
16 - Lughán
17 - Beccán, Earnán Trimhnín
18 - Eirnín, Oran, Rónán, Daigh
19 - -----
20 - -----
21 - -----
22 - -----
23 - Eoghan, Giolla Easpaig (Gillespie)
24 - Faolán, Rodán
25 - ---------
26 - Faolán, Comhghall (Cole)
27 - ------
28 - Feidhlimid
29 - -----
30 - Fiachra, Muadhán
31 - Aidan, Aodh (Hugh),

September

1 - Fáilbhe (Falvy), Fiachra
2 - Maine
3 - MacNisse
4 - Comhghall, Fáilbhe
5 - Faithleann, Bricín
6 - MacCuillin, Sciath
7 - Ultan, Eláir
9 - Ciarán (Kieran), Fionnbharr (Finbar), Conall, Ceara, Darearca
10 - Fionnbharr (Finbar), Finnén (Finian, Odhrán (Oran)
11 - -----
12 - Ailbhe (Alby), Laisréan, Maclaisre, Molaisse
13 - Naomhán (Nevan), Daghán
14 - ---------
15 - -----
16 - Laisreán
17 - Feme, Brogan
18 - ------
19 - ---------
20 - ------
21 - ---------
22 - ------
23 - Adhamnán, Lonaing
24 - Ceallachán (Callahan)
25 - Caolán, Fionnbharr (Finbar), Iomchadh
26 - -----
27 - Finnén (Finian)
28 - Fiachra, Diarmaid (Dermot)
29 - Neasán, , Comhghall
30 - Faolán, Lughaidh, Bríd (Brigid), Daighre

October

1 - Glasán, Clothach
2 - Odhrán (Oran)
3 - Nuadha
4 - ---------
5 - ---------
6 - Lughaidh
7 - Comhghall (Cole), Ceallach
8 - Conúil, Corcrán (Corcoran)
9 - Dínertach
10 - Fiacc
11 - Loman, Cainneach (Canice/Kenneth ), Foirtchearn
12 - Fiachra, Faolán, Moibhí
13 - Comgan, Fionnseach
14 - -----
15 - Cuan
16 - Caoimhín (Kevin), Eoghan, Riaghail
17 - -----
18 - -----
19 - Faolán
20 - MaolEoin
21 - Muna, Marcán, Tuda
22 - ---------
23 - Dalbhach
24 - Lonán
25 - Laisreán
26 - Odhrán (Oran), Béoán, Deirbhile (Dervila), Meallán
27 - Odhrán (Oran), Abán
28 - Suibhne (Sweeney), Abbán
29 - Cuan, Caolán, Cúrán
30 - Feidhlimid (Fidelma)
31 - Faolán

November

1 - Cairbre, Lonán
2 - Lughaidh, Caoimhe (Keeva), Earc
3 - Brughach
4 - -----
5 - Faolán
6 - ---------
7 - ---------
8 - Fionnchán
9 - Aodhnait, Beineón, Fionntán (), Sárnait
10 - Osnait, Aodhnait (Enat)
11 - Cairbre, Dubhán,
12 - Lonán, Eirnín
13 - Eirnín, Odharnait (Orna), Caillín, Faoileann
14 - Lorcan
15 - -----
16 - -------
17 - Aonghas (Aengas)
18 - Rónán, Beoeodh, Míonait
19 - -----
20 - Fraochán
21 - Garbhán (Garvan)
22 - Meadhbh (Maeve), Éimhín
23 - -----
24 - -----
25 - Fionnchú
26 - -----
27 - -----
28 - -----
29 - -----
30 - Caoimhseach

December

1 - Nuadha, Neasán,
2 - Mainchín (Mannix)
3 - -----
4 - Bercan
5 - -----
6 - Cian, Beirchart, Neasán, Meallán
7 - Buite
8 - Fionán
9 - Feidhelm (Fidelma) Mughain Budoc
10 - Scannlach
11 - Eiltín
12 - Finnén (Finian), Dúinseach
13 - -----
14 - Eirnín
15 - Mughain
16 - Beoc
17 - Díochú, Díocuill
18 - lannán, Ríonach (Riona), Éimhín (Evin), Séanait
19 - Samhthann
20 - Eoghan, Fedhlimid (Felimy), Eoghanán
21 - -----
22 - Éimhín (Evin), Abban
23 - Eirnín, Rónán, Fedhlimid (Fidelma)
24 - Maolmhuire, Mochua
25 - ------
26 - Iarfhlaith (Iarla/Jarlath), Laisreán
27 - Fiach
28 - Feichín
29 - Maodhóg, Mainchín (Mannix),
30 - -----
31 - Éanna

* Originally published in 2013. 

Irish dancers prove they don’t even need Irish music to put on an incredible performance.

There’s nothing like watching some incredible Irish dancing as a mid-week pick-me-up and world champion Irish dancers Lisa Lavelle and Stephen Gallagher have more then stepped up to the mark with this outstanding Irish dance routine performed entirely without music.

Every step and tap of the talented duo’s dance is perfectly in time and we will never be able to get over how Irish dancers manage to move their feet quite so fast.

The routine was put together by Lavelle, who's just 16 years old, and she was joined by Gallagher, 14, to perform at a fundraising event for the Mayo Cancer Support Association at Rock Rose House in Castlebar.

Of course, the pair instantly gave away their Mayo roots away with the jerseys, proudly sporting the green and red as they showed off to the audience.

Read more: Meet the world's next Michael Flatley: Owen Luebbers

The Irish dancing pair have taken the internet by storm, clocking up 1.9 million views on their video in just a few days.

Members of the north Mayo group of young dancers and musicians named Atlantic Rhythm, Lavelle and Gallagher regularly perform shows as part of the production company, and also attend classes weekly with Crossmolina Irish dance teacher Sheila Moffatt.

The pair recently featured on RTÉ to talk about their success with “The Mayo Beat” revealing that they normally expect their dance videos to reach just a few thousand views.

And if you’ve already become a massive fan after watching this video, Atlantic Rhythm has revealed they’re working on a brand new show for 2018 that is sure to bring us many more enjoyable Irish dance videos.

Read more: Irish dancing NFL player meets bullied young dancer he stood up for on Twitter

Who is your favorite Irish dance act? Let us know about them in the comments section, below.