One of the clearest markers of a nationality and culture is cuisine. But much of what Americans tend to view as authentic Irish food has been filtered through the history of Irish immigration to the United States and domestic reinterpretation. In traveling around Ireland today, however, different pa …

An old Irish proverb has come to mind: “What whiskey can not cure, there is no cure for.” When thinking of the Ireland, one almost always thinks of whiskey. The distilling craft tradition is famed indeed, and is interwoven by the country’s reputation for imbibing. In the nineteenth century the count …

It seems as though Ireland has become synonymous with beer. Rightly so—some Irish breweries have become worldwide phenomena. But the iconic Guinness and its distinctive stout didn’t always exist. Where did Irish beer begin? How did it become globally famous? And where is it going? If you love the oc …

“There once was a man from Nantucket…”You’ve probably heard this one, but how do the rest of the lines go? And what rhymes with “Nantucket,” besides “bucket”? If you’re of a certain disposition, you can probably think of a few colorful options. The line was first published in 1902 and has become a f …

A visit to Ireland won’t be complete without dropping by its capital city, Dublin. Although Dublin is fairly small and can be explored on foot, its energy and cultural history is larger than life, with an impressive history of literary greats such as James Joyce and George Bernard Shaw. Top-tier mus …

Though the last name “Byrne” routinely pops up in many countries and cultures across the globe, there’s never so much as a drop of uncertainty regarding the country from which it hails. Coming in variations such as Burn, Burns, Byrnes, and O’Byrne, this name is unmistakably Irish, and we at Shamrock …