Fifty years ago today (21 January, 1964), the Irish Language Commission released a report stating that Galway should be made an Irish-speaking city.  RTÉ News spoke to some of Galway's citizens to get their opinions of the plans.  …

The traditions on the 26th of December in Ireland have not largely carried over to most sectors of the worldwide Irish diaspora.  Known as St. Stephen's Day or Wren Day in Ireland, this is a brief crash course on the traditions of this day for those outside Ireland who are…

The following is a transcript taken from the LIVE Community Chat chat hosted here at TheWildGeese.com on Friday, December 20, 2013.  The focus for the discussion was the tradition of the mummers in Ireland.  We were joined by…

A.D. 2013 has been a big year for The Wild Geese.  It was just nine months ago that the new and improved version of TheWildGeese.com was launched.  As 2013 winds down to a close, we thought it would be interesting to compile the most popular blog posts and discussions…

The following is a transcript taken from the LIVE Community Chat chat hosted here at TheWildGeese.com on Tuesday, December 10, 2013.  The focus for the discussion was The Certificate of Irish Heritage.  We were joined by…

Congratulations to the winners of the three gift vouchers each redeemable for a Certificate of Irish Heritage:

Mark…

The following is a transcript taken from the LIVE Community Chat chat hosted here at TheWildGeese.com on Monday, December 9, 2013.  The focus for the discussion was the fascinating discovery of Newtown Jerpoint in County Kilkenny, where St. Nicholas' remains (as in Santa Claus) are purported to be buried.  The owner of…

LearnIrish.com is a new initiative that aims to make the Irish language and learning resources more accessible to learners throughout the world. By offering an affordable and well structured Irish language course it aims to give people the opportunity to learn at their own pace and in the comfort of their own home. It's currently gathering funds to make it all…

The following is a transcript taken from the LIVE Community Chat chat hosted here at TheWildGeese.com on Thursday, December 5, 2013.  The focus for the discussion was bygone Christmas traditions in Ireland with Sligo-based author / historian,…

Celtic myth had it that the robin that was suppose to represent the New Year killed the wren which represented the Old Year,  During this time Wren Boys blacken their faces and go from house to house asking for money to bury the wren. The money they collect is used to buy food and drink for the "wren dance" held…

The following is a transcript taken from the LIVE members' chat hosted here at TheWildGeese.com on Thursday, October 31, 2013 with County Sligo historian and author (and fellow Wild Geese member), Joe McGowan.  Joe's website and …

This is a postcard of William Street in Galway City, circa 1930. The keen eye will see "DUBLIN TIME" underneath the clock at Dillon's Jewellers (the building on the right of the photo with the striped awning). In the past, Galway, like other Irish towns, operated according to local time, which was relative to its distance from Greenwich. Dublin time was twenty-five minutes…

Our Wild Geese teammate Anna Porter took me to two 'famine' graveyards in the county of Leitrim.  At first sight there are just stone walls enclosing areas of beautiful Irish green grass, but once inside the intensity is immediately felt.…

Lebor na gCeart, the "Book of Rights", details the rents and taxes paid by the King of Cashel to various others in Ireland.  The original manuscripts date to the 11th or 12th century, and it contains a treasure trove of references to the customs and practices of Irish nobility in the Middle Ages.  This collection of manuscripts was…

The Doegen Records Web Project (Tionscadal Gréasáin Cheirníní Doegen) has made available a treasure trove of audio recordings from the 17 counties of Ireland, mostly concentrated in the northwest.  This multi-media archive is a project of the Royal Irish Academy Library in collaboration with the Digital Humanities Observatory, and…

I just recently came across these lovely colourised photos from circa 1930 which depict life as it was for most folks in Connemara and in the Claddagh area of Galway Town.  What's striking, to me, is that the lifestyle shown would not have been much different even 100 years (or more) earlier!  The conditions of rural Ireland all the…

In June of 2013, Chetham's LIbrary in Manchester, England published an album, containing about 120 excellent prints of coastal scenes of rural Galway. Many of them were dated to 1879.  Founded in 1653, Chetham’s Library in Long Millgate, Manchester, is the oldest public library in…

The image above on the left is a detail from Richard Bartlett's A.D. 1602 map of Ulster showing the inauguration of the O'Neill chief/king at Tullyhogue, County Tyrone. Bartlett has been called, "…

(First published 2/23/12) …

By Joe Gannon

On our recent trip to Ireland my wife and I visited a small museum in Killasser, Swinford, County Mayo, which should be on the itinerary of anyone who is ever in the area and is interested in Irish history and culture. The greatest treasure at Hennigan's Heritage…