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Questions about Ireland
Q.
Where
in Belfast, Northern Ireland can I buy Lakeshore Wholegrain
Mustard with Honey?
A.
To
be honest, I don't know for sure. I know that Tesco sells
several of Lakeshore's flavored mustards because I have purchased
some there myself. I would say that any major grocery store
chain would carry it. I hope this helps.
Q.
I'm
planning a trip to Dublin, Ireland in June 2009 with my two
nephews. I want to give them the best time of their lives
... that's the reason I have started planning now.
So
my question is: where is the Oatfield Candy factory or
simply a candy/fudge factory (in Dublin)? I'd really like
for the boys to see candy being made and, of course, tasting
it at the same time :)
A.
Oatfield
candy is made by Sweets & Treats located in Letterkenny,
Co. Donegal, Ireland. Their contact phone number is 1-800-514-1066.
Aran Candy Headquarters and Factory, located at Blanchardstown
Business Park, Blanchardstown, Dublin, Ireland. Their contact
number is 353-1-640-9333.
Butler's
Irish Chocolates is located at Clonshaugh Business Park,
Dublin, Ireland. Their contact number is 353-1-671-0599
and their office hours are Monday to Friday, 9.00am to
5.30pm.
Cadbury
Ireland PLC is located at Malahide Road, Coolock, Dublin,
Ireland and their contact number is 353-01-848-0000. I
would phone these companies to see if they give factory
tours. I hope this helps and that you and the children
enjoy your holiday in Ireland.
Q.
Hello, and thanks for your
site. I'm working on a screenplay that requires a roundabout
in south County Leitrim. I have a fairly good map of Drumshanbo
but I cannot find the roundabout you mentioned. Does your original photograph
give any clues (from the signage) as to the roads that branch off of it?
Could I impose on you to send me a higher resolution copy of that photo?
A.
I'm not sure which photo you are describing. It could
it be the sign in Drumshanbo, which is the first
one I have attached. The one on the top right points
to Ballinamore
and Mohill; the bottom right is to Dowra and Blacklion; the center top goes
to Carrick-On-Shannon but I can't read the other
name; the one on the left, I believe
goes to Boyle, Co. Roscommon but I can't read the bottom one. The signs are
both in Gaelic and English. The only problem with
that sign is that it is not a roundabout,
it's just in the center of town. The second photo is a roundabout sign in Trim,
Co. Meath, which is nowhere near Co. Leitrim. The third photo is a poster taken
from a painting by a local Leitrim artist. It was commissioned by the establishments
depicted that are in Leitrim. The fourth photo is also a roundabout in Co.
Meath. I'm sorry that I don't have any other photos of roundabouts.
Follow-up
comment for previous Q.
Thank
you so much for sending the photos. It was the picture
with the signs pointing in all directions that
I needed and, having a better image of it,
helps tremendously
in locating it on the map. I really like your site. I went on a sort of
literary pilgrimage to Ireland in early 1981, and I have
many photos and slides from
that time that I hope someday to put up on a site of my own. Among other
things, I
have photos of every location in Ulysses -- places like the home of Leopold
Bloom (then condemned but still standing) with St. Stephen's spire in the
background, and Nighttown, both of which have since
been destroyed to make way for the
new.
People trying to slog through the book for the first time might find them
helpful.
Reply:
I'm
glad that the photos are of help to you. I wish you tremendous
success with your book.
Questions
About Irish Food,
History, Culture & Tradition
Q:
My son's 5th grade class is celebrating Christmas Around
the World and he
chose to report on Ireland. We must make an Irish food
and he has to
explain in a paragraph what makes it Irish. He likes the
picture of the
Pinwheels and Checkerboards - can you tell us how it pertains
to the Irish?
Or maybe suggest a better recipe for sampling. Thanks.
A:
The
Pinwheels & Checkerboards
cookies do make a nice photo. The
checkerboards do not have any Irish meaning, but the
pinwheels are similar
to Celtic spirals. There is also a recipe for Celtic
Spiral cookies which
is actually the same recipe. The recipe
is an Irish recipe for sugar
cookies. I would make the pinwheel cookies, but not
the checkerboards. I
would use the dough for the checkerboards to make
celtic spiral cookies, and
I would call them all Celtic Spiral Cookies.
What
are Celtic spirals and in what way are they associated
with Ireland?
Celtic Spirals are ancient symbols, which date
back to about 3000 B.C. in
Ireland, and the other Celtic countries of Scotland
and Wales. Celtic
spirals and Celtic knots are believed to be the
oldest of the many symbols
used by the Celts before there was a written language
in Ireland. Unlike
the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, there were
no records found along with
these ancient symbols, so there have been many
educated guesses and theories
about their meaning. The most popular theory is
that they were symbols used
by the ancient Druids, who practiced paganism,
which was the Celtic religion
prior to Christianity.
Many
of the other ancient civilizations around the
world have also been associated with some type
of pagan religion. It is believed that
all of these ancient religions, including those
in Ireland, were based on astrological happenings. The
sun, the
moon, the stars, the
changing of the seasons and all things in nature
had some important meaning
to the Druids. The most notable place in the
world
exhibiting Celtic
spirals is the famous ancient burial mound in
County Meath, Ireland, which
is called Newgrange.
I
hope that this helps with your son's project.
Q.
I love this site! I was researching 'handfasting' and found
this. I'm planning my wedding and want to do a handfasting
ceremony. I also want to do a unity candle so I was wondering
if you had any suggestions on how to incorporate them both.
Is it acceptable for just the right hands to be linked
between my fiance and me so that we each have a hand free
to light the candle? There's no rush to get back to me
though, we're waiting until we're both done with college
to actually get married. I'm just starting early. :)
A.
It's good that you are starting to make your wedding
plans early. Too often people wait until it's almost
too late and
end up frantically finishing plans at the last minute.
I have researched proper Irish wedding customs and
learned
something I didn't know.
The
Irish unity candle is widely used in Irish theme weddings.
Celtic wedding unity candle
sets are a unique way to incorporate Celtic art and heritage
into your wedding ceremony. The Celtic Unity Candle Ceremony,
while non-denominational, can be used as a symbol of
the spiritual union brought about through holy matrimony.
I
did not find any results where both the unity candle
and handfasting
were done in the same ceremony.
However,
I found that, in ancient times, the handfasting ceremony
was usually
performed
in rural locations, where clergymen rarely visited
- sort of a civil ceremony with no official blessing of
the
marriage.
It was actually more like an engagement or promise
to each other, and the couple would live together without
any rights
of a married couple. The source suggests that it was
actually a "trial marriage" that was valid for only a year
and a day. At that time the bride and groom would decide
if they wanted to stay together and would then marry for "real".
The
handfasting ceremony is still used today by pagan
and wiccan groups.
Learning
that information, I would not do the handfasting
part of the ceremony on your wedding day. A suggestion:
if you would still like to include it in some way, do
it at
an engagement party, as an unofficial promise in
a gathering with your friends and family.
Q.
Our local museum has been donated a large
miniature collection. The collection
consists of complete,
detailed dollhouses
along with dollhouse kits and everything
imaginable to create miniature scenes.
The craftswoman
that created all these
things passed away and the family donated
everything in the collection to the
museum to display
and sell. I'm in
charge
of going through the collection and
organizing/categorizing. I ran across a box containing
tiny ceramic
buildings that have *Wade Ireland*
stamped on the bottoms.
There are four
complete villages along with cardboard
cards that they sit on. Can you give
me any information
about
these
villages?
Thank you so much for your time.
A.
I
will tell you as much as I can about the Irish Wade Village
sets. The
name of the series
is
Bally-Whim, which is similar
to English Wade's Whimsey-on-Why
English House collection, each set consisting
of 8 houses.
The miniature porcelain
houses and buildings were issued
by Wade's Irish pottery
from 1984 to 1987 and are highly
collectible. The houses and buildings are typical
of houses found
in an Irish
village. The 8 houses are: #1 The
Undertaker's
House, #2 Moore's
Post Office, #3 Barney Flynn's
Cottage, #4 Kate's Cottage, #5
The Dentist's House, #6 Mick Murphy's
Bar, #7 Ryan's Hardware and #8
The Bally Whim
House. I have seen
the individual
buildings sell for $28 to $48.
Your four complete Bally-Whim sets are
worth about $250 each, as long
as they are not
damaged. I hope this has been of
some help.
Follow-up
comment to previous Q.
Thank
you so much for your quick response to my email. I had
opened
only one
of the boxes
of villages and
the one
I opened was the 'Wade Ireland'
village. All of the houses
you mentioned in
your email are
there and
they look perfect.
They also have the card that
they sit on. I opened the other three
boxes
and those
houses
say 'Wade
England' They also
have the cards, are complete
and the buildings look perfect.
One of the villages has a windmill
with 15 other houses that go
on the card with
it and
the other
two villages
have 8
houses each that sit on the
display cards. I had never seen or heard
of the villages
and it's
been
so interesting
to
read your information. I know
the other folks involved with the museum
will
be excited to
read your thoughts
on the subject.
Thank
you so very much for your time and insight.
Reply
to comment:
You
are most welcome. I'm glad that I was able to
help. Good
luck with
your
display.
Q.
Just
last week I visited my Mom's birthplace in Ireland Co Cork;
also Dingle and Galway.
I
had the most delicious breadcrumb stuffing in chicken/turkey
sandwiches. It was loose light and tasty. I believe it
had breadcrumbs, butter and sage or some other herbs. I
would love to have the recipe for it. Could you please
send me a recipe for this type of bread crumb stuffing.
Our
stuffing in the states is nothing like this. I would really
appreciate it. I cannot afford to buy a cook book at this
time as I am flat broke. I simply would love this stuffing
recipe and I will be forever grateful.
A.
I
have been searching for an Irish bread crumb stuffing but
without much luck. I have a stuffing
recipe that sounds similar
to your description. If you want
to
make the stuffing alone, halve the recipe and cook in a covered
casserole at 350F for 1 hour.
Follow-up
comment to previous Q.
Thanks
so very much for the stuffing recipe.. It will be
great. I can taste it already.. I will try to alter it
to make just enough for two people. I love it in sandwiches
once in a while.
Gotta
watch those calories, right!
Reply: You
are very welcome. Enjoy!
Questions
about LittleShamrocks.com
Q.
I would like to order
a cheese assortment
but will
it still
be fresh at the end
of January
2009?
A.
We do not actually
store any of the
products at
our location.
They
are
shipped from
the warehouse in
New York. When
ordering cheese or other deli
items, they
are shipped in
insulated Styrofoam
coolers via UPS
2nd day air. In
this colder
weather it should still be quite chilled
when it arrives.
All of the
deli items
have sell-by
dates on
them,
and cheeses
should last quite
a while. You could
request that they send you cheeses
that are dated for after
the end
of January.
Q.
Do you ship priority mail via the
US post office?
A.
We don't actually ship the products
from our location in New Hampshire.
You would
place
an order through
LittleShamrocks.com
via our affiliate
companies.
There,
you would purchase and pay
for your order, and it would be shipped
to
you from their
location. We have
several
affiliates,
so I'm
not sure
which
ones ship
by Priority Mail. They all
have a choice of shipping
methods and they could ship
it 2nd-day or overnight, whether
it is done through the Postal
Service or UPS.
I'm sorry
that I can't
be more specific
but
I hope this info
helps.
