Season 8
The Holy Wells of Ireland - Stories, Traditions and Cures! (#813)
We visit one of the many, many Holy Wells around Ireland and chat with the lady whose family is responsible for the upkeep of this ancient Irish shrine. This is probably a place that was used and venerated from pre-christian …
7 Irish Tales of Emigration (#812)
In a follow-up to our recent episode about traveling from Cobh to Ellis Island - we head back to the Cobh Heritage Centre in County Cork and hear 7 stories of emigration from this very spot to many places around …
A St. Patrick's Day Parade of Story and Song (#811)
Join us as we attend a Saint Patrick's Day Parade of Story and Song. In this episode we sharetwo stories - one all about the places in Ireland where Saint Patrick is said to have walked and the next looking …
Join Us on this Journey from Cobh to Ellis Island (#810)
In this special episode of the Letter from Ireland show we start our journey in Cobh (Queenstown) in County Cork. We chat with the manager of the Cobh Heritage Centre who has his own immigration stories to tell. We then …
Look Through This Window Into A Celtic World (#809)
In this week's episode we go back in time. First we go back to a time when the first Celtic peoples arrived in Ireland - we then go back even further to look at the period when the Celts appeared …
From Carnivale to an Irish Easter (#808)
In this week's episode we look a little closer at how our Irish ancestors lived and worked through the 40 days leading up to Easter Sunday each year. This was a time known as "Lent". It was treated very seriously …
Traditional Irish Love Songs - 8 Favourites (#807)
In this week's episode share what we consider to be eight of the best traditional Irish love songs of all time! This is, of course, a very personal and subjective collection - and I'm sure you will agree with some …
Do You Have These Saintly Names in Your Irish Family Tree? (#806)
In this week's episode we look at the life times and legacy of three ancient Celtic saints - with lots of fine music in between. W start with a letter all about the Irish Saint Gobnait - but you may …
The Irish Goddess and the Irish Saint (#805)
We look at the connections between the Irish name "Brigid/Bridget", Saint Bridget of Kildare and the Irish Celtic Goddess Brigid. This is all very appropriate as we come up to the celtic festival of "Imbolc" - celebrating the...
10 Stops on a Musical Tour Around Ireland (#804)
This week we have a special episode that takes you around ten counties on the island of Ireland. We stop off at each point and share a song - as well as more on the place and the person featured …
Another Mystery Solved: The Search for my Irish Grandfather (#803)
In this episode we trace the origins of Carina's Irish grandfather - Bartholomew Cronin. He died well before she was born and she only recently realised how little she knew of his early days, the wider family and his final …
A Mystery Solved: The Search for my Irish Grandmother (#802)
In this episode we trace the origins - and more - of Carina's mystery Irish grandmother. I say "mystery" because Carina only ever knew her as "Granny Cronin". So, join us as we look to solve this mystery - with …
Come into This World of Celtic Music (#801)
In this episode we explore not just the world of Irish music - but 10 tracks from the extended Celtic family. We use music featured on the TV programme - "The Transatlantic Sessions" - to bring you music and song …