If You're Irish Come into the Parlour

17/11/2025

03/08/2025

🪨 A circle of stone. A cremated soul. A mystery unsolved.

Tucked away in County Cork, Drombeg Stone Circle, known by some as The Druid’s Altar, has stood for over 3,000 years.

Aligned perfectly with the setting sun on the winter solstice, it once held the cremated remains of an adolescent in its centre.

But who built it… and why?

Drop your theories below. 👇

01/08/2025

Waiting on the range.

No one rushed.

There was no need.

Conversations meandered like the cattle through weather, through diesel prices, through who’d sold well at the fair and who hadn’t.

And every so often, there’d be a pause, a silence,

A sip.

It was in that silence that the tea did its real work.

It stitched people together.

It softened the edge of long winters and hard ground.

It gave shape to the days and comfort to the tired.

And when the cups were emptied and the hands dusted off, boots laced again and tractors restarted, the teapot would still be there

Refilled,

Waiting on the range.

01/08/2025

🌾 The Forgotten Festival of Fire & Grain 🌾

Long ago, when the hills of Ireland whispered ancient songs and the skies knew the names of gods, there lived a mighty warrior and craftsman named Lugh.

In a time when the harvest was uncertain and the fate of the people lay in the hands of the earth, Lugh lit a flame of remembrance.

He founded a great festival to honour Tailtiu, his foster mother, a powerful woman who gave her life so the land could feed the people.

It’s said she cleared the vast plains by hand until she collapsed from exhaustion, her spirit sinking into the soil to nourish the crops.

But Lughnasadh wasn’t just about mourning, it was a fierce celebration of survival.

Games, music, and rituals filled the air, echoing a deeper tale: a cosmic battle between light and dark, growth and decay.

One story tells of a shadowy figure, Crom Dubh, who hoarded the grain as a treasure. Lugh had to fight for it, not with rage, but with wit, strength, and the will to share abundance with all.

It’s an echo of stories told far beyond Ireland where gods wrestle with fate, and the seasons turn on love, sacrifice, and rebirth.

We call it the beginning of August but the ancients celebrated this time with feasts, walks in nature and moment of gratitude.

But behind the traditions lies a deeper truth: every harvest begins with a gift and someone who paid the price so we could thrive.

25/07/2025

🕊️ Hulk Hogan 🕊️
1953 – 2025

This week, the world lost an icon of entertainment and wrestling. Hulk Hogan — born Terry Bollea — passed away at the age of 71.

From the moment he stepped into the ring in the late 1970s, Hogan wasn’t just a wrestler — he was a larger-than-life character who brought charisma, strength, and showmanship to millions of fans around the globe.

But here’s a little nugget we couldn’t help but smile at… 👇

Back when he was still rising through the ranks,

Hogan appeared on a talk show alongside The Incredible Hulk actor Lou Ferrigno.

He looked so massive beside Ferrigno that wrestling promoters started calling him “The Hulk.”

And later, Vincent McMahon added “Hogan” — a surname that gave the whole thing a strong Irish ring to it 🇮🇪

Was he Irish? Not exactly. But with a name like Hulk Hogan, plenty of us over here raised a giant eyebrow!

20/07/2025

The Boy with All the World's Wisdom

Before the legends.

Before the battles.

Before the world spoke his name in awe...

He was just a boy.

Born in the shadow of loss, hidden deep in the forests of ancient Ireland, he was raised in silence far from the blood feud that had claimed his father’s life.

He learned to track, to hunt, to live off the land.

And though his name was Demne, his fair hair would earn him the name that echoed through time: Fionn.

But Fionn wanted more than survival.

He wanted understanding — the kind sung about in riddles and poems, whispered at the edges of dreams.

He found it on the banks of the River Boyne.

There, an old poet named Finnegas had spent years, some say seven, some say more...waiting.

Watching.

Hoping.

His life’s purpose was to catch a single fish: the Salmon of Knowledge, a creature said to hold the wisdom of the entire world in its flesh.

And one day, he did.

It was Fionn who was asked to cook the fish.

And he did so carefully, turning it over the flames.

But a drop of hot oil spat from the skin and landed on his thumb.

Instinctively, he put it to his lips.

And in that instant, the world opened.

He didn’t see stars — he saw stories. He didn’t hear voices — he understood them. Everything ancient, everything coming, all of it flickered behind his eyes.

When Finnegas returned and saw the boy’s face aglow with something deeper than light, he asked only one question.

“Did you taste it?”

Fionn answered honestly.

And the old man smiled. “Then the wisdom was always meant for you.”

From that day on, Fionn mac Cumhaill could summon the knowledge of the world just by pressing that thumb to his lips.

He would grow into a poet, a warrior, a leader of men — not because of strength alone, but because he had once tasted truth by accident... and honoured it with purpose.

Fionn & Cloughmor 👉 https://www.facebook.com/share/1C88iD1Pza/

14/07/2025

🤮🤮🤮😜😜😜☀️☀️☀️

07/07/2025

This isn’t about any one faith or any faith…

But rather the quiet energy built over time by all who have sat in a place like this, in silence, in thought, in hope.

‘A thousand souls, and thousands more,
Have come and gone through an oak door,
And here they sat, just like I do,
With stories old and dreams still new.

The wood remembers. Every grain
Holds echoes not just of their pain
But laughter shared in hushed delight,
And moments when the world felt light.

A place for tears, but also grace,
For finding calm, for slowing pace.
No need for dogma, creed, or prayer
Just breath and presence, just being there.

The pew is more than just a seat,
It’s where the mind and heart can meet.
Where burdens soften, joy appears,
And quiet strength dissolves the fears.

A woman smiling through her tears.
A child whose whisper lights the air.
A couple, hands entwined with care,
Beginning something sacred there.

Some sat in silence, some in song,
Some stayed a minute, some stayed long.
But all have left their warmth behind
A pulse, a peace, a quiet kind.’

20/03/2025

Who Was Palladius?

Ireland’s First Bishop Before St. Patrick

Everyone knows St. Patrick, but did you know he wasn’t the first bishop sent to Ireland?

Before Patrick, there was Palladius—a man on a mission to spread Christianity to the early Irish believers.

In 431 AD, Pope Celestine I sent Palladius to minister to the Christians in Ireland, proving that Christianity had already taken root on the island.

He landed in Leinster but faced fierce opposition from local rulers.

Unlike Patrick, who later became a legend, Palladius didn’t stay long—he was banished and returned to Britain.

While his mission was short-lived, his legacy remains.

Some of his companions stayed behind, and his efforts paved the way for St. Patrick to finish what he started.

So next time you celebrate Irish heritage, think of Palladius—the man who brought the first bishop’s crozier to Irish soil! 🍀✝️

20/03/2025

☘️ Oscar Wilde - The King of Wit & Scandal ☘️

Born in Dublin in 1854, Oscar Wilde was the original rockstar of literature—flamboyant, sharp-tongued, and utterly brilliant.

He made Victorian society laugh, cringe, and think, often all at once.

Known for The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Importance of Being Earnest, his words were as stylish as his velvet suits.

His life took a dramatic turn when he was imprisoned for being unapologetically himself.

But even in downfall, he never lost his wit—on his deathbed, he supposedly quipped, “Either this wallpaper goes, or I do.”

Wilde lived fast, spoke even faster, and left behind a legacy of dazzling one-liners that still stop us in our tracks today. A rebel, a genius, and the master of the perfect put-down. 👑✨

20/03/2025

☘️ Jonathan Swift: Ireland’s Great Satirist & Literary Rebel 🖋️

Born in Dublin in 1667, Jonathan Swift was more than just a writer—he was Ireland’s sharpest satirist, a fearless critic of power, and a champion of the Irish people.

His works, from the legendary Gulliver’s Travels to the biting A Modest Proposal, held up a mirror to society, exposing corruption, hypocrisy, and injustice with razor-sharp wit.

A man of contradictions, he was both a churchman and a rebel, serving as Dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral while relentlessly challenging political oppression.

His Drapier’s Letters made him a national hero for standing against English exploitation of Ireland.

Swift’s words still resonate today, a reminder that great writing can entertain, provoke, and inspire change.