Guides

Longer reads on Irish life, heritage and travel.

• Choosing an Irish Baby Name: Meanings, Pronunciation and Fadas — A friendly guide to picking an Irish name for your child — what the names mean, how to actually say them, and the little accent that changes everything.
• The Four Provinces of Ireland Explained — Ulster, Munster, Leinster and Connacht — what the four provinces are, where they came from, and what makes each one distinct.
• How to Trace Your Irish Roots: A Practical Starter Guide — A step-by-step beginner’s guide to researching Irish ancestry — the records that survive, where to find them free, and how to get past the brick walls.
• Is the Immersion On? The Story Behind Ireland’s Favourite Question — Why “the immersion” causes such anxiety in Irish households — what it actually is, where the phrase came from, and why it still matters.
• A Beginner’s Guide to Irish Surnames and What They Mean — Where Irish surnames come from, what O’ and Mac really mean, how names were anglicised, and how to start tracing your own.
• Irish Slang Explained: A Friendly Guide to How the Irish Talk — From “grand” to “acting the maggot” — a guide to Hiberno-English slang, what the words mean, and how to use them without making a holy show of yourself.
• Planning Your First Trip to Ireland: A Practical Guide — When to go, how to get around, how long you need, and the etiquette that’ll make your first trip to Ireland a great one.
• A Pint of Plain: A Short Guide to Irish Beer — Stout and the perfect pour, the red ales and lagers, and the craft revolution — a friendly introduction to drinking beer in Ireland.
• Decoding Irish Weather: Soft Days, Grand Stretches and Foostering About — A friendly translation of the way the Irish talk about their famously changeable weather — and what the sayings actually mean.