Ireland’s Ageless Arts

There are a lot of hallmarks of Celtic Culture. From the music and the storytelling to the jewelry and the artwork, it’s all important to Ireland’s history and to it’s future. This episode spotlights three arts that the Irish have really committed to protecting.

Castles are prominent across Ireland’s landscape and many of them offer a chance to get to see birds of prey in action. Dave Adkins does that daily at Dromoland Castle, near Ennis. From Peregrine Falcons to Harris Hawks and Barn Owls, the raptors will capture your heart. Plus, you’ll learn so many phrases we have from falconry.

You can buy the much storied Claddagh rings that originated in Galway in many shops in Galway and across the country. But the man who holds the maker’s mark on the original design works out of a small shop on Quay Street in Galway called Thomas Dillons Gold. Jonathon Margetts has owned it for 50 years. Hear his take on the ring’s design and the story behind how it came to be, in this episode.

Jonathon Margetts at Thomas Dillon’s in Galway.

And you will have a different take on the bells ringing across Dublin after you hear from one of the bellringers from Christ Church Cathedral, how he shares his art with tourists, and how he views the competition of the bellringers, and at the same time the brotherhood that keeps it all going.

Tourists ready to ring the bells of Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin