Country Dreams: Ireland

By Amanda Little

Get yourself in the Irish frame of mind before you leave for the Emerald Isle. Brush up on a little geography and history in the best ways, through entertainment! Enjoy Irish songs, both traditional and modern, peruse through books set in Ireland, and stay entertained throughout your travels by watching Irish movies!

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Let the lively Irish music get you on your feet

Stomp away with the energetic drums, sway with the bagpipes, and dance to the violins. No Irish night out is complete without its distinct music!

Oro Se do Bheatha Bhaile cover by Seo Linn

Get into the Irish spirit with a newer cover of an old Irish folksong.

Devil’s Dance Floor by Flogging Molly

Celtic rock came about around the 1970s when bands started combining traditional folk songs with rock music.

Drunken Sailer by Irish Rovers

No Irish playlist would be complete without a drinking song!

Nancy Mulligan by Ed Sheeran

A much newer artist and song, Nancy Mulligan has many nods to Irish culture and tells the story of Ed Sheeran’s grandparents.

Teir Abhaile Riu by Celtic Women

Celtic Women cover a large array of songs with some originals for their show, but this one brings the liveliness of Irish music and old Irish traditions together for an upbeat tune.

Travel through a novel before you travel for real

  • The Princes of Ireland by Edward Rutherfurd
    Rutherfurd takes the legend of Cuchulainn and gives it a twist in his book the Princes of Ireland. Acclimate yourself to some of the lore and history in Ireland with this novel as it takes you through iconic moments in Irish history like the invasion of Cromwell, the Great Famine, and more with interlocking stories and a wonderful array of fictional characters to take you through it.

  • Dubliners by James Joyce by Jeri Johnson
    Any reader traveling to Ireland must read Dubliners by James Joyce. The classic can be found on almost every Irish reading list and offers insight to the country as well as its own colorful history in censorship and the difficulty involved to get it published. His work is said to reflect the truth, as harsh as it is, in all its unromantic reality. Take a look into fifteen different lives and decide for yourself

  • In the Woods (Dublin Murder Squad #1) by Tana French
    Enter the Emerald Isle with a suspenseful murder-mystery novel set in 1984 Ireland in hand. For those who like a little spice to their adventure, this thriller will get your heart pumping and give you a glance at the settings of the novel you’ll see for real.

  • Bard: The Odyssey of the Irish by Morgan Llywelyn
    Dig into the ancient historical fiction of Ireland. Let yourself get lost in the magic that seems to enchant the very foundation of the stpic ruins that litter the Ancient East today. Follow druids and knights across Ireland as they make the Emerald Isle their own.

  • Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
    This young adult novel is perfect for those who prefer light reading, or a younger traveler. Embark on an adventure with a 12-year-old millionaire and criminal mastermind as young Artemis Fowl is captured by the Irish fey of old. These aren’t the little winged women we’ve come to associate with the term fairy, but the authentic and dangerous creatures that play malicious tricks on humans for fun.

From your TV to your senses

Watch as favorite characters or new heros bring the beauty of Ireland to life on the silver screen. Then explore the landscapes for your self to experience how much better it is in person!

Leap Year 2010

The Magdelene Sisters 2002

The Wind That Shakes the Barley 2006

Tristan and Isolde 2006

Darby O’Gill and the Little People 1959

Explore Our Ireland Vacations

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