5 Gift ideas on our small group tours of Ireland
The tradition of bringing something back after your holiday for the ones who were not so lucky to go on one of our small group tours of Ireland is still alive and kicking. We often get asked the question by our guests what to bring back? At the end of the day it`s a personal choice as our guides often don’t know the person at the receiving ends. However, we have listed a few items that are obviously and stereotypically Irish.
Claddagh Ring:
During our small group tours of Ireland, we stop in Galway. An area of Galway is the Claddagh. This used to be a typical Irish fishing village just across the river Corrib in Galway. The romantic story began over 300 years ago, legend has it that one of the fishing boats was captured by pirates and then sold as slaves. Richard Joyce, was one of the captured crew who got just married the week before. He was sold to a Turkish gold smith. During all his years, away he never forgot his beautiful wife and he made an awesome golden ring for her. After many years he was released and he returned to the Claddagh. He presented her the ring and they lived ever happy after.
The ring has two hands, a crown and a hart which expresses everlasting love and eternal friendship. If you wear it on the right hand with the crown turn inwards, it means you are looking for love. Worn on the same hand but outwards shows a special commitment to someone. On the left hand and turned outwards means that you let your love and friendship reign forever and never to be separated.
Aran Sweaters
During your Ultimate small group tour of Ireland, you visit Inis Mór, the biggest of the Aran Islands. The Aran Islands are wold famous for their unique lunar landscape, great Irish language, the Red Bull Cliff diving championships and of course for the famous Aran Sweaters. These sweaters had the perfect protection for all the fisherman on the islands. With the Wild Atlantic right on your doorstep the conditions on the Island were tough and so nothing better than quality wool to keep you warm. The intricate stitching is not random but represents the different clans and has been passed on from generation to generation. Could this be the perfect gift after one of our small group tours of Ireland?
Bog Wood
One of the great Irish landscapes consists of bog-lands. One of the great products coming from these lands are turf or peat. The bog lands are an excellent preservative and many items have been found in excellent condition. Most remarkably are the bog bodies. These naturally mummified bodies were found in the bogs. We would not recommend of course taking on of these home. But the bog wood was formed thousands of your ago as forest was covered by peat and a chemical reaction took place. This changed the colour of the wood and sculptures and other artists love working with this product. Some of these items are unique and a great gift for your homies.
Celtic Jewellery
Celtic and Gaelic Ireland was the pollical and social order that existed in Ireland from the pre-historic times until the early 12th century before the Norman invasion. The origins of this stunning jewellery dates back between 2000 BC to around 550 AD. The style and the way the jewellery is made has progressed but many pieces still have great details and are not too far away from the early days. It’s the perfect gift after one of our small group tours of Ireland. You can choose from Celtic rings, bracelets and really cool pendants.
Irish Whiskey
The word whiskey originates from the Gaelic word beatha, which means water of life. Irish whiskey was one of the earliest distilled drinks in Europe around the 12th century. The number of distilleries was in decline for a long time due to all sorts of tax reasons and only a few of the bigger ones like Jameson. Now days however, there is a revival of all sorts of small excellent distilleries all across the county. During one of our small group tours of Ireland we visit the Dingle distillery that just released their first batch of this great drink.
If you have any ideas for great Irish gifts please email us on: [email protected] For any information about our tours please visit our website or if you would like to speak to us please use our great chat service or just give us a shout over the phone.
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