Blog

  • Festival of the Fires – Europes Oldest Recorded Festival

    orlafitzCountry Living Odds & Ends
    I have recently come across this festival and it sounds amazing. Last year saw the re-kindling of the oldest recorded festival in Europe – The Festival of the Fires on the ancient Hill of Uisneach.
    Read more

  • Cottage Spotting: Traditional Thatched Cottage, Co. Clare

    orlafitzBuy a cottage Country Living Find a cottage
    It’s time for a little eye candy for all you cottage enthusiasts out there, I came across this beautiful Thatched cottage for sale in Lissycasey, Co. Clare this week. It ticks all the right boxes with its neat thatch, half door, sliding sash windows, barge and rough render – and that is only on the outside!
    Read more

  • The Wexford Thatcher – review

    orlafitzCottage Renovation Country Living
    ‘The Wexford Thatcher’ episode from the Hands series is a tale of thatching in the South East of Ireland, taking the us right through from the harvesting of the straw to Paddy Casey the master thatcher applying his craft.
    Read more

  • Hands Series

    orlafitzCountry Living Odds & Ends
    I was delighted recently to obtain a copy of the fantastic box set ‘Hands’. It is one series that I have been talking about for years and was always on the look out for. If anyone hasn’t seen this series on RTÉ then you are in for a treat. It is a collection of 37 documentaries produced by Sally and David Shaw-Smith for RTÉ – “A series of fascinating documentaries on traditional Irish crafts and lifestyles, where the emphasis is on the skills of human hands rather than on machines”.
    Read more

  • Reasons to love Ireland – Soda Bread

    orlafitzCountry Living Reasons to Love Ireland
    One thing I really missed when I was living in the US was good old fashioned soda bread. There was never a shortage of it in our house – every Saturday morning after the cleaning was done my mother would start the baking – soda bread, curney loaf and maybe queen and butterfly cakes if we were good! That smell in the house – of clean and baking is one of the most enduring memories of my childhood.
    Read more

  • Moving to the Country

    orlafitzCountry Living
    Moving to the country can be a dream for some people and for others it is an necessity – marrying into a rural community, job relocation or simply for the health benefits of the country air. If you are thinking of moving to the country there are many factors to take into account and I hope that this article will give you some information and insight.
    Read more