The History of Irish Coffee

Posted on: May 19th, 2012 by Sine Treanor No Comments

Many of us have enjoyed a cup of Irish Coffee, especially at the end of a meal in a pleasant restaurant, but have you ever wondered how this delicious drink originated? It was invented by a chef named Joseph Sheridan who worked in the restaurant at the Foynes, Co. Limerick air terminal, between 1939 and 1945. This was the time when many Americans arrived by flying boat at Foynes and had to be shuttled across to the terminal, often a cold, wet, miserable transfer. Knowing how Americans enjoy coffee gave Joseph the idea of adding a good tot of Irish whiskey to a warming cup of coffee. The new arrivals were delighted and one of them asked if it was Brazilian coffee, “No” replied Joseph, “That’s Irish coffee” . This is how the drink originated and it’s popularity is now worldwide.

The Foynes seaplane terminal has long since closed and the airport is now based at Shannon where there is a plaque commemorating this event. By 1952 the Buena Vista restaurant In San Francisco, California started serving Irish coffee and they still do, sometimes as many as 2,000 Irish coffees in one day!

Traditional Irish Coffee


Here is how to make your own brew, it is best served in the traditional glasses made for the purpose with a handle, to stop you burning your fingers.

Fresh black coffee
1 generous measure of Irish whiskey
1 (or more ) teaspoons of sugar
2 dessertspoons of double cream

Warm the glass, add the coffee and stir in the whiskey and sugar. Lightly whip the cream and pour onto the coffee over the back of a spoon to prevent it mixing. Do not stir, you drink the coffee through the cream! The finished beverage should resemble a glass of Guinness.

There is also a delicious variation you can try, again using freshly brewed coffee, all you do is add a good shot of Bailey’s Irish Cream to the coffee for an instant version. Enjoy!

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The History of the Ogham Alphabet

Posted on: May 14th, 2012 by Sine Treanor 1 Comment

Anyone who has an interest in Irish history, will encounter references to the Ogham alphabet. This is an ancient script that resembles tally marks in a straight line, it is believed to date as far back as 1500 to 2500 years ago and is thought to be named after the Irish god Ogma.This is a large time scale, few facts are known about this ancient method of recording information and most of what is known is shrouded in legend and mystery. There are many examples of Ogham carved into standing stones and a few examples have survived etched into wood. Ogham is found extensively on the many standing stones of Ireland but examples can also be seen in England, Scotland, Wales and the Isle of Man.

Ogham Stone in Dingle, County Kerry


One of the difficulties about researching this period of Irish history is that there are no written accounts relating to the people of the period from 500 BC until Christianity arrived in Ireland in the 5th century AD. What is known has been obtained from records written by Greek and Roman historians or from stories told by the native people to missionaries and monks after the coming of Christianity and subsequently written down by them. The only exception to this is the Ogham record.

Ogham is also referred to as the Celtic Tree Alphabet and it looks nothing like today’s letters or writing, but surprisingly the letters of the Ogham alphabet correspond to those of the Roman alphabet and experts can translate them easily. Ogham was mainly used for carving names or inscriptions onto important stones, often grave stones or stone territorial markers. It is also believed to have been frequently used on wooden buildings, but very few examples of these have survived. Later,it was written down and can be seen in manuscripts, often as notes in margins, recorded as late as the 16th century.

The National Museum of Ireland.


There are some very good examples of Ogham stones to be seen in Ireland, some of which are at the National Museum in Kildare St, Dublin, but many survive still in their original location, placed there by people who lived more than 2000 years ago!

About 370 stone Ogham inscriptions have been discovered in Ireland. These are on standing stones that are from three to nine feet tall and mostly located in the southwest province of Munster in Ireland with others in County Kerry.

Where to See Examples of Ogham

St. Flannan's 13th Century Cathedral.


One unusual example in St Flannan’s Cathedral in Killaloe has Nordic Runes as well as Ogham carved on it.

The Ballycrovan Standing Stone with Ogham


Another stone stands near Ballycrovane Bay on the Beara Peninsula, this is easy to find, as it is well sign posted.

Saint Declans Church, Ardmore


The longest known inscription on any stone is on one of two stones at St Declan’s Church in Ardmore Co Waterford.

Collection of Ogham Stones in Dunloe.


To see a group of Ogham stones visit Dunloe, which is 8kms west of Killarney on the R562 near the village of Beaufort.

Kilmalkedar Church in County Mayo


In Kerry, the 12th century church at Kilmalkedar near Slea Head on the Dingle Peninsula has a good example.

The Ancient Rathfranpark Wedge Tomb


A single ancient Bronze age standing stone stands near the Rathfranpark wedge tomb near Kilala in Co Mayo.



The Ogham Alphabet

Ogham Alphabet - Consonants and Vowels


The Ogham alphabet (vertical)



Ogham script reads - Love Forever

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A Little Information About Hallmarks

Posted on: May 13th, 2012 by Sine Treanor No Comments

If you read the details about each of the beautiful items of jewelry created by our craftsmen you will see that we usually mention that every piece is hallmarked by the Dublin Assay Office. We then explain that this is your assurance of the high quality of the item. This is quite important because a hallmark is only stamped on jewelry which has been examined by the Assay Office, that hallmark exists to protect the customer.

The Dublin Assay Office was founded in 1637 to assay all items of gold and silver produced in Ireland. The word ‘hallmark‘ dates back to the fifteenth century when craftsmen in London first brought their articles to Goldsmiths’ Hall for assessing and marking. The idea was that the stamp shown on the item would enable people to recognize which company produced the piece. Historic Dublin Castle in the city center is the location for the Irish Assay Office. The castle itself is a major tourist attraction and the magnificent State Apartments are open for guided tours when not in use for official business.

Assays Office

Dublin CAstle Assays Office


In their purest form precious metals are unsuitable for making into jewelry, the metals just don’t work well unless other metals are included to form an alloy. The other metals are included in exact proportions, for instance 10k is 417 parts of pure gold per thousand, 14kt gold is 585 parts pure gold per 1000 and 18kt gold is 750 parts per 1000. The Assay Office tests this and part of the hallmark will show these numbers so that you will be able to recognize the purity of the gold. Among the other metals added to gold are silver, copper and zinc.

In the case of sterling silver the proportions are 925 parts per thousand and for platinum it is 950. Should these proportions not be accurate for any item, it will not meet the standards of the Assay Office and will be returned to the manufacturer.To determine the purity of the precious metal, a tiny sample is scraped from the item in an unobtrusive place and then tested. Once the purity has been established the item will be stamped accordingly.

As well as the purity mark there is the manufacturers mark and also a date letter which denotes the year in which the piece was created or hallmarked. This letter is changed on New Year’s Day each year, so the hallmark can also tell you the age of an item. Hallmarks are a fascinating and complex subject, you can learn much more about them with research, but for our purposes, here at Celtic Wedding Rings, we are confident knowing that each hallmarked item we sell to our customers is of the highest quality, both in content and craftsmanship.

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The Origins of Irish Whiskey

Posted on: April 30th, 2012 by Sine Treanor 1 Comment

The original Gaelic for whiskey is ‘Uisce Beatha’, which means ‘water of life’ and the production of the spirit began in Ireland around eight hundred years ago. This was earlier than other areas of Europe and the distillation techniques were probably brought there by the missionary monks. One of Irish whiskey’s most famous aficionados was Queen Elizabeth I, she had supplies sent to her court which made it a popular drink in England.

Queen Elizabeth & Peter the Great both enjoyed Irish Whiskey


Czar Peter the Great of Russia who reigned during the eighteenth century loved Irish whiskey so much, is reported to have said;”Of all the wines of the world, Irish spirit is the best“. Samuel Johnson included the word whiskey in his dictionary in 1755, adding the comment “the Irish sort is particularly distinguished for its pleasant and mild flavour“.

By the 19th Century, Irish whiskey was the most popular whiskey in the world, this was helped in no small measure by the cognac crop in France being devastated by phylloxera. Never slow to tax a popular commodity, the government raised the whiskey tax to one shilling and two pence in 1775 and in 1815 it was increased to six shillings, making it a luxury only the rich could afford.

Not surprisingly many people decided to produce their own illegal whiskey and there were an estimated 2000 illicit stills in production by the end of the eighteenth century. A few distillers decided to legalize their operations, the most successful of these were the Dublin distillers John Jameson, John Power and George Roe

A selection of Ireland's finest whiskey!


Powers was a leader in the whiskey industry until the merger with Cork Distillers Company and John Jameson & Son in 1966. this formed the Irish Distillers Group. However, In 1989, they were taken over by the Pernod Ricard empire which includes Bushmills Distillery. This was not welcomed by the last four members of the old distilling families who then resigned.

Bushmills produce very fine whiskeys and they had a seven year license to distill, which dates from April 20th 1608, thus making them the worlds oldest whiskey distillery. Their location is near the town of Bushmills, Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland. Irish whiskey distilleries are considered to be among the worlds best, partly due to the traditional Irish method of triple-distilling which creates the pure whiskey taste they are famed for.

Feel free to comment and tell us of what other wonderful whiskeys you have come across and where they originate from. Look forward to hearing some interesting tales. :)

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All About Guinness

Posted on: April 21st, 2012 by Sine Treanor 1 Comment

When Arthur Guinness was born in 1725, nobody could have possibly imagined the impact he would later have on drinkers of ale for the next 250 plus years! His father was Richard Guinness who was land steward to the Archbishop of Cashel and it is believed that he brewed beer for the workers on the Archbishop’s estate. Arthur first began brewing in the town of Liexlip, but he was ambitious, he planned to open a brewery in his own name in Dublin and in 1759 he fulfilled his dream. This was made possible by the generosity of his godfather, the Archbishop, who had bequeathed him £100. He acquired a 9,000 year lease on the former premises of a brewery in Dublin at an annual rent of £45.

Arthur Guinness (1725-1803)


During the 1770′s, Arthur heard that a new drink, popular with the porters at Covent Garden in London was being exported to Dublin, he decided to try making this “porter” as it was called, himself. This was a resounding success, his “porter” being far better than those of other Dublin brewers.

Arthur’s three sons succeeded him in the family business and they quickly expanded into overseas markets. Before the end of the 19th century Arthur Guinness and Sons, was launched on the London Stock Exchange and became the worlds largest brewery. Guinness was soon popular in worldwide countries, including Australia, America, Africa and the Far East.

Not surprisingly, the exact recipe for this world famous stout is a well guarded secret, what is known is that it contains Irish barley, hops, malt, brewers yeast and water, which comes from Lady’s Well in the Wicklow mountains. The rich dark color and the malty taste is the result of some of the barley being first flaked and then roasted. The unique dark body and creamy head of Guinness is because of an unusual mix of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, which creates a swirl effect. It is almost an art form to serve the perfect pint of Guinness. The glass needs to be tilted at a 45 degree angle and the Guinness poured in until the glass is 3/4 full. It then has to settle before being topped up to a full pint. Apparently this takes 119.5 seconds for the perfect pint.

Guinness are no longer allowed to produce such advertisements.


Although Guinness was told to stop using the slogan “Guinness is good for you” many years ago, it seems that it may be true. Experts from the University of Wisconsin have discovered that a pint of Guinness is as effective as a low dose of aspirin in preventing blood clots that increase the risk of heart attacks. They tested the health giving properties of stout compared to lager by giving it to dogs with narrowed arteries. Those given Guinness had less clotting in their blood, but those given lager did not.

The Guinness Storehouse opened in 1998, as a visitor attraction and is now Ireland’s most popular venue with over 750,000 visitors a year.The three millionth visitor was recently welcomed to the site. Although Guinness is sometimes called a “meal in a glass” it is surprisingly low in calories at only 198 ,as this is less than many sodas, juices, and beers, you can enjoy your favorite pint with less concern over your waistline.

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