Irish culture :)

The culture of Ireland includes customs and traditions, language, music, art, literature, folklore, cuisine and sports. Ireland's culture has been primarily Gaelic, also been influenced by Anglo-Norman, English and Scottish culture. Much of the Irish calendar still today reflects the old pagan customs, with later Christian traditions also having significant influence. Christmas in Ireland has several local traditions, some in no way connected with Christianity. The national holiday in the Republic of Ireland is Saint Patrick's Day, 17 March and is marked by parades and festivals in cities and towns across the island of Ireland, and by the Irish diaspora around the world. The festival is in remembrance to Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. The early history of Irish visual art is generally considered to begin with early carvings found at sites such as Newgrange and is traced through Bronze age artefacts, particularly ornamental gold objects, and the Celtic brooches and illuminated manuscripts of the "Insular" Early Medieval period. 

The more spoken languages in Ireland are: Irish Gaelic and English. Celtic languages are most commonly spoken on the north-western edge of Europe: Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall. Is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people.
These languages descend from a common ancestor, spoken in Ireland in the late first millennium BC and early first millennium AD. From about the first century AD the Gaels started to come to Scotland from Ireland . The first Irish Gaels, the Scots, arrived in Scotland around 450 AD from Scoti across the Sea of Moyle settling in Argyll which they called Dal Riata .
In 523 AD, St Columba came from Ulster and settled in the Isle of Iona bringing Christianity to Scotland , England and parts of Europe . The consolidation of the kingdom of Dál Riata and the ancient province of Ulster around the 4th century, linked the north of Ireland and western Scotland together, this of course accelerated the expansion of Gaelic, as did the success of the Gaelic-speaking church establishment . This is an argument which has been hotly debated in recent years, with suggestions of the possibility that Gaelic evolved as a language simultaneously in Argyll and in Ireland has been advanced. 

Celtic knots are perhaps the most notorious and recognizable artwork in Celtic history.They started appearing in history after about 450 AD; the Celtic knots meaning is sketchy at best.


The Celtic Cross, or Ionic cross, has it's roots in a pre-Christian variation of the Solar Cross. Examples of the Celtic cross date back as far as 5000 years BCE. It's origins are not known, but it was known to be an early symbol of the sun god Taranis.



The Triskele of Triple Spiral is a complex Celtic symbol – the triple spiral or triskele is also referred to as a triskelion is one of the most convoluted to decipher as symbolists believe it is reflective of many areas.


A leprechaun is a type of fairy in Irish folklore, usually taking the form of an old man, clad in a red or green coat, who enjoys partaking in mischief.Some folk traditions hold that the leprechauns are descended from the Tuatha de Danann. When the Milesians came to Ireland they conquered the Tuatha de Danann and forced them to live under ground. When Christianity took religious precedence, this may have brought about the decline of importanceof the leprechauns. The leprechaun is said to be a solitary creature, whose principal occupation is making and mending shoes, and who enjoys practical jokes.