Hello, our lovely people! We’d like to welcome you to our blog.

You may have noticed that we are new on this blog site, but we’ll try our best to present our work. Today we’ll tell you something about our presentation of some Irish actors and the Irish film industry and authors. Our group consist of four people, Leonie, Nina, Melissa and Zoi. We are attending the 3rd year of the HLW Fohnsdorf which is a vocationally-oriented business college. So, let’s begin!

Probably everyone has seen a film with an Irish actor- but have you realized that they are from Ireland? At first, I will tell you a bit about some Irish actors and then about the Irish film industry.

Ciarán Hinds was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland on February 9, 1953. He began his stage career at the Glasgow Citizens’ Theatre as a pantomime horse in the production of “Cinderella”. Hinds’ film career began in 1981 in the movie Excalibur (1981), which boasted a cast rich in talented actors including Liam Neeson, Gabriel Byrne and Patrick Stewart. Furthermore, Kate Thompson (born 17 November 1959) is an actress and romantic novelist. She was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Now I will tell you something about the film industry. According to Variety magazine, “Ireland has become a capital of filmmaking” in recent years, establishing itself as “one of the world’s most attractive production environments” thanks to the talented writers, directors, producers, casts and crew that Ireland has to offer. One of the most salient and crucial aspects of the Irish film industry is its wealth of creative talent. Home to many excellent and established production companies. (Nina)

I think each of you knows or has heard of the Game of Thrones series but do you know that some actors are from Ireland?

I will tell you which famous actors in Game of Thrones have Irish roots.

The first actor is Liam Cunningham known as Davos Seaworth. He was born in Dublin’s East Wall and is 58 years old. Cunningham is married and has three children. The family lives in Dublin. Furthermore, he is nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Awards 2020.

Another actor is Jack Gleeson, born on May 20 1992, in Cork. He is an Irish actor and child actor, best known for his role as Joffrey Baratheon. Gleeson first came into contact with acting at the age of seven. As a child actor, he has appeared in supporting roles in films such as Batman Begins, Shrooms – A Rine of Death and A Shine of Rainbows.

The last actor that I introduce to you is Aidan Gillen. Born on April 24 1968, in Dublin, Ireland as Aidan Murphy is an Irish actor, internationally known for his role as Petyr “Little Finger” Baelish.

There are many more but they are all good actors! What do you think about the actors in Game of Thrones? (Zoi)

Another important thing about Ireland are the Irish stars. There are many famous Irish stars that the people forget about. For example, the actor Colin Farell, the UFC star Conor McGregor, the Oscar-nominated actor Saoirse Ronan, the influencer Louise Cooney, the actor Liam Neeson and much more. Many people don’t know that these actors come from Ireland. People know them from Hollywood and immediately think that they are Americans.

Also, many famous writers come from Ireland such as Oscar Wilde, William Butler Yeats and more. Let’s talk a little bit more in detail about Oscar Wilde. Oscar Wilde was in the 1890s one of the most popular playwrights in London. He is remembered for his epigrams and plays, poems and his important masterpiece The Picture of Dorian Gray. What’s very sad is that Oscar Wilde died at the young age of 46 in Paris, France.

Another important writer was William Butler Yeats. He was an Irish poet and one of the most important poets of the 20th century. In 1923, he was the first Irish who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. The most famous poem of his is The Stolen Child which was written by him when he was only 21 years old.

The most famous actor who is an Irish is Pierce Brendan Brosnan. Almost everybody knows him. Do you know James Bond? If yes, then you will definitely know him. He is an Irish and (now) American actor, film producer, activist, environmentalist and architect. In 1994, Brosnan became the fifth actor to play the secret agent James Bond in the film series. (Leonie)

Jonathan Rhys Meyers, born 1977 in Dublin, is also a very famous Irish actor. He is known for successful series, for example, The Tudors, Dracula and Vikings. In 2006, Jonathan won a Golden Globe for the best performance by an Actor in a mini-series. Not so long ago, in 2018, he also won the Manchester Film Festival for the best actor. Besides acting, Rhys Meyers also modelled for several clothing companies. In 2001, he modelled for Club Monaco, and was chosen as the face for one Versace men’s collection and Hugo Boss men’s fragrance range of 2006. (Melissa)

What do you think, who is the best Irish actor? And which one is your favorite film or TV series? Have you ever read a book or poem by an Irish author? Please share in the comments below.

We hope you enjoy our blog! See you in our next blog.

Hey guys,

Do you already know where your next trip is going to? No? Then you should think about Dublin. We would like to tell you some reasons why you should go to Dublin.

At first, I would like to tell you some general information about Dublin. Dublin is the capital of the Republic of Ireland and is Ireland’s largest city. It is located on the east coast of Ireland. The Liffey is the main river running through the city and is 125 km long. English is the spoken language throughout Ireland but with its own variety. Irish or Gaelic is the original native language of Ireland. (Lisa)

Now, we want to tell you something about the famous sights in Dublin. I’d like to start with the St. Stephan‘s Green, it is a city centre public park and the landscape was designed by William Sheppard. The park is about 22 acres and you can reach it with the public transports very easily.

As the next point, I want tell you something about my most famous sight in Dublin The National Museum of Ireland because I love history and so that is the right sight to see for me. The museum was founded in 1877 and it includes more than 4 million pieces. It is also a complex together with the Royal Irish Academy, Museum of Irish Industry, National History Museum and the Dublin Museum of Science and Art. (Marie)

Furthermore, I’d like to tell you something about the Guinness Storehouse. The Guinness Storehouse is a museum about the history of Guinness. Guinness is the most famous beer brand of Ireland and was founded 1759 from Arthur Guinness in Dublin. On seven floors you can learn something about the ingredients, how to tap a beer, about the history of transport and much more. Consequently, I think it’s a good sight, especially for rainy days.

Finally, I want to tell you something about Temple Bar. Temple Bar is a very famous and lively district on the riverside in Dublin. In Temple Bar are many well-visited Pubs with live music and DJ’s. It is also the most famous Pub in the world. In Temple Bar are also many good restaurants with cuisine from different countries and some small shops. There are also many museums and art exhibitions like the National Photographic Archive or the Temple Bar Gallery. That’s why I think Temple Bar is worth seeing for everybody. (Elisabeth)

Did you get the travel bug? We hope you enjoyed our blog!

Goodbye!

Hey guys!

Today we are making a short trip to some interesting places in Ireland. At first, we are going to Galway, then to Belfast and in the end, we will visit the past of Ireland.

Galway

So at first, we are going to a 54.2 km² wide seaport with about 80 000 inhabitants. The city is called Galway. Our first stop in Galway is the Salthill Promenade. There is a small fun park with a ferries wheel and a platform where you can jump into the Atlantic, but there are also some restaurants.

Our next stop is the Arts Festival of Galway. At this festival, you can see a lot of different kinds of arts, for example, dance groups, music, theatre, food and much more.

Moreover, if you are a horse lover, then the horse race of the city is the perfect event for you. It’s the biggest horse race all over Ireland, which about 250 000 people visit.

That was Galway the next stop is Belfast – I hope you enjoy the bus drive.

by Sarah

Belfast

Belfast is the second largest city in Ireland. Now I will give you some more information.

It is the capital city of Northern Ireland. The area is 115 km² wide and it has about 342.000 inhabitants.

If you would like to travel to Belfast with public transport, you have to go by bus, because there is no underground or tram. Now we go by bus to the famous museum ,,Titanic” where the ship was built. Here on the left side, you see the museum of the Titanic where you can get all the information about this topic. The interactive shows, special effects and reconstructions make it an unforgettable experience for all visitors. Let’s go inside!

The second stop is the St. George’s Market.

It’s the last roofed Victorian market in Ireland and like the “Naschmarkt” in Vienna. More than 150 salesmen offer everything from antiques to metalwork at their stands.

If you want, you can buy something!

by Sabrina

Northern Ireland Conflict

Finally, let’s take a look at the history of Ireland.

Ireland is divided into Ireland, which is independent from the UK and Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK.

In 1801, Great Britain and Ireland were united, but many Catholics rebelled against their social disadvantage. A famous uprising, which also was suppressed was the so-called “Easter Rising” – a rebellion from Easter Monday to Easter Sunday in the year 1916.

But the real war of independence was fought from 1919 to 1921 between the IRA (Irish Republican Army), a terrorist organisation of the Catholic Irish who are fighting for the independence of all of Ireland, and the British security forces in Ireland. This war officially ended in 1922 when Ireland was appointed an own republic.

November 30th 1972, was one of the famous days in the whole war – the “Bloody Sunday”. British soldiers shot at unarmed Catholic demonstrators in the city Londonderry. Only in 1998, a final peace treaty was made.

 

We hope you enjoyed our trip to Ireland. Thanks for reading!

by Lena

Hey guys,

Our blog entry of today is all about the Irish Cuisine. We want to give you some understanding of the versatility of food and drink of Ireland. First, we want to show you some basic facts about the Irish cuisine. Secondly, we are going to present the traditional Irish food. Furthermore, we will show you the typical drinks of Ireland and last but not least, we will tell you the important facts about Guinness beer.

The cuisine of Ireland is very versatile. It is influenced by the mixture of different cultures and is based on the animals living and the plants growing there. The Irish cuisine altered greatly by the English conquest because of the introduction of a new agro-alimentary system of intensive grain-based agriculture. Due to that, large areas turned over to cereal, but the most important food for poor people was and still is the potato.
Since the good old days the traditional dishes are still part of the menu plan of the Irish, but nowadays they are influenced by the whole world and are presented in a more modern artistic way.

Some of the traditional dishes of Ireland may sound a little confusing but are actually not bad and also in some kind similar to Austrian traditional food. There is, for example, boiled bacon and cabbage, which, first of all, speaks for itself concerning what it is and secondly, is like the Austrian “Geselchtes mit Kraut” or Boxty, a kind of potato pancake is also similar to an Austrian dish called “Kartoffelpuffer”.

There are also dishes that aren’t even close to the Austrian food tradition like, for example, Coddle, a mishmash of the leftovers of the week, or typically shellfish, lots of salmon (whether smoked or not) or soda bread.

 

To sum up, there are a lot of similarities but also differences between the Austrian and the Irish cuisine, but after all, the dishes don’t sound that bad, don’t they? (Jürgen)

Of course, there are a lot of good drinks there, too. Let’s start with the alcoholic beverages. You’ll see this on almost every tap in every pub.  If you find yourself in Dublin, be sure to visit the Guinness Storehouse where you’ll get a taste directly from the Guinness factory and learn to pull the perfect pint.

Another favourite of the Irish is Black’n Black. Guinness with a shot of blackcurrant, it’s usually for people who want to try Guinness but don’t like the porter bite.  It takes the bite off. But there is more to the typical Irish drinks than just beer. Furthermore, a very popular drink in Ireland is the Irish Cider. This is with pears and berries. You must drink it in a glass with ice.
What is also very famous and well-known as a hot drink from Ireland is the Irish Coffee. Irish Coffee is a cocktail consisting of hot coffee, Irish whiskey, and sugar, stirred, and topped with cream. The coffee is drunk through the cream.

The Irish Flag Shots are traditionally drunk on St. Patrick’s Day. For Irish Flag Shots, first pour crème de menthe liqueur into a glass. Hold a teaspoon to the edge directly over the liqueur. Slowly pour Baileys over the back of the spoon. Pour the orange liqueur over the Irish Flag Shots using the spoon.
Baileys Irish Cream is an Irish cream liqueur – an alcoholic beverage flavoured with cream, cocoa, and Irish whiskey. It is often drunk with ice cubes.
But there are many other possibilities, often Baileys is used for cakes or other sweet dishes.

Of course, many people who go to the pub also enjoy non-alcoholic Irish drinks, for example, non-alcoholic Irish Rose. The non-alcoholic version of an Irish rose cocktail is just one of many variations on this tasty Irish mocktail.
There is also, for example, the Emerald Isle Mocktail. This virgin version of the emerald champagne cocktail uses non-alcoholic replacements for crème de menthe and sparkling wine. The pubs in Ireland are really recommendable. (Selina)

Now I am going to give you a better insight into the traditional Irish beer called Guinness.

It was founded in the brewery of Arthur Guinness in Dublin in 1759. Nowadays it is one of the most successful beer brands worldwide and is brewed in almost 50 countries and available in over 120.

The Guinness beer is made of water, barley, roast malt extract and yeast. A part of the barley is roasted to give it its special dark color and characteristic taste. The Guinness Storehouse in Dublin explains the history of the beer and how it is made.

There are 11 kinds of beers:

• one of them is the Guinness Draught it has 4,2% alcohol
• the Guinness Foreign Extra Strout, an extra amount of hops and a stronger alcohol percentage
• the Guinness Original is very similar to the original recipe
• the Guinness Dublin Porter, (fewer hops used and the maturation process is shorter)
• the Guinness West Indies Porter has a chocolatey very bitter taste
• the Guinness Golden Ale is one of the lightest
• The Guinness Hop House 13 Lager has a lot of new ingredients and is totally different
• the Guinness Blonde American Lager (a collaboration between the Guinness brewers in Dublin and their counterparts at the legendary Latrobe Brewery in Pennsylvania)
• the Guinness Nitro IPA is way creamier than the
• the Guinness Special Export has a stronger alcohol percentage and is made with butterscotch
• the Guinness Black Lager is a softer kind of beer and feels creamy with just a hint of roasted barley. (Bianca)

Hi and welcome to our blog about Irish costumes and traditions.

We are four young students Nina, Julia, Angie and Patrick and we attend the 5-year business college in Fohnsdorf.

First of all, I would like to start with the most famous festival of Ireland:

Saint Patrick’s Day:

The St Patrick’s day is celebrated on March 17. This day is celebrated by millions all over the world and has become one of the most popular cultural events worldwide.

So, who was St Patrick? As he was a Patron Saint of Ireland, his birthday was important in Ireland’s religious calendar. A popular belief is that he introduced Christianity to Ireland.

The wearing of the green on St Patrick’s Day

Many people wear something green on St Patrick ’s Day. This is known by many as the wearing of the green to celebrate their Irish heritage.

But in Ireland, people wear a small bunch of Shamrocks on their right breast rather than wear green clothing to signify their Irishness and its traditional connection with St Patrick. The Shamrocks are blessed at Church ceremonies all over Ireland by either the local Priests or Bishops, this is known as Blessing of the Shamrock.

Written by Patrick

Halloween, Myths and Legends in Ireland:

Another tradition of Ireland is Halloween, also known as All Hallows’ Eve.

But have you already known that the origin of Halloween lies in the Celtic culture? The Samhain festival. It’s celebrated on the first day of the eleventh month of the year –   November – in Irish: Samhain.

It was also a festival not unlike the modern New Year’s Day in that it carried the idea of casting out the old and moving into the new.

The myth about mermaids and male sirens, fairies and the Shamrock are also very known Irish folklores. But the most famous myth is about the Leprechauns. Small creatures with a special hat on their reddish hair. Leprechauns can be kind or fierce according to the circumstances. Leprechauns are also famous for hiding their pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

The modern-day description of a Leprechaun is that a man is entirely dressed in green. However, Irish folklore describes Leprechaunis as men who wore red outfits and tri-cornered hats.

Written by Angie

Irish Sport and Potatoes:

I think everybody knows that sport in Ireland is very important. But do you know that sporting traditions and events represent a huge percentage of cultural and national identity in Ireland? The most popular Gaelic Games is Gaelic football and the other one is Hurling and a female version of this game called Camogie. Nevertheless, there are other games to note which have Gaelic variants, such as handball and rounders.

Potatoes? You’re probably just asking yourself one thing: What do potatoes have to do with Ireland? I have the answer for you! The potato is such a famous symbol of Ireland, yes, the potato was a 17th-century import, but it was only through Ireland that the potato became a famous staple of the Irish diet and also a huge economic focus in a predominately agricultural in Ireland. After the famine of 1845, millions were forced to either starve or immigrate.

Written by Nina

Pub Culture and Irish Dancing

Pub culture in Ireland is integral to community life with public houses seen as places where friends and families can meet and catch-up on each other’s lives. Pubs in Ireland will most certainly feature one of the most famous icons of Ireland: Guinness.
Introduced by Arthur Guinness from his brewery at St James’s Gate, Dublin in 1859, Guinness is one of the most popular and well-known drinks in the world and in Ireland it is still the most popular alcoholic drink bringing in €2 thousand-million every year and with a 9,000-year lease on the brewery, the world’s most famous pint is truly here to stay.

Let’s dance baby! Irish dancing became internationally popular in the 1990s after the success of Riverdance but Irish dance takes many forms including jigs, reels, step dancing and ceili dances. Irish dancing also has a unique fashion sense, with dresses based on designs found in the Book of Kells and the famous hard shoes that produce clicks in time to the movements of the dance were developed in the 19th century. The clicking noises came from the wooden heels and toes of the shoes.

Written by Julia