Conway Mill Trust

Sean O’Faolain is considered to be more representative of Ireland than Shaw, Yeats or Beckett.  Two of his most realistic novels were “A Nest of Simple Folk” and “Bird Alone”.

The expression “I don’t give a rap” originated in Dublin in the 18^th Century when the counterfeit sixpence were dubbed “raps” or “bad” in reference to the famous “Drapier’s Letters” in which Swift writes “of many counterfeits  passed under the name of “raps”.

Riverdance began as a half time show on the Eurovision Song Contest, an annual event in which European countries compete for the best musical act.  The country that wins, hosts the contest the next year and gets to feature one of its home acts.  Ireland won several years in a row and a group of Irish dancers were so popular they began to tour. Riverdance was born.

Irish whiskey is a catch all name for many different kinds of whiskey made in Ireland.  The word itself is from the Gaelic “uisce beatha” which translated means “water of life.”