Everything you don't want foreigners to know about how we celebrate Christmas in Ireland. We can't be doing with Calling Birds, French Hens or Partridges in Pear Trees: but if it's Annuals, The Dinner, The Big Shop or The Wexford Carol you're looking for, you've come to the right book! Christmas Party, The /kris-muss par-tee, thuh/ proper noun. annual knees-up The one night of the year when employees get to tell their boss exactly how they feel as they strut their stuff on the dancefloor. There's nothing quite like scrolling through jobs.ie while nursing the hangover from hell.

Murder rearranges the Yuletide carols into unexpected eulogies... The O’Sullivans are spending Christmas in West Cork with brother James’s fiancée Elise’s family, including her grandfather, the famous orchestral conductor Enda Elliot. When they learn everyone will choose a name from a hat to buy a music-related Christmas gift for someone else at the gathering, it seems like their greatest concern–until the cantankerous conductor is discovered crushed under a ninety-pound harp in a local concert hall. With the extended family–including Enda’s much-younger new wife Leah, a virtuoso violinist–suspected in his murder, it’s up to Siobhán to ensure the guilty party faces the music. But as a snowstorm strands both families in a lavish farmhouse on a cliff, Siobhán had better pick up the tempo–before the killer orchestrates another untimely demise... A charming Christmas cosy mystery, perfect for fans of Margaret Mayhew and Dee Macdonald.

A heartwarming tale of yuletide merriment by the New York Times bestselling author of An Irish Country Doctor

'Don't mind me, I'm only your mother.'World-renowned for her unique perspective on life, there is no-one quite like the Irish Mammy. From the weather to your choice of clothing the quintessential Irish Mam has something to say on every subject.'You're making a holy show of yourself.''It's all fun and games until someone has their eye out.''Don't make me come up there!'This handy collection of Mammyisms will ensure you are never without an Irish Mammy's words of wisdom.

Limerick's history stretches back over thousands of years. It is famed for pigs and poetry, but so far only the surface of its past has been revealed. The A–Z of Curious County Limerick looks at the forgotten tales, such as the story of the deer that ran amok through the streets of Limerick City and the man who was sentenced to work in a bog. Many of these stories of the area were well known and talked about at the time but did not get passed down to recent generations. Each letter of the alphabet leads to another weird or wonderful tale, from animals and their amazing antics, to Zepp the travelling chip salesman.

"Origins and meanings of over 2,500 names"--Cover.

An around-the-world tour of ancient Christmas celebrations, Pagan Solstice customs, and magical seasonal plants • Explores in depth the medicinal and magical properties of the many herbs, barks, and berries associated with the Christmas and Yuletide season • Looks at the origins of the Christmas tree and Santa Claus, as well as female gift bringers, holiday Spirits, and Yuletide animals • Shares crafts such as how to make a Yule Log, practices such as Winter Solstice divinations, and recipes for traditional foods and drinks For millennia cultures have taken time out to honor the darkest days of the year with lights, foods, and festivities. In ancient Egypt, people decorated their homes with greenery at the festival of the rebirth of the God Horus. The ancient Romans shared gifts, especially candles, at the midwinter festival of Saturnalia. In Scandinavian and Germanic cultures, the Yule Log was burned in the hearth, fruit orchards were wassailed, and sheaves of wheat were displayed to carry luck into the New Year. In Celtic cultures, mummers and guisers went door to door, and European mistletoe (Viscum album) was gathered by Druids as a medicinal and magical aid. Ellen Evert Hopman shares folklore, recipes, rituals, and crafts to enliven your Yuletide observance. She explores the origins of the Christmas tree and Santa Claus as well as holiday Spirits and Yuletide animals. She explains how to perform Winter Solstice divinations and make traditional foods and drinks such as Elizabethan gingerbread cookies and Wassail. And she looks in depth at the medicinal and magical properties of the many herbs, barks, and berries associated with the Christmas and Yuletide season such as Frankincense and Myrrh, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Hibiscus, Bayberry, and many more. This guide offers practical and magical ways to celebrate and honor the darkest days of the year.

For those times when you need a snack-or a dessert after a good meal, or a homemade food gift, or a way to preserve the season-you need only to stock an Irish pantry to be prepared for any occasion. From jams and jellies to cakes, breads, condiments, and cured meats, this traditional look at feel-good foods bursting with nostalgia will satisfy your longing for something special. Chef and restaurateur Noel McMeel has spent a lifetime first learning in the kitchen, then working there himself. His recipes are generations old: passed from his grandmother to his mother, and to Noel and the next generation. They celebrate a culture of thrift and good eating, the original "eating local" and "whole foods" movements. Noel offers ways to pack the heat of summer into jars with recipes like Blackberry and Lime Jam and Orange Confit, and his Traditional Irish Christmas Cake might become a regular at your holiday table. There's also Rhubarb Ketchup, Homemade Elderflower Liqueur, Spiced Oat Crackers, and a whole chapter of rubs and seasonings. Whether you're Irish or just a food enthusiast, the Irish pantry may well become a way of life.