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We are back with the final edition of The Craic in 2024. Our journey has just begun, so ask anyone who’d be interested in joining in with The Craic in 2025 and beyond to sign up here.

News from Home

There’s no news from home this week. Well, there is, but we’re full of Christmas Cake and probably pints, no new craic there. Instead, look back at our favorite stories from the year and let us know which one you liked the best.

First, the weird and wonderful Paul Mescal lookalike competition:

Are You Not Entertained? Gladiator II had its Irish premiere last night, so what better way to celebrate than with a lookalike competition in honor of the film’s star, Paul Mescal?  A total of 6 entrants did their best Mescal impression, with the lucky winner taking away the grand prize of €20 or “three pints” (we kid you not). Winner Wall O’Reilly (Wall Mescal? We’re sorry) was also gifted a lovely pair of O’Neills sports shorts. Only in Ireland.

And then there was the book that got everyone hot under the collar:

There May Be a Book Burning. Not really, but there was an uproar over a new textbook that depicted Irish people as river-dancing-Aran-jumper-wearing-top-o-the-morning farmers. Some saw the funny side; others didn’t. The book got banned this week.

Next, Irish farmers got their kit off for charity:

Your Dream Date? It’s coming a bit closer to year’s end, and that could only mean one thing: The Irish Farmers’ Calendar 2025. It’s the 15th edition of the raunchy-but-still-kind-of-family-friendly calendar, and it’s all for a good cause, raising money for those hurt or impacted by loss in rural accidents. Big men with tops off, a few sheep, and the odd tractor – what more could you want? It ships internationally, too. Get it here.

Then that time we learned that a Hollywood star was a Feis Dad:

Magic Michéal. What’s a Feis Dad? Ask Channing Tatum (owner of the least Irish-sounding name in history). The Magic Mike star was spotted at St Ambrose Fall Feis (a Feis is a competitive arts festival with music, dance, poetry, etc.) in Los Angeles. His daughter picked up two awards for Irish dancing, and Tatum looked every inch the proud Feis Dad (kind of like a soccer mom with more beard) as he posed with the trophies.

And then that Halloween prank and the parade that never was:

Trick or Treat in the Nation’s Capital? Hundreds of jovial people lined O’Connell Street in Dublin for a Halloween parade yesterday evening. Spirits were high as the weather wasn’t bad for late October, either. Just one issue: there was no parade. It was all a hoax, started online by some eejit, no doubt. Back home, this is what we call bad craic.

Finally, when the NYT lost its mind over a drop of butter:

Butter Than All the Rest. Irish butter made it all the way to The New York Times. The Paper of Record did a taste test of global butters, putting Irish brand Kerrygold on top and calling it the “butteriest butter.” The Times then got a little weird, almost sensual, describing unwrapping the blocks of butter as a “transcendent experience.” Look, we like a drop of the yellow stuff on our spuds as much as the next person, but if you’re calling a dairy product “transcendent,” you might want to get out a bit more.

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