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So, What’s the Craic?

The Craic is back this week with more news and a wee bit of nonsense concerning the Irish at home and abroad. The Craic is the weekly newsletter from Shift, the app for the global Irish and culturally Irish. Not got Shift yet? Lad, it is right here. And if you want someone else to have The Craic each week, send ‘em this way.

News from Home

Uimhir a Haon. You know, the more we think about it, the more astonishing the following sentence is: For the first time in history, an Irish-language album could become No.1 in the UK music charts this weekend. We refer, of course, to Kneecap’s new album, Fenian. The rap-as-Gaeilge trio is predicted to be confirmed as No.1 on Sunday when the weekly tallies are counted. It’s not certain yet, the album is up against former Spice Girl Mel C and, er, former member of the Jackson 5, Michael Jackson, but the three lads are in pole position. What a remarkable thing.

Early Sup. One of the biggest talking points at home this week was the rules around drinking at airports pre-flight. Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary wants drink limits, as well as an end to the rules that allow airport bars to be open 24 hours – who needs a drink at 5am, he says. Anyway, it’s caused a bit of introspection, with many calling for an end to the rowdy flight.

Inventor. We love to highlight clever Irish kids on this little newsletter, so it’s great to see young Cathal Sweeny (16), who recently won the top prize at the Student Enterprise National Finals. Cathal invented a glow-in-the-dark Sliotar (hurling ball), called Glo Ball. It’s designed to help hurlers who want to keep training on those dark winter nights.

The Craic Recommends….Soda Bread. Yeah, yeah, you’ve had soda bread. But have you had soda bread? The Irish take the real stuff very seriously, so much so that there is an official Society for the Preservation of Irish Soda Bread. Yep, really. You don’t need to get militant about it, but you can check out their blog here to get recipes and find out how to do your soda farl the right way.

The Irish Influence

The Met Gala. Bit weird, isn’t it? Like a self-indulgent celebrity safari. Yet we wouldn’t be doing our jobs if we didn’t cite the Irish influence at the event, and there was plenty of it. One eye-catcher was the Irish designer Jonathan Anderson, who was behind the designs for Sabrina Carpenter and Jisoo Kim’s gowns. Both stunned, if we are placed to judge such things (we aren’t), and managed to pull off interesting while not falling into that “look at me” trap that a lot of celebs do at the ball. And then, there was Madonna. Her sublime/ridiculous headgear – it’s a ghost ship (right?) – was provided by Galway man and, arguably, the world’s greatest hatter, Philip Treacy. When Madonna asks you to design a ship to wear on her head, you know you’ve made it. ⛴️

Cúpla Focal

An Mhaighdean Mhuire – {un VY-djin VWIR-eh} – The Virgin Mary/Madonna. Since she’s on our mind this week, we thought we’d go for a bit of the Irish for Madonna. Of course, that translation is not literal, as an Mhaighdean Mhuire translates as “The Virgin Mary”, and she’s very different from that Madonna, even if they do both Like a Prayer. As a wee aside, maighdean mhara means mermaid, literally maiden of the sea. And if someone is An Mhaighdean, that means they are a Virgo in the aul Zodiac.

Blast from the Past

May 8th, 1935, saw the birth of the most honorary-Irish Englishman since records began. Jack Charlton – World Cup winner, legendary football hardman, fisherman, and as North of England as they come, but very much an adopted son of Ireland. There’s not much we can say about Big Jack that isn’t already known, but aside from being a major figure in our childhood memories of those World Cups in 1990 and 1994, we’d say he is also one of those unique human beings who make people smile whenever he is recalled. It’s hard to believe it’s been almost six years since the great man passed away. He would have been 91 today. Happy Birthday, Big Jack. Hope you’re enjoying the fishing up in the Sky. ⚽️🎣

And One Last Thing….

Shift socials have been absolutely buzzing of late, with large numbers of new followers and record views on our content. One clip from Patrick has hit almost 350,000 views and counting! But, c’mere. Why not come and join us? Part of our mission to build a global Irish network on Shift is going to spill over onto socials – that’s the way it works – so if you want to see what we are up to, discuss any of the topics discussed here, or give Patrick a bit of (friendly) abuse under his videos (kind of annoying how good he is at them), then give us a wee follow on these platforms: Instagram, TikTok, Threads, Facebook.