Cheers Over Tears 🇮🇪⚽️

So, What’s the Craic?

The Craic is back and full of joy this November Friday, delivering news to your inbox about the Irish at home and abroad. Know a friend who’d like a wee poke of craic in their inbox each Friday, too? Please ask them to sign up here. And be sure to tell ‘em all about Shift. We are sharing some updates below.

The Latest from Shift

We’re two short weeks away from our first app store launch! Yes, you heard that right. On Thanksgiving Day, we’ll be releasing the Shift app on Google Play and the App Store in the US and Canada. It is what we’re calling a pilot, because we’re focusing initially on the Washington DC area, and it will still be an early version of our ever growing masterpiece. Now that doesn’t mean the rest of yiz can’t get it. We don’t officially launch in Ireland (and elsewhere) until early next year! For those in Ireland, and any of your besties, you can still get the app through the beta program which is in full swing. Two weeks ago we started sending invites, and then last week we added another group. These 50-or-so lucky punters have supported us from the very early days, so thank you! 🙏 Today, we’re inviting another crowd of ye, and then next week, another few. This is intentional, and not cos we don’t love all of you, we just love some of you more. ;) Ah go on! But seriously, it’s a big undertaking and the dev team’s busting their gut to make this the best it can be, so ramping up slowly is really important. So that’s the craic with the app! Look out for new beta invites, and until then, enjoy the rest of the craic right here, or on our latest podcast. Go raibh maith agaibh!

Now back to our weekly news, where the craic, as always, is mighty…

News from Home

Hungary For More. Ok, we admit it: we were among the naysayers, believing that there was no chance of Ireland making the 2026 World Cup. But we witnessed a minor miracle in Dublin on Thursday night, with the Boys in Green sending Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo (in his case, literally) packing in a 2-0 victory. The math is simple now: Beat Hungary in Budapest on Sunday to secure a Playoff place. Oh, and a little shoutout to New Jersey-born Kevin O’Toole, who earned his first call-up to the Ireland squad for the two games. The collective finger of a nation is hovering over the “book” button of US campervan rental websites for that dream road trip next summer. Can we do it?

The Brits Are Coming. Ireland’s passport is one of the world’s most powerful, a subject we’ve touched on before. And it seems it’s become highly popular with the lads across the water. A record number of UK citizens applied for “An Pas” last year. To be fair, we don’t blame them for digging around trying to find an Irish granny in their family tree, as since Brexit, it is much easier to get around Europe with the old Irish passport in your pocket.

Eat Like Kings. Michelin Star Irish chef Oliver Dunne curates a special five-course Christmas dinner menu across November and December each year, which has proven so popular that extra dates are being added. The surprising thing about this banquet? Diners pay just 20 euros ($24) to be fed by this superstar chef. The dinner has become a beloved annual tradition in the capital, with proceeds going to a worthy charity, Family Carers Ireland.

The Craic Recommends. The brilliant Biird have been described as an Irish trad supergroup, and they are on the up and up and up and up, supporting Ed Sheeran on his upcoming North American tour, and making their US debut at the iconic Dead Rabbit NYC earlier this week. The girls offer something truly unique, reimagining traditional Irish music and repurposing it for a younger generation. Keep an eye on their upcoming gigs across the US in the weeks and months before they come back home for a tour here in April, because these fabulous Biirds are going to fly. Bit cringe that last bit, but we refuse to apologize.

The Irish Influence

Last night saw the UK and Ireland TikTok awards, a glitzy ceremony that had 12 Irish nominees across various categories. One of our favorites is Miriam Mullins, who was nominated for the prestigious Creator of the Year category. Miriam has millions of followers across TikTok and other platforms and has become a national treasure in her own right. Her content can broadly be defined as comedy, but we kind of get what she means about it simply being relatable. Indeed, it’s no surprise to see that Miriam’s career took off during the pandemic, because people look at her as a friend. A very funny friend.

Cúpla Focal

An Ghealach {un ghyal-okh) – the moon. No real reason to share the Irish word for moon this week, beyond the fact that it’s a beautiful little way to say it; an ghealach 🌕. We haven’t seen the fecking thing for weeks, though, as it’s been raining non-stop. ☔️

Blast from the Past

Alright, so we have left Halloween behind and we are all on the road to Christmas. Or are we? 11/11 is St Martin’s Day, or Martinmas, sometimes described as Halloween’s darker cousin. In the days of the aul Pagan lads, it was tradition to sacrifice a cockerel, sprinkling the blood around the four corners of the house. Most of us no longer do it, thankfully. There are plenty of other traditions surrounding St Martin, most of them a bit scary, including the Wexford myth that says St Marty prowls the waves on a white horse, and will drown anyone who dares to go into the sea on 11//11.

And One Last Thing….

We are approaching gift-buying season, the time of year when you tell yourself you will be organized for Christmas, yet leave everything to the last minute anyway. Gifting was a topic of discussion around Craic Towers this week, too, as we noticed that some Irish artists were being copied and effectively ripped-off, with their wares replicated on platforms like Amazon. The brilliant and funny Weird Water Colours is an example of an artist falling afoul of such shenanigans - pick up the absolutely fantastic very Irish-indeedy calendar here! So, we’ll end this week’s Craic with a bit of a plea: If you are looking for Irish gifts for the Hibernophiles in your life this Crimbo, take a swoop around the web to find authentic selling platforms that support Irish artists, and try to avoid the knockoffs and other predatory practices of behemoths like Big Bad Amazon. It makes a huge difference to the artists. GRMA