Lá Fhéile Vailintín 🇮🇪❤️

So, What’s the Craic?

The Craic returns this fantastic Friday evening, providing you with news of Irishness at home and abroad. If you enjoy this wee newsletter like we do, pass it on to friends and family by asking them to sign up here.

News from Home

Safe as Houses. Ireland has been named among the safest countries in the world for tourists to visit in 2025, according to a new report. A separate report also names it as the 3rd safest country for US retirees. We agree, of course. Ireland has its issues, sure, and there are challenges in areas like immigration. But don’t believe the shite you see posted on Twitter. The majority of us are sound, and if you’re sound too, you’ll get a big old céad míle fáilte whenever you come to visit.

A Tale of Two Palates. An interesting new trend has emerged in Ireland – sober raves. They do exactly what the name suggests, with DJs playing venues across the island with dry bars only. It’s more than a fad, with “sober curious” movements springing up of late, especially among Gen Z. On the other end of the spectrum, the fancy-schmancy Merchant Hotel in Belfast is now selling one of the world’s most expensive cocktails at £1000 ($1250) a pop. The cocktails contain ultra-rare Irish and Scottish whiskeys.

Globetrotting Ministers. We’ve mentioned before that Irish politicians descend on the US for St Patrick’s Day, but that’s only the tip of the iceberg. The 2025 list has been finalized, and it will see dozens of politicians visit 90 cities across 40 countries for the big day. The practice is long-established, fostering trade and cultural relations, as well as adding Ireland’s voice for global peace.

Farewell, John. A bit of sad news to finish this week. Belfast boxer John Cooney has died a week after suffering an injury in a ring. Cooney, who was seen as an up-and-coming star, was hugely popular with local fans and his fellow boxers. Ireland is famed for producing talented boxers, but Cooney’s death reminds us that the sport can suddenly deliver tragedy to its best proponents.

The Irish Influence

This week’s influence covers Sean 'Foil' Finegan, Conor 'Arms' McKenna and Sean 'Hog' Flanagan, who make up the comedy trio Foil Arms and Hog. The three Irishmen rode the wave of the late 2000s social media boom, gaining millions of followers across YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. Their comedy isn’t genre-specific, but it treads on familiar ground with sketches on the peculiarities of being Irish, our relationship with the English, and basically anything else they can get a laugh out of. The lads are about to hit the pinnacle of showbiz soon, with a date set to play New York City’s Carnegie Hall on March 20th. Tickets here.

Cúpla Focal

Lá Fhéile Vailintín {LA FAY-LA VAL-IN-TIN}. You could probably guess the translation of our newsletter subject. Lá Fhéile Vailintín means Valentine’s Day, or literally the festival (Fhéile) day (Lá) Valentine. We always stick Fhéile in front of important saint’s days in Ireland – Lá Fhéile Pádraig (St Patrick’s Day), Lá Fhéile Bride (St Brigid’s Day). Maybe it’s to remind ourselves we need to have a little celebration. 🇮🇪☘️💖

Blast from the Past

The stereotype of the drunken Irish poet has long dogged our nation, with many believing it makes us a bit of a laughingstock. Yet, like most national tropes, it had to originate from somewhere. Brendan Behan, born on February 9th, 1923, is arguably the main source of that stereotype. Behan was a poet, playwright, novelist, IRA member, severe alcoholic, and undoubted genius. He became a cult figure in Ireland during – and after (he died at 41) – his short life. By the 1960s, he was seen as “the most famous Irishman in New York,” rubbing shoulders with Arthur Miller and being followed around by the up-and-coming Bob Dylan. The video below shows Behan in an infamous BBC interview from 1959. Note the contrast between the disheveled Irish artist and the prim-and-proper, irons-his-socks English interviewer. Night and day.

And One Last Thing….

It’s Valentine's Day. Do we do anything special in Ireland? Not really. Just like the rest of the Anglosphere, we do the last-minute dashes to the store to buy overpriced cards and crappy flowers. But did you know that Ireland is literally the home of St Valentine himself? Well, part of him, at least. If you don’t know your Roman Catholic history, well, we can tell you that it was once trendy to travel around Europe, exchange a few coins, pick up a saint’s relics, and bring them back to your home country. And when Catholics say “relics,” they mean body parts. Such was the fate of Italy’s St Valentine, whose heart (we guess that’s the best bit to take from this particular saint) is housed in a golden box at Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin. His resting place is not common knowledge, even among Irish people, but plenty of Catholic pilgrims make their way to the church to pay their respects each year.

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