Life After Miggeldy 🗳️🇮🇪

So, What’s the Craic?

If ye didn’t know already, The Craic is but a yappy mouthpiece for Shift, our upcoming app that will connect the global Irish and Irish(ish). We are now just one week from our beta testing phase, with our public DC launch next month. And guess what? You’re our early adopters. 🙌 Each week between now and our go-live date, we’ll be inviting a group of ye into the app, one by one. If you’re up for helping us beta test, we’d love to have you. Be a love-ing and head on over here to share some info so we can get that app out to you before anyone else sees it. And if you’ve got friends or family you want in on this beta, send them to this super-secret webpage: https://gettheshift.app/beta.

News from Home

Ireland Decides. Presidential Election Day is finally here, and it’s down to two candidates who’ve blessed us with a bit of nominative alliteration. Voters will pick between Catherine Connolly and Heather Humphries, with the former heavily favored in the polling. We should make it clear that the Big Job as President is largely ceremonial. That said, it’s about more than kissing babies and opening new buildings with a big old pair of scissors. The President is a kind of voice for Ireland and, perhaps importantly, an influential figure in highlighting and promoting Irish culture and heritage. The soon to be departing Michael D Higgins (Miggeldy) did that role rather well. There are some big shoes (and paws) to fill for whomever it is that wins the race for Áras an Uachtaráin.

Tipp, Tipp, Hooray. County Tipperary has been named one of the best places in the world to visit in 2026 by Lonely Planet. In fact, the Premier County (a bit grandiose there, lads) placed 5th overall in the list of 25 hot destinations. We were going to do a bit of a rundown of why we thought Tipp deserved the accolade, but Lonely Planet summed it up nicely for us, “...an entire county of green valleys, ancient castles and lakeside villages where the pace of life slows to almost a trickle.” Lovely.

Wish Upon a Star. Let’s face it: Ireland is better known for its comfort food than the fancy stuff. Give us a big, steaming bowl of coddle or a glob of hot stew and crusty bread over dishes with descriptors like deconstructed salmon jus any day. That said, there is a thriving haute cuisine scene here, and it’s becoming increasingly recognized globally. To underline that fact, the Michelin ceremony – the lads who give out the stars – is being held in Ireland for the first time. Rumour has it that an Irish restaurant might be bequeathed a 3rd star for the first time in the nation’s history.

The Craic Recommends. It’s Halloween next week, so we will be bringing you a Spooktacular Halloween Craic Special. As a Samhain warm-up, though, we wanted to shine a light on an author keeping the Irish horror folklore traditions alive. Scott Kenna’s new book, titled The Crooked Hour – 1 Minute Past Midnight, consists of 31 spine-tingling short stories. Kenna, originally from Bray, says many of the tales were passed down by his mother and grandmother. You can purchase it here from Amazon.

The Irish Influence

We promise we won’t harp on (😉) about House of Guinness every week, but it just so happens that it’s Dervla Kirwan’s birthday today, so we wanted to shout out to the actress who subtly steals the show as the unwavering and punctilious Aunt Agnes Guinness. Kirwan has almost 40 years of film and television under her belt, but if you want to see her really shine with a bit more screen time than she gets in HoG, check out her powerhouse performance as Val Aherne in the brilliant TV series, Smother, which is available on Peacock for anyone on the wrong side of the Atlantic. Kirwan has won multiple awards for the show, all well deserved for an underrated Queen of the Irish screen.

Cúpla Focal

{Mish-knock) – Courage. As it’s election day, it’s worth remembering that a popular fellow will leave office to make room for the incumbent. No, not Michael D. Higgins, but his dog, Misneach. The outgoing President is famous for bringing his canine friends everywhere. His other pooches, Bród (pride) and Síoda (silk), passed away earlier in his tenure. As a nation, we haven’t quite got over it. Ireland’s Dogs. 🐶❤️

Blast from the Past

In October 1975, a little-known band called the Nightlife Thugs had its first-ever gig at the Bolton St College of Technology, Dublin. As legend has it, the lead singer scratched off the band’s name during the interval of the show, replacing it with “The Boomtown Rats.” It’s fair to say that said singer, Bob Geldof, has overshadowed the band’s legacy, mostly due to his work with Live Aid and Band Aid, but it should not be forgotten that the Boomtown Rats were a Big Deal in the late 1970s and early 1980s, producing some seriously good music (and a wee bit of shite, too, it must be said). Below is a clip of the lads from Dún Laoghaire performing She’s So Modern in 1977. Big Bobbity Geldof is going about 100mph, sweat lashing off him, giving it everything in front of a bemused and slightly bored audience. Bootiful.

And One Last Thing….

We’re all about new beginnings here this week, and by our next newsletter we’ll know who our next president will be. Obviously we encourage you to get out there and vote, but we also have another wee ask this week. As we ready to launch the app for real, we’re looking for beta testers (like we mentioned already), partners (media, sponsors, organizations, artists), ambassadors and the all necessary investors. Building an app isn’t easy and we’re asking if you, or your rich uncle (with all important notions) to get in on the action and write a wee cheque to support our mission – to connect the global Irish. We have a special incentive for Shift investors who can spell their name with a fada in it. 😜 Seriously though, if you believe in the mission, you love a bit of culture and craic, give us a shout! For more details, check this out and contact [email protected].