Plough You Doing? 🚜☘️

So, What’s the Craic?

The Craic is back on a fine September evening, bringing you news and views of the Irish and Irish-adjacent wherever they may be. The Craic is the weekly newsletter/news-digest/thingy from Shift, our app to connect Irish people and hibernophiles globally. Not got Shift yet? It’s here, fella. And we have over ten thousand readers who put up with our nonsense every week. Know someone else who deserves The Craic? Punish them by sticking their email in here.

News from Home

Diplomacy.  President Trump’s visit to Ireland went relatively smoothly. There were protests, yes, but no major diplomatic incidents. There was, however, a major win for Irish whiskey makers from the visit, as well as any Americans who enjoy a nip of uisce beatha 🥃 in their leisure time, as Trump announced that he would remove all tariffs from Irish whiskey. “Everybody’s been bugging me {on the topic},” said Trump. We don’t know whether he was referring to Irish exporters, American importers, or both, but hey, win-win, chin-chin.

Big Show. Oasis confirmed what we all expected this week – that they would play two shows at the iconic Slane Castle next year. The Brothers Gallagher, both proud of their Irish roots, first played Slane as a support act in 1995, and then again in 2009 before their acrimonious fallout. Thankfully, tickets will not be subject to the infamous price-surging mechanism that pissed off everyone trying to see last year’s reunion tour.

Tele News. We have a few bits of TV news to round up. First is that The Today Show (every country has a Today Show, but we mean the US one with Savannah Guthrie, Al Roker and co.) is heading to Ireland to broadcast a special series of shows for NBC. You can find out more about taking part here. Next, the long-awaited Bill Murray golf vehicle – A Course Called Ireland – where Murray travels the greens and fairways of the country’s best golf courses with celeb pals, is almost here. Behind-the-scenes peeks are here. Finally, The Late Late Show is back on our home screens tonight, with the season’s first guests including Big Liam Neeson and Siobhán “Derry Girls” McSweeney.

New Rules. Gaelic sports are just as prone to tinkering by the powers that be as any others, and it’s just as common to hear fans grumbling about rule changes breaking tradition. Nevertheless, all eyes will be on the hurling in the upcoming months as the GAA tests the waters with the new tweaks. Teams in the Fitzgibbon Cup will be part of the petri dish.

The Craic Recommends…reading this piece by Irish Central. It covers a niche but important subject – the erosion of the apostrophe in Irish names. Some of it is down to technology; some of it is a legacy of English rule, but our resilience in keeping it has been an important part of Irish heritage. As an aside, don’t get us started on the fact that Aer Lingus – our national carrier – doesn’t support fadas on boarding passes. There’s an angry Reddit r/Ireland thread devoted to that. Enter if you dare.

The Irish Influence

This week’s Irish Influence is…..Ireland’s farmers and rural communities. It’s the National Ploughing Championships 2026. Colloquially known as “The Ploughing” (sounds a wee bit rude), the event unites Ireland’s rural communities for a week of fun and games. The main event, the actual ploughing bit, is a bit like a monster truck rally with extra fertilizer and wellie boots thrown into the mix. Aside from the farmers competing on the fields, there are other comps, not least the bread-baking contest, which has become something of a national obsession. Look, city-folk looking in from the outside tend to see The Plowing as a bit parochial, but people come in the tens of thousands to celebrate Ireland’s rural heritage. It’s part of what makes Ireland, Ireland. This is the 95th National Ploughing Championships, so here’s to 95 more!  

Cúpla Focal

Púca – {POO-Kuh} – Ghost/Spirit/Wight. We came across “Púcas” after reading Michael Hartnett’s Death of an Irishwoman (see below; we do research for this newsletter, you may be surprised to learn) and thought it might be apt, with Halloween coming over the hill. The Púca are a type of spirit in Irish folklore, often shapeshifters with malevolent intentions. If you’re looking the word for ghost generally, that’s taibhse.

Blast from the Past

Irish poet Michael Hartnett (Mícheál Ó hAirtnéide) was born on this date in 1941. It’s hard to know where to put Hartnett on the pantheon of great Irish poets (Lookit, it’s one area where we are spoiled for choice as a nation), but Munster’s de facto poet laureate may be one of our most important. Hartnett, who passed away in 1999, had plenty of success composing in the English language early on in his career, but the Limerick man switched to Irish in 1975, vowing to never compose in English again. He did break that promise later (and we are all the richer for it), but his Irish-language works, including Adharca Broic (1978), An Phurgóid (1983), and Do Nuala: Foidhne Chrainn (1984), are priceless heirlooms of our heritage. 

And One Last Thing….

Let’s round off this week by talking about a few notable dates. Yesterday – or this weekend, depending on how you look at the calendar – was/is Halfway to St. Patrick’s Day, with plenty of great events across the US. We'll be in Naperville, Illinois, for the Irish Festival all weekend. You know the drill by now: Come say hello, encourage Patrick to buy you a pint. And Shift is also the companion app for the Hudson Valley Irish Fest, which is planning to host plenty of aul “Halfway to Paddy’s Day” celebrations on Saturday. Back home, September 18th is Culture Night in both Dublin and Belfast, with 100s of free events and artist shows.

It’s a great night’s craic in either city. As ever, we’ll leave you with a bit of Ceol by Shift, a wee Irish festival-inspired playlist for your Friday evening.