☘️ The Daily Dose of Irish ☘️

A full year of Irish joy, one page at a time!

If you’ve been loving my weekly emails full of Irish jokes, poetry, facts and quizzes — you're going to love this...

I’m putting it all into one beautiful book.

A daily dose of Ireland’s heart, history, humour and soul.

Here’s what’s inside:

🍀 Timeless Irish poems

🇮🇪 Fascinating facts from Irish history

🧠 Fun quizzes to test your Irishness

😂 Irish jokes, slang & cheeky sayings

💬 Beautiful blessings, proverbs & quotes

✨ Be an Early Bird!

Want your name printed on the Thank You Page of the book?

Just reply “YES” to this message. I'll send you more details in the coming weeks.

Let’s make this book a celebration of Irishness together.

Thanks for being part of the journey — you legends!

☘️ Irish Joke of the Week

Paddy and the Password

Paddy walks into a computer shop and says,

“I need help setting a password.”

“Sure,” says the lad behind the counter.

Paddy goes, “I want it to be:

MickeyMinniePlutoHueyLouieDeweyDonaldGoofyCork.”

The lad stares. “That’s a bit long, isn’t it?”

Paddy grins. “He said it had to be 8 characters and a capital!”

🕯 Old Irish Word Worth Reviving

Plámás (pronounced plaw-mawss)

Meaning: Flattery — but the over-the-top kind, with a bit of charm and cheek.

“Stop your plámásin’ and pour the tea!”

A word as Irish as strong tea and fierce gossip.

Fun fact, there are quite a few restaurants and coffee shops with this as their name in Ireland. Seems like they have chosen a good name. Just like this coffee shop in Galway

📜 On This Day in Irish History – July 8th

1935 – Brendan Behan, aged just 16, was sentenced to Borstal in England after being caught on an IRA mission.

That dark experience led to Borstal Boy, one of Ireland’s best-known memoirs — gritty, witty, and unfiltered.

Bonus nugget: On this same day in 1879, Pádraig Pearse passed his Irish-language exams. The seeds of revolution were already being planted.

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🧚‍♂️ Mythical Creature of the Month

The Pooka (or Púca)

Pronounced: Poo-ka

A mischievous shapeshifter from Irish folklore, the Pooka is known to appear as a black horse, goat, or even a rabbit — usually with glowing golden eyes and a heap of attitude.

The Pooka doesn’t mean harm (most of the time), but he’s known to:

• Mess up your crops
• Call your name in the dark
• Or whisk drunk lads off for a wild midnight ride... often dropping them in a ditch by morning.

Legend says:

If you treat the Pooka with respect, he might bless your land. If you insult him, good luck finding your shoes in the morning.

Fun fact: There’s a festival in Co. Meath every Halloween called the Púca Festival, celebrating this trickster!

📖 Poem of the Week – From Irish History

Pegasus, By Patrick Kavanagh – Irish Poem

A poem about a man trying to sell a horse comes in at number 91 on the top 100 Irish poems list. But of course, the great Irish poet Patrick Kavanagh often uses powerful imagery to take you to the exact place or time, just like in his other poem, a Christmas Childhood. 

And of course, an outstanding poet such as Kavanagh would not just write about a horse for sale, would he? No, in fact, in this, Kavanagh is talking about a soul, a soul that gets treated like a horse. With the opening lines

My soul was an old horse

Offered for sale in twenty fairs.”

Ireland has long had a fascination with horses, and back at the time of writing, this was even more true. Kavanagh offers his soul for sale to a shopkeeper, the church and the tinkers. And all he wanted was to free the horse(soul). 

The end of the poem gave me chills as he released his soul “No more haggling with the world….” 

Pegasus

My soul was an old horse

Offered for sale in twenty fairs.

I offered him to the Church–the buyers

Were little men who feared his unusual airs.

One said: ‘Let him remain unbid

In the wind and rain and hunger

Of sin and we will get him–

With the winkers thrown in–for nothing.’

Then the men of State looked at

What I’d brought for sale.

One minister, wondering if

Another horse-body would fit the tail

That he’d kept for sentiment-

The relic of his own soul–

Said, ‘I will graze him in lieu of his labour.’

I lent him for a week or more

And he came back a hurdle of bones,

Starved, overworked, in despair.

I nursed him on the roadside grass

To shape him for another fair.

I lowered my price. I stood him where

The broken-winded, spavined stand

And crooked shopkeepers said that he

Might do a season on the land–

But not for high-paid work in towns.

He’d do a tinker, possibly.

I begged, ‘O make some offer now,

A soul is a poor man’s tragedy.

He’ll draw your dungiest cart,’ I said,

‘Show you short cuts to Mass,

Teach weather lore, at night collect

Bad debts from poor men’s grass.’

And they would not.

Where the

Tinkers quarrel I went down

With my horse, my soul.

I cried, ‘Who will bid me half a crown?’

From their rowdy bargaining

Not one turned. ‘Soul,’ I prayed,

‘I have hawked you through the world

Of Church and State and meanest trade.

But this evening, halter off,

Never again will it go on.

On the south side of ditches

There is grazing of the sun.

No more haggling with the world….’

As I said these words he grew

Wings upon his back. Now I may ride him

Every land my imagination knew.

A powerful poem once again! What did you think of it?

🧠 Quiz – How Well Do You Know Ireland?

Which Irish county is nicknamed The Kingdom?

A) Clare | B) Kerry | C) Meath | D) Waterford

What year did the Easter Rising take place?

A) 1912 | B) 1914 | C) 1916 | D) 1921

What Irish saint is said to have banished snakes from Ireland?

A) St. Finbar | B) St. Kevin | C) St. Patrick | D) St. Brigid

Answers below 👇

Don't forget... the book is coming!

If you’ve been enjoying this Weekly Dose, you’ll love what’s next —

I'm putting together a book called The Daily Dose of Irish:

A full year of Irish poems, history, jokes, facts and quizzes — one page a day.

And here's the best part:

👉 Early birds will get their name printed on the Thank You page!

Want in? Just reply “YES” and I’ll send you early access in the coming weeks!

It’s going to be packed with heart, humour, and heritage.

✅ Quiz Answers:

1. B) Kerry
2. C) 1916
3. C) St. Patrick

Thanks for reading!

Stephen Palmer