☘️ Your Weekly Dose of Irish – Thursday, July 31st, 2025

Irish Wisdom of the Week

“A kind word never broke anyone’s mouth.”

A bit of kindness goes a long way – pass it on.

📘 Coming Soon: Irish Around The World – The Book

That’s right — after years of writing the Weekly Dose of Irish, viral posts, Irish quotes, history, jokes, and more... I finally decided it’s time to turn it into a book.

Not a novel. Not a memoir. Just the best of Irish Around The World, all in one place.

Your Daily Dose Of Irish

What to expect:

• The funniest, most shared Irish jokes
• My favourite quotes and blessings
• Irish facts and “did you knows” from the weekly dose
• A few mad extras I haven’t shared anywhere (yet)

📸 Here’s a sneak peek at the cover:

This is not the final cover, but I like the way it looks. Reply and let me know if you like it.

Let me know if you'd buy it!

No release date yet. No pre-order links. Just the start of something that’s been a long time coming.

💚 Will be available on all Amazon sites.

🎬 Short Film of the Week

An Irish Goodbye — the Oscar & BAFTA Award-winning short film from 2022. A sharp, poignant story about two estranged brothers reuniting after their mother’s death.

👉 Watch the official trailer on YouTube

📜 Read about the film’s award wins and plot on Wikipedia

📅 Today in Irish History – July 31st

• 1917 – Poet Francis Ledwidge is killed at Passchendaele. Known as the “Poet of the Blackbirds,” his poems remain beloved in Ireland.
• 1927 – Kevin O’Higgins, Vice-President of the Executive Council, is assassinated in Dublin. A pivotal moment in post-Civil War Ireland.
• 1984 – U2 wrap recording The Unforgettable Fire, creating hits like Pride (In the Name of Love).

📚 Irish Poem of the Week

“Digging“ – This poem is often considered one of Heaney’s signature works. It explores his relationship with his family’s farming tradition and his identity as a poet.

Read the full poem analysis here.

BY SEAMUS HEANEY

Between my finger and my thumb   

The squat pen rests; snug as a gun.

Under my window, a clean rasping sound   

When the spade sinks into gravelly ground:   

My father, digging. I look down

Till his straining rump among the flowerbeds   

Bends low, comes up twenty years away   

Stooping in rhythm through potato drills   

Where he was digging.

The coarse boot nestled on the lug, the shaft   

Against the inside knee was levered firmly.

He rooted out tall tops, buried the bright edge deep

To scatter new potatoes that we picked,

Loving their cool hardness in our hands.

By God, the old man could handle a spade.   

Just like his old man.

My grandfather cut more turf in a day

Than any other man on Toner’s bog.

Once I carried him milk in a bottle

Corked sloppily with paper. He straightened up

To drink it, then fell to right away

Nicking and slicing neatly, heaving sods

Over his shoulder, going down and down

For the good turf. Digging.

The cold smell of potato mould, the squelch and slap

Of soggy peat, the curt cuts of an edge

Through living roots awaken in my head.

But I’ve no spade to follow men like them.

Between my finger and my thumb

The squat pen rests.

I’ll dig with it.

😂 Irish Joke of the Week

Mick walks into a Dublin pub with a steering wheel down his trousers.

Barman goes, “What in God’s name is that about?”

Mick says, “I dunno, but it’s drivin’ me nuts!”

Bonus: Irish Joke of the Week

Paddy's Big Interview:

Paddy walks into a job interview.

Boss: “What’s your biggest weakness?”

Paddy: “Honesty.”

Boss: “I don’t think honesty is a weakness.”

Paddy: “I don’t give a shite what you think.”

🗣️ Say It in Irish – This Week’s Irish Phrase

“Níl aon tinteán mar do thinteán féin.”

Pronounced: neel ayn tin-chawn mar duh hin-chawn fayn

Meaning: There’s no fireplace like your own fireplace.

➡️ It’s the Irish version of “There’s no place like home.”

It hits different when you’re reading this far from home.

Irish saying:

“Here’s to a long life and a merry one.

A quick death and an easy one.

A pretty girl and an honest one.

A cold beer—and another one!”

Now that’s a toast worth printing on a t-shirt.

💬 From Stephen:

Thanks for staying with me through another week of Irish brilliance! Whether you’re reading from Cork, California or somewhere in between, you're part of this proud worldwide community.

Reply to say hi or tell me what you’d like more of: poetry, sport, history, or craic?

Slán go fóill,

Stephen Palmer

Founder – Irish Around The World

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