New Arrivals: Ornate Celtic Jewelry & Galway Crystal

Spring is in the air at Blarney Woollen Mills with a range of new products available in our online store. The highlights being some elegant pieces of Celtic jewelry such a Celtic cross pendants, Celtic earrings, Celtic knot beads and celtic rings.

Show your true colours for St. Patrick's Day

In the Irish cultural calendar, March is a particularly significant month with the onset of the annual celebration of the country's patron saint. St. Patrick's Day represents a day when Irish-ness is celebrated not only at home on the Emerald Isle but also globally and when the colour of choice very much green!

At Blarney Woollen Mills, the importance of showing you're true colours is very much to the fore as the 17th March fast approaches with a wide range of traditional and novelty Irish gifts and clothing.

Irish gift ideas for Valentine's Day

The month of January has come and gone, and now for many couples across the globe attention has switched to Valentine's Day when they have the opportunity to celebrate and/or reinvigorate their relationships.

At Blarney Woollen Mills, we have a wide range of romantic Irish gifts which would make a thoughtful Valentine's Day gift for both that special man or woman in your life.

Black Friday Sale will set you up for Christmas

The dust is just settling on the Thanksgiving celebrations but now it's time to begin the countdown to Christmas with our Black Friday Sale which is offering 20% OFF EVERYTHING!

Whether you want to get something a little special for a loved one, family member or close friend; Blarney Woollen Mills is the perfect destination for a wide range of Irish gifts online.

Waterford Crystal: An elegant gift from Ireland

Irish crystal has always been a firm favourite for those seeking the perfect gift from Ireland for a special event or occasion. In particular, the elegance and stylish craftsmanship of Waterford Crystal has proven to be universally popular throughout the years whether it is being used as a special gift for a friend or family member or, perhaps, as a prize giving award for a sporting event.

Celebrating the Red, White & You on the 4th July!

With the annual 4th July celebrations are almost upon us, at Blarney Woollen Mills we are looking to give away over $3,000 of prizes in our exclusive 4th July competition. Our big summer giveaway includes a fabulous first prize voucher of $1776 to spend on the wide range of Irish gifts and celtic jewelry at blarney.com

That's not all, there are lots of other fantastic prizes to be won including a Waterford Crystal Seahorse Centrepiece Vase valued at $359, an exclusive Blarney Bead Bracelet worth $349, an Aoife Shawl Collar Aran Cape worth $139 plus so much more. The full list of prizes can be viewed below.

New Arrivals: Stylish Aran Knitwear and Celtic Accessories

The St. Patrick's Day celebrations may be done and dusted for another year but there is never an impromptu time to purchase Irish gifts or, more specifically, aran knitwear. The evenings may be stretching that little bit longer and temperatures may be on the rise but stylish aran knitwear looks good whatever the weather.

With this in mind, there is a new stylish range of aran sweaters, cardigans and accessories have arrived at blarney.com which will ensure that you will be looking your best during the spring and summer months. All of this new range of garments form part of Blarney Woollen Mills new and exclusive knitwear range.

Celebrate Ireland's patron saint in style this March

With the month of March looming and the first glimpses of spring in the air, the countdown to the Irish national holiday in honour of the country's patron saint, Saint Patrick's Day, is well underway. The 17th March is always a day of great celebration for many throughout the island of Ireland and the millions of Irish Diaspora across the globe with symbols or the Emerald Isle and various shades of green coming to the fore.

Blarney Woollen Mills have a wide range of stylish and fun St. Patrick's Day themed aran sweaters and hoodies that will ensure that you look the part on the day. There are aran sweaters for men and aran sweaters for women to chose from, all of which elicit a real sense of home while allowing you to look stylish during the long day of celebrations.

There are also a range of celtic jewelry and, in particular, Irish charms and Irish shamrock jewelry to complete your outfit for the big day. Whether you choose a sterling silver shamrock celtic pendant or a sterling silver shamrock bead then you're guaranteed to stand out from the crowd.

Alternatively, if you are seeking a gift for that someone special or friends and family both home and abroad then Blarney.com is your one stop destination for Irish gifts. With a wide range of ornate Irish belleek, skilfully crafted Waterford Crystal and beautifully embroidered Irish throws and Irish linen tablecloth; and not forgetting a pair of matching Irish wool socks.which will complete your

Ensure you look the part tgis Saint Patrick's Day by browsing through the wide ranging of clothing, jewelry and Irish gifts on blarney.com.

Irish gifts to brighten those winter months

Now that Christmas has come and gone, decorations are carefully being taken down and placed back into storage for another twelve months and those special Irish gifts received from friends and family are taking pride of place in your wardrobe, mantelpiece, display cabinet or even around your neck or wrist as we welcome the dawning of a new year.

For many who received traditional Irish gifts such as aran sweaters and classic Irish sweaters will undoubtedly be grateful following the arrival of those chilly Arctic winds and frost covered mornings. The aran sweaters from Blarney make the ideal winter accessory with their complex stitch patterns, soft natural chunky merino wool and traditional look but each with their own contemporary twist.

With an ever growing variety of celtic jewelry to chose from, there were sure to be some ornate and exquisite pieces of celtic artistry received as gifts over the festive period. The Blarney Woollen Mills range is continually updated with the latest styles and other an extensive collection of the finest celtic jewelry including ornate Celtic pendants, Celtic knot jewelry, Irish charm bracelets and Celtic earrings. For those wishing to their illustrate affections for that special other in 2015 then why not choose from the extensive range of Irish wedding rings and Claddagh rings and much more.

Another traditionally popular gift over the festive period is a piece of Irish crystal with many opting to give friends or loved ones an ornate piece of Waterford Crystal whether it's a decorative Waterford Crystal picture frame or decanter. Waterford Crystal is known throughout the world for its exquisite crystal glasses and crystal gifts with its stylish and intricate designs and timeless patterns.

Irish Christmas gift ideas direct from Blarney

The holiday period may be almost here but for many the gift buying process is still well under way with the final weekend before the big day likely to be a busy one for a lot of people. At Blarney Woollen Mills we've just welcomed in a range of new Irish gifts and Irish novelty gifts which would make great Christmas gift ideas for those still at the decision phase.

The latest additions to the Blarney traditional Irish gifts range include some snug Aran sweaters for women, some great Irish and Aran themed clothing for kids plus some ever popular celtic jewelry and  ornamental Waterford Crystal. For those who order by the Friday, 19th December, deadline then delivery of should be in time for Christmas Day!

For those seeking some useful accessories for the remaining winter months then look no further than Blarney Woollen Mills with the largest range of Irish sweaters and Fisherman sweaters online. For those who require that little bit extra warmth on these chilly winter nights then why not avail of the stylish (and quite colourful) Irish wool socks or traditional Irish throw blankets.

Above all else the whole team at Blarney Woollen Mills wishes you and yours a great holiday period and may 2015 bring you continued success.

The perfect Black Friday destination for Irish gifts

With the Thanksgiving turkey well and truly digested and the festivities of America's national celebratory holiday over for another year, attention turns towards the festive period ahead with less than a month until Christmas Day.

For many people, Thanksgiving signals the start 'official' start of Christmas and thoughts turn to which gifts to buy for friends and family. Like many online Irish gifts stores across the globe, Blarney Woollen Mills have a exclusive 20% discount on all products starting on Black Friday and lasting throughout the holiday weekend including Aran sweaters, Irish fisherman sweaters, Celtic jewelry, mystical Claddagh rings, Irish novelty gifts, classic Irish Belleek pottery and the much loved range of Waterford Crystal.

The Holiday Sale is exclusive to all online purchases on blarney.com and is the perfect all-in-one online store to make the Christmas shopping experience a whole lot easier. Browse through the extensive range of hand-knit Aran sweaters and exclusive range of Blarney Originals knitwear collection including stylish snood-style hooded sweaters and the more classic cowl neck Aran sweater. All Blarney Originals are produced with 100% Merino wool and are sure to become a firm favourite in your winter wardrobe.

St. Brigid's legacy in Celtic craftsmanship and design

St Brigid is a revered and fondly thought of figure in Irish history and Christian mythology. Her influence has even crossed into the realms of Celtic jewelry design and appearance such as Celtic pendants and Celtic Cross jewelry.

Also referred to as “Mary of the Gael”, St. Brigid is patroness of Ireland and also founder of the first Irish monastery in Kildare. Born in Dundalk in 450 A.D, St Brigid is closely associated with the creation of a truly unique ornamental cross that has since been named after her. This unique Irish cross is typically constructed from rushes but it is also not uncommon for it to be made from straw.

The mystical power of St Brigid’s Cross, woven rushes, is its power to repel evil, fire and hunger from the homes in which it is displayed. The exact details of the cross' creation are unclear with no definitive explanation of just how it came into being.

The tale as we know it is revolves around an old pagan Irish Chieftain who lay delirious on his deathbed in Kildare; it is rumoured that he was in fact the father of St. Brigid. Brigid was summed to his beside in the hope that the saintly woman could intervene and cure the Chieftain from certain death. 

Brigid is said to have sat at his bedside, consoling and calming him and it is here that she picked up the rushes from the floor and began weaving them into the distinctive cross pattern. Whilst she weaved, she explained the meaning of the cross to the sick Chieftain and it is thought her calming words brought peace to his soul, and that he was so enamoured by her words that the old Chieftain requested he was baptised as a Christian just before his passing.

Ever since that fateful day and for countless generations that followed, it has been customary on the eve of her Feat Day (1st February) for Irish people to fashion a St Brigid Cross of straw or rushes and place it inside the house over the door. Many Irish people used to send the rush cross to their family and friends overseas as traditional Irish gifts to remind them of the Emerald Isle and help keep them safe from danger and misfortune.

This rush cross, which has since been commonly referred to as St Brigid’s emblem, has been used in Irish designs throughout history, with many modern stylists using this now popular Irish symbol within the designs of Celtic jewelry and unique gifts from Ireland.

The significance of the Celtic Pendant

Celtic Jewelry can be traced back to a very distant past roughly during the period bwteen 2000 BC and 550 AD when silver and gold was used by Celtic craftsmen to create exceptional pieces of jewelry decorated with a variety of Celtic symbols. Celtic pendants were one of the earliest types of bodily adornment to be crafted by these ancient civilizations.

The word pendant orignates from the French word "pendre" and also the Latin "pendere" which translates as "to hang down". Pendants are a loose-hanging piece of jewelry which tend to be attached to a necklace by a small loop. This piece of Celtic jewelry can also be referred to as a "pendant necklace".

Pendants as pieces of Celtic jewelry can serve a variety of functions, which can also be combined:

• Award ( for example the Order of CúChulainn)
• Identification
• Ornamentation
• Ostentation
• Protection
• Self-affirmation

There are a multitude of specialized variations of pendants in use today including lockets which open and pendilia, which hang from larger objects of metalwork.

There is a wide range of Celtic pendants available from Blarney.com making the perfect Irish gifts and also a great piece of jewelry to accentuate any outfit. These pendants are expertly handcrafted from Sterling Silver or gold or even traditional Irish bog oak.

As ornate pieces of Celtic jewelry, they evoke the rich and varied history of the anicent Celtic world by utlising the various symbols of that period such as Celtic crosses, shamrocks, trinity knots, claddaghs, trinities and such. The Blarney collection is populated with a variety of works by Ireland's finest Celtic jewellers.

The rich and varied history of Irish Belleek

A piece of Belleek is often a great Irish gift idea Mother's Day and these hand-crafted Fine Parian China represents over 156 years of craftsmanship and history. Belleek does indeed have a rich history which we'll delve into a little in this week's blog.

Classic Belleek pottery, the oldest craft pottery in Ireland, originates from the picturesque Northern Irish village of Belleek in County and universally recognised and loved by millions from across the globe. Irish Belleek has been crafted on the banks of Lough Erne by Belleek Pottery since 1857 and is also home to the world renowned Belleek Fine Parian China and immensely popular Belleek Visitor Centre.

Belleek Pottery was the brainchild of three men - John Caldwell Bloomfield, Robert Williams Armstrong and David McBirney. Bloomfield was eager to create a porcelain factory and so provided the land on which Armstrong design and built the factory that still stands today, all of which was financed by McBirney. The final structure was purposely designed to resemble a large country manor and was finally completed in 1860 at which stage earthenware was already in production.

Initially the factory focused on producing earthenware which  included high-quality domestic ware, floor tile, hospital sanitation ware and Belleek Building telephone insulators. However, after a number of years and some failed attempts at producing fine porcelain, it was agreed to bring on board a number of skilled artisans which heralded the birth of Belleek Parian China.

The reputation of the Belleek fine porcelain soon spread and its status was confirmed after it received commissions from various luminaries including Queen Victoria, the Prince of Wales and members of the nobility. The knock on effect of this new found status was increased demand in the United States, Australia and India.

Belleek production flourished until the onset of World War 1 and with a dwindling order book and skeleton staff levels it was sold to an Irish business man from Dundalk and renamed the Belleek Pottery Limited. Once again Europe was gripped by war with the onset of World War 2 and so the factory reverted to producing earthenware once again do to the lower production costs and saw the factory survive this barren economic  period. Following the war demand grew once again and fine Irish Belleek and Belleek gifts were in produced in great quantities.

Each piece of fine parian china, is a truly original piece of Irish Craftsmanship, made using materials and techniques handed down through generations. No two pieces are ever the same. Every handle, flower and brush stroke is skilfully applied by hand to create the look and feel that is uniquely Irish Belleek and makes ideal traditional Irish gifts for those special occasions.

Get into the holiday fun spirit in irish themed style for St Patrick’s Day

In the month of March when it comes to gift giving there are two main occasions to note, one being mothers day and the other a not so traditional gift giving occasion but one where sometimes Irish gifts are part of a fun occasion: St Patrick's Day.

First off the mark on the holiday gift giving front is Ireland's national holiday and the day the whole world goes green (literally) St Patrick's Day. When it comes to gift giving occasions St Patrick's day wouldn't feature on many peoples lists but nowadays it is the perfect opportunity to get into the spirit of things and spoil oneself or treat ones family and friends to all manner of Irish themed gifts, from traditional Irish gifts as well as fun novelty St Patrick's related items. Amid the celebrations of all things Ireland related both of the traditional (sprigs of shamrock) and non traditional kind (green everything, leprechaun hats and shamrock themed prints and novelty items) you will find a large range of Irish themed gift options from the traditional to the ridiculous and fun.

For many St Patrick's Day can encompass two things, one the celebratory fun aspects of the days parades and all day and night celebrations. For others it is a chance to quietly remember our heritage and traditions and mark it by spending time with our family both at home and abroad. This family friendly and heritage rich national holiday with its fun festival atmosphere can be celebrated and noted in many different ways and most importantly styles with an Irish theme in mind.

With the many parades held nationwide in Ireland and in major cities worldwide celebrating all aspects of Irish culture, St Patrick's Day is a day where people celebrate and throw caution to the wind when it comes to wearing their colors on their sleeve. Fashion-wise it is a day for all things Ireland related and what you wear and how you show your Irish colors and roots can be a key aspect. St Patrick's Day can be an occasion where you indulge in all manner of Irish related style in all manner of tastes. You can don the colors of the day and occasion with all manner of green, shamrock and Ireland related festive outerwear for a day at the parades. From green face paint and every items of clothing imaginable to leprechaun hats, to shamrock headbands and themed prints to customized novelty t-shirts that note the fun and Irish centered aspect of the day, everything green and Ireland related no matter the taste is welcome.

And one doesn't have to go all out with the green body paint and novelty hats and t-shirts and questionable style and taste to note the day either. You can show your Irish roots and affiliations with style too, with a simple piece of Celtic jewelry, a specially customized St Patrick's day charm/bead bracelet, an ornate Irish Celtic designed scarf adorning your natural look. Or you can mark it in the traditional way with your favorite piece of Irish clothing such as Aran sweaters or cardigans, a tweed hat or scarf etc adorned with a sprig of shamrock or clover.

Whatever way you mark the occasion and show your Irish colors be it loud and proud or more demure and traditional there are many Irish themed gift items to help you get into the heart of all things St Patrick's Day related. From picking the right items of clothing for the big parades and parties on the day to showing your Irish roots whilst still keeping in touch with your own style you will find Irish themed items to suit.

Some Irish gift ideas for Valentine's Day

January has come and gone and we're into the month of February and that can mean only one thing... men and women around the world turn their thoughts to Valentine’s Day gift ideas for that special other.

Valentine's Day can often be regarded as a cynical chance to cash in on an old tradition but for many it is a time to celebrate a couple's feelings for one another. Each year the 14th February provides the ideal opportunity for couples to infuse a little added romance and spontaneity into their relationship and for this reason you can illustrate your feelings for that special someone in your life whether its your girlfriend, boyfriend, husband or wife and how much they mean to you with a romantic gesture or thoughtful Irish gift. 

So now its time to consider your Valentine’s Day gift options! Do you decide to opt for a romantically themed traditional gift or, alternatively, for a personalized gift that you know your special other will cherish?!

Then again you may decide that that a traditional romantic gift just wouldn't be his or her's style and would rather celebrate the special occasion with a gesture or action such as a romantic dinner in, a date in an exclusive or niche restaurant or perhaps a romantic picnic under the stars which would inject a refreshing sense of romance and spontaneity into the day. 

When it comes to romantic gift ideas either contemporary or traditional Irish gifts - what should you consider to surprise your special other? Chocolates and sweets? a bouquet of flowers? a cuddly toy? an Irish novelty gift? a specially hand crafted piece of Celtic jewelry? Tickets to an upcoming show or concert? A pre-booked night out at a restaurant? A selection of personal love letters or poems? Or some personalized gifts that you know your special other will really cherish?

When you really think about it... there are so many romantic gift ideas to choose from for Valentine’s Day besides the traditional chocolates and flowers, which are a perfectly good idea. If you want to be different there are many Irish gift options to consider so hopefully we've given you some food for thought! Many in the months and years to come you'll be seeking a truly unique Irish wedding ring for that special other!

Waterford Crystal: The Encapsulation of Style and Craftsmanship

Waterford Crystal is renowned globally for its craftsmanship and stylish elegance. Established in the heart of the Irish town of Waterford, the origins of the crystal production dates as far back as 1783 when George and William Penrose started their business. The crystal manufacturers introduced some of the world’s most stylish and intricate designs and patterns to its stemware, Waterford Crystal is known throughout the world for its exquisite crystal glasses and crystal gifts.

Irish Crystal at its very best, the Waterford Crystal Collection is known for its quality and beautiful glassware such as crystal wine glasses and crystal decanters as well as its home accessories such as crystal vases, crystal clocks and crystal picture frames.

The collections available at Blarney Woollen Mills include:

• Lismore (the most famous of the Waterford Crystal patterns), 
• Marquis, 
• Fleurology, 
• Colleen, 
• Clarendon, 
• Irish Lace and 
• Pineapple.

Derived from the Irish, meaning "great ringfort", the Lismore collection was inspired by the gothic architecture of the 800-year-old Lismore Castle in County Waterford, Ireland. For more than 60 years, the Lismore collection has represented the best of what Waterford Crystal has to offer become one of their most loved collections.

Whatever the occasion, a piece from any of the Waterford Crystal collections makes the ideal gift from Ireland and is a well-received Irish wedding gift that will be treasured forever.