Researching Ireland on the WWW

Below is a list of links about researching Ireland on the WWW, as well as some authors that write romance set in Ireland, and books that are set on the Emerald Isle.

If you'd like to exchange links or add anything to this list,
write me at annalee @ annalee.blysse.com.

~ Annalee Blysse

General Resources


§§§

Heritage of Ireland
http://www.heritageireland.ie/en/

The Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government’s Heritage of Ireland website is full of information on historic sites, parks and other cultural information. I chose the English setting, but the website is published in multiple languages.

§§§

Killarney National Park
http://homepage.tinet.ie/~knp/

A few of the sunset photos are incredible. The photos pages are worth taking a lot at. On this page you’ll find links to all six national parks.

· Killarney National Park
· Burren National Park
· Connemara National Park
· Glenveagh National Park
· Mayo National Park - NEW
· Wicklow Mountains National Park

§§§

Dragonfly Ireland
http://www.habitas.org.uk/dragonflyireland/index.html

At the very least, this website reminded me that there is a difference between dragonflies and damselflies. Pretty insects.

§§§

Museums and Galleries of Northern Ireland (MAGNI)
http://www.magni.org.uk/

This website has links to the main websites of the museums they administer.

On the Ulster American Folkpark website, in the Children’s Corner there is a game called, Sail Away to America/Atlantic Crossing. I ran my ship into an iceberg and had to try again. Luckily that didn’t happen to my relatives when they sailed away to America for the reasons described on these web pages. You may find the pictures useful, as well as the basic information shared within the game.

§§§

Irish Studies Pages
http://www.ncf.carleton.ca/~bj333/HomePage.home.html

Conrad Bladey's website is chock full of all kinds of information on Eire: history, legends, language, everything...

§§§

The Story of Ireland
http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/1/9/1/11917/11917-h/11917-h.htm

A HTML version of the 1896 book by Emily Lawless.

§§§

Prehistoric Music Ireland
http://homepage.eircom.net/~bronzeagehorns/

A look at the history of music in Ireland.

§§§

National Geographic
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/

This popular magazine's website has so much to offer.

One of their features is Underwater Ireland.

§§§

Irish Literature, Mythology, Folklore, and Drama
http://www.luminarium.org/mythology/ireland/

All kinds of general links on history, language, periodicals, literature, mythology, folklore, publishers, theater companies, fine arts, food, marketplaces, and free goodies like Celtic fonts and images.

§§§

Castles on the Web
http://www.castlesontheweb.com/



Naming Characters


§§§

Researching Irish Names
http://www.rootsweb.com/~fianna/surname/

A genealogical website that can come in handy. This page has hyperlinks to areas with historical information regarding surnames.

§§§

Behind the Name: Irish Mythology Names
http://www.behindthename.com/nmc/iri-myth.html

Behind the Name: Celtic Mythology Names
http://www.behindthename.com/nmc/cel-myth.html

§§§

Traditional Irish Names
http://www.ncf.carleton.ca/~bj333/HomePage.boys.html



Language

Some of the websites that follow would be great “general resources” as well.

§§§

Guide to Successful Writing
http://iomfats.org/storyshelf/guide/writing.html

When it comes to writing dialogue, this web page suggests, "You can still use 'gonna' instead of 'going to' if the speech flows better, but never attempt (say) an Irish brogue with weird spellings." I’d tend to agree. At least with the main characters in a story. Too much flavor ruins the taste.

§§§

IrishAbroad Slang
http://www.irishabroad.com/Culture/Slang/irishslang.asp

This website has pages of slang and proverbs and other information that is helpful from the standpoint of making the language authentic.



Travel Destinations

This section includes a number of travel resources. Not all are commercial websites. I have included some government webpages of famous sites.

§§§

Blarney Stone
http://www.sacredsites.com/europe/ireland/blarney_stone.html

Here is a webpage that describes the Blarney Stone of Blarney, Country Cork.

§§§

Belfast Castle
http://www.belfastcastle.co.uk/

Run by the Belfast City Council, this website has some historical information.

§§§

Saint Patrick's Cathedral
http://www.stpatrickscathedral.ie

These pages have a lot of historical information.

§§§

Ireland - an Interactive Country Guide
http://www.iol.ie/~discover/welcome3.htm

This is a real good page to jump off from. They have links to everything under the sun – even speed limits, in case you’re driving.

§§§

Official Guide to Northern Ireland
http://www.geographia.com/northern-ireland/default.htm

The Northern Ireland Tourist Board’s website had pages of different destinations.


§§§

goireland.com
http://fermanagh.goireland.com/

A good website for finding destinations. They have a lot of information about historical sites such as castles, stones, abbeys, etc...


§§§

VirtualTourist.com
http://www.virtualtourist.com/

A great website where people from all over the world have created travelogues, travel tips, and share beautiful photography regarding travel destinations.




On-Line Dictionaries &
Encyclopedias


§§§

TheFreeDictionary.com
http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/

§§§

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/

Another extensive hyperlinked encyclopedia. This one has a lot of information. Search for “Tuatha Dé Danann” or “Irish mythology” or “Éire” or “Gaeilge” and you’ll find so much information that you could read for weeks. Interestingly, this page can be viewer created. Is there something you want to add?

§§§

Factbites: Where results make sense
http://www.factbites.com/

They advertise - "What do you get if you cross a search engine with an encyclopedia? Factbites - a new way to search the web." If you haven't tried it yet, it really is a helpful search engine.



Faerie Folk

Had to include some of the websites I’ve seen regarding leprechauns.

§§§

A Field Guide to Irish Fairies
http://www.irelandseye.com/animation/intro.html

Need information about banshees, leprechauns, and changelings?

§§§

Irish Mythology
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Andes/4917/mythology.html

A personal website that has all kinds of other Irish links. WARNING: They have comet cursor, which is a generally annoying program. But, you can cancel and not install it.

§§§

Encyclopedia Mythica: Celtic mythology
http://www.pantheon.org/areas/mythology/europe/celtic/articles.html

A frame-driven page with hundreds of entries. It’s not about leprechauns and banshees. This is a list of the actual characters of mythology. You could find out what ceridwen means... name of an e-publisher.



Blogs

For you bloggers....

§§§

Gaeilge: The Irish Gaelic Community
http://community.livejournal.com/gaeilge/

§§§

Celtica Studica
http://community.livejournal.com/celticastudica/

§§§

Celtic Myths
http://community.livejournal.com/celticmyths/

§§§

Geogg’s Blog
http://www.opinionatedgeek.com/Blog/

He’s keeping track of other “Norn Iron” bloggers.

§§§

feedmap.net
http://www.feedmap.net/BlogMap/

They are keeping track of bloggers too.

Art

If you make your own Web pages.

§§§

Celtic and Fantasy Clipart
http://www.celtic-clipart.co.uk/

This site has some links to Celtic books, mostly revolving around artwork.
Links to... Celtic true type Fonts, images that people can use, and much more.



Authors

Cornelia Amiri

http://www.myspace.com/celticromancequeen

Celia Ashley/Robin Maderich

http://www.robinmaderich.com/

Pamela Clare
http://www.pamelaclare.com/

Sloan St. James
http://www.sloanstjames.com/

Janeen O'Kerry
http://www.okerry.net/

Books Set In Ireland

Organizations

Below are related organizations for writers.

§§§

Celtic Hearts Romance Writers
http://www.celtichearts.org/

An RWA chapter specializing in romance related to Ireland and Scotland, etc...

tags: Ireland, writing research, romance authors, authors, books, Writing