CELTIC THUNDER - 'X'

Here we are with our 1st Celtic Times of the New Year and what an exciting year we have ahead of us! We are delighted to announce that our latest release Celtic Thunder “X’ is available to preorder now! This is a brand new deluxe double CD and DVD. “ X’ will be launched on March the 2nd worldwide. We’re very excited about our latest offering as it features all BRAND new tracks. So click here to pre-order the DVD and here to pre-order the CD.

 

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

Valentine’s Day is a lovely day to celebrate. We do seem to get inundated with days of celebration but to celebrate love, that is really a nice thing to do. It makes us stop and think about others on these special days. For me, it’s not just romantic love, Valentine’s Day is a day to be shared with loved ones, friends, family and of course that special person if you are lucky enough to have a special person in your life. 1^st February is also the feast of St. Brigid in Ireland, a wonderful spiritual brave woman. We are very proud of St Brigid here in Ireland. So, this month, we are promoting some beautiful pieces of jewellery in the Celtic Thunder store.   See, below for some of our highlights!

CELTIC LOVE CROSS -  WALL PLAQUE The Celtic Love Cross, with entwined hearts at its centre, symbolizes eternal love and love & friendship. Traditional Irish high crosses date from the 9th century A.D. and these sandstone or granite monuments are found throughout Ireland indicating holy places. They can reach up to four meters in height.     STERLING SILVER ST. BRIGIDS CROSS St. Brigid was born in AD 450 near Dundalk in Co. Louth. She was the daughter of a pagan chieftain of Leinster and her mother, Broicsech, was a Christian. Brigid lived during the time of St. Patrick and was inspired by his preaching’s and converted to Christianity. St. Brigid and her cross are linked together by the story that she used rushes from the floor to weave this form of a cross at the death bed of either her father or a pagan lord, who upon hearing what the cross meant, asked to be baptized.     ST. BRIGIDS CROSS WITH CONNEMARA MARBLE This beautiful St Brigid's cross is inlaid with the unique Connemara green marble stone. Every piece of marble has a different shade of green! The wreath cross is still hung over doors all over Ireland.  It is said it is to protect us from evil and fire.

 

AUTHENTIC IRISH RECIPES

Since its still cold outside and the evenings are dark, we have some nice warm filling recipes. We have a lovely Guinness bread recipe, potato, chicken and vegetable soup, a delicious chicken and mushroom fried rice and a lovely recipe for shortbread biscuits. Shortbread biscuits are lovely with a cup of tea. You can’t beat that combination of savoury and sugar. It goes down a treat in the evenings while watching your favourite Celtic Thunder DVD! We hope you enjoy these recipes!

 

 

 

FANCLUB CORNER

Welcome to this month’s fan corner. We have some photos from the Celtic Thunder cruise in November. It was a fantastic trip and I had great time, meeting the fans and seeing all the wonderful shows. Any photos to match that we can add to the Celtic Times fan corner would be great to share. Send on any photos you would like included to elaine@celticthunder.com.

 

 

 

AN OPEN LETTER FROM A CT FAN

Elaine received this beautiful letter from Ron, one of our Celtic Thunder fans who joined us on the 10^th Anniversary Cruise. This photo of Ron and the lovely Elaine was taken on the cruise.  Ron, thank you, for sending us this gorgeous letter and putting your lovely words of praise down on paper and sharing with us and the CT fans. We’re so glad you had a wonderful time especially after travelling so far, all the way from Australia!

Elaine receives lots of letters from our fans from all over the world and these letters often tell us how important Celtic Thunder have been in their lives and we are delighted to be part of the celebrations and that we offer some solace to our fans in their darkest hours with illness, grief etc. If you would like to share your Celtic Thunder experiences we will do our very best to include your photos, letters, poems etc. in the Celtic Times and share them with the worldwide Celtic Thunder family. Please send them to elaine@celticthunder.com.

 

 

 

VISIT KILDARE

Full of surprises, County Kildare in Ireland's Ancient East will give you many excuses to linger and stay. A warm welcome awaits you across the many memorable towns and villages. Unique heritage, stunning scenery, quality accommodation, spectacular cuisine and a world class shopping experience are just some of the attractions that await the visitor.

 

 

 

PUNCHESTOWN RACECOURSE, CO KILDARE

We love the races here in Ireland and Punchestown is a great start if your new to the races. It’s a great day out here in Ireland and well worth going to the races. The purest, most satisfying moment of any spectator sport is when seeing its best performers doing what they do best, at their best and the Spring Festival at Punchestown delivers on that remit with exciting results for the viewing public.

 

 

 

JOKE OF THE MONTH - IRISH GHOST STORY

This story happened a while ago in Dublin, and even though it sounds like an Alfred Hitchcock tale, it's true.

John Bradford, a Dublin University student, was on the side of the road hitch-hiking on a very dark night and in the midst of a big storm.

 

 

 

THE MONTGOMERIE COURSE AT CARTON HOUSE

Co Kildare is a golfer’s paradise and there are lots of world class golf courses to choose from. We are highlighting the Montgomerie golf course at Carton House this month.

Host Venue of the 2013 Irish Open, The Montgomerie Course is a quality approved golf course approved to Fáilte Ireland standards, which means the services and facilities have been independently checked out before you tee-off.

 

 

 

STAY IN CARTON HOUSE

Twenty minutes from Dublin, Carton House is one of Ireland’s best located four-star luxury resorts. Beautifully restored, Carton House has been discreetly converted into a modern luxury destination, nestled in 1,100 acres of parkland. Mixing cosmopolitan chic with contemporary cool, Carton House Hotel in Kildare is a beautifully restored historic mansion, which has been discreetly converted into a modern luxury destination.

 

 

 

ST. BRIGID OF KILDARE

Saint Brigid of Kildare or Brigid of Ireland is one of Ireland’s patron saints along with Patrick and Columba. Named after the pagan goddess of fire, St Brigid’s selfless nature nurtured both the land and the living. Freed from slavery by the King of Leinster, she asked him for land in County Kildare to build a convent.

 

 

 

IRISH NATIONAL STUD & GARDENS

The Irish National Stud belongs to the people of Ireland but prides itself on being enjoyed and appreciated by visitors from all parts of the globe. Nowhere better symbolizes all that is great about County Kildare, the beating heart of Ireland’s thoroughbred industry, than the stud, a unique attraction of outstanding natural beauty that is home to some of the most magnificent horses and sumptuous gardens to be found anywhere in the world.

 

 

 

ST BRIGIDS CATHEDRAL & ROUND TOWER

St Brigid’s Cathedral in Kildare Town was built by the Norman Bishop Ralph of Bristol in 1223. The entire site is steeped in important religious history; it’s believed to be the location at which Saint Brigid, one of Ireland’s patron saints, founded a nunnery in the 5th century.

 

 

 

BARGE TRIPS IN CO KILDARE

Cruising for just an hour or two on the Grand Canal, you’ll travel through 250 years of history: through locks, bridges and aqueduct, through tales of great engineers and merchants plying their trade. The landed gentry, poor folk escaping the Great Famine, heavy horses pulling their cargoes – all have left their legacies here.

 

 

 

PUNCHESTOWN STANDING STONE

The Punchestown Standing Stone is the tallest and most remarkable of several long stones in County Kildare. It is found beside Punchestown Racecourse. Various functions for the Punchestown Standing Stone, in County Kildare, have been suggested: perhaps it was a burial markers, or a boundary stone or perhaps it signified a cult belief. Its exact use during Celtic times is unknown, one can only ponder on the possibilities.

 

 

 

CLANE ABBEY

The connection of Clane Abbey with Christianity, predates St. Patrick’s. The abbey was founded by St. Ailbe, bishop of Ferns. St. Senchall was the second abbot. The abbey took part in the missionary work of the sixth and seventh centuries. With the coming of the Normans, the Celtic abbey went into decline.

 

 

 

CASTLETOWN HOUSE

Castletown, as Ireland’s first and largest Palladian style house, is an important part of Ireland’s architectural heritage. Erected between 1722 and c.1729 for William Conolly, Speaker of the Irish House of Commons, Castletown House was designed to reflect its owner’s power and to serve as a venue for political entertaining on a large scale.

 

 

 

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SELECTED DUBLIN

Great news! Dublin has been selected as one of National Geographic Traveler's 21 'Best of the World' destinations for 2018.  The selection process included impressive nominations from publication's worldwide network of writers, editors and explorers. These are 21 destinations around the world selected and reported on by our editors that reveal the beauty of the wild, the creativity of our cultures and the superlatives of our cities," said George Stone, Editor in Chief, National Geographic Travelers.

 

 

 

ST. VALENTINE – WHITEFRIAR CHURCH, DUBLIN

Whitefriar Street Church is probably best known for the various shrines to which it is home. Every day, many people come and pray at the various shrine.  One of the shrines is to St Valentine. Throughout the centuries since Valentine received martyrdom there have been various basilicas, churches and monasteries built over the site of his grave.

 

 

 

MAYNOOTH UNIVERSITY

Guided tour of historic campus, featuring Silken Thomas’s yew (Ireland’s oldest native tree), Stoyte House (where Maynooth College was founded in 1795), the Ghost Room, and the Gothic Revival College Chapel, the largest choir chapel in the world. An informative guided tour that takes you through one of the most beautiful and historic campus settings in Ireland. Maynooth Castle, Ireland’s medieval seat of power, overlooks the entrance gate, the starting-point for the tour. Marvel at the Silken Thomas yew, at least 800 years old and Ireland’s oldest native tree.

 

 

 

5 LEGENDARY LOVE STORIES

From the land that gives you the final resting place of St Valentine, it's only fitting that Ireland also gives you some of the world's most legendary love stories. Are you ready to fall in love yet?

 

 

 

PURE IRISH LOVE SONGS

Valentine’s Day is coming up and this wonderful CD would make a wonderful gift for your loved one. It features some of Ireland’s best known singers and groups.