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Ireland

Finland's Lake Saimaa is 111 miles long, 87 miles wide, dotted by about 14,000 islands, pierced by dozens of narrow straits, and surrounded by sheltered bays perfect for ringed seal breeding.

Before Cultural and Natural Wonders Earn UNESCO World Heritage Status, They Are Put on a ‘Tentative’ List. Here Are Five Nominees Worth Visiting Now

Featuring more than 1,800 sites from 181 countries and territories, UNESCO’s tentative list is a treasure trove of lesser-known marvels

Individuals and objects associated with Irish contributions to the American Revolution (clockwise from top left): Surgeon and statesman James McHenry, Quaker spy Lydia Barrington Darragh, Commodore John Barry, a letter written by Irish-born printer John Dunlap, Continental Army officer Stephen Moylan, Pennsylvania politician James Smith, Delaware politician Thomas McKean, and Charles Thomson's proposal for the Great Seal

America's 250th Anniversary

How Tens of Thousands of Irish Immigrants Led the Patriots to Victory During the American Revolution

Soldiers of Irish heritage accounted for up to 50 percent of the Continental Army’s ranks. Driven from their homeland by British oppression, Irish-born rebels also served as spies, politicians and more

Located on the Atlantic coast, the Giant's Causeway is one of the most popular natural landmarks in Northern Ireland.

Scientists Uncover New Clues About the Volcanic Origins of the Giant’s Causeway, an Iconic Geologic Structure in Northern Ireland

The UNESCO World Heritage Site, which features 40,000 near-perfect hexagonal columns, formed roughly 60 million years ago during a period of intense volcanic activity

The mosaic in 2007, before being repaired

The Gouged-Out Testicles of This Bull Mosaic in Italy Are Just Two More Victims of Tourists Abusing Monuments for Luck

It’s common for visitors to touch intimate areas portrayed in artworks, but the phenomenon puts cultural icons at risk

Archaeologists and volunteers excavate the site in the Ben Lawers National Nature Reserve.  

Cool Finds

Researchers Discovered the Remnants of a Secret, Illegal Whisky Distillery in a Stunning Scottish Park

The copper still, likely used to make whisky, would have been hidden away from the oversight of tax collectors after Scotland outlawed unlicensed distilling centuries ago

New research finds a genetic link between modern Old Irish goats and goats living in Ireland during the Late Bronze Age.

These Majestic Goats Have Been Traipsing Around Ireland for at Least 3,000 Years, Research Suggests

Goat bones dating to between 1100 B.C.E. and 900 B.C.E. were a close genetic match for modern Old Irish goats, a historic breed with declining numbers

The Táin Bó Cúailnge mosaic, made by Desmond Kinney in 1974, is in Dublin.

Ireland Launches Its Permanent ‘Income for the Arts’ Scheme, Becoming the First Government Committed to Paying Artists

The permanent Basic Income for the Arts scheme was announced last fall, following a nearly identical pilot scheme. Come spring, Irish artists will be able to apply for three years of weekly stipends: a value of almost $60,000

Portraits of Oscar Wilde taken in New York in 1882

Oscar Wilde’s Portraits, Poems, Letters and Manuscripts Head to Auction 125 Years After His Death

Other rare items, available for purchase in February, include illustrations, theater programs, telegrams and newspapers

An ogham stone in Cornwall, England

These Linguists Are Creating a New Dictionary of Ancient Celtic Languages—With Help From ‘Curse Tablets’ and Roman Records

The project aims to produce a record of the Celtic languages spoken in Britain and Ireland, though the majority of these words have already been lost to history

A bust of Plato in the Long Room at Trinity College Dublin

Coastal Cities of Europe

Go Behind the Scenes at an Iconic Irish Library as Staff Move 700,000 Historical Treasures Into Storage

Trinity College Dublin’s Old Library will close for restoration and construction in 2027. What does that mean for the medieval manuscripts and books housed there?

For more than four decades, the Athabascan Fiddle Festival has filled community halls in Fairbanks with a sound that is both global and distinctly Native.

How Old-Time Fiddle Music Took Root in Indigenous Alaska

In Fairbanks, fiddling thrives—bridging cultures, sustaining traditions and filling the dance floor with life

An open-air art gallery at Dublin's Merrion Square park in 2021

Ireland Makes a Program Offering Basic Income for Artists Permanent

After a successful three-year pilot, the country will continue to provide 2,000 artists with $1,500 per month

Thornton's handwritten memoirs recount the same period of her life.

Read the Dramatic 17th-Century Memoirs of Alice Thornton, Who Wrote Four Versions of Her Life Story

Researchers have digitized all four volumes, which are now available online. The autobiographies offer a compelling window into a tumultuous period in English history

An illustration of Thomas Stukeley kneeling in front of Pope Gregory XIII and Philip II of Spain, who urged him to raise a rebellion against Elizabeth I of England

The Swashbuckling Tudor Mercenary Who Was Killed in a Battle That Claimed the Lives of Three 16th-Century Kings

Englishman Thomas Stukeley offered his services to various Catholic powers. He died while fighting for the Portuguese at the Battle of Alcácer Quibir on August 4, 1578

The Lough Kinale Book Shrine was discovered in an Irish lake in 1986.

These Medieval Monks Scribbled Notes in the Margins of Their Books More Than 1,000 Years Ago

A new exhibition in Dublin showcases historic manuscripts written in Irish monasteries. The show also features medieval artifacts, such as a rare book shrine found in a river in the 1980s

Newgrange is one of Ireland's most famous Neolithic passage tombs.

These Massive Monuments Hosted Community Gatherings Where Prehistoric People Mingled, Feasted and Buried Their Dead

A new study contradicts the long-held assumption that Ireland’s Neolithic passage tombs were reserved for members of an elite ruling family

An artistic interpretation of what Flagstones might have looked like shortly after it was constructed

New Research

Could This Prehistoric Burial Site Have Influenced the Construction of Stonehenge?

Researchers say that Flagstones, a large circular enclosure in southern England, dates to around 3200 B.C.E.—which means it predates Stonehenge by several hundred years

The Burren House in San Rafael, California, is one of the most recent projects of the Irish Pub Company, a Dublin-based design group that has created upwards of 2,000 pubs in more than 100 countries on every continent except Antarctica.

How the Irish Pub Became One of the Emerald Isle’s Greatest Exports

The Dublin-based Irish Pub Company has designed upwards of 2,000 pubs in more than 100 countries around the globe

The postcard is stamped April 11, 1912, just a few days before the Titanic sank.

Before the Titanic Sank, a Cheerful Passenger Wrote in a Postcard That He Was ‘Leaving for the Land of Stars and Stripes’

A handwritten note by Richard William Smith, a British businessman who perished in the disaster, is heading to the auction block, where it could sell for up to $12,600

Officials unveiled the portal installation in Philadelphia's LOVE Park on October 22.

New ‘Portal’ Opens in Philadelphia, Connecting Residents to Cities Around the World With Identical Installations

The looming sculpture features a small camera above an eight-foot-tall screen, which displays live video from Lithuania, Poland and Ireland

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