Culture and traditions
Explore music, storytelling, sport and the everyday life of communities across the island.
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Ireland · island, regions and stories
Ireland, explored slowly.
Begin in Tullamore, County Offaly, then explore Ireland through its places, culture and contemporary life. Follow the living connection with Brazil, including the Brazilian community in Ireland and Irish stories in Brazil.
Start in the Midlands
Tullamore, County Offaly
Tullamore is the county town of Offaly, shaped by the Grand Canal and everyday life in Ireland’s Midlands. It is the personal Irish starting point for this GRIAVA story, while the wider island remains many places and voices.
Explore Tullamore →Ireland and Brazil
A living connection across the Atlantic
Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs describes a Brazilian community of well over 40,000 in Ireland. The 2022 Irish census separately counted 27,338 people with Brazilian citizenship; these are different measures and dates, not directly comparable totals. The National Library of Brazil documents the historical Irish presence in Brazil.
Explore the map
Political and geographic context: The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland share an island while remaining distinct jurisdictions and identities.
Browse destinations
Republic of Ireland · TownTullamore, County Offaly
Republic of Ireland · CityDublin
Republic of Ireland · City and landscapeGalway & Connemara
Republic of Ireland · City and regionCork & the south
Northern Ireland · CityBelfast
Island of Ireland · Coastal routeWild Atlantic Way
Northern Ireland · Coast and landscapeCauseway Coast
Republic of Ireland · Mountains and countyWicklow
Republic of Ireland · CityDublinRepublic of Ireland · City and landscapeGalway & ConnemaraRepublic of Ireland · City and regionCork & the southNorthern Ireland · CityBelfastIsland of Ireland · Coastal routeWild Atlantic WayNorthern Ireland · Coast and landscapeCauseway CoastRepublic of Ireland · Mountains and countyWicklowExplore
Literature and music
Ireland's cultural life includes major literary voices, traditional sessions and new creative work.
Food and everyday life
Look beyond clichés: food, housing, work, local conversation and weather all shape ordinary experience.
History and society
Read the island through its layered histories and its changing contemporary societies.
Ways into Ireland
Writers and the city
Dublin's literary life reaches from the Georgian city and the Abbey Theatre to modern bookshops, festivals and writers working in Irish and English.
Open source ↗Music as a living practice
Traditional music is not a museum piece: sessions, dance, song and contemporary scenes connect local places with wider Irish and global influences.
Open source ↗Food, pubs and ordinary time
A pub can be a social room, music venue or place for conversation. Food culture also reflects farms, coasts, migration and new urban communities.
Open source ↗Irish and regional identities
Irish, English and Ulster-Scots traditions overlap unevenly across the island. Language, county, city and political identity can matter in different ways to different people.
Open source ↗Listen, read and watch
Republic of Ireland · Radio and musicRTÉ RadioRTÉ ↗Republic of Ireland · Podcasts and documentaryRTÉ PodcastsRTÉ ↗Northern Ireland · Radio and current affairsBBC Radio UlsterBBC Northern Ireland ↗Republic of Ireland · NewsRTÉ NewsRTÉ ↗Northern Ireland · NewsBBC News NIBBC Northern Ireland ↗Republic of Ireland · Documentary podcastDocumentary on OneRTÉ ↗
Cultural discoveries
A few doors into local stories, sounds and everyday life. Open a section and follow whatever catches your curiosity.
TV & Film
Ireland through the archive camera
Home movies, newsreels and small everyday moments reveal an Ireland beyond the familiar postcard. Wander through the IFI’s own curated film collections.
Access: Free archive viewing; IFI describes this collection as globally accessible. Individual films retain their own rights.
Explore the official siteBooks & Literature
Into the world of W. B. Yeats
Follow manuscripts, photographs and personal objects into the life of a poet whose imagination moved between Irish landscapes, theatre and myth.
Access: Free online exhibition with a virtual tour and audio highlights; no library membership needed to browse.
Explore the official siteMusic & Radio
Tunes with people and places behind them
Discover traditional music through the musicians, families and communities who keep it moving. The archive brings recordings, photographs and stories together.
Access: Free public collections. An optional account saves favourites; it is not required to browse. Availability depends on each recording.
Explore the official siteCulture & Everyday Life
The texture of everyday rural life
Look at the objects, skills and customs that shaped rural Irish homes and working lives. Country Life offers a quieter view of the island’s history.
Access: Free museum stories and collection information. This link is an online introduction, not a ticket or a complete virtual visit.
Explore the official site