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Another month, another celtic ritual! Welcome, lads and lassies, to today’s Celtic history lesson. This month of August marks the pagan holiday Lughnasadh (pronounced Loo-NAS-ah), also known as Lammas. This feast day is in and of itself a feast of history, folklore, and rituals. Lammas is derived from an Old-English word that means “loaf mass”. […]

Orangemen’s Day: The Orange and the Green As the 12th of July approaches, we at Donegal Square reflect on Irish history and what “The Twelfth” means to us.  “The Twelfth” is known as “Orangemen’s Day”. But…what is Orangemen’s Day? Some of you reading this may know that the answer to that is a little complicated. […]

Happy 4th of July, lads and lasses! Every year, we celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence as a pivotal moment in our nation’s history. As a nation of immigrants, that history has been shaped by millions of influential figures from all over the world. The signers of the Declaration hailed from the thirteen […]

BLOOMSDAY Ireland is home to some of the greatest creative minds in the history of the Western World. I’m talkin’ Oscar Wilde, Samuel Beckett, and William Butler Yeats, just to name a few. The legendary Irishman I would like to tell you about today is named James Joyce. Ireland is so proud of this guy […]

ST JOHN’S EVE  Tonight is the night, beloved readers! Tonight is St John’s Eve. For those of you who are not familiar with this Celtic tradition, today’s post will equip you with all the knowledge needed to recreate your own St. John’s Eve, if you so choose. Get ready to leap over open flames and […]

Do you know what the most difficult thing about working at Donegal Square is? Corinne The Red Stag Pub’s In-House Baker. You heard me, Corinne. All week long, tantalizing scents waft down the hallways and permeate the walls of our 18th century building as Corinne creates sweet masterpieces. It requires the strength of Samuel not […]

Father’s Day is just around the corner, and all of us here at Donegal Square are looking forward to helping those find the best purchases for his or her pater familias!  My Irish heritage was first disclosed to me at Donegal Square and Bethlehem’s annual Celtic Classic. My father introduced me to our Irish heritage […]

Summer is here, lads and lassies! Donegal Square and McCarthy’s Red Stag Pub are excited to be a part of “Tunes at Twilight”, happening every Thursday this summer through July 22nd. Hosted by the Downtown Bethlehem Association, “Tunes” has undergone a renovation post-pandemic. Instead of live music every Thursday in the Sun Inn courtyard alone, […]

Celtic Weddings are certainly one of a kind. They are full of a slew of traditions, most of which have been passed down for hundreds of years.    Ready to “Tie the Knot”? The origin of that turn of phrase is accredited to the Scottish “handfasting”. During the middle ages, “handfasting” was the term used for […]

Hello again, lads and lassies! It’s here! The lusty month of May! And I wanted to tell you a little bit about how the ancient Celts welcomed the first touch of summer. Our Celtic ancestors celebrated the Beltane Fire Festival.    WHAT IS THE BELTANE FIRE FESTIVAL? Beltane is a Celtic word which means ‘fires […]

Good day, lassie/laddie!  Have you heard the news?! April 6th is Tartan Day! Here at Donegal Square, we celebrate Tartan Day and it’s history all month long. In fact, one could say we celebrate Tartan Day everyday in our store!   What is Tartan Day ? What is Tartan Day, ye say? Why April 6th […]

Tartan: Symbol of The Clan Good day, lad or lass! This week I’m back to educate you more on the intriguing history of the tartan. There’s hundreds of years of conflict and love behind those iconic striped creations. Just as clans came together in marriage, they represented great divides as well. Religion against religion, family […]