Ireland's postcards take in centuries of history across the whole island, from old monasteries and medieval castles to dramatic coastlines and lively cities, reflecting a place shaped as much by its landscape as by its long and colourful past.
Blarney Castle in County Cork is the standout subject in this collection. The current tower house was built around 1446 by Cormac MacCarthy, King of Munster, replacing an earlier stone fort on the site from around 1200. It's best known for the Blarney Stone, set into the castle battlements, which legend says grants the gift of eloquence to anyone who kisses it. One popular version of the story links the stone to Robert the Bruce, said to have given a piece of it to Cormac MacCarthy in gratitude for Irish support at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.
Postcards of the Giant's Causeway, on the County Antrim coast, are another regular feature. Around 40,000 interlocking basalt columns formed there roughly 50 to 60 million years ago, when volcanic activity cooled and cracked into the hexagonal shapes seen today. The site was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986, and Irish legend attributes the columns to the giant Finn McCool, said to have built a path across the sea to face the Scottish giant Benandonner.
Postcards from other Irish towns and cities, including Dublin, Killarney, Galway and Belfast, appear in this collection too, and we add new stock regularly.
