16 Distinctively Irish Things to Buy in Dublin

While Ireland is not necessarily a country you think of when considering chocolate, Irish chocolate manufacturers, such as Butlers and Lir, will be championed by the locals as, at the very least, equal to Swiss and Belgian offerings. Both Butlers and Lir take their craft extremely seriously and produce Irish chocolate that is not only aesthetically pleasing, but utterly irresistible to the taste buds.

Butlers has strong ties to Irish society ever since it was founded in the early 20th century by Ms. Bailey-Butler on a small lane in Dublin city. Now it has become a flourishing, world-renowned international business with a vast array of customers, but it has never forgotten its humble beginnings. Upon visiting Ireland, you must sample some of their truffles, fudge, toffee and chocolate bars, to name but a few – and don’t worry, exploring the beautiful and historic Dublin will do more than enough to burn off the extra calories! Butlers assortment boxes range from €5 for a 185g box to €48 for a delicious 1000g box for the whole family. Butlers has a number of wonderful cafes in Dublin’s city centre.

Newbridge Silverware, based in County Kildare, adjacent to Dublin, started as a cutlery manufacturer. Today they produce jewellery, cutlery and a range of giftware. Many newlyweds will be gifted with a set of Newbridge silver-plated cutlery with which to start their married life, and smaller items, such as napkin rings and candle holders, are common Christmas and anniversary gifts. Newbridge also crafts pieces of fine jewellery and other gift items. You can get small gifts, such as keyrings and keepsakes, for around €10, and while an 88 piece set of sterling silver cutlery could run you more than €1,200, smaller gift packs of cutlery can be had for under €80. They offer a range of different collections and designs to suit different budgets, all crafted with skill and care in the heart of Ireland.

If you want to stay in the city centre, Newbridge Silverware stockists include Arnotts.

Made from flax fibers, linen was historically a very important Irish trade good. While in days gone by it was a ubiquitous fabric in various kinds of clothing, today the labor-intensive nature of its manufacture makes it a luxury good that is generally reserved for use only on special occasions. Table linen and linen bed sets are a common wedding gift, although most contemporary Irish household would keep it for the most special of guests, as well as for celebratory meals. Companies, such as Thomas Ferguson Irish Linen, which has been supplying linen for over 150 years, provide their fine goods to various retail stores in Ireland and across the world. The finest Irish linens carry the Irish Linen Guild logo, which means that they were not woven abroad and simply bleached in Ireland, but that they were genuinely woven in Ireland to the highest quality possible. Prices can range from €15 for a pair of linen tea cosies to hundreds of euros for the finest linen bed sets.

Quarried in the western part of the country, in the county of Galway, Connemara marble is a distinctive green variegated stone that is prized for use in interior design and ornaments. Craftsmen, such as J.C. Walsh and Sons, quarry the rock from natural outcrops and carve and polish the stone to best show off its natural beauty. Connemara marble graces the halls of Trinity College Dublin and can be seen in Kensington Palace in the United Kingdom. It is also used for the creation of beautiful pendants, rosary beads and other jewellery. Its dappled nature makes every piece unique, and its green hue makes it a fitting stone for the island of Ireland. Ornaments range in price from €30 for a small clock to €800 for a carved chess set and board. Rosary beads will set you back around €30.

Lapis Jewelers specialize in Connemara marble jewellery, incorporating the unique stone into bracelets, rings, necklaces and Celtic crosses. McEvoys Irish Gifts.

This traditional Irish bread can be made with white or wholemeal flour, along with buttermilk, a pinch of salt and bicarbonate of soda. Rather than using yeast as a raising agent, soda bread gets its lift from a chemical reaction between bicarbonate of soda and the lactic acid present in the buttermilk. The process results in a dense, nutty bread that goes perfectly with smoked Irish salmon or can be toasted to serve with paté. The locals normally spread it thickly with jam or golden Irish butter for a deliciously simple treat. Irish Soda bread can be bought in whole loaves and pre-sliced forms, and can also be found with dried fruit incorporated into the dough for a more indulgent treat. You shouldn’t expect to pay more than €2 or €3 for a loaf, but once you’ve had a taste of this particularly Irish food, you’ll find it difficult to stop at just one.

Marks & Spencer's Food Hall offers a variety of breads, many of them organic.

While nobody likes a stereotype, the Irish are proud of their local distilleries. Whiskey takes its name from the Irish phrase ‘uisce beatha’ or the water of life. The Scots and the Irish often argue about who makes the best whiskey. With various distilleries to choose from, you can make up your own mind, although after a few rounds you may forget exactly what you were trying to find out. There are various different options, with single malt, blended whiskeys, single grain, and pure pot still whiskey all available from Irish distillers. Black Bush Irish Whisky costs around €25 per 700ml bottle, while Bushmill Original Irish Whisky is a few euros cheaper. As the whiskey ages, expect to pay more, for example Jameson 12 year old whiskey costs €35, compared to €24 for a regular bottle.

The Celtic Whiskey Shop has a huge selection and very knowledgeable staff.

The dairy industry is a huge part of Irish agriculture, and it is hard to take a drive through the country without seeing numerous dairy cows lazily chewing their cud in the green fields. Local producers take advantage of the abundance of high-quality milk to create tasty cheeses. Cheeses, such as Dubliner, Coolee, Gumbeen and Cashel Blue, will always be found in a Dublin refrigerator and their unique taste and local craftsmanship make them a must-try. In recent years, many Irish dairy farmers have sought to increase their profits by producing their own artisan cheeses, but even the more commercial operations produce delicious cheese varieties. Dubliner Cheddar cheese retails at around €15 a kilo, while Cashel Blue Farmhouse Cheese will run you €3 for 125 grams.

Sheridan’s Cheesemongers offers artisan and handmade cheese from Ireland and Europe. Fallon & Byrne Food Hall's cheese counter is excellent.

One of the highlights of any visit to Ireland is a ‘seisiún’ or session, where traditional musicians sit down to play in a pub, with any other musicians welcome to pull up a chair and join in, if they know the tune, or start up their own tune in a lull. It can seem astonishing that such beautiful and cohesive music can be produced by musicians who do not know each other, with an almost anarchic switch between leaders and followers. While some traditional instruments, such as Uillen pipes and fiddles, can be difficult to master, penny whistles and hide drums (bodhrans) are essential parts of traditional Irish music, with novices quickly able to pick up the basics. Indeed, they do on a regular basis!

Dublin is host to many fine musical instrument stores, with varying prices. Tin whistles can cost as little as €3, while the best guitars can range into the thousands. A number of quality music stores can be round in the inner city.

If you spend any time in Ireland, you will soon grow used to the sounds of Irish music. Indeed, local pubs at the weekend are often hubs for lively traditional Irish music. Traditional jigs, reels and folk songs are as much enjoyed as modern pop and rock from bands, such as U2 and Westlife. Indeed, many current commercial bands are taking inspiration from the folk songs of the past, as Thin Lizzy did with their 1972 breakout single ‘Whiskey in the Jar’ – a rock version of a traditional Irish Ballad. Some of Ireland’s best folk bands are from Dublin, such as the Furey Brothers and Luke Kelly, and their CDs are still as relevant today as they were when they were released. In fact, if you find yourself seeing the sights on O’Connell or Talbot Street on the north side of the city, why not take a short stroll to nearby Sheriff Street where you can see where the great Luke Kelly and Boyzone’s Stephen Gately grew up.

Tower Records is a great independent record store where one can buy traditional Irish music for between €4 and €20.

The often cold and changeable weather of Ireland means that few natives are without a selection of warm knitwear in their closets. Traditional chunky Aran sweaters are often seen in postcards and photobooks of Ireland, but in recent years more delicate designs have become fashionable both for winter wear and layering in the months of autumn and spring. Local designers use the wool of native sheep and more esoteric yarns from llamas, alpacas and goats to create lightweight shawls, scarves and sweaters that are suitable for year-round wear. Prices range from €15, for a simple scarf, all the way up to hundreds of euros for more complicated pieces. If you can’t resist one of those famous traditional Aran sweaters, be prepared to pay between €60 and €110.

Trinity Woollen Mills offers Irish handknits and Aran sweaters. The Kilkenny Shop offers three-piece knitwear sets from the Irish Countrywoman’s association for €30. Avoca Handweavers Store's sells capes, jackets and cardigans for between €80 and €200.

Ireland is home to successful commercial potteries, such as Belleek, but there are also more than 300 studio, craft and hobby potteries in the country. Many homes have a few pieces of traditional heavy earthenware that have been passed down through generations. More modern pottery and ceramics are also produced, both for tableware and ornamental use. Prices range by designer, collection and item – a four-mug set from Avoca will cost €50, while a single dinner plate from Belleek’s luxury range can cost upwards of €80. Irish pottery offers gifts to suit many different budgets and, because of the diversity of producers, you are sure to find a pottery gift that will suit the decor and design aesthetic of the recipient. Tableware and other pottery is ideal for wedding gifts for young couples and anniversary gifts for those who like to entertain.

Arnotts has a range of Beleek Pottery. The Kilkenny Shop also offers Irish pottery.

Ireland was long ago covered with ancient forests, consisting of oak, yew and pine wood. Those huge forests were all but decimated by stone age farming many thousands of years ago. However, the remnants of those trees remained buried, preserved and undiscovered in the bog lands for up to 7,000 years. This ‘bog oak’ is selected and excavated by talented Irish craftsmen, dried for at least 3 years and then finally sculpted into the most beautiful shapes and designs. It is an extremely precise and skillful trade and many such artists claim that no two bog oak sculptures are alike. These sculptures make beautiful additions to your garden and can also be used to grace you hallway or even living room. Unfortunately, quality bog oak sculptures do not come cheap. Small items may cost roughly €100 to 200, but larger sculptures and furniture will set you back about €500 at least. However, this is a small price to pay for art of such ancient beauty.

Kilkenny store is the best place in Dublin to buy bog oak sculptures. The Jam Art Factory is a wonderful little gallery, which sometimes features bog oak art. The Doorway Gallery is another good place for bog oak.

Ireland is ranked second in the world for per capita consumption of tea, with morning breakfasts, lunchtime meals and evening relaxation all considered to be best complemented with a steaming mug of lovely tea. While the Irish may quibble about which brand is best, and whether it should be served with or without sugar, they are all united in the knowledge that Irish brands, such as Barry’s and Lyons, are head and shoulders above any foreign varieties. Irish ex-pats are well-known for importing these brands if they are living abroad, as others just don’t taste quite right. Prices start at around €3 for 80 teabags, but there is always the option of treating yourself with pyramid-shaped bags or premium blends.

Given the Irish habit for daily tea consumption, tea is plentiful and cheap to purchase. Walk into, literally, any major supermarket, like Dunnes Stores or Tesco, and marvel at the huge display of teas. Alternatively, just duck into a corner store, both independents and chains, such as Spar and Centra, and you will find a variety of teas available for purchase.

Ireland has several unique sports that come under the banner of Gaelic games. Hurling, Gaelic Football and Irish Handball can all trace their roots back to Celtic times, with the legend of Cu Chullain making particular reference to his skill with the hurl. The yearly national championships or ‘All Ireland’ are attended by tens of thousands, with many more watching the matches at home or down the pub decked out in their county colors. Two hurleys and a ‘sliotar’ allow you to have your own try at hurling, which is similar to field hockey – the world’s fastest team field game. Gaelic football too is a rapid grass sport, which shares common features with rugby and soccer, but has a very unique style of its own. It requires no specialist equipment like hurling, just a special football that can be found at most Irish sports stores for between €15 and €50.

Excellent Irish sports stores include Elverys. Why not go and watch a genuine Gaelic sports match at the world famous Croke Park stadium in the north inner city? Adult tickets range from €39.50 to €49.50, with children’s tickets costing €9.50.

Irish Crystal is well known throughout the world for its high quality, and the shamrocks that are presented to the US president on St Patrick’s day are traditionally placed in a crystal bowl. The AFCA National Championship Trophy, the People’s Choice Awards, and the Formula One German Grand Prix Trophies are all designed by Waterford Crystal, which gained a reputation in the 1700s for terrifically fine flint glass of the best quality. Tipperary and Kilkenny crystal are other well-known brands. Crystal is a popular wedding gift throughout Ireland and abroad. Its popularity derives from the beautiful intricacy of the design, which consists of deeply cut and incredibly precise patterns across the crystal using age old techniques handed down from generations to generations. Indeed, Irish crystal graces the dining rooms of many Irish households and is a particular point of pride that is often displayed to guests!

Sets of Irish crystal usually range between about €40 and €60, but for the very finest you are looking into the hundreds.

Gold and silver jewelry was popular with the Celtic ancestors of the modern-day Irish, and their beautiful craftsmanship and elegant designs are often reflected in modern pieces. Traditional Claddagh rings, with a crowned heart cupped by two hands, are an indication of romantic availability – if the heart points away from the body, the wearer is available, but if the ring is worn with the heart pointing inwards, then their heart belongs to another. Knots, braids and spirals, all work their way into local designs, as does traditional Irish religious imagery, such as Celtic crosses. Prices vary according to style, designer and size. A Claddagh ring in sterling silver will set you back €30, while white gold will cost around €300, and gold and silver Celtic-inspired pendants range from €30 upwards.

Grafton Street, the main shopping street in Dublin, has plenty of jewelers, and the side streets are dotted with smaller boutiques.