Irish Shop celebrates 25 years in Minnesota
Eileen Dahill/North America/Minnesota
Irish Shop celebrates 25 years in Minnesota
Other Irish Communities in the United States have a pub, church, heritage center, University or a school that is the hub of all-things-Irish. In Minnesota it is IRISH ON GRAND owned by Maeve and Liam from Cork. This weekend they are celebrating their 25th Anniversary as our informal Irish Ambassadors.
It’s the kind of place you can ring up for a person’s phone number or select a wedding ring. Maeve and Liam instinctively know if you are in and out for tea, lemon curd, digestives, Bisto, Kerry Butter and Birds custard powder or are you going going to mull over for an hour whether you should spring for the flat of turf or a DVD for a Christmas present. My mother (from Belfast) was once called to remind her that the Cadbury creme eggs for Easter were running low. Last year I entered IRISH ON GRAND intending to buy a farewell gift to a friend who was moving to San Francisco. I fetched only a $10 bill from my pocket. Maeve figured out that we could get her a key ring with her family crest on it and packaged it up in such a way that it looked like a wedding gift. During our fierce Minnesota winters I have several times called my order in en route as snow and ice and traffic was holding me up. The light is always on and my selections waiting at the till.
Irish Ambassador Ann Anderson drops in for a chat
Irish Ambassador Ann Anderson visited on her whirlwind tour late summer. Maybe she too was looking for a bit of gossip – which is always free.
Great Craic all day
It was a real party atmosphere all day. There was a big tent out back and dance floor. There were dancers and musicians and a ceili at the end of the day. I made several attempts to leave but I kept running into someone I had ‘not seen in ages.’ Business was brisk. As I waited in line to pay for my Smarites I only hoped continued success for Maeve and Liam for another 25 years.