Our favourite love quotes from Ireland and beyond

If you're attending a winter wedding in 2019, you might be on the lookout for a unique Irish wedding gift. To create something truly personal, choose a quote you think the couple will love, and have it engraved on a piece of ancient Irish bog wood or framed in slate.

Not sure what quote would work? Don't worry, we've selected some of our favourites for you. From Joyce and Wilde to Audrey Hepburn and Aristotle, love is eternal and so are these unforgettable words.

1. "They lived and laughed and loved and left." - James Joyce

2. "Women are made to be loved - not understood." - Oscar Wilde

3. "Love will heal what language fails to know" - Eavan Boland

 4. "The thing about love is that we come alive in bodies not our own." - Colum McCann

5. "Love is friendship that has caught fire" - Ann Landers"

6. “Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.” - Lao Tzu

7. “Love is a game that two can play and both win.” - Eva Gabor

8. “The best thing to hold onto in life is each other.” - Audrey Hepburn

9. “Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.” - Aristotle

10. “To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides.” - David Viscott

11. “Love’s greatest gift is its ability to make everything it touches sacred.” - Barbara de Angelis

12. “Love isn’t something you find. Love is something that finds you.” - Loretta Young

If you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to get in touch. You can call us on +353 65 6845082, WhatsApp +353 87 2555391 or send us a message on Facebook. 

You can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram for gifting tips, inspiration, offers and giveaways.

Meaningful giving | How to shop sustainably for Christmas 2019

As we enter the Christmas period every year, we witness hypercapitalism at its finest; we're pummelled with ads online, on billboards and on the television urging us to buy, buy, buy. But this year, we're also seeing a different message gain ground: give meaningfully and sustainably.

In 2019, we have seen a remarkable rise in people - especially younger people - engaging in activism around climate change, and sustainability issues. There's a backlash against throwaway culture, and a renewed focus on spending money on quality items that last. How many of the gifts you got last Christmas are you still using and enjoying today? 

Many of us want to move away from the commercialisation of the holiday that has taken over in recent times. For most, Christmas is about taking that time to reconnect with family and friends, away from the stress of work. It makes sense that our gift choices are becoming more about reinforcing these values.

If these issues are on your mind as you make your Christmas lists, here are some tips for giving meaningfully this Christmas.

Make it personal

These days, most of us have everything we need to get by - so gift giving is about creating joy - and the best way to to that is to make it personal. There are many ways to personalise a gift to make it truly unique. Our selection of gifts are often engraved with an important date, like that of a wedding or a birth; a favourite proverb, lyric or quote; or your family's crest and motto.

Buy Irish to reduce the airmiles!

When you buy from a local Irish company, you know that the carbon footprint is low. Cheaper gifts from China could take a massive toll on the environment by comparison. Our gifts are laser engraved and dispatched from Co. Clare. As well as that, you're supporting the Irish economy.

Support small businesses

Speaking of supporting the Irish economy, supporting small businesses like Irish Gift Solutions is also an easy way to give more meaningfully. Small businesses support their local economies, encourage entrepreneurship and local employment, and they offer great customer service. You're dealing with real people like you, not a big corporate entity, and that matters. Small businesses also offer items that are more distinctive and have more character than you'll find on the high street.   

Choose locally-sourced materials

We put lots of time into finding the right materials for your gifts. All of our products are made from sustainably-sourced materials, including aged Irish bog wood and slate. We're careful not to over-use our valuable local resources or disrupt the environment.

Make it last

As we hinted at above, most of us have probbaly already forgotten about, broken, or lost the presents we got last Christmas. If you're thinking about giving more sustainably this year, choose gifts that are designed to last for a lifetime like all our pieces are. A gift that sits on the mantelpiece or hangs in the hall can give a little bit of joy every day.

Connect with culture

Our final note on gift giving in 2019 is to connect with your culture and what you're passionate about. If you're buying for a sports lover, a miniature hurley might be ideal, or an Irish history buff might love a secret message in Ogham. Talk to us about how to personalise your 2019 Christmas gifts for someone you love.

As a small business, we pride ourselves on our customer care. If you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to get in touch. You can call us on +353 65 6845082, WhatsApp +353 87 2555391 or send us a message on Facebook. 

You can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram for gifting tips, inspiration, offers and giveaways.

5 fascinating facts about Irish family crests and coats of arms

Here at Irish Gift Solutions, we're big fans of using family crests to personalise our gifts. Whether it's for a wedding gift, an anniversary, or even the arrival of a new little one into the family, two family crests sitting side by side are a visual reminder of two families becoming one.

But what is the background to an Irish Coat of Arms?

The 1707 version of the Irish Coat of Arms, with the British symbols and motto "God and my right". Today, the Coat of Arms is simply the harp on the azure blue backdrop.

• The history of our Coats of Arms, crests and emblems has been documented since 1552. Today, it is the responsibility of the Genealogy and Heraldry Division of the National Library of Ireland. They say: "By the 12th century, personal badges were widely used by the nobility, and a century later, arms could be inherited. This meant that they had to be officially recorded and their display controlled. Specialists, known as officers at arms or heralds, were employed to record these coats of arms in rolls of arms (armorials)". 

• Irish Coats of Arms were worn on the armour, shields, robes and flags of ancient Irish families. They consist of a decorated shield and a motto in either Irish or Latin. Both the visuals and the motto were deeply symbolic, representing what mattered most to the families. The Byrne family motto in Latin reads "Certava et Vici", which  means "I have fought and I have conquered", while the O'Sullivan motto as gaeilge reads "Lamh foistenach abu" which means "A steady hand to victory".

• Even the colours chosen in the design are rich with meaning, for example red represents martyrs, blue signifies loyalty and truth, gold represents generosity, and white represents peace, 

• The 10 most common Irish names for heraldic coats of arms are Murphy, Kelly, Byrne, Ryan. O'Brien, Walsh, O'Sullivan, O' Connor, Doyle and McCarthy. Almost all of us will have friends or family bearing these surnames, which have survived and thrived through the years; they represent old and often prestigious Irish families.

• It's not just families that have heraldic coats of arms - places have them too. Ireland's emblem is a golden harp on a deep blue background, while Leinster's is very similar but on a dark green backdrop. Connacht has a Coat of Arms believed to derive from a 14th century monastery in Germany. Munster's regal crowns are believed to derive from a previous lordship, while in Ulster the Coat of Arms comes from the combined family crests of the de Burghs, Earls of Ulster, and the O'Neills.

The history of medieval Irish Coats of Arms is extensive, there is one for each county in Ireland and for most traditional Irish surnames - this is a very basic introduction to a topic that's deeply connected to Irish heritage.

We're always happy to help you to find the right crest or Coat of Arms to bring your one-of-a-kind gift to life, and we'll help you choose an Irish proverb or blessing if you'd like to include that too.

Don't forget to follow us on Facebook and Instagram for our latest news, offers and competitions!

Announcing our November competition winner!

During the first week of November, we ran a fabulous competition on Facebook and Instagram. We kept it simple, with participants needing to like and share a post for the chance to win a voucher worth €150 to spend on our site.

We know that in the run-up to Christmas, you're on the lookout for beautiful, unique Irish gifts, so we ran the contest to give you the opportunity to check out our gifts for newborns, weddings and anniversaries, and new homes. 

Our gifts are made here in Ireland using locally-sourced materials. Irish Gift Solutions is a family business in Co. Clare. We appreciate every order, and we put a lot of thought into making every gift perfect.

Our winner on this occasion is Michelle Barrett from Killarney. When we contacted Michelle to let her know she was our winner, she was delighted. Michelle said: "Omg, thank you so much. This is so exciting!! I cant wait to pick out an item from ur site - I love all your gifts and yer fantastic to deal with so I really look forward to spending my prize. Thanks so much xxx"

Keep an eye out for our next competition which will be coming up in the New Year!