The Best Gifts from Ireland: 14 Unique Ireland Souvenirs

Are you traveling to Ireland soon and looking for the best Irish souvenirs to bring home to your family members and friends? Whether it’s for an anniversary gift, a birthday gift, or for yourself to remember your trip, there are plenty of unique Irish gifts to bring home. Make sure to leave some space in your suitcase for the best gifts from Ireland!

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Ireland travel resources

• Book your flight to Ireland with Skyscanner
• Get reliable travel insurance with World Nomads
• Find awesome accommodation with booking.com or Hostelworld
• Check out this awesome Galway Food Tour
• Must haves for your trip to Ireland: my favorite waterproof booties, this power bank to stay connected, and a reusable water bottle

Where to Get the Best Irish Gift

Carroll’s Irish Gifts

Most cities and towns you visit will have souvenir shops. Carroll’s Irish Gifts is a large chain souvenir shop you’ll find throughout Ireland. These will carry traditional Irish gifts like Irish flat caps, Aran jumpers, trinkets made out of Connemara marble, and more. 

Local Shops

In most towns, there will be local shops that feature local artists who make high quality souvenirs, like Irish pottery and artwork. In Dublin, there are local shops, like Scout, that are a great place to find unique gifts.

Dublin Airport

Interested in bringing home traditional Irish whiskey? I’d recommend saving that purchase for the Duty-Free shops in the Dublin airport on your way home. They carry all of the popular brands of Irish whiskey as well as local Irish alcohol brands. 

The Best Gifts from Ireland

For Her: The Claddagh Ring

The Claddagh is a traditional Irish ring that represents love, loyalty, and friendship. Whether she’s your bestie or your future wifey, a piece of Claddagh jewelry is a lovely Irish gift. The Claddagh ring is usually given as an engagement ring, but it doesn’t have to be that serious. I found a charming Claddagh necklace for my best friend and I bought myself a ring! 

If you can, the best place to get the Claddagh ring is from the original Claddagh jeweler, Thomas Dillon, in Galway City. Their small shop has a number of Claddagh options ranging in price, in addition to other Irish jewelry. 
If you can’t make it to Galway, you can shop their online store.

For the Knitter: Aran Yarn

This gift comes with an assembly required disclaimer but is the perfect gift for the crafty knitter in your life. My Mom loves to knit so everywhere I go that has a history of wool such as Alpaca in Peru, she gets a few balls of yarn. Ireland is famous for its Aran wool made from sheep on the Aran Islands. They sell it in any shop that also sells Aran sweaters and it comes in a variety of colors. 

If you don’t happen to be doing your shopping in Ireland, you can find Aran wool online at the Aran Sweater Market.

For the Musician: An Irish Instrument

Music is the heart beat of Ireland. You’ll hear it sung by buskers on the streets of Galway. You’ll hear beautiful traditional music in Doolin’s pubs. And your tour guide will share with you his favorite songs. What better gift for the Irish music lover than an Irish musical instrument? They don’t even necessarily have to be musically inclined, they’ll love the thought behind this gift. 

Two great options are the tin whistle or the Bodhran (a drum). You can find these in many places on the internet, including Amazon, which is quite convenient. 

If you don’t think musical instruments will excite your Irish music aficionado, perhaps go with music by Dubhlinn. Dubhlinn is a band formed by three of the best Irish musicians I’ve heard (live in a Doolin pub). 
You can purchase their CD on their website.

For the Traveler: A Map of Ireland

One of my favorite unique Irish gifts is a map of Ireland. You could choose a map of her favorite Irish city that she can hang in her home that will remind her of all of her past adventures there and stoke the fire for future trips. 

There are so many types of maps that you can find to suit the  style of your friend. You could go the historical route, the graphic route, or I’ve even seen interesting raised wood maps. You could get a map of the entire country or find one of her favorite Irish cities. 
The best way to find these is on Etsy or Amazon where you’ll find a wide variety of maps. The majority center around Dublin, but if there’s a city you want the creator may be willing to make it for you. I’m personally a huge fan of the watercolor varieties.

For the Chef: An Irish Cookbook

If music is the heartbeat of Ireland, then their food is the soul. Traditionally, it’s hearty and grounding. It warms from the inside out. But it can be a bit tricky to cook, and cook well. So for the budding Irish chef in your life, give the gift of food! Yes, another “some assembly required” type gift which is honestly awesome. 
There are a number of Irish cookbooks out there, from books all about how to bake Irish brown bread to pub food, so you can find one to suit the chef (or baker) in your life. My sister-in-law loves to bake, so she’s getting an Irish bread baking book.

For the Photographer: Irish Photography Book

Ireland’s lush rural landscapes, sweeping coastal views, and charming towns are a photographer’s dream. To inspire your photographer friend, perhaps a book filled with stunning Ireland photos will do the trick? 
Giles Norman is a photographer based out of Kinsale. His gorgeous black and white artwork is showcased in his Kinsale studio, but you can bring it to your friend’s home with a book filled with his best work.

For the Homebody: An Aran Wool Blanket

We all know Ireland isn’t known for its warm climate. That means they know how to cozy up indoors when the weather is shite! And the best way to do that is with a warm Aran wool blanket. 

Throwing an Aran Wool blanket over me and hunkering down with a hot tea is a great way to spend a rainy day, no matter where you find yourself in the world.

Avoca makes beautiful wool blankets in a variety of styles, colors, and sizes. You’ll find Avoca shops throughout Ireland both as stand alone and in many visitor centers.

For the Family: A Framed Family Crest

Does your friend have dreams of traveling to Ireland to track down her Irish heritage? Give them a little headstart with a family heritage keepsake. 

Online at the Irish Store you can type in her surname and they will print the crest and the heritage of her surname. They have over 200 names available and if they don’t have theirs specifically, perhaps they have their grandparents’?

For the Spiritual One: An Irish Blessing

You know that one person in your life who always seems to know the quote from the movie or is always quick with a funny retort. Honor their gift of words with an Irish saying print. You could keep it classic with the traditional Irish Blessing or have a funny Irish saying printed and framed. 

A great shop for this in Dublin is Design Lane near Temple Bar.

Alternatively, you can find incredibly creative ones on Etsy by searching Irish blessing.

For the Reader: A Book

If music is the heartbeat, food is the soul, then words would be…. Ireland’s breath? I like that, let’s go with that. Ireland has a massive literary history that continues today. Gift the avid reader in your life with a classic book by a Irish authors like Oscar Wilde, James Joyce, or Samuel Beckett.

Alternatively, gift a more contemporary book like, the Aisling book, or one of my favorites, P.S. I Love You. I hate to say this but I wholeheartedly believe that P.S. I Love You is better as a book than a movie.

For the Entertainer: Waterford Crystal

Since 1783, Waterford Crystal, named after the town where it was founded, has been producing hand crafted luxury crystal. The Penrose brothers, who created Waterford crystal, had a vision to “create the finest quality crystal for drinking vessels and objects of beauty for the home”. Despite hardships and even two decades of shutdown, this legacy has endured. Your favorite host or hostess’ bar cart would have a seriously classy upgrade with this drinkware

You can shop Waterford crystal in the town of Waterford, Blarney Woollen Mills in Cork and Bunratty, and online.

For the Tea Drinker: Barry’s Tea

Nothing hits like a pot of Barry’s tea with a bit of milk first thing in the morning while you’re looking out over the lush green landscape preparing for your day. Bring a bit of that joy back home with you with a box of Barry’s Irish Tea. I’ve also started noticing it pop up in grocery stores in California, so in case you don’t have the space, you may be able to get it at home.

For the Choc-aholic: Local Irish Chocolates

Somewhat surprisingly, Ireland has been crafting delicious chocolate treats for years!

If you’re visiting Doolin, which you most definitely should be, stop by the Doolin Chocolate shop to sample locally made Wilde chocolates. Made daily, in their chocolate factory in County Clare, Wilde Irish chocolates offers 80 different varieties of chocolate bars, spreads and more! You can also find them in the Cliffs of Moher visitor center.

Another Irish chocolate company to check out is Butler’s. You can find their shops in Galway city center, Dublin, Limerick and beyond! I love popping into the Butler’s cafes for a hot chocolate and a sample whenever I pass by, especially on a dreary day. It’s definitely a mood booster.

Bring either of these two excellent chocolate brands home with you! They make a great stocking stuffer.

For the Whiskey Connoisseur: Irish Whiskey

Would this be an Irish gifts list without including Irish whiskey? I don’t think so! Throughout your Ireland trip, you likely sampled more than Jameson whiskey. Take a photo of the bottle that warmed you nicely and purchase it at the duty free in the airport to share with your friends back home.

That will surely bring back fond memories of tasting the whiskey for the first time in a cozy Irish pub surrounded by new Irish friends!

The beauty of these Irish gifts is that they’re good for any time of year, whether it’s the holiday season, a birthday, or a “just because” gift. What am I missing that I should add to this list? What is one of your favorite Irish gifts or souvenirs you’ve brought home for friends and family?

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