It's not too late to get one more festival in for the season! This is the last weekend of the Minnesota Renaissance Festival and they're winding things up with an Irish theme. The Shamrocks & Shenanigans party runs through September 27 & 28, with an Irish village, Irish food, Irish dancers and music, Guinness tastings, and a keg toss (among other disturbances of the peace). Enjoy!

Meet the Fitzpatricks

The Fitzpatrick Coat-of-Arms

If you're a Fitzpatrick, perhaps you know that 'Fitz' is a Norman-French prefix attached to a Gaelic-Irish surname. But, perhaps you didn't know that only Fitzpatricks and Fitzdermots are considered to be in that category. The other Fitzes (like Fitzgerald or Fitzgibbon) are of Hiberno-Norman descent, which is a distinct group that came over during the Norman invasion.

During the time of the Norman invasion, some Irish were given anglicised equivalents; FitzPatrick was the equivalent for  Mac Giolla Phádraig. As you might guess, Phádraig is Irish for Patrick, and this family was named for their devotion to St. Patrick. Fitzpatricks, you are descended from Irish kings! Read more about the Fitzpatrick coat-of-arms and family name here.

Ready for the game?

Football season means . . . flasks! In parts of the country where they have to shovel snow off the field before playing, it's practically a tradition.

Irish Rose is carrying a nice selection of Irish & Celtic flasks these days, including new leather wrapped versions, and gift sets. If having a wee nip on you in case of nippy weather is a tradition in your football-loving family, then drop by the online store for a browse. (They also make fantastic wedding and groomsmen gifts!)

This weekend's Irish & Celtic celebrations, from Arizona to New York

Irish festivals are going strong this weekend, from Nebraska to New York. Here's links to all the Irish and Celtic festivals from September 19-21.

• Eire Irish, Eire, PA
• Southern Illinois Irish Festival, Carbondale, IL
• Wildwood Irish Fall Festival, North Wildwood, NJ
• Appalachian Celtic Connection, Ringgold, GA
• Celtic Harvest Festival, Sedona, AZ
• Greely Irish Festival, Greely, NE
• Hudson Valley Irish Festival, Peekskill, NY

Enjoy festival season . . . while it lasts

A rare snowfall in Ireland

Fall is here. It's official. In our neck of the woods, sweater weather has already dropped in. We heard that the Farmer's Almanac is predicting bitter cold and serious snowfall this winter. We are not ready, and we're also not very excited. How about you? Got your hoodies for the season?

Just because there's a nip in the air doesn't mean festival season is over. Far from it. The festivals this weekend are in Indianapolis, Balliston Spa, Muskegon, Pawtucket, Coney Island, Gloucester, and Sea Girt. Yes, those are real cities! Here are the links:

• Indy Irish Festival, Indianapolis, IN
• Irish 2000 Festival, Balliston Spa, NY
• Michigan Irish Festival, Muskegon, MI
• James McNally Wilson Irish Festival, Pawtucket, RI
• Great Irish Festival of New York, Coney Island, NY
• Gloucester Shamrock Festival, Gloucester, NJ
• Irish Festival at the Jersey Shore, Sea Girt, NJ

Meet the Kelly coat-of-arms

The Kelly coat-of-arms

Did you know that the Irish Rose has been gathering Irish coat-of-arms history for over 25 years? We're working on getting more Irish surname information on our website. It's amazing what you can learn about your family by learning about your name.

Take the Kellys, for example. Kelly is a well-known Irish name, but as a place name, it's found in Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales. We've put together a long list of famous Kellys; take a look!

The symbols in the Kelly coat-of-arms include a crown, a tower, lions rampant, chains, and a spear. The crown symbolizes regal or senior authority. The tower represents grandeur or wealth. The lions are warrior animals and the chains they climb signify honor. The spear indicates a readiness for battle. The blue background is the color of strength and loyalty, and the silver illustrates strength and loyalty. The Kellys are an old, strong family and the 2nd largest name in Ireland.

East Coast has all the Irish festivals this weekend

School is in session, summer is over. I don't know about you, but we're not excited about letting go of the season, especially after last year's long, hard winter.

Irish festivals to the east

But, from the looks of it, the Irish and Celtic festivals are just getting started.

So many September festivals! A lot of them are on the East Coast, September 5, 6 and 7th. Here's what's going on this weekend:

• Pittsburgh Irish Festival (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
• Mercer Irish Fest (West Windsor, New Jersey)
• Rochester Irish Fest (Rochester, New York)
• Ship Bottom Irish Festival (Ship Bottom, New Jersey)
• South Buffalo Irish Feis (South Buffalo, New York)
• Syracuse Irish Festival (Syracuse, New York)
• Will County Irish Fest (Joliet, Illinois)