Three American girls have been let loose in Ireland to explore the country and discover their Irish roots. It’s all part of the Gaelic Girls project being set up Sandy Sheerin.
Where it all began. . .
In 1987, when Sandy Sheerin and her three sisters were young girls they emigrated to the small town of Pleasant Mount, Pennsylvania with their mother Annette.
After spending many years growing up there, Sandy decided to head back to Ireland in search of the country she had left behind as a child and to re-discover it as a grown woman.
Intending to spend only one year there, she has remained there for over ten years now, while her sisters have made the U.S. their home.
Growing up in Irish American community
Growing up in a predominantly Irish American community had a strong impact on Sandy and her sisters; while they were first generation Irish immigrants, their school friends and neighbors were second and third generation Irish Americans who loved Ireland and all things Irish.
Auld Sod and the Emerald Isle
It was quite difficult for the Sheerin girls to understand their new community’s love of Ireland, when most of them had never even been to the ‘Auld Sod’ or ‘Emerald Isle’ as they insisted on calling it, nor would most of them ever cross the pond to see it.
Immersed in this new culture, Sandy and her sisters quickly became known as ‘The Gaelic Girls’ within their small town and drawing on this experience of where they grew up, Sandy created the brand ‘Gaelic Girls’ for the Irish American community.
Her first port of call with the ‘Gaelic Girls’ was to invite three Irish American girls over to experience Ireland for the first time ever and write as much as they could about it.
Uncovering the culture, romance and fun in Ireland
During the summer of 2011, these girls have been exploring and uncovering the ‘Cultural, Romantic and Fun’ aspects of the island while sharing their online memoirs in the ‘Gaelic Girl Diaries’. Each girl is taking an interesting and unique approach in their search of these areas of Ireland, similar to Sandy and her sisters’ experience.
The first girl is our ‘Cultured Cailin’ who looks at the history, heritage and culture of the island, the next one, the ‘Romantic Girl’ is immersing herself in the mythical, magical and mystical parts here, while the ‘Happy Heart’ adores the lively and traditional song, music and dance that Ireland has to offer.
When the ‘Gaelic Girl Diaries’ are completed, Sandy plans on launching a competition with the chance to ‘Be one of the Gaelic Girls’ by re-tracing their steps with a filmed piece about their time in Ireland during their stay.
With the eventual set-up of ‘Gaelic Girl Tours’, she is looking to entice women everywhere to bring their mother, sister, daughter, aunt, best friend, cousin and…
‘Come and Find Your Inner Gaelic Girl in Ireland’.
Over the next three days, we’ll publish an article by three different girls on the project – the Cultured Cailin, Romantic Girl and the Happy Heart.
