Hi! Stuart here.
My family (Mum, Dad, Grandparents, Great Grandparents, Great Great Grandparents and on....) are from Donegal in the rugged and remote north-west of Ireland. Like many Irish people, my Mum and Dad left Ireland (in the mid 1950's) due to the lack of work and resources for everyone there at the time.
With the Irish disposition for travel they left home and shortly after settled in the town of Fflint (not a typo, that's just the Welsh spelling!) North Wales. Some of their brothers and sisters settled there too. Growing up surrounded by Irish ex-pats I had a mixed upbringing of being born in Wales but from a 100% Irish family and background.
I feel very lucky to be a part of two great Celtic nations.
From Ireland to you.
Looking for adventure and fortune I came to the United States in 1989 and have been here ever since. While I'm still looking for my fortune I did find adventure and love. I met my wife, Meredith, at a Hothouse Flowers concert in Philadelphia and in 1993 we moved back to her home state of Michigan to raise our family. We now have two grown children, Liam and Áine.
In 1999 we started our business Real Irish (called Out of Ireland at the time), importing unique and well-made Irish goods to sell at festivals at a time when most items being sold were rather lacking. In 2004 we started selling online, now able to bring our varied collection of Irish goods to an even larger audience.
Ann Arbor & beyond!
We've grown a lot since 1999, and 2014 saw us open our first storefront in Ann Arbor, Michigan. We have since moved locations in Ann Arbor to the downtown shopping area in the Fall of 2018 and love it here.
In the last half-decade we've also seen a lot of online growth! We are now proud to be one of the largest importers of authentic Irish products in North America.
What does the future hold for Real Irish? With a shamrock in hand, and the amazing community we are a part of - we are ready to take on any challenge.
Won't you join us on this journey?
