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We've had fun bringing you a selection of the most clickworthy Irish Web sites. Thanks to all who've sent us their suggestions! If your favourite (or least favourite) site hasn't appeared in the Picks, let us know. Send an email with the site's name and address and we'll give it a look. Click here if you only want to view this month's list of sites.
You can't order securely online with a credit card, but Honeyfitz has an intriguing selection of Irish merchandise to choose from. Browse through the glassware, original Irish greeting cards, gourmet hampers, paintings, Christmas decorations and much more. You can pay by Western Union cash transfer (they'll even email you with details of the closest office to you), or with a credit card by fax or phone. We really liked the hand-spun quality of the site; there's a genuine sense that these are unique gifts created by unique Irish craftspeople.
Loyal browsers of Irish Web sites will remember Charlotte's Quay, a serialised online soap opera based in Limerick City. Well, CQ creator Fergal Sherlock is back with Liffey Reflective, a new Internet serial drama, featuring Rick, a rent boy looking for a better life. One evening Rick sees something in the Liffey tide. Can he trust his eyes? Was it really a woman's body? Tune in for subsequent chapters to find out. There's no dialogue here, as with the CQ series, but Sherlock's writing is engaging enough to keep readers coming back for more.
Paul and Jeanne Rankin, the tense on-air cooking duo, are online with a pleasing presence at Gourmet Ireland. There's a small but quality selection of recipes posted here, from peppered escalope of salmon to sticky cinnamon buns, and you can also peruse the secured online store for hampers galore (watch for cookbooks to be added next year). It's all pleasant enough, with plenty of Flash animation and a clever application of RealVideo. Use the TV Gourmet Ireland Remote to choose a segment you'd like to watch, and a clip from the show appears inside a "television" picture frame, not in a separate RealVideo window. Neat! Pity they can't edit out grumpy Paul Rankin himself.
One of Ireland's most venerable institutions, the Irish Countrywomen's Association, has catapulted into the 1990s with a solid new Web site. First founded to let local women talk about home economics, farm management, handcrafts and the arts, the association has broadened over the years; on the site you'll find information on everything from early detection of breast cancer to family counselling. But its traditional roots aren't forgotten; tune in and you'll still find news of upcoming cake baking competitions, plus the recent sewing exhibition in Dublin.
For a truly frank discussion of women's health, check out the fabulous new site for the Eastern Health Board. In its Public Information Bank section you'll find on-line pamphlets on various aspects of women's health, from menstruation to contraception, breast-feeding to antenatal care. There is also a great selection of general health information guides, including hepatitis, AIDS, ecstasy, E coli and much more. You can also get contact details and facilities information for various Dublin-area hospitals, plus the low-down on supplementary social welfare and services for people with disabilities. This is truly one of the most impressive Irish sites we've seen in recent times; don't miss it!