ireland seemed like the perfect place to enjoy a good steam yet ancient or medieval public bathing culture never happen here. why did the Irish never embrace the sauna

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  7. I went to the Turkish baths in Budapest and after a good steam, soak, ice bath and scented mist shower??? There was a cafe and it had cold beers. We probably would never have beer anywhere near something like that if we did something similar.. but I’ve never felt like the finest, hand sapped, artisan rubber than after that.

  11. I believe we did, in school your told Fulacht fiadhs we’re used for boiling large cuts of meat for feasts etc but I don’t believe that. Why would you boil meat in what must have been a muddy pit, cooked over a fire is much tastier anyway. I think they probably had a tent like shelter over them and were used as hot baths.

  14. Almost total deforestation – no charcoal. Vast majority relying on low heat, smokey turf or imported coal. But mostly overwhelming poverty and a hand-to-mouth existence.

  15. The Hot Box in Bective Co Meath is a great experience. Enjoy a sauna and then jump into the refreshing waters of the Boyne. Enjoy a glass of prosecco while you’re at it!

  16. >Leitrim, a whisper-quiet, picturesque county in Ireland’s north-west characterised by sprawling farms, petite towns and the kind of intensely green, hilly landscape that’s inspired countless Irish poems.

    *Wells up with pride*

  19. Google ‘ancient Irish steam room’ and you’ll find old ruins of them dotted around Ireland, they were quite popular I think. They were small structures that allowed you to sit inside a room where the steam circled around a fire that’s boiling water

  22. I’m thinking about setting up some sort of simple sweat hut in my back yard as a project come autumn. So far, I only have the rocks + firewood, but figured I’d knock down a few trees once the birds are done nesting and use those as material for a frame.

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