‘Céad Míle Fáilte’: Famed Irish welcome lives up to its promise

Mumbai-based travel writer Kiran Mehta offers her perspective on Ireland's reputation as the 'land of a thousand welcomes'

Entrance to the Irish Whiskey Museum on Grafton Street, Dublin. The Irish language phrase ‘Céad Míle Fáilte’ translates as 'one hundred thousand welcomes’ in English.

I was in the Middle East when I first read the words, ‘Céad Míle Fáilte’ embossed on a tall, white ceramic cup. I am an Indian citizen, but I grew up in Kuwait in the 1980s. 

Kiran Mehta, travel writer, based in Mumbai, India.