This weekend, the Irish Rose will be part of Lexington’s St. Patrick’s Day celebration, but its Irish influence doesn't end there. The specialty store stocks items from the Emerald Isle all year long, including tea from Dublin’s Bewley's Café.
Store owner, Terry Nolan, reached via email Thursday night, is in Ireland this week and will be part of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Dublin. She is mixing business with pleasure this trip. While celebrating the Irish holiday, she is also setting up a group tour to organize 25 to 50 people to take part in the Dublin parade next March. Aside from selling Irish merchandise, Nolan also organizes travel tours to various Ireland destinations.
Nolan has been in the retail business for 15 years, starting out in Port Huron and then relocating to Lexington. Visitors to the Irish Rose will find a wide assortment of Irish goods from sweaters and hats to fine china and tea. She believes she is one of the few retailers in Michigan to sell Bewley’s tea.
“I love to visit Bewley's Tea Shoppe here on Grafton Street in Dublin” says Nolan. “On my facebook page there is a picture of pastries from there. I am on the hunt for the best bakery in Dublin. So far, Bewleys is the winner.”
Nolan has a trip scheduled for next month to Southeast Ireland and another in September to Donegal and Galway. The last one for the year, in October, will be based in Killkenny for eight nights.
“[All the trips] are sold out except two spots left on the October trip,” Nolan adds.
Asked what inspired Nolan to pursue her retail and travel business, she credits her ancestors and “the beauty of the country”.
For more information about the Irish Rose, visit their facebook page: Irish Rose.
To learn more about Bewley's in Dublin, see The Detroit Tea Examiner's article, Dublin's Bewley's Grafton Street Cafe Celebrates 85th year today.
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