In The Name Of The Mother

Do it!

ep, it’s that time of year once again when we each have to say a very, very, very big thank you to the woman who gave us free womb and board all those years ago.

Of course, most people feel it should be Mother’s Day every day – especially if you are an actual mother –  but, until that particular referendum gets underway, we’ll just have to settle with this annual March Sunday love-in.

Which, as you no doubt already know, is next Sunday, March 19th.

So, time to get your thinking cap on, and your communion money out, so you can be sure you have something special lined up for that someone very, very special in your life. That special someone who, you know, went through nine months of hell and a brightly-lit exorcist for you to exist.

And it’s hard to go wrong with the glory that is The Gift Voucher. If your mum has a favourite shop, restaurant or hang-out around here, a gift voucher comes with the extra-added bonus of you not having chosen the wrong size, colour, smell, shape, etc… 

For 2023, there are two fine March specials at Up To My Eyes on Theatre Lane will please mum – namely, their 3-for-2 Environ Facials and a free Eyebrow Shape & Tint with every extension or perm. Nice. Details right here, Up To My Eyes website right here.

It’s a big day for memories, of course, which makes Sheena Griffin’s Mother’s Day photo shoot special on the grounds of Belmont Demesne pretty much the perfect way to celebrate. Happening on March 25th only, the session is over half-price, at just €150, and you can find out more here.

And there’s always the gift of music. Eurovision winner Paul Harrington is bringing his popular radio feature The Lyric’s The Thing to The Whale on Sunday 19th at 6pm – interview here, tickets here – whilst also taking a stroll down the middle of the road is the mildly legendary Full Circle, rockin’ de Hot Spot at 5pm, details here.

Catriona and co are having their spring sale down at Creative Hands. Free collection at their Charlesland salon or they deliver nationwide. Their gorgeous wellness sets and candles are half price while stocks last. Discounts will be shown at checkout. Perfect for Mothers Day. Or, of course, a Me Day.

At Revive on Church Road, they have a Mother’s Day special where you and your beloved can enjoy a 1hr Recovery package (hot tub, ice bath, sauna, compression boots) along with a 30min massage for just €51. That’s 15% off, baby! Available on March 18th and 19th, use promo code Mum23 right here.

At Fiona Roche Pharmacy, they’ve got a free L’Occitane Comforting Shea Gift with every spend of €40 or more on the fancy-pants French label. The gift set includes Shea Milk Gentle Soap, Shea Rich body Lotion 75ml, Shea Intensive Hand Balm 10ml and Shea Mini Foot Cream 10ml. More details on Rochey here.

Over at Glen Of The Downs’ Outdoor Living, they’ve got two Mother’s Day specials on the go – the luxurious Durance gift set is reduced from €64.95 to €49.95, whilst camelias are reduced from €24.95 each to 2 for €40. You can check out Outdoor Living here, check out their weekend sale here, or just move on up, right here.

At The Source Bulk Foods in Meridian Point, they they will be offering 2 ready-made Mother’s Day hampers – one for less than €20 and another for less than €50. Depending on how much you love your mum. For St Patrick’s, all Irish made products will be 10% off – these include artisan mulled flours from Monaghan, handmade soaps from Co. Clare, handmade delicious Skelligs chocolates from Co. Kerry, Lilly’s Eco Clean from Castletownbere and many more.

For those who like to go Full Sweeney’s Chipper every now and then, for Sunday only, if you’re one of the first 6 orders of €50 or more, the gang will throw in a free bottle of Prosecco! How’s that for some fine fizz & chips!

You can go further down the naughty treat route, courtesy of the mighty Sweet Boutique, O’Brien’s Wines or our sworn-at enemy, La Touche Wines – or skip straight to dessert, courtesy of Gino’s Gelato.

Or maybe you’ve got yourself a reader for a mum – both The Village Bookshop and Halfway Up The Stairs will have the great escape just right for them.

For the more caring, planet-sharing mum there’s always AnniePooh’s wide range of Mother’s Day goodies, whilst Nature’s Gold will no doubt get her mellowed mojo back up and running.

For Mother’s Day, Ethos Wellness & Beauty have 20% off all products and gifts until March 20th – you just need to use our exclusive code GG20 at checkout. More details here.

There’s also the option of having your fine Mother’s Day slap-up meal. Who wouldn’t love a fine nosebag from one of our very, very fine eateries? From The Hungry Monk, Las Tapas and Chakra to Camile and Buoys Kitchen, from Daata  to the award-winning Bellevue and the jolly Joker’s, there’s something for every pocket, and every belly. Full list here, and go vote for your favourite here.

And for the mother who likes to tidy herself up every now and then, sure, if it ain’t selling coffee around here, chances are, you’ve walked into a beauty HQ or one sort or another. You can grab vouchers from pretty much all of them, from Up To My Eyes to Trish Gallagher, and the many, many others in-between.

And momma can dress like the queen that she is with a voucher from Escape, One Dame Lane, Pretty Woman, Nicali, Azur or the rest of the glamour gang.

On the gift front, Lorient have a whole range of groovy Mother’s Day gifts for a pittance and a half, and plenty of beautiful ones for a little bit more too.

And if your mum happens to be a bit of a culture vulture, what could be sweeter than a gift voucher to The Whale, giving the old dear a night out to really look forward to? Which is what it’s all about during this fecker lockdown.

And if your mum’s a bit of a hippy, there’s also The Hot Spot, whilst The Happy Pear has everything to make the woman of the house feel healthy, hearty and mildly horny.

Also on the gift front in Greystones, there’s plenty to choose from too, Greystones boasting a fine selection of jewellery, fashion and damn fancy goods. And pretty much all of them are online, of course.

For the former, it’s hard to beat AMOC, who deliver unique, hand-crafted pieces right before your eyes – and for the day that’s in it, Martina and co have created a Mother & Child pendant. Made in silver, 9ct yellow, white and rose gold, and 18ct yellow and white gold, the large heart symbolises the mother and the small hearts symbolise the offspring. Available with or without a diamond.

There’s also the Aladdin’s Cave that is Eternity Jewellers, providing Greystonians with something unique and beautiful. Just like your ma.

And if you’re looking for original pieces of art, down at The Boat Yard Gallery you’ll find a plethora of local crafts in the main gallery. And you’ll find a plethora of Mother’s Day goodies on the main website here.

When it comes to fancy goods, three shops tend to rule the roost around here, the award-winning Brooke & Shoals being the original of the species. Here’s the lowdown…

Mother’s Day is just around the corner, and it’s the ideal time to spoil your mum or the mother of your children. But not everyone is lucky enough to have a Mother actively in their life. But often there are special people who have a mothering nurturing influence on us and these wonder people deserve to be celebrated too.

If there is that special someone in your life, then Brooke & Shoals Gift Shop on Church Road, beside the DART station is your go-to destination for gorgeous jewellery, stunning scarves, beautiful bags and of course their award-winning collection of scented candles, home fragrance diffusers and organic body products. They will have a special range of Mothers Day Gift Bundles to suit every budget. All gift wrapped and ribboned and ready to go!!

There’s also the mighty Lorient Gift Shop, which we listed above. But, in truth, we should have waited until we got here. M’eh.

Just up around the corner, Concepts full-to-bursting with gift ideas. Everything from scarves to jewellery, from ornaments to framed original prints, there’s something for even the most finicky of mums here.

At White Willow in Delgany, Erica has lined up some fine ways to celebrate the old dear by making her feel brand new again. There’s a 30-min Luxurious Massage Treatment including upgrade surprise (€110 for 2 people, or €59 pp), or a 60-min Luxurious Massage Treatment including upgrade surprise (€160 for 2 people, or €85 pp). Open Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9.30am to 7.30pm. these White Willow goodies are available from March 21st to April 4th – book on 0858584484 or [email protected].

At The Source Bulk Foods, they have a plethora of Mother’s Day gift ideas that won’t cost the earth – and you can check ’em all out here.

At Pretty Woman, the new Spring-Summer fashions have just arrived, including some very funky shoes. There’s also accessories aplenty for the one true love of your life, including handmade jewellery from Nilai in Paris. 

At Sweet Boutique, they have a wide selection of goodies for the day, available instore or for online right here. Biggies include their Mother’s Day Gift Box (€12.95), Mother’s Day Gift Bag (€15.50) and their Best Mum In The World Hamper (filled with a great selection of retro sweets and delicious chocolates: €20).

Over at Chakra, they’ll be welcoming all the beautiful mothers – and the not-so-beautiful, they assure us – with, well, the best world cuisine in the county. Sweet.

At Eskimo, their Mother’s Day special on Sunday gets your a free double-layered brownie with every large pizza. Because she’s worth it. Order here.

For the tree-hugging mums out there, AnniePooh have made-to-order, plastic-free Pamper Hampers on offer, filled with beautiful Irish products in gorgeous gift boxes. Who could ask for anything more? Well, a mother, of course, but she’ll still be chuffed. Further info here.

At the Horse & Hound, they tend to book out for early  when it comes Mother’s Day brunch, lunch and dinner. So, get it together. Now. Details here.

Taragh at Divine Foodie has created a whole new range of Mother’s Day collections, should you want to gift the woman of the house with healthy, hearty and decidedly yummy food. You can check ’em out here.

And if you’re keen to share with your mum that sweet smell of success, Greystones has you covered, with both Glow Bottle and LaLuna handmaking candles to die for, whilst Be Kind are on a roll with their Love, Presence or Space range coming with a 10% discount for online orders. Just use the code passitfoward at checkout.

At Daly’s SuperValu, they know what really counts on Mother’s Day. Gin! Chocolates! Wine! Chocolates! Loads of special offer goodies right here.

Last year, Donnybrook Fair pulled out quite a few stops for the big day too, with a Mother’s Day Confectionary Hamper (a beautifully presented wicker basket full of chocolatey treats and nibbles: €95) and an Easter Sunday Feast (a 6-course meal contains everything you need to enjoy an Easter feast, from Canapés to the highest quality Irish meats and fresh veg to petit fours; €215). Not sure about this year, as the eejits never get in touch of late. So, go check here.

Or maybe you could have a whip-round and get the old boiler a brand new boiler…? Or give her home some DIY TLC from an expert? That jacuzzi won’t install itself, you know.

And if you still haven’t found what you’re looking for, we have a fairly full-ish A-Z of all the Greystones shops, hairdressers, beauty shops, sausage parlours and eateries here, whilst for something certifiably unique, check out our local artists here. Bloom!

So, get that declaration of love and life-long adoration sorted now. Otherwise, your life is going to be a living hell. For at least 12 months.