If you’re looking for a gift with an Irish lilt, make sure to stop by Celtic Aer in Mohegan Lake.
The shop was opened eight years ago by Ashley Rooney, on the grounds of her father Pat Rooney’s Celtic Farms and Nursery. Pat hailed from County Fermanagh, and he often took his family back to the land of Eire for holidays and other visits.
“I’ve always had a fascination with Ireland and the Irish culture,” Ashley Rooney says. So she opened her gift shop, gradually increasing the Irish-themed merchandise as she realized how many customers asked for them.
Now, Celtic Aer is a trove of Celtic and St. Brigid’s crosses, framed prints with Irish sayings, and other Irish wall décor. Candles and diffusers from Ireland are for sale, as are handmade trays with Irish themes on them.
There are cozy Irish wool blankets and Celtic-themed housewares. Start your pottery collection with Celtic Aer’s fine selection of shamrock-detailed Belleek vases, cups, and giftware, or dusky blue stoneware by Colm de Rís. Perhaps most unique, however, is the freezer in the store: It’s chock-full of food that’s rare to find outside Ireland. Black puddings, blood puddings, and other sausages are for sale, as are Irish chocolates and teas, and the perfect flours and other ingredients to make your own soda bread.
Rooney’s customers appreciate the warm service and full selection — so much so, in fact, that she’s launched an e-commerce website so out-of-town customers can shop.
“We’ve made Ireland our second home,” Rooney says, “and I want this shop to be our customers’ home away from home.”
