People often ask what exactly arrives in the post. Here is the honest answer — everything we promise and nothing we do not.
The Envelope
A cream envelope, addressed by hand. Your name written in ink, your address below it. In the top right corner, a real Irish postage stamp — not a printed facsimile, not a sticker, but an actual stamp bought at an actual Irish post office and pressed on by hand.
The postmark reads Co. Cork, Ireland — because that is where it was posted from. Every letter goes through the Irish postal system, An Post, and arrives in your American mailbox usually within seven to fourteen days.
The Letter Itself
Inside the envelope is a letter written on cream Irish writing paper. The paper has a slight texture to it — not smooth like printer paper, but the kind of paper that feels like something in your hands.
The letter is handwritten by Katie, in ink, in her own handwriting. It begins with your name — Dear Mary, or Dear Tom, or Dear Kathleen — and it is written directly to you, not to a generic subscriber.
What the Letter Contains
Each letter is written from a specific place in Ireland — a harbour wall, a hillside, a village square. It describes that place in the way only someone who lives here can describe it. The light. The smell of the sea. The sound of the church bells on a Sunday morning.
It connects that place to your family name and county. It tells you something you did not know about where your family came from. It includes a short Irish phrase and its translation. And at the bottom, it is signed by hand.
It is not a printed letter. It is not a template. It is a real piece of correspondence, written by a real person, from a real place in Ireland — to you.
The QR Code on the Back
On the back of the letter there is a small QR code. Scan it and you will see a gallery of photographs taken that month in the location where the letter was written. The harbour. The fields. The post office where the letter was stamped and sent.
Read a Sample Letter
If you want to see exactly what a letter looks like before subscribing, you can read a full sample letter on the site — written for Mary O'Brien from County Cork, which is a real letter Katie wrote.
Read a full sample letter from Ireland →
Subscribe to receive your first letter within seven days →
Published 2026-05-20 · Written from County Cork, Ireland