Redhead Beauty

Red hair is relatively common in England, Iceland and Norway, too, while Germany, Sweden, Finland, The Netherlands and northern France are all ahead of the global average. Travel south through Europe and red hair becomes very rare.

ALSO,IRELAND IS FAMED for its red-haired beauties and ginger-bearded hunks, so why shouldn’t we celebrate ourselves?

The Irish Redhead Convention was set up five years ago to do exactly that – and to quash the bullying and name calling. 

Make red beautiful again. Take red back.

“Redheads are rare and stand out from the crowd. A lot of what we do at the convention empowers redheads to be proud of our uniqueness and differences” explains founder Joleen Cronin, who along with her brother Denis is a proud redhead.

“We also give Certificates of Genuine Foxiness for all red-gistered redheads and it is wonderful to see attitudes change in a positive way, especially from children who may have been teased or bullied for being different.

“The weekend provides so many opportunities for redheads to meet, share life experiences and make great friends.”

Taking place in Crosshaven in Cork from 22 to 24 August, organisers are expecting visitors from New Zealand, Germany and the US. Last year, more than 2,000 turned up to the event, which is also a fundraiser for the Irish Cancer Society.

The weekend-long programme includes a showcase of flame-haired artists and performers including Orla Gartland, Karrie O’Sullivan, Christine Deady and Rua, as well as a string quartet made up entirely of natural redheads.

There will also be prizes for the best red beard, the curliest red hair and more.

Festival goers can expect to parade through Crosshaven proudly displaying their red hair and also take part in individual photoshoots hosted by photographers Jorg Koster and Jason Clarke., and a large group photograph where hundreds of redheads momentarily come together.

Red hair the rarest of hair colours and accounts for only 0.6% of the global population. Ireland has the second highest proportion of redheads at 10%, but up to 40% are believed to be carriers of the ginger gene. After a recent false reports of redhead’s dying out due to climate change, organisers have arranged special Ginger Speed Dating session, to combat any threat of extinction.

Hajj season

Makkah//Holy mosque//City of Makkah:

Makkah is the holy land, the most beloved land to Allah and His Messenger M, the Qiblah (direction faced in prayer) of the Muslims, the focus of their love and the place where they come together in pilgrimage. Allah made it sacred and bestowed respect and sanctity upon it the day He created the heavens and the earth. In it is the Ka‘bah, the first House set up for the worship of Allah on earth. For the sacred House, Allah set up a sanctuary so that it might be venerated, in which He created safety and protection even for the trees and plants, which should not be cut down or picked, and for the birds which are not to be disturbed. He has decreed that rewards for deeds in Makkah are greater than rewards for deeds done elsewhere, and prayer (Salat) in the Holy Haram of Makkah is equal to one hundred thousand prayers elsewhere. It is from the greatness and sanctity of the House that Makkah takes its greatness and sanctity; and from the security, of the House, Makkah derives its security, as Allah says: “... Whosoever enters it, he attains security. ” (3:97)





The Names of Makkah : The Holy City has many names, approximately fifty. Allah called Makkah by five names: Makkah, Bakkah, Al-Balad, Al-Qaryah and Ummul-Qura.

Allah says: “Allah has made the Ka ‘bah, the Sacred House, an asylum of security and benefits (e.g., Hajj and ‘Umrah) for mankind. ”( 5 : 97 ) The Ka‘bah is the Sacred House of Allah in the middle of the Mosque. The reason why it is called the Ka‘bah is that which was reported by Al- Azraqi from Abu Nujaih, who said: it is called the Ka‘bah because it is cubiform (Muka'ab), i.e., in the shape of a cube (Ka‘b). It is so called because it is square (Murabba), ‘Ikrimah and Mujahid said likewise. And it was said that it is called Ka‘bah because of its elevation above ground level. It is also called/!/- BaitAl- ‘Atiq (the Emancipated House) because Allah freed it (A'taqahu) from coming under the control of tyrants, as ‘Abdullah bin Az-Zubair narrated that the Prophet S said: “It is called Al-Bait AH Atiq (the Ancient House) because Allah freed it (A ‘tagahu) from coming under the control of tyrants, and no tyrant ever prevailed over it .”

The Construction of the Ka‘bah : The Ka‘bah has been built more than once; the most famous occasions on which it was rebuilt are five: The first time it was built by the angels; the second time it was rebuilt by Adam The third time it was rebuilt by Ibrahim The fourth time it was rebuilt by Quraysh during the Jahiliyyah,The fifth time it was
rebuilt was by Ibn Az-Zubair.

The Hajj ( "pilgrimage") is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, the most holy city of the Muslims, and a Fard or mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by all adult Muslims who are physically and financially capable of undertaking the journey, and can support their family during their absence.It is one of the five pillars of Islam, alongside Shahadah, Salat, Zakat, and Sawm. The Hajj is the largest annual gathering of people in the world.The state of being physically and financially capable of performing the Hajj is called istita'ah, and a Muslim who fulfills this condition is called a mustati. The Hajj is a demonstration of the solidarity of the Muslim people, and their submission to God (Allah). The word Hajj means "to intend a journey", which connotes both the outward act of a journey and the inward act of intentions.

The pilgrimage occurs from the 8th to 12th (or in some cases 13th of Dhu al-Hijjah, the last month of the Islamic calendar. Because the Islamic calendar is lunar and the Islamic year is about eleven days shorter than the Gregorian year, the Gregorian date of Hajj changes from year to year. Ihram is the name given to the special spiritual state in which pilgrims wear two white sheets of seamless cloth and abstain from certain actions.

The Hajj is associated with the life of Islamic prophet Muhammad from the 7th century, but the ritual of pilgrimage to Mecca is considered by Muslims to stretch back thousands of years to the time of Abraham. During Hajj, pilgrims join processions of hundreds of thousands of people, who simultaneously converge on Mecca for the week of the Hajj, and perform a series of rituals: each person walks counter-clockwise seven times around the Ka'aba (the cube-shaped building and the direction of prayer for the Muslims), runs back and forth between the hills of Al-Safa and Al-Marwah, drinks from the Zamzam Well, goes to the plains of Mount Arafat to stand in vigil, spends a night in the plain of Muzdalifa, and performs symbolic stoning of the devil by throwing stones at three pillars. The pilgrims then shave their heads, perform a ritual of animal sacrifice, and celebrate the three-day global festival of Eid al-Adha.

Pilgrims can also go to Mecca to perform the rituals at other times of the year. This is sometimes called the "lesser pilgrimage", or Umrah. However, even if they choose to perform the Umrah, they are still obligated to perform the Hajj at some other point in their lifetime if they have the means to do so, because Umrah is not a substitute for Hajj.