They're real. They're HERE. I'm wearing one RIGHT NOW as I type this.
The Rattlin' Bog Fan Shrine official merchandise has arrived and I am unreasonably emotional about it. The box came yesterday morning. The delivery man looked at me like I was mental because I actually said "YES" out loud when I opened the door.
The design is deadly — a shamrock with "The Bog Abides" underneath in that old-school font. My niece Aoife designed it. She's seventeen and more talented than I'll ever be. There are t-shirts in green and black, stickers (waterproof, for laptops and water bottles and whatever else the young people stick things to), and tote bags because apparently you need a tote bag now.
My mam ordered five. FIVE. She rang me to confirm her order and then rang again to add two more. "One for Bridge Club Maura and one for your Auntie Deirdre," she said. Bridge Club Maura has never heard The Rattlin' Bog in her life but she's getting a t-shirt anyway. That's my mam for you.
Mick won't wear one. He said, and I quote, "I'm not walking around with a t-shirt on me like some kind of walking advertisement." But when I left the box open on the table at Cruise's, I definitely saw him pick one up and hold it against himself when he thought nobody was looking. I said nothing. I'll wait.
The stickers are selling like mad already. I've had orders from fourteen countries. FOURTEEN. Someone in Japan ordered eight stickers. I don't know what they're putting them on and I don't need to know. The bog abides in Japan. That's enough for me.
If you want to grab some, the merch page has everything. We're doing free shipping to Ireland and reasonable rates elsewhere. Every penny over costs goes back into keeping the site running and maybe upgrading from the hit counter that's been causing trouble since January.
Slan go foill, BogLord2002
P.S. — Rattlin' sat on a t-shirt for three hours and now it's covered in cat hair. Limited edition, I suppose.