Sure'n, you don't have to be Irish to buy this blarney.

The best selling item at Irish Crystal Co. in Thousand Oaks is a "Make Up Bell" -- a crystal bell engraved with the name of the couple to whom it is given as a gift.

The bell comes with a card explaining that it is a tradition in Ireland that when a couple fights, and one party wants to "make up," he or she rings the bell.

The only problem with this lovely little tale and $40 bell is that the story comes from the lively imagination of one Leonard McDonald, owner of the Irish crystal import store on Thousand Oaks Boulevard -- in other words, it's pure blarney. And wouldn't we be disappointed if it were anything else?

It is this gift for fancy, combined with the "magic" image of the Emerald Isle, that has created a market here for products imported from Ireland -- everything from soda bread to woolen sweaters -- and Irish immigrant entrepreneurs are more than happy to meet the demand.

Richard Patrick Jones came to Southern California from Ireland in 1957.

"I came to make money. They told me there was gold in them there hills," he says with a chuckle, attempting to replace his brogue with a Yankee twang.

Jones first obtained a job at KIEV-AM (870) broadcasting music during the "Irish Hour." Then he realized there was a market for Irish goods here, and 30 years ago he opened his Irish Import Shop on Beverly Boulevard. Later he moved to his current location at 738 Vine St. in Hollywood.

Jones specializes in selling Irish music, but his store also features videos, Gaelic books, daily newspapers from Ireland (only one day old) and many varieties of imported food, including bangers, blood pudding and black courant jam.

"I love it," says Jones. "I like to see the interest by people in things Irish."

At St. Patrick's Day time, Jones, like other Irish import store owners, stocks up on tacky shamrock souvenirs, ties, hats, blarney stones, Irish trolls, T-shirts and sweaters.

"I don't like the trolls, but they're just for fun," says Jones. "At St. Patrick's Day, our sales triple for about a month."

As the March 17 holiday approaches, sales double for about six weeks at Shamrock Imports in North Hollywood.

"I love it. I meet people -- the Irish, and the Irish-wanna-be's," says store owner Imelda McCann, who strolls through her store offering patrons free tea and cookies, and addressing male customers as "Love."

McCann came to the U.S. in 1960 as a nanny for a Los Angeles woman. "I wanted to travel. That (the nanny job) more or less was the only way to get there," she says.

When the nanny job ended, McCann worked as a bank teller, but she "just wanted one of two things -- a travel agency or an Irish import store."

Ten years ago, Shamrock Imports opened at 7945 Laurel Canyon Blvd. It specializes in jewelry, especially Claddagh rings. This traditional piece of Irish jewelry dates back to the 16th century and the village of Claddagh in County Galway.

The ring features a heart, symbolizing love; a crown, symbolizing loyalty; and two hands, symbolizing friendship. It is often given as an engagement or wedding ring.

Shamrock Imports also sells a variety of other items bearing the Claddagh symbol -- clocks, glasses, vases and wedding cake tops. Unique to this store are special shoes and socks for Irish jig and reel dancing, the Irish Heritage collection of cottage replicas, and a computer service that for $12.95 prints out the history of an Irish family name on a scroll.

McCann admits that Irish novelty items are "a luxury, but people don't do without (them)," even in a recession.

The Irish Import Shop and Shamrock Imports also sell the well-known Waterford Crystal, but McDonald's store sells only Tyrone Crystal, hand blown in the Dungannon area. When a visitor enters the store, McDonald is quick to ask the prospective buyer to compare the weight and quality of a Waterford Crystal goblet and a very similar Tyrone goblet. Then he shows off the price tag. The Tyrone Crystal is much less expensive, generally less than half the price.

McDonald chuckles proudly. He tells the tale of how he walked into a bank manager's office more than ten years ago and showed him the crystal, convincing the lending officer to lend him $16,000 to open the store, without any collateral.

"It was purely on the strength of my idea," says McDonald. "I deposit now up to a million dollars a years with that bank."

Tyrone Crystal was started in the 1970s by a development association to address the problem of severe unemployment in the Dungannon area. It had a rocky beginning, but now is a successful company, selling its product on five continents through licensed distributors.

All the glass blowing and cutting is done in Ireland by Irish people, McDonald boasts.

When McDonald first came to the U.S. in 1977, he worked as a laborer. He wound up selling mechanical birds outside of Vons grocery stores. Eventually, he sold his stock (35,000 birds) to Vons and used the proceeds, together with the bank loan, to open his crystal store.

"Poverty drove me to it," he says.

A big chunk of McDonald's business today is providing vases and other crystal prizes to country clubs for golf tournaments.

"Corporate gifts also is a massive part of my business," he says. "People drive here from Encino, Tarzana, Woodland Hills and Pasadena."