25 Fun Facts About Ireland and Irish Culture

Which three-leaved plant is Saint Patrick said to have used to explain the Holy Trinity?

Legend holds that Patrick plucked the three-leaved plant to illustrate three persons in one God. It has been an emblem of Ireland ever since.

Before green took over, which colour was linked to Saint Patrick through the Order of St Patrick?

The Order of St Patrick, founded in 1783, adopted a shade now called St Patrick's blue. Green only took over later, through Irish nationalism.

In which year did 17 March become an official public holiday in Ireland?

The Bank Holiday (Ireland) Act 1903 made Saint Patrick's Day a public holiday. The same year saw Ireland's first parade for the feast.

In which city was Ireland's first Saint Patrick's Day parade held?

Parades began among the Irish diaspora in North America and only reached the island in the 20th century, starting in Waterford.

Light floods the inner chamber of Newgrange through its roof-box at sunrise on which day of the year?

The Neolithic builders aligned the 19-metre passage so the year's shortest day lights the chamber. Places in the annual solstice lottery are heavily oversubscribed.

Newgrange is the principal monument of which World Heritage Site complex in County Meath?

Brú na Bóinne — the 'palace of the Boyne' — also contains the great mounds of Knowth and Dowth. It was built around 3100 BC, predating the pyramids at Giza.

In hurling, what is the small ball struck with the stick called?

The sliotar is a leather-covered ball with raised ridges. A bodhrán is a drum, a camán is the stick itself and a currach is a boat.

In hurling, how many points is it worth to put the ball under the crossbar into the net?

Over the bar scores one point; under the bar past the keeper is a goal, worth three. Scores are written as goals-points, so 2-10 beats 1-14.

How many players does each team field in a hurling match?

Hurling is 15-a-side, the same as Gaelic football. The sport is run by the Gaelic Athletic Association, founded in 1884.

The Book of Kells, made around 800 AD, was written in which language?

It is a Gospel book in Latin, lettered in insular majuscule script with black, red, purple and yellow inks.

Which Dublin institution's library puts the Book of Kells on public display?

Two pages are shown at a time and turned every 12 weeks, which is why repeat visitors rarely see the same opening twice.

Carrauntoohil, the highest mountain in Ireland, rises within which range?

MacGillycuddy's Reeks on the Iveragh Peninsula hold Ireland's highest ground. Carrauntoohil tops out at 1,038.6 metres.

Ireland's highest peak stands on the Iveragh Peninsula, in which county?

The Iveragh Peninsula in the south-west is circled by the Ring of Kerry road. Its mountains are the highest on the island.

How long was the lease Arthur Guinness signed in 1759 for a disused Dublin brewery?

He took the brewery for £45 a year on a lease running to the year 10759. Guinness later bought the land outright.

In which Dublin brewery did Arthur Guinness begin brewing in 1759?

St James's Gate has brewed Guinness for more than 260 years and is now also the site of the Guinness Storehouse visitor attraction.

What name is given to the districts where Irish survives as a community language?

The Gaeltacht regions lie mostly along the western seaboard. The Oireachtas is the national parliament, not a place.

How many letters does the traditional Irish alphabet contain?

The traditional alphabet drops j, k, q, v, w, x, y and z, leaving 18 letters. Loanwords sometimes bring the missing letters back.

On a Claddagh ring, what does the crown stand for?

The heart is love, the clasped hands friendship and the crown loyalty. Which way the heart points is said to signal whether the wearer is spoken for.

The Claddagh ring is named for a fishing village beside which city?

Claddagh sat at the mouth of the River Corrib, just outside the old walls of Galway city.

Which organism caused the potato blight behind Ireland's Great Famine?

Phytophthora infestans is an oomycete, not a fungus, and has been traced to the Toluca Valley in Mexico before it reached Europe.

Over which years is Ireland's Great Famine conventionally dated?

Roughly a million people died and more than a million emigrated. Ireland's population still has not returned to its pre-famine level.

The 'uilleann' of the uilleann pipes comes from the Irish word for which body part?

Píb uilleann means 'pipes of the elbow', because the player works the bellows with the arm rather than blowing.

Unlike Scottish Highland bagpipes, how is the bag of the uilleann pipes filled with air?

A waist-and-arm bellows keeps the air dry and lets the piper sing while playing. The melody pipe is called the chanter.

Samhain, the Gaelic festival that fed into modern Halloween, marks the start of which season?

Samhain falls on 1 November, with celebrations beginning the previous evening because the Celtic day started at sunset.

Which distinction does Lough Neagh hold?

The Northern Irish lough covers 383 square kilometres, making it the biggest lake by area anywhere in the British Isles.