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There is a legend that America was first discovered by an Irishman,
the 6th-Century saint, Brendan the navigator. The Latin text, The Navigation of St. Brendan recounts
his voyage to a land of saints, which some believe was actually America. |
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The Banshee is a fairy that appears with a frightening wail to warn of an impending
death; the appearance of several banshees indicates that someone of importance is on the brink of death. |
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The Leprechaun is not generally regarded
as a friendly fairy; many of the legends recount instances where a leprechaun outwitted a human.
One such legend: a man captures a leprechaun
and the leprechaun claims that he has a treasure buried in an open field beneath a particular plant.
The man wants to get a spade to dig it up, and he ties a red ribbon to the plant. Before he leaves, he
makes the leprechaun promise not to remove the ribbon. On his return, though, he finds that every weed
in the field has been tied with an identical red ribbon. |
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The RMS Titanic was built in Belfast, and its last port of call before sinking
was Queenstown in County Cork. |
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Irish women received the right to vote in 1918, while
American women did not receive the same right until two years later. |
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Divorce was not legalized in Ireland until 1995. |
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At 198 calories a pint, Guinness has fewer calories
than 1% Milk or orange juice. |
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St. Patrick is also the patron saint of engineers. |
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By kissing the Blarney Stone at Blarney Castle, it is claimed that one can
receive the “Gift
of the Gab.” The legend has its roots in Cormac Teige McCarthy, who was Lord of the Castle, and
his attempts to sweet-talk his way out of ceding his land to Elizabeth I. |
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The Irish Wolfhound is the tallest dog breed in the world. |
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The claddagh ring was designed by a fisherman named Richard Joyce. Joyce was captured at sea
by pirates and sold into slavery in Algeria. He became the property of a goldsmith, who trained
him in his craft. He fashioned the ring in memory of his fiancée back in Ireland: the heart symbolized
love; the pair of hands represented friendship; and the crown loyalty and fidelity. When he was
released in years later, he presented the ring to his fiancée, who had waited for him, and the
pair married. |
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“Erin Go Bragh” means “Ireland Forever.” |
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Two islands off the coast of Ireland—Inishgort and Inishlyre--did not
get electric power until January, 2001 |
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Handel’s Messiah premiered in Dublin in 1742. |
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Ireland is the world’s largest exporter of computer software. |
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Nobel Prize winning physicist Erwin Schrodinger and his family settled in Dublin when they fled Nazi-occupied
Austria in 1939. Schrodinger fathered children with two different Irish women before the family
returned to Vienna in 1956. |
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Over 40% of the population of Ireland resides within 60 miles of Dublin. |
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Dublin’s Mountjoy Prison, the inspiration for Brendan Behan’s The Auld Triangle, is
still in operation. |
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Dorothy L. Sayers, author of beloved Lord Peter Wimsey mystery series, also
wrote the slogan, “Guinness
is Good For You.” |
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While filming The Quiet Man, Maureen O’Hara broke a bone in her
hand during a scene where she slapped John Wayne. |
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