Interesting Irish Information

 

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Please forgive the title! I'm a little inebriated on Guinness!

I'm currently on a four day break in the glorious capital city of Ireland. The magical place known as DUBLIN!

As a bit of topical news-ish stuff, I thought I'd sniff out some interesting facts and folklore about this magical place. 


 

 

 

 

Did you know....


The national symbol of Ireland is the Celtic harp, not the shamrock. And it is the only country in the world to have a musical instrument as its national symbol. 


The Irish tricolor flag, created in 1848, was designed to reflect the country's political realities. Orange stands for Irish Protestants, green for Irish Catholics and the white stripe for the hope that peace might eventually be reached between them.

President Barack Obama’s maternal great, great, great grandfather Fulmuth Kearney came from Moneygall, in County Offaly. Mr. Kearney went to America in 1850.

Kilkenny-born architect James Hoban designed the original White House in Washington after winning a competition sponsored by President George Washington and Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson in 1792. It's said that Jefferson submitted his own design under a pseudonym but failed to take top prize. When the White House was burned by the British during the war of 1812, Hoban was called in to oversee a three-year-long restoration of the building.

The tune of the "Star Spangled Banner" was composed by the great blind harper Turlough O’Carolan, who died about 35 years before the American revolution.

Muhammad Ali has some Irish heritage. His great grandfather was born in Ennis, County Clare, and emigrated to Kentucky in the 1860s. There, he married an African-American woman. A son born to this couple also married and African-American woman, who gave birth to Ali's mother, Odessa Grady. She married a man named Cassius Clay, and the two moved to Louisville, where the future champ was born.

Ballygally Castle in County Antrim is allegedly one of the most haunted places in the country. Lady Isobel Shaw, whose husband built the castle in 1625, is said to knock on doors at night and then disappear. While alive, Ms. Shaw was locked in her room by her husband and starved, until she leapt to her death from a window. The castle is now a major chain hotel.
 
The longest place name in Ireland is Muckanaghederdauhaulia, in County Galway.

An odd Irish birthday tradition is to lift the birthday child upside down and give his head a few gentle bumps on the floor for good luck. The number of bumps should allegedly correspond to the child’s age plus one.

The original Guinness Brewery in Dublin has a 9,000 year lease on it's property, at a perpetual rate of 45 Irish pounds per year.

One traditional Irish cure for a hangover was to be buried up to the neck in moist river sand.

Celtic rock group the Pogues were originally called "Pogue Mahone," which translates into "kiss my a**" in Gaelic.

The "Oscar" statuette handed out at the Academy Awards was designed by Cedric Gibbons, who was born in Dublin in 1823. Gibbons emigrated to the US, and was considered MGM’s top set designer from the twenties right on through the fifties, working on over 1,500 films. Besides designing the coveted prize, Mr. Gibbons managed to win a dozen of them himself.

One of the most popular radio shows in rural Ireland is still the weekly broadcast of local obituaries.

An old legend says that, while Christ will judge all nations on judgment day, St. Patrick will be the judge of the Irish.

According to some historians, over 40% of all American presidents have had some Irish ancestry.

The Newgrange passage tomb in County Meath was constructed around 3200 BC, making it more than 600 years older than the Giza Pyramids in Egypt, and 1,000 years older than Stonehenge.

The Vikings founded Dublin in 988.

Even Saint Patrick liked a tipple. It was once popular in Ireland to pin sprigs of shamrocks on your coat on Saint Patrick's day in remembrance of his using shamrock leaves to illustrate the idea of the holy trinity. At the end of the day, one would "drown the shamrock" by putting a few shamrocks into a glass and covering them with whiskey.

Historians believe St. Patrick’s real name was "Maewyn Succat."

St. Patrick introduced the Roman alphabet and Latin literature into Ireland. After his death, Irish monasteries became Europe’s leading intellectual centres..


Anyways, I'm off to try and find me a nice Irish Girl!

Top o' the mornin' to ye!

 

Posted by: Paddy! | 03:28 14-01-2012 | Category: Other | Views: 454 | Source: http://www.ireland-fun-facts.com/ireland-facts.html


Comments

#1 Posted by DEMO on 16:50 14-01-2012
 
Posts: 293
I'm part Irish, now where is my pot O'Gold
JUST GIVE ME MY COFFEE AND NO ONE GETS HURT!

THERE WILL BE PLENTY OF TIME FOR SLEEP WHEN I'M DEAD
Checkem out peoples... TITTIES
#2 Posted by Paddy! on 18:59 14-01-2012
 
Posts: 86
Quote:
Originally posted by DEMO

I'm part Irish, now where is my pot O'Gold


My dad and all his family are from this neck of the woods, so it's great to meet up with family!

And Guinness really is better over here!!
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#3 Posted by bustMall on 22:04 14-01-2012
 
Posts: 33
Gran' day ter yer as well, Paddy me boy, though 'tis a bit late fer a "top av de mornin' " in return. Oi 'av a fair bit av Oirish blud in me veins, though we try ter 'ide it as best we can.
DEATH TO A-TEAM
( I will miss honda )
AND A POX UPON THEIR GRAVES