History
Traditions
Famous Irish
Irish Tales
Lucky Symbols
100
This famous Irish beverage brand is known for its dark stout beer.
What is Guinness?
Fun Fact: Guinness Brewery in Dublin signed a 9,000-year lease when it opened in 1759.
100
This river is dyed green every year for St. Patrick's Day.
What is the Chicago River?
The dye used is eco-friendly, vegetable-based and nontoxic.
It's a decades-old tradition made possible by two friends with some city pull.
Back in the 1960s, a group of Chicago plumbers were looking for a leak, trying to discover a broken pipe.
They used an orange dye to do this work. However, once it hit the water, it bubbled up emerald green.
The head of the Local Plumbers Union 130 noticed the orange dye on his crew’s clothes. He then got an idea.
He made a call to his best friend, who happened to be Chicago’s mayor at the time, Richard J. Daley. Together, they hatched a plan to use the dye to spruce up the Chicago River ahead of St. Patrick’s Day.
100
This singer, famous for "White Christmas", had Irish ancestry and frequently recorded traditional Irish ballads.
Who is Bing Crosby?
100
St. Patrick is credited with using THIS to explain the Holy Trinity to the Irish people.
What is a Shamrock?
It is said Saint Patrick used the three leaved Shamrock to explain the concept of the Holy Trinity, (the Father, Son and Holy Spirit), to the pagan Irish during the 5th Century. The tradition of wearing Shamrock on Saint Patrick's Day can be traced back to the early 1700's.
100
Often associated with Ireland, if looking for one of these famous lucky charms, you have about a 1 in 10,000 chance of finding one!
What is a Four-Leaf Clover?
One of the most well-known good-luck charms in the Western world, this rare clover has been a symbol of good fortune and prosperity for hundreds of years—and as one legend claims, ever since the dawn of humankind. This myth traces the four-leaf clover to the biblical story of Adam and Eve, when Eve supposedly took a four-leaf clover with her as a souvenir from Eden.
According to ancient Celtic tradition, if you hold a four-leaf clover, you will be protected from dangerous fairies, bad luck and evil spirits.
200
Between 1845 and 1852, this devastating event caused widespread starvation and mass emigration from Ireland.
What is the Irish Potato Famine?
About one million people died, and another million emigrated, dramatically reducing Ireland's population.
200
The first recorded St. Patrick's Day parade was held, not in Ireland, but in THIS major city in 1762.
What is New York City?
With the dramatic increase of Irish immigrants to the United States in the mid-19th century, the March 17th celebration became widespread.
200
This Irish-born author wrote the influential Christian book "Mere Christianity", along with many other popular novels.
Who is C.S. Lewis?
"Mere Christianity" actually began as a series of radio talks Lewis gave on the BBC during World War II.
200
St. Patrick is said to have driven this creatures out of Ireland.
What are Snakes?
Much like other cultures around the world, snakes represent evil, so St. Patrick reputedly drove them out of Ireland with his crozier. Whether or not that is true, there are stilll no native snakes in Ireland to this day.
200
This Native American talisman is believed to filter out nightmares so that only positive dreams hit a sleeper’s subconscious.
What is a Dreamcatcher?
While different tribes interpret the dreamcatcher’s abilities in slightly different ways, many equate this talisman with the Spider Woman, the protector of humans in Navajo mythology. Today, dreamcatchers continue to be seen as objects that ward off negativity, welcome protection and offer peace of mind.
300
THIS color was originally associated with St. Patrick’s Day before it became green.
What is Blue?
This light shade of blue, actually known as "St. Patrick's Blue," was the primary color on ancient Irish flags and armbands worn by the Irish Citizen Army. It wasn't until the 1798 Irish Rebellion that the iconic clover became a national symbol, leading to wearing green on lapels overtaking the traditional blue.
300
Before pumpkins became popular in North America, jack-o'-lanterns ir Ireland and Scotland were carved from this, much smaller, root vegetable.
What are turnips? (or potatoes)
Ancient Celtic cultures were known to carve turnips and place embers inside to ward off evil spirits. That's because Ireland didn't have pumpkins. When immigrants brought over their carving tradition, Americans began carving jack-o'-lanterns from pumpkins.
300
This Dublin born artist is an iconic singer-songwriter, goes by just one name and is the lead vocalist of the Irish rock band, U2.
Who is Bono?
U2 has won a whopping 22 Grammy Awards, making them one of the most awarded groups in history.
Beyond music, Bono is renowned for his activism, particularly in advocating for African debt relief and against AIDS, work that earned him a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize.
300
Irish fairies are a big part of Irish folklore, myth and legend. THIS particular Irish icon is considered the only fairy to have a trade, which is that of shoe-making. Its believed because THEY dance so much, that they are always in need of new shoes and are notoriously difficult to trap.
What are Leprechauns?
It is said, you’ll hear an Irish Leprechaun before you’ll ever see one. If you’re ever out in the rural countryside and hear a tap, tap, tap, it’s usually the sound of them hammering nails into the soles of a shoe. But try to find whoever is making the noise is next to impossible
300
This spotted beetle has long been considered a symbol of luck.
What is a ladybug?
Historically and cross-culturally, ladybugs are believed to be talismans of luck. Some believe that, if a ladybug lands on you, you should count the number of spots to predict how many years of good luck you'll have.
However, Killing a ladybug, conversely, is sometimes believed to bring bad luck.
400
This Irish musical instrument, with many strings, is a national symbol of Ireland.
What is a harp?
Ireland is the only country in the world with a musical instrument as its national symbol.
400
This Irish holiday treat is often baked with raisins and served with butter.
Question: What is Irish soda bread?
Fun Fact: Soda bread became popular during the 1800s when baking soda became widely available.
400
This musician was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and is celebrated for his distinctive blend of multiple genres, including blues, jazz, folk, and rhythm & blues. He is known as "Van the Man" to his fans, and some of his most popular songs include "Brown Eyed Girl" (1967) and "Moondance" (1970).
Who is Van Morrison?
He earned the nickname "Van the Man" early in his career because of his powerful stage presence and strong personality.
400
Legend has it, that if you kiss THIS stone while visiting a particular historic castle in Ireland, you will receive "the gift of gab".
What is the Blarney Stone?
"The Gift of Gab" is the skill of eloquence, wit and flattery. The term ‘blarney’ means beguiling but misleading talk or flattery designed to gain favor.
Getting to the Blarney Stone is no easy feat – the stone is found 90 feet high in the castle, embedded high in a tower. To kiss the stone, one must enter the castle and climb the spiral stone staircase to the top. You then lie on your back, lean out of the edge of the castle, tilt your head back and kiss the stone.
Because of this tradition, kissing became a playful symbol connected with Irish culture.
The actual origins of the Blarney Stone are shrouded in mystery, with multiple theories behind its existence.
400
In English folklore, carrying one of THESE small nuts from the oak tree was believed to bring good luck and protect against illness.
What is an Acorn?
Because the long-living oak tree is born from it, legends say that carrying an acorn will bring you good luck and longevity.
While the superstition dates back centuries, a more recent event helps to prove the legend.
In December of 1899, Augustus Mann was part of an 18 member crew on the Aldeburgh lifeboat. The lifeboat was sailing near dangerous coastline and got caught in a fierce storm that caused heavy seas. The boat eventually capsized due to the seas and storm, washing a few crew members ashore and trapping others within the ship. Only 11 men survived, including Mann, who attributed his escape to the three acorns he was carrying in his pocket for good luck.
Augustus left the acorns to the Aldeburgh Lifeboat Station, which still today rest in a glass box inside the wheelhouse of one of the station’s boats.
500
Ireland is known for its wide expanses of lush, GREEN fields – so much so, that its nickname is THIS.
What is the Emerald Isle?
While much of this country is washed by abundant rain, causing pervasive grasslands that create a green-hued landscape, there are also large areas of rugged, rocky landscape, too. About 15,000 years ago, Ireland was completely covered by thick glaciers. The movement of these giant sheets of ice stripped the soil, leaving huge tracts of flat, limestone ground.
The midlands and west coast of Ireland are dotted with damp peat bogs, the soggy remains of dried-up ancient lakes left by the glaciers.
Ireland’s highlands rise mainly in the southwest, often ending at sheer cliffs that plunge thousands of feet into the Atlantic Ocean.
500
THIS name is often used to describe Irish Step Dance; however, it is actually a theatrical show that consists mainly of traditional Irish music and dance, and was first debuted as 7-minute interval act during the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994.
What is Riverdance?
Irish step dancing = the dance style
Riverdance = a famous stage show that uses that style
Riverdance’s 7-minute Eurovision performance in 1994 became so popular that it launched a global touring show that has been seen by over 25 million people worldwide.
500
This famous Irish author wrote several classics. Some of the most notable being the play "The Importance of Being Earnest" and the novel "The Picture of Dorian Gray".
Who is Oscar Wilde (1854 – 1900)?
Wilde is one of the most famous people from Ireland to have ever picked up a pen. A brilliant writer and poet, Wilde was celebrated for his wit, flamboyant style, and sharp satirical commentary on Victorian society.
Despite facing persecution for his homosexuality, Wilde’s legacy as a literary genius endures.
500
THIS popular Halloween tradition stems from the Irish folktale character, Stingy Jack, who tricked the Devil and was doomed to wander the earth with a lantern.
What are Jack-o'-Lanterns?
The tale of Stingy Jack was created to explain strange flickering lights that people would sometimes see hovering over peat bogs.
Legend has it that when you see one of those lights, it's Stingy Jack's spirit wandering around. Sometimes he'd lead a person home, sometimes to their death.
Today, we're pretty sure it's a natural phenomenon caused by combusting swamp gasses.
Across Ireland and Scotland, people started carving their own versions of Jack's lantern. They carved spooky faces into turnips or potatoes to ward off evil spirits.
500
One of the most popular origins of THIS good luck charm stems from the tale of Saint Dunstan, a blacksmith, who outsmarted the devil by getting him to promise that he would never enter a home that had one of THESE hanging above the door.
What is a horseshoe?
Dunstan is said to have been working at his forge when the Devil appeared disguised as a traveler. The devil asks to have a horseshoe replaced on his horse. Dunstan sees through the Devil’s disguise and manages to trick him and nail the horseshoe tightly to the Devil’s hoof rather than the horse’s. This causes the Devil great pain. Dunstan forces the Devil to agree not to enter any building with a horseshoe mounted above the door in exchange for the removal of the horseshoe from his foot.
Some believe the horseshoe should be hung with the heels up (in the shape of a “U”) in order to keep all the good luck contained. Others prefer hanging the horseshoe heels down so that good luck can flow to all those who walk beneath it.