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"People will not look forward to posterity who never look backward to their ancestors."
-Edmund Burke

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Just want entertaining facts about Ireland?
Then click here for Did You Know?

Welcome to our monthly trivia contest which is designed to test your knowledge of Irish history, legends, superstitions, arts, politics and more. The rules are very simple:

1. Contest is open only to subscribers of the Irish Culture and Customs newsletter. If you're not yet a subscriber, it's really easy to sign up - just click here for our free weekly update: Free Newsletter

2. At the beginning of the month, a list of ten questions will be posted on the contest page. Thanks to a great suggestion from our friend Audrey in California, all answers can be found on this site.

3. Only one entry per subscriber. For identification purposes, please use your subscription email address when you send us your entry.

4. Please send entries to Russ & Bridget
It would be very helpful if you put Contest or Trivia entry in the subject line.

5. Contest closes at midnight EST on the last day of the month.

6. We will contact the winner three times within a week of the drawing. if the winner does not claim their prize within 30 days of being notified, the prize is forfeited.

7. Winners are responsible for any taxes; also any duty which may be levied when shipping to a country other than the USA.

8. A drawing will be held from all correct entries received and winner will be notified by email. If the winner consents, we'll also announce who won in the newsletter and in the 'Winner's Circle' on this page. The winner may choose one prize from the following:

A)




Celtic Warrior Pendant
This Shield of protection is a unique design based on the numbers 3 and 4, which enable magical powers to come into play that help provide circles of protection and other important esoteric forces to enhance well being. For more details, please click Celtic Warrior Pendant.



B) And not to be outdone, for those of you who yearn to learn how to play the penny whistle, Lollysmith is offering a made in Ireland Walton's mellow D whistle, carry bag and pocket size music book. For more details, please click Lollysmith.



C) Dublin Watercolourist Roger Cummiskey is also a sponsor. About the print, he says: "I wrote this poem to honour James Joyce and decided to turn it into a painting but as the poem is about two pages long I just used some of it. When Joyce was writing Finnegans Wake over 15 years he always referred to it as Work-in-Progress when asked what the title would eventually be. I use the modern day equivalent as the present title until such time as I get around to finishing the poem. I began writing it in 1998 and have had three Construction updates since. Maybe you would like to give it a title?"
http://www.RogerCummiskey.com/




May Quiz

1. The second of the four major festivals in the Celtic Calendar is what?
a) Hogmanay
b) Beltane
c) Samhain

2. What spring flower helps protect against fairy folk mischief?
a) Yellow promroses
b) Dandelions
c) Lilac

3. According to folklore, consuming what 3 times in May will keep the rheumatics away for a year?
a) Brotchen
b) Colcannon
c) Nettle Soup

4. Who wrote the poem Dark Rosaleen
a) James Clarence Mangan
b) Paul Durcan
c) Patrick Kavanagh

5. Which songwriter wrote The Moutains of Mourne?
a) Samuel Lover
b) Percy French
c) Jimmy Kennedy

6. Who established a monastic community on the island of Iona?
a) St. Brendan
b) St. Kevin
) St. Colomcille

7. Who was defeated at the second assault on Clonmel in 1650?
a) Oliver Cromwell
b) William of Orange
c) Lord Mountjoy

8. Where did Oscar Wild write Th Ballad of Reading Gaol?
a) Dublin, Ireland
b) Paris, France
c) London, England

9. In what county is Valentia Island located?
a) Kerry
b) Cork
c) Galway

10. Who said "I have my faults, but changing my tune is not one of them?"
a) Jonathan Swift
b) Brendan Behan
c) Samuel Beckett

###

Answers to April Quiz

1. Who was the leader of Cumann na mBan (the League of Women)?
a) Bernadette Devlin
b) Maude Gonne
- c) Constance Markievicz

2. Who wrote the poem Mise Eire (I Am Ireland)?
- a) Padraic Pearse
b) Oliver Goldsmith
c) Seamus Heaney

3. Who composed the song Did your mother come from Ireland?
- a) Jimmy Kennedy
b) Percy French
c) Cathal O'Byrne

4. What does An tSean-Bhó Riabhach' mean?
a) Dear old mother
- b) Old brindled cow
c) Old spinning wheel

5. Who created the Death of Cuchalain sculpture?
- a) Oliver Sheppard
b) Thomas Kirk
c) Éamonn O'Doherty

6. On what day in April did the 1916 Rising begin?
a) April 12th
b) April 14th
- c) April 24th

7. Who wrote 50 things you didn't know about the 1916 uprising
a) Michael McNally
- b) Mick Farrell
c) Fearghal McGarry

8. Where,in 433AD, did St. Patrick light the Paschal Fire?
a) Slemish Mountain
b) Croagh Patrick
- c) Hill of Slane

9. Who is credited with originating the phrase "A Pint of Plain Is Your Only Man?"
- a) Flann O'Brian
b) Brendan Behan
c) James Joyce

10. In what year did Guinness formally adopt the harp as its symbol?
a) 1762
b) 1862
- c) 1962


###

Winner's Circle
2013
April Winner: Judi Jemison, USA

March Winner: Anita Lock, USA

February Winner: Mary Mosler, USA

January Winner: Linda Ellis, USA
2012
December Winner: Carolyn Billen, USA

November Winner: Cindi Wood, USA

October Winner: Jackie Williams, USA

September Winner: Molly McManus, USA

August Winner: Daniel Killoran, USA

July Winner: Franklin Lamberth, USA

June: Rosalie Ferris, USA

May: no winner, USA

April: Suzi Lenker, USA

March: Robyn York, USA

February: Ruth Craig, Canada

January: Trish F., USA

2011
December: Christine Seaholtz, USA

November: Michele Baron, USA

October: Pamela Boyd, USA

September: Judi Jemison, USA

August: Diane Dubay, USA

July: no winner!

June: anonymous, USA

May: Sheila Cohen, USA

April: forfeited, they never responded

March: Tim Younger, USA

February: Catherine White, USA

January: Bridget O'Doyle, USA

2010
December: Tom McGuire, USA

November: Forfeited*
*We attempt to contact winners three times. If we don't receive a response, the prize is forfeited.

October: Patty Boutin, USA

September: Rachel Espinoza, USA
Ed. Note: Talk about the luck of the Irish??
Rachel is the daughter of Stephanie; our July/August winner!

July/August: Stephanie Espinoza, USA

June: Hannah Beck, USA

May: Bob Dennis, Northern Ireland

April: Peter Grotsky, USA

March: Shirley Younger, USA

February: Tara O'Hearn-St.Amand, Canada

January: Thomas McGuire, USA

2009
December: Carol Bartley Brown, Canada

November: Anonymous, USA

October: Ruth Craig, Canada

September: Anonymous

August: Michele Baron, USA

June/July: Miriam Driscoll, Canada

May: Susan McCarthy, USA

April: anonymous

March: Sheila Cohen, USA

February: Anonymous

January: Michelle Ortz, USA

2008
December: Cathy Knapp, USA

November: Sharron Newman, USA

October: Edith Cason, USA

September: Hannah Beck, USA

August: Mike Lorello, USA

July: David Marshall, USA

June: Michelle Ortz, USA

May: Kathy Fiddler, USA

April: Fernando Frias, USA

March: Kate Davis, USA

February: Maria Eryatmaz, USA

January: Sarah Gannon, USA

2007
December: Christine Seaholtz, USA

November: Edith Cason, USA

October: anonymous, USA

September: Tim Younger, USA

August: Pat Battles, Canada

July: Amanda Ryan, USA

June: no contest - no winner

May: Susan McCarthy, USA

April: Fred Pellerito, USA

March: Unclaimed - was it you?

February: Gael Hill, USA

January: Judi Jemison, USA

2006
December: Sharron Elaine Newman, USA

November: Lou Harris, USA

October: Kimberly Cook, USA

September: Chris Wilbik, USA

August: Dorothy Spackman, USA

July: Gael Hill, USA

June: Sheila Cohen, USA

May: Jackie Young, USA

April: Edith Bower, USA

March: Mindy Grazulis, USA

February: Hannah Beck, USA

January: Catherine White, USA

2005
December: Kathy Chopak, USA

November: Jack Mishler, USA

October: Josephine M. Battye, Ireland

September: Larry Purcell, USA

August: Barbara Levengston, UK

July: Anonymous

June: Susan O'Connor, USA

May: Shirley Younger, USA

April: Hannah, USA

March: A subscriber in Europe

February: Gina, USA

January: Paula, USA

2004
December: Don, USA

November: Diane Dubay, USA

October: Kristen Kenny, USA

June: Cheryl, USA

May: A Subscriber in Canada

April: Sandra Rooke, Canada

March: Michelle Ortz, USA

February: Mary Hutchinson, Canada

January: Maureen Anderson, Canada

2003
December: Jenny Rundle, Australia

November: Sharon Boyle, Canada - wins again!

October: Alda Tuk, Canada

September: Sharon Boyle, Canada

August: Rocky Brooks, Canada

July: Ellen Parodi, USA

June: Eniko Gaspar, Canada

May: Judy Skapik, USA

April: Pat Battles, Canada

March: Helen Dowd, Canada

February: Diane Dubay, USA

January: Bill Smith, USA

2002
December: Linda Barbour, Canada

November: Dallas Franklin, USA

October: Cecilia Bembibre, Argentina

August-September: Ms. R. Tagert, USA

July: Chris Lopez, USA

June: A subscriber in Europe

May: A subscriber in the USA

April: Patricia Edwards, UK

March: Jane I., USA

February: Judith Flynn, USA


 

Thu, Feb 29, 2024

St Patrick's Cathedral

The National Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St. Patrick is the full official name and, according to tradition, St Patrick baptised several converts at a well in what is now a park adjacent to the cathedral. To commemorate this event, a small wooden church was built. In 1901, the well was rediscovered and an ancient granite stone, marked with a Celtic cross which covered the well, was moved into the cathedral. The parish church on this site was one of four Celtic churches in Dublin and was known as St Patrick's in Insula - on the island - as it was built on an island between two branches of the River Poddle which still flows under the cathedral.
Image: StPatrick's Cathedral.ie

Click for More Culture Corner.





I Never Knew That About Ireland
by Christopher Winn

In this wonderful compendium, Christopher Winn gives a tour of the four provinces of Ireland- Connacht, Leinster, Munster, and Ulster. Find out where dreams were inspired, ideas were born, and where the unforgettable heroes of Ireland's past now slumber. A treasure trove of fascinating stories, I Never Knew That About Ireland is packed full of information on the colorful history of the Emerald Isle. This irresistible book gives a captivating insight into the heritage, memories, and monuments that have shaped each county in Ireland, searching out their secrets and unearthing their hidden gems. Amazon Review
Click for I never Knew That..



The Irish Quiz Book
by Joe Black

Written by a one-time quiz show consultant and lifelong collector of Irish trivia, this book offers questions on sport, history, politics, literature, and all kinds of Irish miscellany. Organized by subject matter with 134 sections in groups of 15 questions, it's ideal for trivia buffs and Irish aficionados. The diverse questions offer something for everyone from "Why is Bloomsday so called?" and "What was a 'Galway Hooker'?" to "Who was termed the 'Babe Ruth' of Gaelic football?"
Click here for Quiz Book.


Irish American Pub Quiz Book
by Liam McAtasney

Don't be misled by the title - this isn't a book about Irish American pubs. It's a trivia book about Irish Americans and, in our humble opinion, it would be a fun little volume to have with you the next time you're bending your elbow with the lads.
Click for Pub Quiz Book.


 

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March 4, 2011
   
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