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Traditions, folklore, history and more. If it's Irish, it's here. Or will be!
"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. 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) A stunning 13x19 glossy print of shamrock grown from genuine Irish seeds. The image was taken by Jim Crotty, a professional commercial and fine arts photographer. To see more of Jim’s outstanding work, please visit his web site at PicturesqueOhio.
 B) 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.
C) And not to be outdone, for those of you who yearn to learn how to play the Feadóg (penny whistle) Lollysmith is offering their best-selling “Triple Pack” - a brass whistle from Dublin which comes with an instruction book and CD. For more details, please click Lollysmith.
D) We are pleased to welcome the return of Dublin Watercolourist Roger Cummiskey as 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/
NOTE: Winners are responsible for any taxes; also any duty which may be levied when shipping to a country other than the USA.
July Quiz
What is fungie?
a) A dolphin swimming in Dingle Bay
b) A lichen that grows only in Limerick
c) A wild mushroom from the Mountains of Mourne
2. Joshua Prine is famous for what?
a) He’s an American C & W singer married to Fiona Whelan
b) U2 named a song after him
c) He won the Wimbledon tennis singles in 1893 and 1894
3. When was Bord Fáilte - The Irish Tourist Board - founded?
a) July, 1952
b) July, 1955
c) July, 1956
4. Who wrote the book 'Echoes of a Savage Land?'
a) Eamonn Kelly
b) Martin Morrissey
c) Joseph McGowan
5. Which Irish island is known for its gigantic colony of gannets?
a) Little Skellig
b) Achill
c) Tory
6. What is the Irish for I don’t speak Irish?
a) Níl ach beagán/beagáinín Gaeilge agam
b) Níl Gaeilge agam
c) Maith dom mo chuid Gaeilge bhriste
7. Who was victorious over James II’s Jacobites at Aughrim?
a) William of Orange
b) Godert De Ginkel
c) Charles Chalmont
8. who or what is the Cantwell Fada?
a) An effigy of a Norman knight carved in high relief
b) Gailge punctuation first observed in the Book of Kells
c) Gilbert Kentwell, the founder of the Tipperary branch of the Cantwell family
9. Which poet wrote Spirit of the Summertime?
a) Tom Kettle
b) Clarence Mangan
c) William Allingham
10. Who said “He knows nothing; and he thinks he knows everything. That points clearly to a political career.”
a) Flann O’Brien
b) Hugh Leonard
c) George Bernard Shaw
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Answers to June Quiz
1. Who founded the Christian Brothers Order?
-a) Edmund Ignatious Rice
b) Edgar Rice Burrows
c) Thaddeus McCarthy
2. On June 2, 1567, Chieftain Shane O'Neill, took refuge with which Irish family?
-a) The MacDonnells
b) The McCanns
c) The Campbells
3. Who wrote the song Did Your Mother Come From Ireland?
-a) Jimmy Kennedy
b) Percy French
c) Bing Crosby
4. Which Irish author’s first novel was banned in Ireland?
-a) Edna O’Brien’s The Country Girls
b) Benedict Kiely’s The Cards of the Gambler
c) John McGahern’s The Dark
5. What does Turas Maith mean?
a) Thanks very much
b) You’re welcome
-c) Safe journey
6. Who wrote the children’s story The Young King?
a) Latitia Maclintock
b) Eoin Colfer
-c) Oscar Wilde
7. Where is Ballyalla Lake?
-a) Co. Clare
b) Co. Cork
c) Co. Galway
8. For which poem is Edward FitzGerald most famous?
-a) The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyam
b) Siberia
c) Sailing to Byzantium
9. What would you do with Ardrahan?
-a) Eat it
b) Wear it
c) Play it
10. Who is credited with inventing the Claddagh ring?
a) Robert Ballagh
-b) Richard Joyce
c) Seán Sugrue
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Winner's Circle
2008
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
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Tue, Jul 1, 2008
The Islands
There are hundreds of islands around the Irish coast. Achill is the biggest, the Arans the most romantic; Skellig Michael the most dramatic and Tory the most menacing - at least in legend. The Blaskets offer the most fertile ground for literature and Clare island is the most meticulously studied. But, whichever island you may visit, you can be sure each of them has its own superlative. For example, Little Skellig off St. Finian's Bay in Co. Kerry, is known for its gigantic colony of white seabirds called gannets.
Content edited and adapted from the book "Ireland - Atmosphere & Impressions" by Dr. Christopher Moriarty.
Photo Credits:
Skellig Archway from Travel Publishing
Click for More Culture Corner.
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.
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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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