20 interesting facts about Ireland

20 interesting facts about Ireland

We share the most interesting facts about Ireland, collected from a quick hop into the country's Reeks District

My most recent trip to Ireland took me to an area of ​​the country I had never visited: the newly renamed Reeks District. I spent my time hiking, kayaking, surfing and learning that Ireland has much more to offer than wild waters and high hills.

It wasn't my first visit to the Emerald Isle. I've previously taken a city break to Dublin, spent time backpacking in Ireland in my youth, and visited friends and family in County Cavan. Each time the island lived up to its reputation: rich in history, tradition, literature and music, not to mention its charismatic and friendly people.

Over the years I have collected numerous interesting facts about Ireland. Here I share my favorites.

Interesting facts about Ireland

1. Irland ist wegen seiner üppigen Hügel und grünen Täler als die Grüne Insel bekannt. Es wird angenommen, dass der Dichter William Drennan der erste war, der den Ausdruck in seinem Gedicht When Erin First Rose verwendete. (Quelle: Library Ireland)

alt=“Interesting facts about Ireland 7″>DreamtimeIreland is known as the Green Island

1. In den 1840er Jahren scheiterte Irlands Grundnahrungsmittel – die Kartoffel – und führte zur großen Hungersnot. Schätzungsweise eine Million Menschen starben zwischen 1846 und 1851 an Hunger und Krankheiten, und zwei Millionen wanderten zwischen 1845 und 1855 aus. (Quelle: BBC)
2. Die Hungersnot wurde durch die damaligen Handlungen (und Unterlassungen) der britischen Regierung verschärft, was einige zu der Annahme veranlasste, dass die Hungersnot im Wesentlichen eine Form des Völkermords an den Iren war. (Quelle: Irish Independent)
3. Irland und das Vereinigte Königreich teilen eine bewegte Geschichte. 1801 annektierte Großbritannien das Königreich Irland gemäß dem Act of Union; 1921 gründete der anglo-irische Vertrag den Irischen Freistaat, eine unabhängige Herrschaft der britischen Krone, die von Nordirland abgetrennt war; und 1949 wurde die Republik Irland vollständig unabhängig von Großbritannien. (Quelle: BBC)

4. Ireland has been used as a filming location for several famous films including Star Wars, The Princess Bride, Braveheart and Harry Potter. (Source: Irish Independent)

alt=“Interesting facts about Ireland 4″>DreamtimeSkellig Michael in Co Kerry starred in a scene in Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens

1. Seit der Gründung des Irischen Freistaats im Jahr 1922 ist die irische Harfe das offizielle Emblem Irlands, nicht das häufiger verwendete Kleeblatt. (Quelle: Irish Times)

2. With 22 letters, the town of Muckanaghederdauhaulia is considered Ireland's longest one-word place name. The name is derived from Muiceanach idir Dhá Sháile and means “pig swamp between two salt waters”. (Source: Irish Central)

3. One of the most famous facts about Ireland is that Dublin is home to the world-famous Guinness Brewery. In 1759, Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000-year lease on the land. (Source: Visit Dublin)

alt=“Interesting facts about Ireland 3″>DreamtimeThe Guinness Brewery in Dublin

1. Das Guinness World Records, ein jährlich erscheinendes Nachschlagewerk, das Weltrekorde auflistet, entstand 1954, als der Geschäftsführer von Guinness an einer Schießparty teilnahm und mit anderen Konkurrenten über den schnellsten Wildvogel Europas stritt und darin keine Antwort fand jedes verfügbare Nachschlagewerk. (Quelle: Guinness World Records)

2. The MacGillycuddy's Reeks are Ireland's highest mountain range, home to Carrauntoohil, which at 1,038 m (3,406 feet) is Ireland's highest mountain. (Source: CIA World Fact Book)

3. Ireland has a population of just over five million, of whom more than three quarters (78.3%) are Roman Catholic. (Source: CIA World Fact Book)

4. One of the strangest facts about Ireland takes place in the town of Killorglin in the Reeks District. Here, a goat is crowned King Puck for three days at a festival known as Puck Fair. The Queen of Puck, traditionally a local young schoolgirl, crowns the goat. (Source: Puck Fair)

alt="Interesting facts about the Irish Puck Fair">DreamtimeAt the Puck Fair, a goat is crowned King Puck

1. Kobolde haben ihren Ursprung in der irischen Folklore als Fee in Form eines winzigen alten Mannes, oft mit Dreispitz und Lederschürze. Das Wort leitet sich vom altirischen Wort luchorpan ab und bedeutet „kleiner Körper“. (Quelle: Britannica)

2. The ancestral language of the Irish is Irish Gaelic. However, the 2011 census found that 82,600 people in Ireland speak Irish outside of school (where it is a compulsory subject). The census also revealed that 119,526 speak Polish, meaning Irish is now the third most spoken language in Ireland after English and Polish. (Source: Irish Census 2011)

3. The most popular sport in Ireland is Gaelic Football, followed by Hurling. Both sports are native to Ireland. Collectively, the sports - along with Gaelic handball, rounders and others - are known as the Gaelic Games, under the aegis of the Gaelic Athletic Association. (Source: Irish Times)

4. In 2017, Leo Varadkar became Ireland's Prime Minister. Born in 1979, he is Ireland's youngest prime minister, the country's first openly gay leader and the first of Indian descent. (Source: BBC)

alt="Interesting facts about Ireland Varadkar">DreamtimeLeo Varadkar became Ireland's first openly gay leader

1. Halloween leitet sich vom irischen Fest Samhain ab. Am Ende des Sommers glaubten die Kelten, dass sich die Kluft zwischen unserer Welt und der Welt der Geister und Gespenster verdünnte, was böswilligen Wesen erlaubte, auf der Erde umherzuwandern. Irische Einwanderer in den USA steigerten die Popularität von Halloween im 19. Jahrhundert. (Quelle: BBC)

2. Irish surnames beginning with O mean “descendant of” in Irish Gaelic. Today there are four O' names in the top 10 most common Irish surnames (O'Brien, O'Sullivan, O'Connor, O'Neill). (Source: Irish Times)

3. Ireland is the sixth highest per capita beer consumer in the world, after the Czech Republic, Namibia, Austria, Germany and Poland. (Source: The Telegraph)

4. Ireland has won the Eurovision Song Contest more times than any other country - a record seven times (1970, 1980, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1996). It also became the first country to win the competition three times in a row. (Source: Eurovision Song Contest)

Photographer Valerie O'Sullivan captures the region's rich heritage and traditions, as well as other interesting facts about Ireland, in The MacGillycuddy's Reeks: People and Places of Ireland's Highest Mountain Range.

Main image: Valerie O’Sullivan

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