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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. 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/
February Quiz
1.Which Irish author was born on February 2 1882?
a) W. B. Yeats
b) George Bernard Shaw
c) James Joyce
2. Who wrote How The Irish Saved Civilization?
a) Thomas Cahill
b) Pat Coogan
c) John O'Donohue
3. In what year did Ireland switch to decimal currency?
a) 1961
b) 1971
c) 1981
4. Which pope declared February 14th as Valentine's Day?
a) Pope Gelasius
b) Pope Anastatius
c) Pope Symmachus
5. How do you say Happy Valentine's Day in Irish?
a) Lá Fhéle Vailintín
b) Beannachtaí na Fhéle Vailintín
c) Tá cion agam ort Vailintín
6. What is Ireland's official colour?
a) blue
b) green
c) gold
7. What are Munster plums?
a) turnips
b) cabbages
c) potatoes
8. How many players are there on a Gaelic football team?
a) 12
b) 13
c) 15
9. Why did Chieftains in medieval Ulster go out of their way to marry Scotswomen?
a) Because they brought dowries of mercenary troops with them
b) Because they were thrifty
c) Because they spoke the same Gaelic dialect
10. Every spring, millioms of what swim up the River Bann tto breed?
a) salmon
b) eel
c) trout
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Answers to January Quiz
1. Where is O'Sullivan's Cascade?
- a) Killarney
b) Kerry
c) Kildare
2.Annie Moore, the first emigrant to pass through Ellis Island, left Co. Cork on what ship?
a) SS Adriatic
- b) SS Nevada
c) SS Athlone Castle
3. Who is "mother to the saints of Ireland?"
a) St. Bridgid
- b) St. Ita
c) Mary, the mother of God
4. On a speaking tour of America, which renowned poet did
Oscar Wilde visit?
a) Emily Dickinson
b) Ralph Waldo Emerson
c) Robert Frost
We apologize for this question; NONE of our answers is correct.
We have been informed that Oscar met with Walt Whitman and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. This question was not counted in determining the winner (no matter what you may have chosen). - sorry.
5.What does Ní mór dom roinnt meachain a chailliúint mean?
- a) I must lose some weight
b) I should quit smoking
c) I need to save more money
6. Who wrote Traits & Stories of the Irish Peasants?
a) Samuel Lover
- b) William Carleton
c) Joseph McGowan
7. Eithne Ní Bhraonáin is better known as who?
a) Mary Black
b) Julie Feeney
- c) Eyna
8. 'Balbriggans' were once a name for what kind of clothing?
- a) Stockings & Tights
b) Gloves or mittens
c) Plus Fours or Cuffed Trousers
9. What beverage did Robert Louis Stevenson, the author of Treasure Island, take with him with him on his travels to Samoa?
- a) Guinness
b) Jameson Whiskey
c) Bewleys Tea
10. Milk drawn from a hazelnut kernel, when added to mead or honeyed water, was once used to help cure what ailment?
a) Hangover
- b) Cough
c) Headache
###
Winner's Circle
2012
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
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Fri, Feb 3, 2012
Trysting Stones
Centuries ago, before wedding ceremonies moved from the bride's house to the church steps, and finally into the church itself, the joining of a couple was often conducted in a place of mystical significance. On Cape Clear, Co. Cork, there is a townland called Comillane where you'll find a pillarstone known as Cloch na Gealluna - 'The Trysting Stone'. It has a hole right through it and in pre-Christian times, a couple would join hands through the stone and in the presence of the local king, they would wed. Similarly, at Kilmaolcheader church near Dingle, Co. Kerry, stands a pillar with a circular opening near the top. It's said that a couple is engaged if they join hands through the opening.
For more please click Baltimore, West Cork.
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.
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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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