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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.
Set a lovely tea table with Bewleys!
Bewleys Tea Pot
 C) And, not to be outdone, for those of you who enjoy a nice cuppa tea, Lollysmith is offering this lovely teapot from the famous coffee house in Dublin. Sorry, you have to provide your own Irish tea - but not to worry, Lollysmith also stocks that and other Bewleys products. To visit their web site, 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.
May Quiz
1. Which flowers placed on the threshold would protect a home from “the good people?”
a) rhododendrons
b) primroses
c) irises not in bloom
2. Who is ‘the poor splendid Poet of the burning eyes’ ?
a)Thomas MacDonagh
b) James Clarence Mangan
c) Thomas Kinsella
3. Which Sean O’Casey play made its debut at the Abbey Theatre in May, 1924?
a) Juno & The Paycock
b) The Shadow of a Gunman
c)The Plough & The Stars
4. Where is O’Sullivan’s Cascade located?
a) Killorglin
b) Kilmoyley
c) Killarney
5. Who wrote the song Phil the Fluther's Ball?
a) Noel Hogan
b) Percy French
c) Samuel Lover
6. What is an oige?
a) The Irish Youth Hostel Association
b) An archway
c) An sncient oven
7. Which Irish saint established a community on Iona?
a) St. Carthage
b) St. Brendan
c) St. Columcille
8. When was actor Gabriel Byrne born?
a) May 12, 1950
b) May 12, 1945
c) May 12, 1946
9. What is George “McIrish” McElroy’s claim to fame?
a) He wrote the book “Ireland” (World’s Political Hot Spots)?
b) He is Ireland’s highest scoring WW1 ace
c) He represented the Republic of Ireland at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World in 1999.
10 What is the title of Seamus Heaney’s first volume of poetry?
a) The Haw lantern
b) Death of a Naturalist
c) Door into the Dark
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Answers to April Quiz
1. What is furze called in the north of Ireland?
a) gorse
- b) whin
c) yellowman
2. What pseudonym did Michael Moran use?
- a) Zozimus
b) Hugh Maxton
c) Flann O’Brien
3. Who wrote The Vicar of Wakefield?
a) Austin Clarke
b) Dennis O’Driscoll
- c) Oliver Goldsmith
4. What are crubeens?
- a) pig’s trotters
b) croutons made from soda bread
c) cabbage rolls stuffed with pork
5. Where is Ilnacullen?
a) Clear Island
b) Dursey Island
- c) Garnish Island
6. Who said “Life springs from death; and from the graves of patriot men and women spring living nations.”
a) James Connolly
b) Seán Mac Diarmada
- c) Padraig Pearse
7. What is the Irish phrase for Spring Cleaning?
- a) Glanadh an earraigh
b) Cá bfhuil an leithreas
c) Nar lagai Dia thu
8. Where would you put pampooties?
a) On your hands
- b) On your feet
c) In a frying pan
9. When was the tricolor national flag of ireland presented to the public for the first time?
a) April, 1798
- b) April, 1848
c) April, 1916
10. What major event began in April, 1864 and continues to this day?
- a) The Dublin Horse Show
b) The Dublin Marathon
c) The Dublin Opera Festival
###
Winner's Circle
2008
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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Sat, May 3, 2008
Irish Furze
Called whin in the north and gorse in the east, furze was once a symbol of wealth and fertility of land as is emphasized by the saying: "gold under furze, silver under rushes and famine under heather."
As indigenous to the early summer landscape as rhododendrons, it is despised by farmers because of its invasive properties; but in the past, it had many good uses.
It ignites quickly, so it was used for starting the fire: it was also used for cleaning the chimney, tilling the soil, dyeing wool and fabric, and as a flavouring for whiskey (which may have improved its rating with the farmers!). It had medicinal powers and its magical powers were undisputed in preventing the good people from stealing the butter on May day. And, at mid-summer, blazing branches were carried round the herd to bring good health to the cows for the coming year.
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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