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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) 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/
NOTE: Winners are responsible for any taxes; also any duty which may be levied when shipping to a country other than the USA.
June/July Quiz
1. Who is said to have been St. Kevin 's earliest tutor?
a) St. Petroc of Cornwall
b) St. Eugenius
c) St. Comgall
2. Who wrote Sun Dancing - Life in a Medieval Irish Monastery?
a) John Montague
b) Geoffrey Moorhouse
c) Jonathan Swift
3. Who is Leopold Bloom's alter ego?
a)Hugh Boylan
b) Stephen Dedalus
c) Malachi Mulligan
4. Which famous Irishman did Gregory Peck play in the movie the Scarlet & The Black?
a) Msg. Hugh O'Flaherty
b) Fr. Edward Flanagan
c) Fr. John Murphy
5. Giovanni Foli is better known as which Irish tenor?
a) Michael O'Duffy
b) Seamus O'Doherty
c) John McCormack
6.Who said "When I die I want to decompose in a barrel of porter and have it served in all the pubs in Dublin."
a) Brendan Behan
b) James Joyce
c) J.P. Donleavy
7. What is the main ingredient in Summery Flummery?
a) oatmeal
b) whiskey
c) custard
8. According to irish folklore, placing yarrow under the pillow on midsummer's night eve is said to do what?
a) Induce dreams of the future beloved
b) Help cure insomnia
c) Protect against nightmares
9. When the Abbey Theatre burned down in 1951, what song did the evening close with?
a) Keep the Home Fires Burning
b) Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
c) St. Elmos' Fire
10 Since mediaeval times, Dubliners held an annual drinking festival in July to honourwhich saint saint?
a) St. Colman
b) St. James
c) St. Killian
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Answers to May Quiz
1. What flower should be placed outside the doorway on the eve of Beltaine to protect the home from "the good people?"
- a) Primroses
b) Daisies
c) Bluebells
2. Who wrote the poem "Dark Rosaleen?"
a) Thomas MacDonagh
- b) James Clarence Mangan
c) Louis MacNeice
3. If taken three times in May, what will keep the rheumatics away?
a) Holy well water
b) Lamb Broth
- c) Nettle Soup
4. "Marry in May and..?
a) sweet the piper will play
b) there'll be hell to pay
- c) rue the day
5. Which Kate O'Brien novel was banned by the Free State Board of Censors in 1941?
- a) The Land of Spices
b) Without My Cloak
c) The Ante-Room
6. The Psaltair is the basis for one of the most famous legends of which saint?
a) St. Kevin
b) St. Brendan
- c) Saint Columcille
7. Where was Cromwell's army defeated in May 1650?
- a) Clonmel
b) Clonmacnoise
c) Clonakilty
8. Where did Oscar Wilde write The Ballad of Reading Gaol?
a) Berkshire England
- b) Paris, France
c) Dublin, Ireland
9. What did Gay Byrne receive as a going away present on his retirement from RTE in 1999?
- a) A Black Harley Davidson
b) A signed first edition of The Gift by Cecilia Ahern
c) A personalized Waterford Crystal paperweight
10. Who is credited with originating the term "The Emerald Isle?"
- a) Dr. William Drennan
b) Michael Doheny
c) Antoine Ó Raifteirí
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Winner's Circle
2009
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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Thu, Jun 25, 2009
Brian Boru-Ireland's greatest King
Brian was the twelfth son of Kennedy of Thomond. His eldest brother Malachi succeeded to the throne of Munster. Both Malachi and Brian were exceptional men. When the Danes began to overrun the country, the two brothers united, and swept them back inside their walled cities.Of the two brothers, Brian was more forceful, capable and energetic. When Malachi was killed by treachery, Brian was undisputed king. He reigned for thirty-nine years.
It was a time of unsurpassed glory, prosperity and happiness. He promoted the arts and learning. He is credited with having originated surnames. His patriotism and personal sacrifice brought the clans together, under one king, for the only time in Irish history.
He was eighty-nine when his army faced the armies of the Norsemen at the
Battle of Clontarf. Brian's warriors won the day, but Brian was dead, as were his son and grandson. The days of Ireland's finest king were gone.
In the words of his eulogist, "Brian was the last man in Erin who
was a match for a hundred."
Source: Irish Story Teller
Image Credit: PatriArts
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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