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-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

###

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


###

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


 

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.





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.


Irish American Pub Quiz Book
by Liam McAtasney

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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Oct 18 2006, 07:08:43
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