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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.
November Quiz
What is Frank Duff famous for?
a) He wrote I'll Take You Home Again Kathleen
b) He is Ireland's first TV chef
c) He founded the Legion of Mary
2. When did Napper Tandy convene the first meeting of Dublin's United Irishmen?
a) November 9 1791
b) November 29, 1791
c) November 30 1791
3. On the Ardagh Chalice, a band running around the outside of bowl is engraved with what?
a) The Our Father in Irish
b) The names of the 12 apostles
c) The Confiteor in Latin
4. What is Ireland's official emblem?
a) The Harp
b) The Shamrock
c) The High Cross
5. Which Irish park is the largest enclosed park in Europe?
a) The Phoenix Park
b) Bunratty Folk Park
c) Fota Wildlife Park
6. Which Irish architect designed the White House in Washington DC?
a) James Haban
b) Francis Johnston
c) Edward Lovett Pearce
7. Which Irish poet was killed while fighting in Ypres France during WWI?
a) George C. Duggan
b) Patrick MacGill
c) Francis Ledwidge
8. Where is Ireland's smallest church located?
a) St. Gobhnan's, Portbraden Co. Antrim
b) St. Finbarr's Oratory, Gougane Barra Church, West Cork
c) Costello Memorial Chapel, Carrick on Shannon, Co. Leitrim
9. Which Irishman is credited with inventing the modern submarine?
a) Ernest Walton
b) John Tyndall
c) John Philip Holland
10. Who said "I'm only a beer teetotaller, not a champagne teetotaller?"
a) Oscar Wilde
b) W. B. Yeats
c) George Bernard Shaw
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Answers to October Quiz
1. Where is Ireland's most haunted castle located?
- a) Co. Clare
b) Co. Sligo
c) Co. Offaly
2. Who said "I wouldn't like to walk through a lonely glen on a wild and stormy moonless night."
- a) Shéamais Ó Drisceoil
b) Willliam Allingham
c) Michael Collins
3. Which famous irish group did Seán Ó Riada found?
a) The Dubliners
- b) The Chiefains
c) Planxty
4. Who is often called the "Uncrowned King of Ireland"?
a) Gay Byrne
b) Charles Haughey
- c) Charles Stewart Parnell
5. Terence MacSwiney was the mayor of which Irish city?
- a) Cork
b) Galway
c) Dublin
6. Who wrote The Book of Irish Weirdness?
a) Patricia Craig
- b) Mairtin O'Griofa
c) Hans Holzer
7. Kate Coll is the mother of which famous Irish statesman?
a) Douglas Hyde
b) Erskine Childers
- c) Eamon DeValera
8. What is a boreen?
- a) A narrow pathway
b) A long tunic
c) A boring person
9. On a journey, you meet a red-haired woman. What should you do?
a) Cross the road
b) Bless yourself
- c) Turn back
10. The original Abbey Theatre in Dublin was opened in 1904 on a site that was formerly what?
a) a pub
- b) a morgue
c) a monastery
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Winner's Circle
2009
October: Ruth Craig, Nova Scotia
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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Wed, Nov 11, 2009
The Ardagh Chalice
One of the finest specimens of Celtic art ever found, the cup combines classic beauty with exquisite Celtic ornamentation. It is composed of gold, silver, bronze, brass, copper, and lead and comprises 354 pieces, including 20 rivets. A band running round the outside of the bowl is engraved with the names of the twelve Apostles. Discovered near Ardagh in 1868, almost nothing is known of its history. It is believed to date from the 8th century and might be one of the cups stolen from Clonmacnois, in the year 1125.
The cup is on display at the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin and is part of the "National Treasures" collection which includes the Tara Brooch and the Cross of Cong.
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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