Destination Spotlight

7 Interesting Facts about Ireland

Ireland is known as the Emerald Isle of its famously lush greenery and rolling hills. But it is rich in culture you can’t see as well, with an incredible history of literature, music, and art, and some very interesting and quirky history! Here are seven interesting facts about Ireland.

• The Titanic was built in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
• Between 1880 and 1916, the legal time in Dublin was set at Dunsink Observatory and called Dublin Mean Time. This time was 25 minutes 21 seconds behind Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
• You may associate the shamrock with Ireland, but it actually has two national symbols – the harp and the shamrock. Ireland is the only nation in the world with a musical instrument as its national symbol.
• Halloween has its origins in the Celtic harvest festival of Samhain that took place in Ireland at the end of the summer.
• Ireland’s Patron Saint Patrick was not Irish. He was a Briton. As a teenager, he was kidnapped by Irish pirates and was forced to work as a slave herding sheep. He turned to God during this time.
• The world famous Guinness beer is from Ireland. It originated in the Dublin brewery of Arthur Guinness, which wasn’t actually owned by the company, but rather granted a 9,000 year lease. (The company has since bought the famous St. James’s Gate Brewery.)
• The longest place name in Ireland is Muckanaghederdauhaulia (muk-an-hand-ra-do-dauter-hal-i-a). It is a 470-acre townland in the civil parish of Kilcummin in County Galway, Ireland.

Ready to explore Ireland? Learn more about our Ireland programs.