Ireland — the Emerald Isle. Guinness, Riverdance, U2 and a pub on every corner. Here are 15 facts about a country with a smaller population than before the Great Famine of 1845.
- Ireland has fewer inhabitants (5 million) than before the Great Famine of 1845. 8.5 million lived here then. Famine and emigration to the USA halved the population — it hasn't recovered to this day.
- 40 million Americans have Irish roots — 8× more than the population of Ireland itself. Hence St. Patrick's Day parade is larger in NY than in Dublin.
- Guinness is poured according to a 119.5-second ratio. Perfect pour: 2/3 to the glass, wait 119 seconds, top up. St. James's Gate Brewery (1759) leased for 9000 years.
- Trinity College Library — Long Room holds 200,000 ancient books and the Book of Kells (800 AD), an illuminated gospel in medieval Latin.
- Ireland has 30,000 castles. Most in ruins, ~250 still habitable. The oldest: Dunluce Castle (13th c.) on a cliff over the Atlantic.
- Irish language (Gaeilge) — the first official language, but only 1.7% use it daily. All road signs are bilingual (Gaeilge above English).
- Cliffs of Moher — cliffs 214 m high, 8 km of coastline. Star Wars: Episode VII shot Ahch-To scenes here.
- Halloween was invented by the Celts (Samhain, 2000 years ago in Ireland). Carved pumpkin tradition originated from Irish turnips, replaced with pumpkins after emigration to the USA.
- The Republic of Ireland is the only English-speaking eurozone country — uses the euro (since 2002), while the UK kept the pound.
- Guinness World Records — registry "from Ireland". The book was conceived by Hugh Beaver, director of Guinness Brewery, after a pub dispute about the fastest game bird (1955).
- Least trees in Europe — Ireland has 11% forest cover (UK 13%, Poland 30%, Finland 73%). Cut by Vikings, English, for the British navy.
- Riverdance was born as a 7-minute interlude in Eurovision 1994. Success: 2000+ performances on 6 continents, watched by 25 million people.
- Phoenix Park in Dublin — Europe's largest urban park (707 hectares), 2× larger than Central Park in NY. Wild deer live there.
- Bono from U2 doesn't really know his parents well — Catholic father, Anglican mother (a rarity in Catholic 1960s Ireland). His mother died when he was 14.
- World's first pub smoking ban — Ireland 2004 (before Norway 2004, Italy 2005). The pub industry survived surprisingly well.
Sources: Central Statistics Office Ireland, Guinness Brewery archives, Tourism Ireland, UNESCO World Heritage.