Ireland is one of the preferred destinations for Spaniards to learn English abroad. Beautiful for its green meadows, its pubs and its spectacular landscapes, it leaves no one indifferent. It’s not by chance. It is one of the most attractive destinations in Europe for different reasons. We are going to tell you some more Interesting facts about Ireland.
20 Interesting facts about Ireland
- Ireland occupies 83% of the surface of the island and the rest is Northern Ireland.
- It has 4.2 million inhabitants and most of the population lives in the east of the island.
- It is also known as the Emerald Isle (Emerald Isle), a term that comes from the Erin poem by William Drenan.
- In 1922 it became independent from the United Kingdom and became a republic in 1949.
- The cities with the most inhabitants are Dublin (the capital), with 1,058,000 inhabitants, Cork (192,000), Galway (74,000), Waterford (48,000) ) and Limerick (37,000).
- It has a very humid climate and it rains throughout the year, although in a rather light and soft way.
- The sports that are most practiced are Gaelic football (a mixture of football and rugby), rugby (of which they are true masters) and hurling, a game of Gaelic origin very fast and crazy that is played with a few shovels of wood on grass and where you have to hit the ball (here a video ).
- In Dublin we find the largest park in Europe, the Phoenix park, with 16 kilometers of surface.
- Irish beers are famous all over the world. Not only is Guinness beer.
- You also have the Murphy, the O’hara’s, Kilkenny, Beamish or Smithwicks.
- In Dublin is the Guinness Storehouse, where this beer is made and is open to the public to visit.
- The Shanon River is the largest on the island (322 km) and divides the western part of the east and the south.
- The Irish alphabet (there is a language that is called Irish, which is not English with an Irish accent and does not look like much) has only 18 letters. They do not have j, k, q, v, w, x, y, z.
- It is a land full of castles , among which the Castle of Blarney and the Fortress of Charles (Cork) stand out.
- On the Irish euro coins, the famous Celtic harp appears, a symbol of Ireland.
- Traditional Irish music has its own instruments: the bodhrán (a kind of small drum), the fiddle (like a violin), the tin whistle (a whistle) and of course the bagpipes.
- Patrick’s Day, patron saint of Ireland is the national holiday and is celebrated on March 17. The tradition is to dress in green and drink a lot, lots of beer.
- Ireland is a country with a predominantly Catholic religion, although attendance at mass is quite low.
- It is inspired by Gaelic and Nordic costumes. The traditional Celtic costume consisted of a jacket or mantle with borders, a tunic called leine and checkered breeches. Also the Scottish short skirt (kilt) has sometimes been used, although it is not as common as there.
- Irish dance is characterized by jumping in the air of the dancers. They are made in a group and often they hold hands. You can see here a video.
- Among the most typical meals are the Irish stew, a delicious dish made with lamb meat, onions, potatoes and a little parsley.
