Did You Know

Interesting Facts about Ireland

Trivia, oddities, and curious tidbits about Ireland.

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Did You Know?

19 curious facts about Ireland.

Ireland per capita drinks the most milk in the world with the average per person each year consuming 164.46 quarts (that's approx. 1.8 cups per person each day or 656 cups per year).
Famous Irish-Canadians include Guy Carleton, governor of Quebec in the 18th century, Thomas D'Arcy McGee, one of the fathers of Confederation, and Timothy Eaton, founder of the T. Eaton Company..
In 1998, Parks Canada unveiled a monument to Irish immigrants on Grosse Ile in the St. Lawrence River. Irish immigrants were quarantined on the island before they entered Canada. In the 1830s, thousands of Irish people died of cholera there and in the 1840s, thousands more died of typhus and were buried on the island.
Peat, or “young coal,” is a type of fuel composed of plants that have decayed in marshes and swamps. Peat bogs cover more than 15% of Ireland. The peat is cut into bricks and dried. Peat can be burned for heat in homes or used to generate electricity in power plants.

During the Potato Famine of 1845 to 1851, Ireland's population dropped by half. A million Irish starved to death and millions more left Ireland and emigrated to countries around the world.
In the 17th century, Irish Catholics were forbidden to own land. Many lived in wagons and travelled from place to place to find work. Today, several thousand “travellers” still live in caravans and camp along the roadside.
Many of Ireland's glassworks, such as Waterford, were founded in the 18th century. The industry declined in the 19th century because of heavy taxes, restrictions on exports and the Potato Famine. In the 1940s, a group of Irish businessmen re-established several glass factories. By the 1980s, Waterford had become the world's largest producer of crystal.
The Irish invented steeplechasing-a cross-country event in which horseback riders race across country towards a distant landmark like a steeple, jumping over hedges, ditches, banks and walls on the way. The first race, held in 1752 in Cork County, started at Buttevant and ended at Doneraile Church steeple.
The Irish have made many contributions to medicine. In 1847, Robert MacDonnell became the first doctor to anaesthetize a patient before surgery. Francis Rynd (1801-61) invented the hypodermic syringe, which allowed doctors to give morphine by injection rather than by mouth.
In the 18th century, when the British banned Catholic schools, many Irish children attended secret classes held outdoors, known as “hedge schools.” There were no textbooks and the teachers taught from memory.

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