Time for some fun facts again – this time about Ireland! After living there for 4 years, I certainly noticed some things worth sharing. Let’s get started!
Claddagh Ring
Do you know how Irish people show their relationship status? By wearing a so-called Claddagh ring (no idea how to pronounce it correctly). It is a traditional Irish ring which represents love (heart), loyalty (crown), and friendship (hands). Depending on how you wear it, you reveal your relationship status.
Worn on the right ring finger, with the point of the heart towards the fingertips, it means that the person is single. If the point of the heart is towards the wrist, it means the person is in a relationship.
Worn on the left ring finger, with the point of the heart towards the fingertips, it means the person is engaged. If the point of the heart is towards the wrist, it means the person is married.
Irish Whiskey
Let’s continue with a fun fact about Irish whiskey. How do you distinguish Irish whiskey from Scottish? First of all, Irish Whiskey is triple distilled and secondly, it is spelt with an “e”. So I guess I should say WHISKEEEEY.
If you want to learn more about Irish whiskey, the Jameson Distillery is a great place to visit, down south in Middleton, near Cork. (LINK)
TV Commercials
You know the feeling when watching an exciting movie and all the sudden commercials interrupt and start playing for the next few minutes? Guess what, in Ireland, there are no commercials on TV during Christmas. How awesome!
Irish population
Besides all the stereotypes of Irish people having red hair, here comes the fun fact and disappointment! Only 9% of Irish population actually has red hair! I had the feeling that many of them have a light brownish colour.
Fireworks in Ireland
Did you know that fireworks in Ireland are illegal? In fact there are 4 categories, from F1 to F4. Fireworks in category F1 include party poppers or Christmas crackers that you can use inside and don’t do any harm. They are legal and can be bought by the public. Any other category cannot.
Due to this law, New Year’s Eve, in general, is super quiet as there is not really a firework. Going to a house party or some club in town usually is the best. I really think the government/public should organise one controlled by them for a few minutes, don’t you?
Closing Hours of Pubs
I can only speak for Cork, but pubs and even clubs close around 2:30 am usually. Then you cannot continue partying or drinking really unless you have good connections.
One thing people usually do in this case is to go to a casino. They are open until early morning hours and you can continue drinking there. How funny! I must say the Irish are very clever.
Charities
I have never lived in a country that has so many charities like Ireland. I feel like there are 3-5 charity shops in each street I go. Charities exist for everything, such as donating items (clothes, toys, books etc.), homeless, animal support, community support and much more.
It is said that those charities have an annual income of around 14-15 billion Euros, employ almost 200k people and benefit from around 300k volunteers, who donate around 70 million Euro. These numbers only count for the registered charities, not even the small ones that are not registered with Revenue.
Alright, those are all the fun facts about Ireland I have for now. I hope you enjoyed, learned or laughed a bit.
