|
|
|
|
|
Back to |
Back to |
TEST YOUR I.Q. (IRISH QUOTIENT)
How much do you know about things Irish?
Take this small quiz and find out!
For every answer you get right, give yourself a shamrock and
May the Luck of the Irish be with You!
(Answers appear when you hover over the shamrock by each question... but NO FAIR PEEKING!
Answers are also given at the end of the questions, in case Shawn the Leprechaun ran off with the shamrocks!)
Quiz Topics:
1. St. Patrick's Day is celebrated around the world on March 17th because...
A) It's
the day St. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland
B) It's the day St. Patrick proved that leprechauns exist
C) It’s the day St. Patrick died
D) It’s the day St. Patrick was born
2. St. Patrick is the patron saint of which country?
A) Ireland
B) England
C) United States
D) Scotland
3. Saint Patrick was thought to be from:
A) Ireland or
England
B) Scotland or England
C) England or France
D) Ireland or Scotland
4. What was St. Patrick's given name at birth?
A)
Calvin Klein
B) Marvin Stewart
C) Maewyn Succat
D) Miles Stone
5. When did Maewyn take the name of Patrick?
A) When
he got married
B) When he was kidnapped
C) When he was arrested
D) When he became a priest
6. Who kidnapped Maewyn Succat?
A)
A band of pirates
B) A group of Christians
C) Leprechauns
D) St. Patrick
7. True or False: In St. Patrick's time, poets ranked as high as
A) Court
Jesters
B) Kings
C) Princes
D) Beggars
8. In addition to being a very successful and famous Christian missionary, what else was Saint Patrick known for?
A)
Discovering the medicinal properties of the clover leaf
B) Driving the snakes out of Ireland
C) Being a talented harpist
D) Declaring the shamrock a symbol of Ireland
9. How long did St. Patrick's mission in Ireland last?
A) 30
days
B) 3 years
C) 30 days
D) 30 years
10. True or False: St. Patrick loved to listen to Irish tales so much that he declared that they all must be told in poetic verse from then on.
11. What is Blarney?
A) Lies
B) Used to make beer and soup
C) Flattery so thin we like it
D) Insults
12. The Blarney Stone is famous because:
A) Kissing
it is said to bring the kisser the gift of persuasive eloquence
B) Keeping it in your pocket is said to bring good luck
C) King Arthur is said to have pulled a sword from it
D) It marks the burial spot of St. Patrick
13. Leprechauns are said to be:
A)
Friendly little thieves who like to be chased and to give away stolen gold
B) Ill-tempered and unfriendly spirits, with a hidden pot of gold, capable of great mischief
C) Environmentally conscious persons who dress in green, and who like to eat sugary cereals
D) Tiny magicians found at the end of rainbows
14. If you catch a Leprechaun and take your eyes off him, what happens?
A)
He vanishes and so will your hopes of finding his treasure
B) He steals a kiss
C) He gives you all his gold
D) He throws the Blarney Stone at you
15. In what location is it rumored that leprechauns bury their pot of gold?
A) Under
the Blarney Stone
B) At the end of the rainbow
C) At the bottom of the Lucky Charms box
D) Behind the old oak tree
16. Why does a leprechaun wear green?
A) He
loves the color
B) As a form of camouflage
C) Because he felt it was lucky
D) It was the only dye available at the time for cloth
17. What popular Disney movie was about leprechauns?
A) Snow
White and the Seven Dwarfs
B) Little Lord Fauntleroy
C) Darby O'Gill and the Little People
D) Little Bo Peep
18. What did St. Patrick use the Shamrock for?
A) To
fan the pirates
B) To decorate his hat
C) To help explain the concept of the Trinity
D) As a spice in his salad
19. True or False: Shamrock and Clover are the same thing.
20. On St. Patrick's Day, what do people in Ireland wear?
A) Green
clothing
B) A shamrock
C) Nothing
D) Orange sashes
21. True or False: St. Patrick changed Ireland's national color to green.
22. The color of Green for Ireland stands for:
A) Nature
B) Hope
C) Life
D) Jealousy
23. The color green is associated with St. Patrick's Day because:
A) It is the color of spring,
Ireland and the shamrock
B) St. Patrick is said to have worn a green felt hat
C) It represents the grain used to make Irish beer
D) It symbolizes spiritual renewal
24. What happens if you don't wear green on St. Patrick's Day?
A) You
get to pinch someone
B) You get pinched
C) You have to eat green bagels.
D) You get kissed by a toad
25. Who started the tradition of pinching?
A) A
band of pirates
B) School children
C) Leprechauns
D) Teachers
26. What is Ireland's nickname?
A) The
Emerald Isle
B) The Old Sod
C) Four Green Fields
D) The Bower
27. What does "Céad míle fáilte romhat!" mean?
A)
“Cheers”
B) “A hundred thousand welcomes”
C) “Thank you”
D) “Welcome back”
28. "Erin go Bragh" means this in Irish:
A) Irish
Bragging Rights
B) Ireland Forever
C) Ireland the Brave
D) British Go! (from Ireland)
29. The official emblem of Ireland is:
A) The
Shamrock
B) The Harp
C) The Blarney Stone
D) The Leprechaun
30. The name Dublin comes from the Irish "Dubh Linn", which means what?
A) Dark
Rose
B) City of Gates
C) Black Pool
D) Crossing at the Ford
31. The luck of the Irish is:
A)
Finding a
four-leaf clover
B) The wearing of the green
C) Kissing the Blarney Stone
32. The Irish are said to have brought this breakfast to America?
A)
Oatmeal
B) Potatoes
C) Lucky Charms cereal
D) Green eggs and ham
33. If you ask for an Irish Coffee in a restaurant, what do you get?
A) Green
coffee
B) Green Beer
C) Coffee with whiskey in it
D) Tea sweetened with ground shamrocks
34. A popular Irish dish that is shredded cabbage, minced onions, mashed potatoes and melted butter is known as:
A)
Mulligatawny
B) Shepherds' Pie
C) Colcannon
D) Corned
Beef and Cabbage
E) Fairy Porridge
35. What Irish Beer is named after the man who started keeping track of bizarre information?
A)
Smithwick’s Beer, after Tom Smithwick, an Irish farmer who wrote the first
Farmer’s Almanac
B) Guiness Beer, after the man, who began Guiness World Book of Records
C) Killian’s Beer, after Rip Lee Killian, who wrote Ripley’s Believe It Or Not
D) Murphy’s Beer, after William Murphy, who penned Murphy’s Laws
36. With Ireland's population at 3.5 million, what is the approximate ratio of pubs to people?
A) 1 to
2,00 people
B) 1 to 150 people
C) 1 to 1,000 people
D) 1 to 350 people
37. On what days are Irish pubs closed?
A)
Never
B) Every Sunday
C) Good Friday and Christmas Day
D) Ash Wednesday and Good Friday
38. A whisky made from potatoes is called?
A) Poteen
B) Tater Shots
C) Drown
D) Potato-Ale
39. The 1800's term "Paddy Wagon" comes from this:
A) The
police wagons had soft leather padding.
B) When the drunk Irish got arrested, they all said their name was Paddy
C) The Police Station was in Paddington.
D) The maker of the police wagon was "Paddy, Inc."
40. In early Irish days, the clergy condemned this type of music, reducing the players to become beggars.
A) Lutes
B) Drums
C) Tambourines
D) Fiddling and Piping (bag pipers)
41. According to the Irish, what should one do at a wake?
A) Sing a
song
B) Cry
C) Drink alcohol
D) Roll the casket down a flight of stairs
42. Which style of ring is often considered the "Wedding Ring?"
A)
Claddagh
B) Lover's Celtic Knot
C) Any ring with an emerald stone
D) A ring that's a carved circle of Green Jade
43. Irish Soldiers (For the British Army) during the Revolutionary War played the Fife and Drum. What's a fife?
A) A
whistle made of birch
B) A horn named its inventor Padraic Fife
C) A flute that's a little higher in pitch or tone
D) A tin whistle
44. What Irish dance later became popular in America in the early century?
A) The Irish
Two-Step
B) The Boston Rage
C) Irish Jig
D) The Gaelic Galop
45. What is Muckanaghederdauhaulia?
A) The
LONGEST town name in Ireland
B) Celtic for “The mud in the river is carried to the well”
C) A cabbage dish served every St. Patrick’s Day in most pubs in Ireland
D) A traditional St. Patrick’s Day drink, combining a shot of every Irish beer in the pub
46. The Irish Wolfhound got a seedy reputation in what story?
A) Lady
and the Tramp by Walt Disney
B) Old Yeller by Fred Gipson
C) The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sherlock Holmes
D) Boru, The Story of an Irish Wolfhound by J. Allan Dunn
47. Irish farmers in the spring would do this to each member of their family as they said, "In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost."
A) Pull
the leaves off a shamrock.
B) Give a
toast with beer to each member.
C) Mark a cross on their arm with ash from a burnt stick.
D) Hang a cross over their beds.
48 The City of Cork, Ireland is named that because:
A) It makes the corks for beer bottles
B) After the King's name...Cork
C) The cork is another name for marshes
D) None of the above. It's just its name.
49. W. B. Yeats is an Irish poet who loved to write about:
A)
Leprechauns
B) Fairies and Ghosts
C) Trolls
D) Mermaids
50. According to Irish legends, where do the fairies who kidnap brides and babies take them?
A) In the
forests
B) In fairy mounds
C) In caves in the mountains
D) Under Bridges
51. If you're out looking for a pot of gold, and you come across a leprechaun with a shillelagh, (pronounced: sha-lay'-li) that would mean he
A)
Is carrying a big stick
B) Has a four-leaf clover
C) Is walking a pot-bellied pig
D) Is toting a 10-gauge shotgun
52. The oldest known Irish stone carvings show people playing this instrument:
A) Fiddles
B) Harps
C) Flutes
D) Bagpipes
53. In Ireland, many people have last names that start with "Mac," meaning "son of." What does the "O", as in "O'Brien", mean?
A) “Brother
of”
B) “Grandson of”
C) “Father of”
D) “Nephew of”
54. "Aer Lingus" is:
A) An
ancient Irish epic poem
B) A slow and mournful Irish song
C) The Irish national airline
D) The proper name for the Irish language
55. Michael Flatley popularized what type of Irish dance step?
A) Irish
jig
B) Step Dancing
C) Gaelic Galop
D) The River Dance
56. What weed is often called "The Irish Daisy" and children rub under their chins to get a yellow color?
A)
Buttercup
B) Dandelion
C) All Yellow Daisies
D) Mustard
57. Where was the first St. Patrick's Day celebrated in America?
A) Richmond,
VA
B) Plymouth, MA
C) Boston, MA
D) Philadelphia, PA
58. The first St. Patrick's Day parade was held during the American Revolution in this city?
A) Boston
B) New York
C) Philadelphia
D) Washington, D.C.
59."Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral" is an American-written Irish tune that Bing Crosby made popular in what movie?
A)
“Holiday Inn”
B) “Going My Way”
C) “The Bells of Saint Mary’s”
D) “White Christmas”
60. What special event has taken place for the past 43 years as part of Chicago’s St. Patrick's Day Parade celebrations?
A) They serve
nothing but Green Beer in all the city’s pubs
B) Local Police hand out violations to anyone not wearing green
C) They dye the Chicago River green
D) Officials place pots of Gold on street corners scattered throughout the city
61. Which rock band is NOT from Ireland?
A) U2
B) Green Day
C) The Cranberries
D) Firegarden
62. Which celebrity is/was Irish?
A)
Kate Winslet (Star of Titanic)
B) Pierce
Brosnan (Star of James Bond: Tomorrow Never Dies)
C) Arnold Schwarzenegger (Star of The Terminator)
D) Bing Crosby (Star and crooner of many movies)
63. On what day during Lent were all restrictions set aside in Ireland?
A) St.
Patrick's Day
B) One day, as chosen by the fasting person
C) Never
D) Every third day
64. What should you do to be lucky on St. Patrick's Day?
A)
Find a four-leaf clover
B) Wear green (so you don't get pinched)
C) Kiss the Blarney Stone
D) Catch a Leprechaun
1. C) It’s the day St. Patrick died - St. Patrick's Day is celebrated around the world on March 17th because it's the day St. Patrick died in the year 461.
2. A) Ireland - St. Patrick's Day is a happy holiday for the Irish wherever they may be - in Dublin, New York City, Boston, or San Francisco. The day is celebrated with parades, speeches, festive dinners, and dances.
3. B) Scotland or England - He was probably born in Scotland or Britain near the end of the fourth century. No one knows his birth or death date. March 17 is traditionally considered to be one of the two, but there is no documentation for this. The only documents about Patrick are his Confession and a letter he wrote to Coroticus.
4. C) Maewyn Succat
5. D) When he became a priest - He finally escaped (after voices in one of his visions told him where he could find a getaway ship) and went to France, where he became a priest (and later a bishop). When he was about 60 years old, St. Patrick traveled to Ireland to spread the Christian word. It's said that Patrick had an unusually winning personality, and that helped him win converts. Patrick predates the Roman Catholic Church, and was considered a “saint” before the Roman church created its canon (list) of saints (and added him to it).
6. A) A band of pirates - kidnapped at the age of 16 by pirates and sold into slavery in Ireland. During his 6-year captivity (working as a shepherd), he began to have religious visions, and found strength in his faith.
7. B) Kings - A Poet often got the best meat and best price for his entertainment.
8. B) Driving the snakes out of Ireland - Of course, though it is true that there are no snakes in Ireland, there probably have not been since Ireland was separated from the continent of Europe at the end of the ice age. Actually, the legend that St. Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland may just be a colorful reference to the fact that he brought Christianity to the island, replacing paganism. In many pagan sects, snakes are symbols or objects of worship.
9. D) 30 years
10. True - Story has it that he loved Caoilte, a famous poet of his time. He declared all Irish tales be told where “every third word have melody”.
11. (C) Flattery so thin we like it - as defined by Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, who distinguished blarney from baloney, the latter being flattery so thick it cannot be true.
12. A) Kissing it is said to bring the kisser the gift of persuasive eloquence - Kissing the Blarney Stone, gives you the "gift of gab." If you give it one kiss, you can talk a lot of "blarney" and people will still believe you! The stone is set in a wall of the Blarney Castle tower in the Irish village of Blarney. The castle was built in 1446 by Cormac Laidhiv McCarthy (Lord of Muskerry) -- its walls are 18 feet thick (necessary to thwart attacks by Cromwellians and William III's troops). Thousands of tourists a year still visit the castle. The origins of the Blarney Stone's magical properties aren't clear, but one legend says that an old woman cast a spell on the stone to reward a king who had saved her from drowning. Kissing the stone while under the spell gave the king the ability to speak sweetly and convincingly. It's tough to reach the stone -- it's between the main castle wall and the parapet. Kissers have to lie on their back, and bend backward and downward, holding iron bars for support (click here to see a picture). And when you do, you will be kissing something that has been kissed by thousands of people a year for 500 years! Yuck! (To kiss the Blarney Stone on the web, click here!)
13. B) Ill-tempered and unfriendly spirits, with a hidden pot of gold capable of great mischief - Leprechauns really don't have anything to do with St. Patrick's Day, but they are probably used because they're Irish and are made to look cute in illustrations. A Leprechaun looks like a small, old man (about 2-3 feet tall), often dressed like a shoemaker, with a cocked hat and a leather apron. According to legend, leprechauns are aloof and unfriendly, live alone, and pass the time making shoes...they also possess a hidden pot of gold. Treasure hunters can often track down a leprechaun by the sound of his shoemaker's hammer. If caught, he can be forced (with the threat of bodily violence) to reveal the whereabouts of his treasure, but the captor must keep their eyes on him every second. If the captor's eyes leave the leprechaun (and he often tricks them into looking away), he vanishes and all hopes of finding the treasure are lost.
14. A) He vanishes and so will your hopes of finding his treasure
15. B) At the end of the rainbow - To discover where one leprechaun said his gold was, click here!
16. B) As a form of camouflage - It was to blend in with nature and hide better.
17. C) Darby O'Gill and the Little People
18. C) To help explain the concept of the Trinity - There is no historical evidence to support this claim, but St. Patrick is said to have used the 3 leaves as a metaphor to explain the concept of the Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit).
19. Both - It all depends on WHO you ask. A shamrock grows in Ireland. But Clover grows in America. Botonists claim is the same plant, although the leaves and flowers vary! But don't tell that to the Irish. ;)
20. (B) A shamrock - A sprig of shamrock worn on the lapel of the coat.
21. False - During St. Patrick's time the color was Blue. Green wasn't popular until the 19th century
22. A) or B) - Some say it means Nature others say it means Hope.
23. A) It is the color of spring, Ireland and the shamrock
24. B) You get pinched - At least that's what your friends will tell you. So be sure to wear green!
25. B) School children
26. All of them! But “The Emerald Isle” is the most common.
27. B) A hundred thousand welcomes - Pronounced “X cade meelah foyle-ta row-ott”. “Cheers” is “X sláinte”. “Thank you” is “X Go raibh maith agat”. “Welcome Back” is “X Fáilte ar ais“.
28. B) Ireland Forever - Pronounced “X Erin guh brawk”, its literal translation means 'Ireland Forever', but more loosely translated, it would mean 'Long Live Ireland'. It was one of the many catchphrases popularized in the turbulent political and social environment of 19th century Ireland, when the majority of the people still spoke Irish (Gaelic). May also be written as Éire go Brách or Éireann go Brách.
29. B) The Harp - The harp is an ancient musical instrument used in Ireland for centuries. It is also a symbol of Ireland (and of course of Guinness!). Harpists, who were often blind, occupied a honored place in Irish society and, together with bards (or poets) played an important role in the social structure, supported by chieftains and kings. O'Carolan was one of the most famous harpists, and many Irish melodies inspired by him survive to this day.
30. (C) Black Pool – So named by the founders because of the dark color of the water found there.
31. All of them!
32. A) Oatmeal – By the way, Ireland is not the home of the potato - it was imported to Ireland from America, introduced by Walter Raleigh. Click here to discover the legend of Lucky Charms! To learn how to make your very own green eggs and ham, click here!
33. C) Coffee with whiskey in it
34. C) Colcannon - Mulligatawny is a soup based on a chicken stock and curry, with cream, pieces of chicken, onion, celery, apples and almonds and garnished with rice. Shepherd’s Pie is made with meat with its pan gravy, carrots, peas and corn niblets which are topped with mashed potatoes and baked in an oven. Corned beef and cabbage is NOT an Irish dish - it's American; the Irish were so poor that beef was a rarity on their tables. Fairy Porridge is an illusive dish, with a magical touch… click here for one such tale.
35. B) Guiness Beer, after the man, who began Guiness World Book of Records
36. D) 1 to 350 people
37. C) Good Friday and Christmas Day
38. A) Poteen
39. B) When the drunk Irish got arrested, they all said their name was Paddy - It was termed by the non-Irish as a ”Paddy Wagon” since it always carried Paddy people.
40. D) Fiddling and Piping (bag pipers)
41. (A) Sing a song - and shed a tear when a child is born.
42. A) Claddagh - The original expression which accompanied the passage of the "Claddagh" was: "With these hands I give you my heart and I crown it with my love." The hand signifies Friendship, the crown Loyalty, and the heart Love. Also it is said that a D