☘️ Weekly Dose of Irish – April 10th, 2025

A chairde gaoil,

Pull up a chair, grab your mug of Barry's, and dive into your midweek magic full of Irish humour, history, facts, and a quiz to test that brilliant brain of yours.

🇮🇪 21 Mind-Blowing Irish Facts You Never Knew

Think you know Ireland like the back of your hand? Think again! This list of lesser-known Irish facts will leave you gobsmacked—from laws to legends and ancient languages.

 Ireland has Europe’s oldest working lighthouse

Hook Lighthouse in Co. Wexford has been operating since the 1100s.

👉 Read all 21 here

✈️ Ireland's Passport is One of the Most Powerful in the World

Who needs a visa when you’ve got the luck of the Irish and a passport that opens 190 doors worldwide? Here’s why the Irish passport is climbing the charts—and why you should be proud to flash that green booklet.

👉 Check it out here

😂 This Week’s Irish Joke:

This weeks Irish joke: The Irish Family tradition

Sean had long heard of the story of a family tradition. It seems that his father, his grandfather, and his great grandfather, had all been able to walk on water on their 18th birthday. On that particular day, they would walk across the lake to their local pub, ‘Murphy’s Bar’, for their first legal drink.

So when Sean’s 18th birthday arrived, he and his friend Mick took a boat, rowed out to the middle of the lake, and Sean stepped out of the boat.

He immediately sank and nearly drowned. He was only saved by Mick, who managed to pull him back into the boat.

Furious and confused, he went to see his grandmother and said, “Gran ’tis my 18th birthday. So why can’t I walk across the water, like my father, me grandfather, and his father before him?”

Grandma looked deep into Sean’s troubled eyes, looked at him with kind, benevolent eyes and said,

“Because they were all born in January, and the lake was frozen over; you were born in August, ye fecking eejit!!”

🧠 Weekly Irish Quiz – Test Your Irishness!

Let’s see how well you know the Emerald Isle 🇮🇪

1. What is the official national emblem of Ireland?

2. In what county would you find the Cliffs of Moher?

3. Who was the first President of Ireland?

4. What Irish sport uses a sliotar and a hurley?

👉 Scroll to the bottom for the answers! Don’t cheat now!

🗓️ On This Week in Irish History:

April 10th, 1998 – The Good Friday Agreement signed.

A turning point in Irish peace history. Remembered with pride.

April 12th, 1916 – Roger Casement lands in Kerry.

Bringing German arms for the Easter Rising—what a bold move!

April 14th, 1879 – Birth of Annie M.P. Smithson

Nurse, novelist, nationalist—one fierce Irish woman.

🗣️ Irish Word of the Week:

Féileacán (FAY-leh-kawn) – Butterfly 🦋

A gorgeous-sounding word that rolls off the tongue and makes you want to skip through a meadow in Connemara. Try dropping it into a sentence:

“Chonaic mé féileacán ag eitilt sa ghairdín.”

“I saw a butterfly flying in the garden.”

🤯 Did You Know?

There’s a town in Ireland called “Muckanaghederdauhaulia” in Co. Galway.

It’s the longest one-word place name in Ireland. Say that after a few pints 🍻

📨 Share Your Story:

Have a great Irish memory, joke, or photo? We want to feature you next week! Tag us on Facebook @irisharoundtheworld or reply to this email ☘️

💬 Quote of the Week:

“Being Irish is very much a part of who I am. I take it everywhere with me.”

– Colin Farrell

✅ Irish Quiz Answers:

1. The harp
2. County Clare
3. Douglas Hyde
4. Hurling
5. 1998

That’s your weekly scoop of Irish gold 💚

Don’t forget to share it with a friend, cousin, or your favourite cousin’s dog walker.

Be grand, stay cheeky,

Stephen @ Irish Around The World