10 Things You Didn't Know About Ireland

Biggins

10 Things You Didn't Know About Ireland

(complements of ABC News due to it being St Patricks day.)

Technically, It Is an Offense to Be Drunk in Public in Ireland

This has to be one of the least enforced laws in the history of any legal system. If the letter of the law were to be enforced in this area, half the county would have to be incarcerated every weekend -- but it is indeed true. Regulations introduced last year allow the police to issue on-the-spot fines for anyone caught being drunk in a public police In Ireland.
In reality, however, the police are generally pretty happy for you to get as hammered as you want, as long as you aren't bothering anyone else, and aren't in any immediate danger of hurting yourself. So drink up! (But do it safely.)

An Irishman Founded the Argentinean Navy

William Brown, who was born in Co. Mayo, is acknowledged as the founder of the Argentinean navy, and was also an important leader in the Argentinean struggle for independence from Spain.

His family left for Philadelphia around 1786, when he was nine. He started off seafaring as a cabin boy, and ended up fighting in the Napoleonic wars, where he was captured as a prisoner of war. Then he escaped the Germans, before eventually ending up Montevideo, Uruguay, where he became a sea trader, and later ended up founding the Argentinean navy, which was involved in a war against Spain.
Today there is a statue of Brown in his hometown of Foxford, Co. Mayo, which was unveiled in 2007, the 150th anniversary of his death; in Argentina, where he is regarded as a hero, there are two towns, around 1,000 streets and 500 statues, a city and a few football clubs, named after him.

Only 2 Members of U2 Were Born in Ireland

David Howell Evans, more commonly known as The Edge, was born in London, to Welsh parents, Garvin and Gwenda Evans, who moved to Malahide in Dublin when The Edge was one year old. Adam Clayton, U2's bassist, was born in Oxfordshire, England. His family moved to Malahide in Dublin when he was five, and he became childhood friends with The Edge. Only Bono and Larry Mullen Jr. were actually born in Dublin.

The Street on Which You Will Find the British Embassy in Tehran Is Named After an Irishman

The street on which you will find the British Embassy in Tehran is named after an Irishman.
In 1981, the death of Bobby Sands, the leader of the IRA hunger strikers, brought the world's attention on the seemingly intractable conflict in Northern Ireland. Two years before, the Iranian revolution brought the Ayatollah Khomeini into power in Iran. Presumably to annoy the British government , or perhaps as a token of solidarity with the hunger strikers (depending on your perspective), the Iranian government changed the street on which the British Embassy is located, from "Churchill Boulevard" (after the British prime minister) to "Bobby Sands Street." Pedram Moallemian, an Iranian student who was involved in renaming the street, wrote, "The larger victory, however, was when we discovered the embassy had been forced to change their mailing address and all their printed material to reflect a side door address in order to avoid using Bobby's name anywhere."

Up Until Around the Early 1990s, Ireland Had a Low Per Capita Consumption of Alcohol

Obviously whenever the word "Irish" comes up, "drinking" is never far behind. And it is true that today, Ireland's alcohol consumption, which has fallen in recent years, is still very high by international standards.

A survey in 2006, for example, found that the Irish spend a higher proportion of their income than any other country in Europe, and also found that the Irish were the worst binge drinkers in Europe. So the recent evidence certainly supports the old Irish drunkard stereotype. But prior to Ireland becoming a wealthy country, its alcohol consumption per population was actually quite moderate: throughout the 20th century in Ireland, there was a high level of alcohol abstinence, as this is a trait more commonly associated with Protestant countries.
But as the Catholic Church saw its moral authority decline toward the end of the 20th century, and as the country became wealthier, the Irish became to drink a lot more -- finally earning themselves the stereotype that has been fixed to them for so long. One likely reason the Irish had earned themselves this stereotype of being heavy drinkers was because of their immigrants: no doubt to drown out the pain of being dislocated from their home country, Irish immigrants in the U.K. and the U.S. tended to be big drinkers.

A Hospital in Belfast Is a World Leader in Kneecap Reconstruction

God knows, there have been many a kneecap that has had to have been reconstructed in Northern Ireland over the last few decades. (Shooting people in the kneecaps was a favored way for Republican and loyalist paramilitaries to control their own neighborhoods.) During the Troubles, the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast had one of the top trauma units in Europe. At one point as many as 100 victims of "limb executions" were being treated by the hospital every year, whose advances included external "limb scaffolding" that enables partial healing for bone damage too severe for reconstruction.

Ireland Has the Fourth Largest Stadium in Europe

Dublin's Croke Park, the headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association, is the fourth largest stadium in Europe: since its redevelopment in 2005, and with a capacity of 82,300, only four venues in Europe are bigger: Barcelona's Camp Nou, Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu, Milan's Stadio San Siro and London's Wembley. Up until 2007, rugby and soccer were not allowed to be played in Croke park by the GAA, a rule that was relaxed when the main soccer and rugby stadium, Landsdown Road, was closed for renovation.

In the Summer of 2007, It Rained in Ireland for 40 Days Straight

Even by Irish standards, this was a very, very wet summer. By August 24, it had rained in Ireland for 40 days -- fulfilling an Irish proverb that says if it should rain on St. Swithin's day (July 15), it will continue to rain every day for the next 40. Usually, at least an Irish summer will give at least a few weeks of sunshine and a break from the rain -- at which time the feel good factor in the country goes sky high, for the sheer novelty value of sunshine. But not so, the summer of '07.

Playboy Was Banned in Ireland Until 1995

That's right -- in 1995 although you could get Playboy TV, you couldn't get the magazine, which was banned under the country's censorship laws.

More Guinness Is Sold in Nigeria Than in Ireland

That's right: Ireland is the third largest market for Guinness. Nigeria is at second, and the U.K. is the first.

Firetrap

Jaysuz. Always back to the drink :rolleyes:

Zillah

Biggins wrote: »

The Street on Which You Will Find the British Embassy in Tehran Is Named After an Irishman

The street on which you will find the British Embassy in Tehran is named after an Irishman.
In 1981, the death of Bobby Sands, the leader of the IRA hunger strikers, brought the world's attention on the seemingly intractable conflict in Northern Ireland. Two years before, the Iranian revolution brought the Ayatollah Khomeini into power in Iran. Presumably to annoy the British government , or perhaps as a token of solidarity with the hunger strikers (depending on your perspective), the Iranian government changed the street on which the British Embassy is located, from "Churchill Boulevard" (after the British prime minister) to "Bobby Sands Street." Pedram Moallemian, an Iranian student who was involved in renaming the street, wrote, "The larger victory, however, was when we discovered the embassy had been forced to change their mailing address and all their printed material to reflect a side door address in order to avoid using Bobby's name anywhere."

This is awesome.

iguana

Biggins wrote: »

A survey in 2006, for example, found that the Irish spend a higher proportion of their income than any other country in Europe,

That's only because all alcohol is so ridiculously expensive in Ireland.

FlutterinBantam

:cool:

I knew all that!!

Biggins

Playboy Was Banned in Ireland Until 1995

That's right -- in 1995 although you could get Playboy TV, you couldn't get the magazine, which was banned under the country's censorship laws.

...and I got my name in Playboy shorty after that - honest.
I still have a copy of it. LOL
I'm so proud. :D:D

Steyr

Also the Father of the United States Navy is Irish, Commodore John Barry.

MagicMarker

I didn't know Belfast was in Ireland.

gino85

Biggins wrote: »

A Hospital in Belfast Is a World Leader in Kneecap Reconstruction

God knows, there have been many a kneecap that has had to have been reconstructed in Northern Ireland over the last few decades. (Shooting people in the kneecaps was a favored way for Republican and loyalist paramilitaries to control their own neighborhoods.) During the Troubles, the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast had one of the top trauma units in Europe. At one point as many as 100 victims of "limb executions" were being treated by the hospital every year, whose advances included external "limb scaffolding" that enables partial healing for bone damage too severe for reconstruction.

i read somewhere that it was a leading hospital in gun shot wounds in general

m83

Biggins wrote: »

...and I got my name in Playboy shorty after that - honest.
I still have a copy of it. LOL
I'm so proud. :D:D

Miss December? I knew you looked familiar!

Creamy Goodness

surely if there are four stadiums bigger than croke park then croke park is the 5th biggest stadium in europe?

Donny5

Creamy Goodness wrote: »

surely if there are four stadiums bigger than croke park then croke park is the 5th biggest stadium in europe?

Don't go bringing mathematics into it.

Overheal

Biggins wrote: »

10 Things You Didn't Know About Ireland

(complements of ABC News due to it being St Patricks day.)

Technically, It Is an Offense to Be Drunk in Public in Ireland

This has to be one of the least enforced laws in the history of any legal system. If the letter of the law were to be enforced in this area, half the county would have to be incarcerated every weekend -- but it is indeed true. Regulations introduced last year allow the police to issue on-the-spot fines for anyone caught being drunk in a public police In Ireland.
In reality, however, the police are generally pretty happy for you to get as hammered as you want, as long as you aren't bothering anyone else, and aren't in any immediate danger of hurting yourself. So drink up! (But do it safely.)

omg

It was a few years ago, me and my brother got really drunk in Ennis and he ends up screaming at the cops down the street: I'M DRUNK AND I'M UNDERAGE AND THERE ISN'T A THING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT!! (cos we drank it all already)

:pac: Not that they did anything about it.

Ireland Has the Fourth Largest Stadium in Europe

And if ye'd only share it on a regular basis we might let you host something cool! I'd love to hit up Ireland for a World Cup I would.

byhookorbycrook

the man who explained why the sky is blue was Carlow man John Tyndall

Mark200

MagicMarker wrote: »

I didn't know Belfast was in Ireland.

It was in St Patrick's time.....

Hazys

iguana wrote: »

That's only because all alcohol is so ridiculously expensive in Ireland.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countries_by_alcohol_consumption

3rd in compsumption (not including Lux, too small a sample set)

14L of pure alcohol a year...

Nalz

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

the man who explained why the sky is blue was Carlow man John Tyndall

nice place that!

Svalbard

MagicMarker wrote: »

I didn't know Belfast was in Ireland.

Well, unless they've moved it...

rpmcs

MagicMarker wrote: »

I didn't know Belfast was in Ireland.

MagicMarker
ive seen a few of your post and wonder why?? is it just to wind people up? in any case your sad!

Dartz

Do not feed the trolls.

Stab them

Abi

Mark200 wrote: »

It was in St Patrick's time.....

They wrote it in this era. Thats ignorance for ya

+1 MM

MagicMarker

rpmcs wrote: »

MagicMarker
ive seen a few of your post and wonder why?? is it just to wind people up? in any case your sad!

You've only seen a few of my posts? ''Your'' missing out.

rpmcs

MagicMarker wrote: »

You've only seen a few of my posts? ''Your'' missing out.

maybe but ill never know and it wont bother me either!

Svalbard

MagicMarker wrote: »

You've only seen a few of my posts? ''Your'' missing out.

Trolling and correcting other people's grammar? All he needs to do now is be blatantly racist and the unholy trinity is complete.

brian ireland

rpmcs wrote: »

maybe but ill never know and it wont bother me either!

Are you angry with yourself???

Leprachaun

Biggins wrote: »

10 Things You Didn't Know About Ireland

(complements of ABC News due to it being St Patricks day.)

Technically, It Is an Offense to Be Drunk in Public in Ireland

This has to be one of the least enforced laws in the history of any legal system. If the letter of the law were to be enforced in this area, half the county would have to be incarcerated every weekend -- but it is indeed true. Regulations introduced last year allow the police to issue on-the-spot fines for anyone caught being drunk in a public police In Ireland.
In reality, however, the police are generally pretty happy for you to get as hammered as you want, as long as you aren't bothering anyone else, and aren't in any immediate danger of hurting yourself. So drink up! (But do it safely.)

What the....

If a guard tried to arrest me for this I'd probably be done for assaulting a member of the guardi aswell as this law is feckin fascist.

giggsy664

Svalbard wrote: »

Trolling and correcting other people's grammar? All he needs to do now is be blatantly racist and the unholy trinity is complete.

Svalbard. Is that some kind of stupid Swedish name is it. Well he can feck off and stop taking our jobs and our wimmin.

MagicMarker you can copy and paste it. I was possessed by a slightly lesser form of Satan, hence why there is 664 instead of 666 after my name.

magick

MagicMarker wrote: »

I didn't know Belfast was in Ireland.

someone failed geography!

Terry

MagicMarker wrote: »

You've only seen a few of my posts? ''Your'' missing out.

brian ireland wrote: »

Are you angry with yourself???

giggsy664 wrote: »

Svalbard. Is that some kind of stupid Swedish name is it. Well he can feck off and stop taking our jobs and our wimmin.

MagicMarker you can copy and paste it. I was possessed by a slightly lesser form of Satan, hence why there is 664 instead of 666 after my name.

STFU.

Sam Kade

Number 11. George Lowe from Mallow co. Cork toured with buffalo Bills wild west show.

humberklog

A friend and I were taken to court on that nonsense charge of being drunk (that and two other silly charges) back in '93. The good judge fecked it out of court and gave the garda a good old bollicking in packed room for wasting his and the courts time.
I felt like Gerry Conlon leaving the courts.

stepbar

Number 12

- There is 4 miles of coastline in Leitrim!

ArseBurger

Leprachaun wrote: »

What the....

If a guard tried to arrest me for this I'd probably be done for assaulting a member of the guardi aswell as this law is feckin fascist.

It has always been illegal to be intoxicated in Ireland. There is, however, no legal definition of intoxication and as a result it is up to the subjective opinion of the arresting officer.

humberklog

ArseBurger wrote: »

It has always been illegal to be intoxicated in Ireland. There is, however, no legal definition of intoxication and as a result it is up to the subjective opinion of the arresting officer.

If I recall correctly it was 1876 penal law. Could be out a few years on the date but that partcular law is from around then.

I think it had something to do with the mentalness getting out of hand in the 15acres in the Phoenix Park.

Number 13, We drive on the left in Ireland. :pac:

Mr Benevolent

Bet you didn't know where the world 'Ireland' comes from. No, it's not from the Irish of anything.

Ire (noun)
intense anger; wrath.

Ire-land. Simple eh?

Another thing. Hibernia is what the Romans called Ireland. It means 'winter land'.

humberklog

Confab wrote: »

Bet you didn't know where the world 'Ireland' comes from. No, it's not from the Irish of anything.

Ire (noun)
intense anger; wrath.

Ire-land. Simple eh?

Just curious as to where you got that info. I'm not saying it's wrong but I'd never come across it. I always thought it had to do with Erse or Erische (or something like that).

Rented Mule

MagicMarker wrote: »

I didn't know Belfast was in Ireland.

Someone needs to do their history homework.

Rented Mule

humberklog wrote: »

A friend and I were taken to court on that nonsense charge of being drunk (that and two other silly charges) back in '93. The good judge fecked it out of court and gave the garda a good old bollicking in packed room for wasting his and the courts time.
I felt like Gerry Conlon leaving the courts.

You should have run down to the local chipper screaming Free Giuseppe !!

Capt'n Midnight

Biggins wrote:

The Street on Which You Will Find the British Embassy in Tehran Is Named After an Irishman

The Russian Embassy Address: 184-186, Orwell Road, Rathgar, Dublin 14, Ireland


Ireland was at one time the largest exporter of bananas.

Those bananas were manufactured here.

994

humberklog wrote: »

Just curious as to where you got that info. I'm not saying it's wrong but I'd never come across it. I always thought it had to do with Erse or Erische (or something like that).

It's from Iwernos, meaning "fat land", i.e. fertile, productive land.

Paparazzo

Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Stadion NSK Olimpiyskiy in Kiev, and Stadio Olimpico in Rome are all bigger than Croker too.
If croker is counted as a 73,500 all seater (all the others are all seaters) Twickers in London, San Paolo in Napoli, Old Trafford in Manchester, Olympiastadion in Berlin, Stad de France in Paris, Millennium Stadium in Cardiff and Olympic Stadium in Istanbul are all bigger, so croker isn't even in the top 10

brian ireland

Terry wrote: »

STFU.

Why?

Terry

WTF?
That was a month ago.
I can't remember why I said something a month go.
You can be sure that I had a good reason to say it though.

Terry

Terry wrote: »

STFU.

brian ireland wrote: »

Why?

Terry wrote: »

WTF?
That was a month ago.
I can't remember why I said something a month go.
You can be sure that I had a good reason to say it though.

He sounds like a woman, holds a grudge for ever.

brian ireland

Deleted User wrote: »

He sounds like a woman, holds a grudge for ever.

Nah.I never subscribed to the thread, never saw your answer . i was looking through my old posts and found this. Just buzz-in. don't get upset, I am not. Have a nice weekend. people.

dresden8

Rented Mule wrote: »

Someone needs to do their history homework.

Or geography.

brian ireland

brian ireland wrote: »

Nah.I never subscribed to the thread, never saw your answer . i was looking through my old posts and found this. Just buzz-in. don't get upset, I am not. Have a nice weekend. people.

I know,
Unfortunately, dragging up old arguments has a bad habit of restarting them - just with different players.