Ireland trivia can go wrong before question one if the island and the republic get treated as the same thing. I sorted that out first, then followed the Shannon through ancient tombs, independence, soda bread, ghost stories, Nobel winners, hurling, and rock music.
Island, Republic, Counties & Landscapes
Q: What is the capital of Ireland?
A: Dublin.
Q: What is Ireland’s official constitutional name?
A: Ireland, or Éire in Irish.
Q: What term helps distinguish the sovereign state from the whole island?
A: The Republic of Ireland.
Q: Which part of the island remains in the United Kingdom?
A: Northern Ireland.
Q: What is the capital of Northern Ireland?
A: Belfast.
Q: How many traditional counties are on the island of Ireland?
A: Thirty-two.
Q: How many traditional counties are in the Republic of Ireland?
A: Twenty-six.
Q: How many traditional counties are in Northern Ireland?
A: Six.
Q: What four historic provinces divide Ireland?
A: Leinster, Munster, Connacht, and Ulster.
Q: How many counties of historic Ulster lie in the Republic of Ireland?
A: Three.
Q: Which ocean lies west of Ireland?
A: The Atlantic Ocean.
Q: Which sea separates Ireland from Great Britain?
A: The Irish Sea.
Q: What channel lies between northeastern Ireland and Scotland?
A: The North Channel.
Q: What is the longest river in Ireland?
A: The River Shannon.
Q: What is the largest lake on the island of Ireland?
A: Lough Neagh.
Q: In which jurisdiction is Lough Neagh?
A: Northern Ireland.
Q: What is the highest mountain in Ireland?
A: Carrauntoohil.
Q: In which county is Carrauntoohil?
A: County Kerry.
Q: What dramatic sea cliffs rise in County Clare?
A: The Cliffs of Moher.
Q: What limestone landscape covers much of northwestern County Clare?
A: The Burren.
Q: What scenic route circles the Iveragh Peninsula?
A: The Ring of Kerry.
Q: What national park contains the Lakes of Killarney?
A: Killarney National Park.
Q: What group of mountains lies south of Dublin?
A: The Wicklow Mountains.
Q: What is Ireland’s largest county by area?
A: County Cork.
Q: Which county is nicknamed the Rebel County?
A: County Cork.
Q: Which county is nicknamed the Garden of Ireland?
A: County Wicklow.
Q: Which western city is known for its arts festivals and Atlantic setting?
A: Galway.
Q: Which southern city stands on the River Lee?
A: Cork.
Q: Which city is associated with King John’s Castle on the Shannon?
A: Limerick.
Q: What gulf current helps keep Ireland’s climate relatively mild?
A: The North Atlantic Drift.
Ancient Ireland, English Rule, Independence & Peace
Q: What prehistoric passage tomb is older than Stonehenge and the Egyptian pyramids?
A: Newgrange.
Q: In which archaeological complex is Newgrange located?
A: Brú na Bóinne.
Q: What event illuminates Newgrange’s inner chamber?
A: Sunrise around the winter solstice.
Q: Which Celtic language was historically dominant in Ireland?
A: Irish.
Q: What early medieval art style flourished in illuminated manuscripts and metalwork?
A: Insular art.
Q: Which illuminated manuscript is displayed at Trinity College Dublin?
A: The Book of Kells.
Q: Who is traditionally credited with spreading Christianity in fifth-century Ireland?
A: Saint Patrick.
Q: What monastic site was founded by Saint Kevin?
A: Glendalough.
Q: What seafaring raiders founded or expanded towns including Dublin and Waterford?
A: Vikings.
Q: What year is associated with the beginning of the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland?
A: 1169.
Q: Which English king followed the Anglo-Norman forces to Ireland in 1171?
A: Henry II.
Q: What system granted confiscated Irish land to settlers from Britain?
A: The plantations of Ireland.
Q: Which seventeenth-century plantation most transformed northeastern Ireland?
A: The Plantation of Ulster.
Q: What 1690 battle became a major event in Irish and British history?
A: The Battle of the Boyne.
Q: What laws restricted the rights of Irish Catholics and other dissenters?
A: The Penal Laws.
Q: What movement led by Daniel O’Connell achieved Catholic emancipation?
A: The Catholic Association and its mass political campaign.
Q: What disaster began when the potato crop failed repeatedly in 1845?
A: The Great Famine.
Q: What plant disease destroyed much of the potato crop?
A: Potato late blight.
Q: How did the Great Famine reshape Ireland?
A: Mass death and emigration caused a lasting population decline.
Q: What 1916 uprising took place mainly in Dublin?
A: The Easter Rising.
Q: Where did rebels establish their headquarters during the Easter Rising?
A: The General Post Office.
Q: What document did the rebels proclaim in 1916?
A: The Proclamation of the Irish Republic.
Q: What conflict followed the 1918 election and independence campaign?
A: The Irish War of Independence.
Q: What 1921 agreement created the Irish Free State?
A: The Anglo-Irish Treaty.
Q: What conflict followed disagreement over the Anglo-Irish Treaty?
A: The Irish Civil War.
Q: When did the Irish Free State come into existence?
A: 1922.
Q: When did Ireland formally become a republic?
A: 1949.
Q: What late twentieth-century conflict affected Northern Ireland?
A: The Troubles.
Q: What 1998 agreement supported peace and power-sharing in Northern Ireland?
A: The Good Friday Agreement.
Q: What border arrangement became especially important after Brexit?
A: Keeping the Ireland-Northern Ireland land border open while managing trade rules.
Language, Food, Holidays, Folklore & Daily Traditions
Q: What are Ireland’s two official languages?
A: Irish and English.
Q: What is the Irish-language name for the Irish language?
A: Gaeilge.
Q: What is a Gaeltacht?
A: A region where Irish remains a community language and receives official support.
Q: What does céad míle fáilte mean?
A: A hundred thousand welcomes.
Q: What is a traditional Irish soda bread leavened with?
A: Baking soda.
Q: What mashed potato dish combines cabbage or kale with butter?
A: Colcannon.
Q: What potato dish mixes mashed potatoes with grated raw potato?
A: Boxty.
Q: What Dublin dish traditionally simmers sausages, bacon, potatoes, and onions?
A: Coddle.
Q: What seafood is central to a Galway festival held each autumn?
A: Oysters.
Q: What sea vegetable is used in traditional carrageen moss pudding?
A: Irish moss, a red seaweed.
Q: What is black pudding?
A: A blood sausage made with grains, fat, and seasoning.
Q: What hot drink combines coffee, Irish whiskey, sugar, and cream?
A: Irish coffee.
Q: What stout brand is strongly associated with Dublin?
A: Guinness.
Q: Where was Guinness first brewed in 1759?
A: St. James’s Gate in Dublin.
Q: When is Saint Patrick’s Day?
A: March 17.
Q: What plant is associated with Saint Patrick?
A: The shamrock.
Q: What does the shamrock traditionally symbolize in Saint Patrick stories?
A: A teaching illustration for the Christian Trinity.
Q: What ancient festival helped shape modern Halloween traditions?
A: Samhain.
Q: What cross-quarter point did Samhain mark in the traditional calendar?
A: The transition from harvest season into winter.
Q: What is a céilí?
A: A social gathering featuring Irish music and dancing.
Q: Which dance form is known for precise steps and a relatively upright upper body?
A: Irish stepdance.
Q: Which large frame drum is used in Irish traditional music?
A: The bodhrán.
Q: What small reed instrument is common in Irish traditional music?
A: The tin whistle.
Q: What are uilleann pipes?
A: Irish bellows-powered bagpipes.
Q: What supernatural woman’s cry warns of a death in folklore?
A: The banshee.
Q: What fairy people are called the Aos Sí?
A: Supernatural beings associated with mounds and the Otherworld.
Q: Why is Irish folklore broader than leprechauns?
A: It includes heroic cycles, saints, fairies, giants, local spirits, seasonal customs, and living oral traditions.
Q: Who wrote Ulysses?
A: James Joyce.
Q: On what date does Ulysses take place?
A: June 16, 1904.
Q: What annual Dublin celebration honors Ulysses?
A: Bloomsday.
Writers, Music, Landmarks, Sports & Famous Irish People
Q: Who wrote Gulliver’s Travels?
A: Jonathan Swift.
Q: Which Dublin-born writer created Dracula?
A: Bram Stoker.
Q: Which Irish playwright wrote The Importance of Being Earnest?
A: Oscar Wilde.
Q: Which poet wrote The Lake Isle of Innisfree?
A: W. B. Yeats.
Q: Which Irish writer won the 1923 Nobel Prize in Literature?
A: W. B. Yeats.
Q: Which playwright wrote Waiting for Godot?
A: Samuel Beckett.
Q: Which poet wrote Digging and won the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature?
A: Seamus Heaney.
Q: Which Irish author wrote The Picture of Dorian Gray?
A: Oscar Wilde.
Q: Which band includes Bono, the Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen Jr.?
A: U2.
Q: Which Irish band recorded Dreams and Linger?
A: The Cranberries.
Q: Which singer from the Cranberries was known for a distinctive voice?
A: Dolores O’Riordan.
Q: Which Irish singer recorded Nothing Compares 2 U?
A: Sinéad O’Connor.
Q: Which Irish solo artist recorded Watermark and Shepherd Moons?
A: Enya.
Q: Which family group blended Irish traditional music with modern arrangements?
A: Clannad.
Q: What Dublin prison museum held many leaders of Irish rebellions?
A: Kilmainham Gaol.
Q: What Dublin university was founded in 1592?
A: Trinity College Dublin.
Q: What type of historic complex stands on the Rock of Cashel?
A: A group of medieval religious and royal buildings.
Q: Which County Antrim formation has thousands of basalt columns?
A: The Giant’s Causeway.
Q: In which jurisdiction is the Giant’s Causeway?
A: Northern Ireland.
Q: Which ship was built in Belfast?
A: RMS Titanic.
Q: What stadium hosts major Gaelic games finals in Dublin?
A: Croke Park.
Q: What organization governs Gaelic football and hurling?
A: The Gaelic Athletic Association, or GAA.
Q: What stick is used in hurling?
A: A hurley, or camán.
Q: What ball is used in hurling?
A: A sliotar.
Q: What is camogie?
A: A team stick-and-ball sport closely related to hurling, played by women.
Q: Which international rugby team represents both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland?
A: The Ireland national rugby union team.
Q: What annual rugby competition includes Ireland and five other European nations?
A: The Six Nations Championship.
Q: Which Irish golfer won four men’s major championships by age twenty-five?
A: Rory McIlroy.
Q: Which Irish boxer won Olympic gold in 2012?
A: Katie Taylor.
Q: Which racehorse event is held at the Curragh?
A: The Irish Derby.
How Did You Score?
If the Gaeltacht, Brú na Bóinne, uilleann pipes, Bloomsday, and a sliotar all stayed straight, your Ireland score is excellent. I am celebrating with soda bread and no further geography disclaimers.
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