Consulate of Ireland

Did you Know...?

1. Ireland is the only country in the world that has a musical instrument – the harp – as its national symbol

2. Ireland is the third largest island in Europe and the twentieth largest in the world.

3. The longest place name in Ireland is Muckanaghederdauhaulia, in County Galway.

4. Shannon International Airport in County Limerick became the world’s first duty-free airport in 1947 and the world has been buying tax-free liquor and perfume ever since

5. The Newgrange passage tomb in County Meath was constructed around 3200 BC, making it more than 600 years older than the Giza Pyramids in Egypt, and 1,000 years older than Stonehenge.

6. Ireland's 15 principal railway stations are named after the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising.

7. The Royal Cork Yacht Club was founded in 1720 and is the world's oldest yacht club.

8. Founded in 1745, the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin is the world's oldest continuously operating maternity hospital.

9. Ireland does not have any snakes because, being cold-blooded, snakes couldn't survive the frozen ground during the Ice Age

10. The Irish flag represents both political traditions: green for the native Gaelic population, orange for Unionist tradition and white signifying a truce between the two sides