15 St. Patrick’s Day Trivia

 Questions1. Question: What’s another name for St. Patrick’s Day?
Answer: The Feast of Saint Patrick.

2. Question: Where was Saint Patrick actually born?
Answer: Roman Britain (What is now either England, Scotland, or Wales).

3. Question: How many hours does the NYC St. Patrick’s Day parade take?
Answer: Over five hours.
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4. Question: How many pounds of green vegetable dye are now used to turn the Chicago River green?
Answer: 40 pounds.

​5. Question: What do some historians believe was St. Patrick’s real name?
Answer: Maewyn Succat.

6. Question: According to legend, what happened during one of St. Patrick’s sermons on the Irish hillside?
Answer: Legend has it that while he was speaking, all of the snakes were driven out into the sea.

7. Question: What color was originally associated with St. Patrick?
Answer: Blue.
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Related: 10 St. Patrick’s Day Party Cocktails and Apps
8. Question: According to legend, what did St. Patrick use to describe the Holy Trinity?
Answer: The shamrock.

​9. Question: What is another term used for Ireland?
Answer: “The Emerald Isle.”
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10. Question: What does St. Patrick’s name mean?
Answer: “Patricius,” or “Patrick,” comes from the Latin term for “father figure.”
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11. Question: Why did it take until 1998 for the city of Belfast (in Northern Ireland) to have a St. Patrick’s Day parade?
Answer: Because of Protestant hostility toward the display of Irish national symbols.
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12. Question: According to Hallmark, how many Americans exchange St. Patrick’s Day cards each year?
Answer: 12 million Americans.
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The 10 best and most famous Irish artists April 15, 2020 
​by Paris Donnatella Callan

13. Question: Why was St. Patrick’s Day once celebrated in May instead of March?
Answer: In 2001, a foot-and-mouth outbreak ran rampant in Ireland, so Dublin’s St. Patrick’s Day parade was moved to May (with a great turnout of 1.2 million!).
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14. Question: From 1927 to 1961, where was the one place in Ireland that legally allowed drinking on St. Patrick’s Day?
Answer: The RDS Dog Show.
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15. Question: Is St. Patrick’s Day the most popular drinking day in America?
Answer: No, it’s actually the fourth most popular (behind New Year’s Eve, Christmas Day, and the Fourth of July).

Whether it’s down to political struggles, social injustice, or even sporting, Ireland has firmly established itself as the underdog. 
Given this, it should come as no surprise that Ireland – albeit small – is home to a healthy dose of some of the world’s most renowned artists. 
From the fields of literature and film to music and indeed art, the household names are many. Let’s take a look at the ten best and most famous Irish artists.

​10.  Anna Doran – the muralist

​Anna Doran is a native Dubliner who has sprinkled some magic dust over the capital city and some of its most iconic building since she first made tracks on the Irish art scene.
Doran is most-known for ‘Love Lane’ and was the commissioned artist who transformed Facebook’s Dublin HQ into the majestic mural maze it is today.

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9. Conor O’Leary – the contemporary portrait photographer
Credit: conoroleary.com
​Conor O’Leary is an Irish photographer and artist who splits his time between London and his home city of Dublin.

Having been featured across the globe in Wallpaper*, The National Gallery of Ireland, Financial Times, The Telegraph Magazine, and The New York Times, it is safe to say O’Leary is a hot topic on the Irish art and photography scene.
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8. Paul Henry – for lush landscapes
Credit: whytes.ie
​Paul Henry is one of the most famous Irish artists in history to date. 

Most famous for his scenes of lush emerald landscapes, the 20th-century Belfast painter is now a measure by which all contemporary Irish landscape artists are compared. ​

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6. Maser – the top Irish street artist
Credit: @maserart / Instagram
​Maser is the leading Irish street artist, most known for his colourful and adventurous murals which span cities across the Emerald Isle and around the globe. 
Based now in the USA, Maser – whose real name is, in fact, Al Hester – first began the art of graffiti in 1995 and has grown to become the most famous name on the Irish street art scene.

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4. Duncan Campbell, video artist – 2014 Turner Prize-winner
​This Dublin-born, Glasgow-based visual artist is one of the best in his field and is known on the artists’ world stage for his contributions to his chosen medium: video
Having won the 2014 Turner Prize with his video piece It for Others, Campbell is now firmly established as Ireland’s preeminent video artist. 

7. Norah McGuinness – the illustrator
Credit: imma.ie
​Norah McGuinness is one of the most famous Irish artists and illustrators. Born in Derry, she led an exciting life, living in London, Paris, and New York, before retiring to Dublin, where she died. 

Her work will be forever remembered for its graphic illustrations reflective of her unique personal style. ​

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5. Louis le Brocquy – for Cubist figures
Credit: anne-madden.com
​As one of the most famous Irish artists, Louis le Brocquy’s career spanned some 70 years, earning him many awards and much global recognition. 

Now passed, the Dublin-born artist is most remembered for his “Portrait Heads” series of iconic literary figures.

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3. Charles Jervas – the top Irish portraitist 18th-century icon, Charles Jervas, is another one of the most famous Irish artists. 

Often remembered for his distinctive portraits, it is essential to note that the painter was also a translator and an art collector of the early 18th-century.

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2. Jack Butler Yeats – one of the most famous Irish artists
Credit: tate.org.uk

​Although Jack Butler Yeats is commonly given kudos for his famous family relation – brother, William Butler Yeats – Jack himself was a tremendous artist. 
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As one of the most famous Irish artists of the 20th-century, Jack Butler Yeats worked mainly as an illustrator, before transitioning to oil in 1906. 
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1. Sir John Lavery – for wartime depictions
​Credit: tate.org.uk

Sir John Lavery is one of the most famous Irish artists the island has ever borne.