Ireland, located on the westernmost part of Europe, is the continent’s second-biggest island behind Great Britain. With breathtaking landscapes, traditional music, welcoming people and no shortage of pubs, Ireland is a must-visit destination. Check out these 20 interesting facts about Ireland and its capital city, Dublin!
20 Facts About Ireland and its Sport Culture
General Facts
1. Dublin was founded by Vikings in the 9th century.
2. Two of the most famous Dublin figures include George Bernard Shaw (Nobel Prize laureate) and James Joyce (writer and poet).
3. It takes 119.5 second to pour the perfect pint of Guinness due to its six steps and waiting in between pours. About ten million pints of Guinness are produced every day in Dublin!
4. The City of Dublin has 666 licensed pubs.
5. Trinity College is the most famous university in Ireland and produced some very highly regarded graduates including Oscar Wilde (Irish poet and playwright), Jonathan Swift (author of Gulliver's Travels and Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin from 1713-1745), and Bram Stoker (author of Dracula).
6. With about 50% of the population under 25 years of age, Dublin has the youngest population in all of Europe.
7. Dublin’s oldest known pub is the Brazen Head which was established back in 1198 AD.
8. Ireland is the only country in the world with a musical instrument (the harp) as its national symbol. Many famous Irish musicians were born in Dublin including U2.
9. Dublin means “Black Pool” in Old Irish Gaelic.
10. Despite being Ireland’s third-smallest county, a third of Ireland’s population lives in County Dublin.
Sport Facts
1. Ireland’s national sports include hurling and Gaelic football which are ahead of rugby and soccer in popularity.
2. Dublin’s Croke Park, which seats just over 82,000 fans, is home to the Gaelic games in Ireland and hosts all major national competition finals.
3. Both the national soccer team and national rugby team play their home matches at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which was originally founded in 1872.
4. Golfers travel from all over the world to play on the Irish coastline where the natural coastal landscape creates challenging (and beautiful) courses.
5. Speaking of golf, famous golfers to come out of Ireland include Rory McIllroy, Padraig Harrington, Graham McDowell, Darren Clarke and Paul McGinley.
6. The Irish use the word soccer, similar to Americans, because saying football can be confused with Gaelic football.
7. In 2020, Dublin will host the UEFA Euro 2020 (qualifying soccer competition) which will be the biggest international sporting event ever to be hosted in the city!
8. Ireland’s National Rugby team is the most popular team in the country and is currently ranked second in the world.
9. In 2009, Ireland won its first Grand Slam since 1948 - a moment to which many Irish coin as one of the biggest sporting achievements in the country.
10. Sonia O'Sullivan, an Irish former track & field athlete, set a world record of 5:25.36 for the 2000m in 1994, which stood until 2017.