Home to St. Patrick, Game of Thrones, Star Wars, Irish Stew, Guinness and U2! There are umpteen reasons for loving Ireland and now,let we have ten reasons more! Here are some facts and pictures to tantalise you to book a seat to the Emerald Isle.
1. World’s Longest Touring Route
In 2014 the Wild Atlantic Way road was formalised and almost instantly
became one of the world’s best car journeys. Along the West of Ireland,
trailing the Atlantic Ocean, the course runs from Malin Head, Ireland’s most
northern point, to Mizen Head in the south. At 2,500 kilometres, it is now the
world’s longest touring route.
2. You Can See the Northern Lights from Ireland
Nordic countries and Scandinavia tend to get all of the glory when it comes to
the northern lights, but the Aurora Borealis is visible in Ireland too. Donegal
is one of the best places to see them, however you can see the lights from
almost every county in Ireland. Notoriously hard to predict, they can typically
be seen when the nights are longer and darker.
3. The Giant Causeway was formed fifty million years
The Giant Causeway is one of Ireland’s biggest tourist attractions and breathtaking sights. It consists of as many as 40,000 basalt columns, many of them hexagonal in shape.
4. The Tallest Dogs in the World
The Irish Wolfhound is a breed of dog that was possibly bred in Ireland, as far
back as 500 BC. On all fours, the dogs are about 3 feet tall. If they get on their hind legs, they can easily go over an impressive 6.5 feet. The dogs feature in a famous Irish legend, where a warrior named CuChulainn went to visit an Irish king, but was set upon by the King’s wolfhound.
5. Film Tourism
The island country has caught the eye of many a film producer, with Skellig Michael’s stone ‘beehive’ huts making its famed appearance in the Star Wars series. Northern Ireland is also home to a number of filming sites and known for the hugely popular Game of Thrones series, with over 80% of the series shot both on location and in the massive Titantic Studios in Belfast.
6. Ireland is the Third Largest Tea Drinking Nation
The Irish are the second biggest drinkers of tea in the world, with the Irish
people consuming an average of 2.19kg of tea EACH per year. From green,
white, oolong and black, there are several varieties of tea that are
popular in different parts of the world, but the Irish prefer their tea black.
7. U2 was Formed in Dublin
Behind the hit track ‘With or Without you’, U2 was formed in Dublin in 1976
and one of their first tastes of success was winning a talent show on St.
Patrick’s Day in Limerick in 1978. Another fun fact is that Bono isn’t Ireland’s
only famous face, others include notable A-listers like Liam Neeson, Saoirse
Ronan, Oscar Wilde, Niall Horan, James Joyce, Colin Farrell, Pierce Brosnan
and Cillian Murphy.
8. Polar Bears
Our endangered Arctic friends have their roots in Ireland, making them the
only example in history of somebody leaving Ireland because it was too hot.
Polar bears share a DNA sequence with the Irish brown bear that is found in
no other bear on Earth.
9. Ireland’s Patron Saint Patrick is Not Irish
Home to pints of the black stuff, River Dance and leprechauns, but believe it
or not, St. Patrick was not Irish. Legend has it that Saint Patrick was from
Wales, captured by Irish pirates, and brought to the island at age 16. Saint
Patrick is said to have banished snakes by driving them out to sea – there are
literally no snakes to be found on the island!
10. Chocolate milk
What coffee is to adults, chocolate milk is to children (and maybe some adults
too). Chocolate milk was not just a clever ploy by a marketing team to sell
more milk. Irishman, Sir Hans Slone first created chocolate milk over 350
years ago. After testing chocolate in the West Indies, he returned home to
add milk and sugar to make it more appealing.
Few more Irish wonders-
