Where is the Book of Kells?

The Book of Kells is housed in the Treasury at Trinity College. Richly decorated and believed to be dated from the 7th century, the book contains the four gospels in Latin. Also in Trinity College is the Old Library and with it's Long Room. The room measures 210 ft from end to end and it houses over 200,000 antiquarian texts and the oldest surviving harp in Ireland.  

Who played Christy Brown in My Left Foot?

Daniel Day-Lewis won a Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Christy Brown in the movie My Left Foot. He also won Best Actor award in 2007 for There will be Blood.  

Where will you meet me "under the Clock"?

The Dubliners will know it as meeting someone outside Clery's Department store on O'Connell Street.

What does the GR stand for on the Irish post box?

That particular post box is an old English post box and was made during the reign of King George V most likely. The GR stands for Georgian Reign.  All modern day post boxes in Ireland have An Post emblazoned on them.  

What do Bob Geldoff, Madonna, Bono and David Bowie all have in common?

They have all played at Live Aid 1985 and Slane Castle County Meath. Slane is between Drogheda and Navan about 30 NW of Dublin, as the crow flies these days. The concerts are usually held in August and attract between 80-100,000 people attending.  

Who was the 1st European to defend his British Open Title since 1906?

Padraig Harrington became the 1st European and an Irishman to boot to win back to back British Open Championships in 102 years when he held off Ian poulter to win by four strokes on a blustery weekend at Birkdale, England.

What is this structure?   It is a Martello Tower. At the end of the 18th Century the threat of a French Invasion prompted the British to build defensive lookout towers modelled on a fort in Northern Corsica. They were called Martello Towers. The walls are 10' thick to withstand cannonfire. There were 50 built along the coast of Ireland with about 28 of them around Dublin. These are built in line of sight possibly to communicate an attack. THe most famous Dublin one is the tower at Sandycove where James Joyce lived briefly. On Fota Island, Co Cork the tower there was captured by Captain Mackey during the Fenian uprising of 1867. It is believed to be the only Martello Tower ever to be captured. There are Martello towers as far afield as Australia, Bermuda, Canada and South Aftrica.

In the 1700's there were over 1200 Distilleries in Ireland. How many are there today?

There are only four distilleries in Ireland today. Bushmills Co. Antrim, Jameson Co. Cork, Kilbeggan Co. Westmeath and Cooleys Co. Louth.  Jameson Distillery in Co Dublin stopped production in 1971 but sells about 100 bottles of whiskeys that are not on sale outside Ireland.

Which city has the oldest brewery?

Kilkenny. Smithwicks ale has been brewed there since 1710, but it sits on a 25 acre site that dates back to the 14th century when it was the St Francis Abbey brewery making it the oldest brewery in Ireland.

"If those lips could only speak" topped the charts for 4 weeks in Ireland in 1971. Who sang the song?

Dermot Henry sang "If those lips could only speak" and was top of the charts in Ireland for 4 weeks at the beginning of 1971. A Sligo man, see him perform this summer at the Cleveland Irish Festival July 24th -26th. While you are there come look for O'Caseys Irish Store for quality Irish jewelery. 

Which one of these great Irish musicians has recorded with both the Boston and Cincinnati Pops ?

Aoife Clancy, daughter of Bobby Clancy of the Clancy Brothers fame has performed with both the Boston Pops and Cincinnati Pops. Hailing of a very musical family Aoife was playing at the age of 14 with her father in pubs around her home town of Carrick-on-Suir, Co. Tipperary. After studying drama in Dublin and performing at the Gaiety theatre, she went  to Australia performing with Christy Moore and the Furey Brothers. In 1995 she joined the acclaimed group Cherish the Ladies and was with them for several years before going solo.

Catch Aoife and her band this summer performing at the Dublin Irish Festival July 31st-Aug 2nd. While your there, come visit us in the Emarald marketplace.  

Which band got a big break as the "Steerage Band" in the movie Titanic?

Gaelic Storm was the band performing in the Steerage section of the ill fated Titanic. The Titanic was built in Belfast and it's last port of call was Cobh, Co Cork. Back to the band, nowadays Gaelic Storm have a huge following and have 7 albums under their belt or was that their wellies?

Catch the band and us this summer at the Milwaukee Irish Festival August 13th- 16th.

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