Ireland is my home country and I miss it a lot. If you ever get the chance too, you should visit Ireland at least once. Everyone knows Ireland as the small little island that’s in Europe and some people think it’s in the United Kingdom but it’s not. Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom but the Republic of Ireland isn’t. This is 20 Facts About Ireland.

1. The River Shannon

The River Shannon is the longest river in Ireland. It’s 370km (230 miles) long. Crazy enough that it’s the longest river that’s in the British Isles and it passes through 11 counties including Cavan, Leitrim, Longford and Galway.

2. Carrauntoohil

Carrauntoohil is located in County Kerry and it is the highest mountain in Ireland. It stands at 1,038.6 metres. It is located near the Magillycuddy’s which is Ireland’s highest mountain range.

3. St Valentine

This may seem crazy to a lot of people including myself but the Whitefriar Church in Dublin has some of the remains of St Valentine. You can go and visit it and pay respects. I’ve been here once in my life and I still can’t get my head around it.

4. First Potato

A guy called Sir Walter Raleigh is said to be responsible for bringing the crop from the Americas to Ireland many many years ago. He did it near his house at a farm in Yoghaul, County Cork. He planted the very first potato in Ireland around the year 1588.

5. Halloween

Many people don’t know this but Halloween originated in Ireland. It started off as the festival of Samhain and then expanded to the rest of the world.

6. The Harp

People think Ireland’s national symbol is either the Shamrock or the Four Leaf Clover but I’m here to tell you it is actually the Harp!

7. Hook Lighthouse

Hook Lighthouse is located in Wexford, Ireland. It is the oldest operational lighthouses in the world. The lighthouse that is currently there has been there for 851 years.

8. The Rotunda

Ireland has the oldest operational maternity hospital on earth called The Rotunda. It has been operating for the past 278 years and has been opened since 1745.

9. Count Dracula

Count Dracula the iconic main character in the Dracula Novel was written by Bram Stoker. Stoker was born in Clontarf in Dublin.

10. Hurling

Hurling is one of Ireland’s national sports. It is also one of the oldest sports and the fastest sport in the world. The ball used for hurling can travel up to 120km per hour (74.5 miles).

11. One of the lions that were used for the opening clips in the MGM was born in Dublin Zoo.
12. Phoenix Park in Dublin is the third largest walled city park in all of Europe.
13. The Wild Atlantic Way is the longest coastal driving route in the world.
14. First sign of humans in Ireland was in the year 10,500 BC.
15. People may find this crazy but there have never been any snakes in Ireland.
16. The smallest county in Ireland is called Louth but it has the 18th biggest population.
17. Ireland’s currency is the Euro.
18. The biggest county in Ireland is called Cork and the second largest county is called Galway.
19. Irish is the national language of Ireland.
20. An island that is close to Dublin, has a large population of Wallabies. It’s a private island called Lambay Island.

Love, Bee xx