The Irish Quiz

1 Before Christ, what period of Irish history was particularly rich ?
a)10 000 BC
b) 5 000 BC
c) 1000 BC
answer : c

2 The National Museum of Dublin holds :

1. The Book of Kells
2.  Beaker pottery
3.  the greatest collection of pre-historic gold objects in Western Europe

answer : c

3 The Celtic language is not indo-european.

1. true
2. false

answer : b

4 The Celts originated from :

1. Scandinavia
2. Eastern Europe
3. Iceland

answer : b

5 The Romans called the Celts Galli.

1. true
2. false

answer : a

6 Who was the greatest Celtic god ?

1. Tor
2. Odin
3. Lugh

answer : c

7 Cu Chulainn was constrained by 3 taboos. Which one of these did NOT concern him ?

1. he couldn’t refuse an invitation for food
2. he couldn’t marry a woman
3. he couldn’t break an oath
4. he couldn’t eat a dog’s flesh

answer : b

8 The Romans never succeeded in controlling Ireland because

1. the Irish fought naked and individually
2. the Romans were busy fighting the Picts in Great Britain
3. the Romans couldn’t cross the Irish sea

answer : b

9 Patrick was

1. the son of a noble family
2. a poor shepherd
3. a young Roman

answer : a

 

 

10 The shamrock is the symbol of Ireland because

1. it’s green and grows everywhere in Ireland
2. it was used by Patrick to symbolize trinity
3. it was used by the druids as medicine

answer : b

11Until the 17th century, Ireland was basically a rural society.

1. true
2. false

answer : a

12 The Book of Kells is

1. a book of tales
2. a Bible
3. a former Celtic book

answer : b

13 What famous French king invited many Irish scholars to come to France ?

1. Clovis
2. Louis XI
3. Charlemagne

answer : c

14 The first Viking attack on Ireland occurred in

1. 1251
2. 523 BC
3. 795

answer : c

15 The Scandinavians’main contributions were

1. navigation and iron
2. political unity and Church unity
3. towns and trade

answer : c

16 Among these indelible marks of Irish heritage, spot the one which the Celts are NOT responsible for :

1. names of  places and family names
2. fine manuscripts
3. missionaries
4. metalwork
5. one of the earliest literature in Europe
6. christianity
7. the national language of Ireland
8. a splendid native music
9. one of the richest folklore in Europe

answer : f

17 The Plantation refers to

1. the Irish conversion to Protestantism
2. the development of agriculture
3. the systematic colonization by the English of selected areas in Ireland

answer : c

18 Drogheda is famous in Irish collective memory as

1. a beautiful book of hours with rich ornaments
2. a place where a horrible massacre took place
3. a victory for the Irish over the English

answer : b

 

19 The battle of the Boyne is celebrated every 1st of July in Ireland

1. by the catholics
2. by the protestants

answer : b

20 Only one area of Ireland industrialized during the industrial revolution

1. the west
2. the north-east
3. the Dublin area

answer : c

21 Why did the farmers begin to rely on the potato to eat ?

1. the potato was a Celtic tradition
2. eating potatoes allowed them to sell their own crops
3. no other vegetable would grow in Ireland

answer : b

22 By 1840 a Connaught farmer would eat

1. 10 kgs of potatoes per day
2. 5 to 6 kgs
3. 3 to 4 kgs

answer : b

23 Before the famine, the population of Ireland was 8 million. After the famine it was

1. 1 million
2. 5 million
3. 3 million

answer : c

24What is usually referred to as the Easter rising ?

1. St Patrick’s festival
2. a revolt carried out in 1916
3. an IRA bombing on Easter day

answer : b

25Which of these regions is NOT one of the 4 ancient provinces of Ireland ?

1. Munster
2. Leinster
3. Connemara
4. Ulster

answer : c

26 Gerrymandering consists in

1. redrawing electoral district lines to favour one party
2. forbidding political opponents from voting
3. creating lawless areas around a city

answer : a

27 The origin of the term gerrymandering is

1. Gerry Mander , a Massachusetts candidate
2. A confusion between Derry and Gerry
3. A combination of Gerry and salamander

Answer : c

28 Green is the favourite colour of the protestants

1. true
2. false

answer : b

29 If you see the date 1690 on a mural you are in

1. a catholic area
2. a protestant area

answer : b

30 The slogan “no surrender 1998” means

1. no surrender to the English
2. no surrender to the Peace Process

answer : b

31 Orange is the favourite colour of the loyalists

1. because it reminds them of the golden crown
2. because it reminds them of William of Orange’s victory

answer : b

32 Green, white and orange are painted on the pavements

1. on the catholic side
2. on the protestant side

answer : a

33 1916 is an important date for

1. the British
2. the Irish catholics
3. the loyalists

answer : b

34 The Union Jack is the flag of Northern Ireland

1. true
2. false

answer : a

35 What do the colours symbolize in the Irish national flag ?

1. peace (white) between nationalists (green) and unionists (orange)
2. the South and the North of Ireland separated by a border

answer : a

36 Decommissioning refers to

1. an abandon of the different commissions to judge former IRA activists
2. the surrender of all weapons on each side
3. a withdrawal of the British troops

answer : b

 

37 Provos means
a) pro-votes
b) paratroopers
c) provisionals
answer : c

38 Partition refers to
a) the famine in the XIXth century
b) the separation between catholics and protestants in Londonderry
c) the division of Ireland into North and South
answer : c

39 Traditional Irish music has found an international audience with the popularity of such Celtic brands as :
a) the Chieftans
b) the Lads
c) Shannon Rovers
answer : a

40 Today, this number of Americans trace their ancestry back to Ireland :
a) 10 million
b) 25 million
c) 40 million
d) 65 million
answer : b