...that John Tyndall, from Carlow, Ireland, was the scientist first accredited with the explanation for why the sky is blue.
Here are a few more little-known facts about Ireland.
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Ireland adopted the harp after the English banned bagpipes from being played during the occupation of Ireland. This is why the harp is the national symbol of the country and is featured on currency, flags and on the Guinness logo. |
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Dublin’s famous O’Connell Bridge is the only traffic bridge in Europe that is wider than it is long. When it was originally built it was made of rope and could only carry one man and a donkey at a time. It was replaced by a wooden bridge in 1801 and the current concrete bridge was built in 1863. |
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None of the so-called Dublin Mountains are high enough to meet the criteria required to claim mountain status. The Sugarloaf is the tallest, yet only measures 1,389 feet above sea level. |
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Dublin is the IT call centre capital of Europe, with over 100,000 people employed in the industry. |
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The population in Ireland before the potato famine in 1848 was about 8 million. Today the population is 3.8 million. |
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The Irish buy the most movie tickets per person in Europe – 3.2 a year. |
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Ireland consumes more milk than any other country in the world. Each person drinks over 164 quarts of milk a year. |
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Ireland boasts the highest per capita consumption of cereal in the world – 15 pounds per person annually. |
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A donation to the blood bank in Dublin results in a free pint of Guinness. It is recommended as it replaces iron lost during the donation. |
| For more information about life in Dublin, click here. | |
