7 Fun Facts from June
This past week marked my one-month anniversary of living in Ireland. In visiting with three friends from home last week, I realized how many random facts I had acquired over this short month while I rambled on as we stumbled from pub to pub.
For posterity's sake, I have decided to put together a monthly recap of these randomly collected, usually quirky, occasionally educational facts for your reading pleasure.
1. Dingle has cobbler's shops and hardware stores that double as pubs - during both the day and the night.
Because who doesn't want a drink while they’re running errands? These quirky spots have been functioning as dual establishments for generations, usually run by the same family. You can soak up the eclectic and laid-back ambiance as you savor your pint...or three.
Even the courthouse is a pub! Just kidding...this is how rumors get started.
Two of the most famous of these establishments are Dick Mack's and Foxy John's, both located near Main Street in Dingle.
2. Ireland has an annual sheep census - and the numbers are not insignificant.
West & Mid Kerry Live, a local, monthly publication, includes a 'Farming News' section. Because I have plenty of time and am generally captivated by obscure findings such as this, I read all of it. Last month it notified local farmers of the upcoming sheep census. My curiosity and immediate access to Google combined to bring you these 'fun fact' stats (you can do the math from here...):
Breakdown of 2014 numbers:
Total sheep count in Ireland: 3,581,818
Total people count in Ireland: 4,595,000
Total sheep count in County Kerry: 306,916
Total people count in County Kerry: 145,502
3. The proper Irish spelling for the nickname of Patrick is P-A-D-D-Y.
The Irish spelling for the name Patrick, a named shared by both the patron saint of Ireland and my awesome cousin, is Pádraig. When you know that fun fact, it's easier to see why the correctly spelled nickname would use D's instead of T's.
In America's defense, if you shorten Patrick to Pat, then the commonly seen "St. Patty's Day" would follow logically when marketing the ole clover-toting Irishman's holiday dedicated to boozing and pinching non-green bystanders.
Want to step up your household's Irish standards? Just quietly chuck your St. 'Patty's' Day decorations before next March, or simply Sharpie those T's into D's!
4. The Irish tricolor flag represents the hope for peace amongst the nation’s Catholic and Protestant groups.
This was a nationalistic raised pavement marker I found during a walk last week.
The green represents the older Gaelic and Anglo-Norman traditions of Ireland (think Catholic faith), the orange represents the followers of William of Orange (think Protestant faith), and the white represents the hope for peace between the two groups. The flag was originally introduced in 1848. Until then, Ireland had an all green flag with a golden harp on it.
5. Tom Crean is a local explorer AND a delicious beer.
Coming to Dingle? Learn his name. Tom Crean was an Antarctic explorer from the small village of Annascaul in County Kerry. In 1893 and at the age of 15, Crean left his home near Dingle, joined the British navy, and went on to become a critical figure in multiple polar expeditions to the Antarctic during the Heroic Age of Polar Exploration at the beginning of the twentieth century.
Today his name is more commonly associated with the locally brewed Irish lager, Crean's. Located at the old creamery, The Dingle Brewing Company is opened daily for visits and tastings. You can sip your delicious, complementary pint while you saunter through the brew room and museum dedicated to local history, the development of their intoxicating end-product, and - arguably most important - the life and story of the incredible individual for whom the delicious beverage is named.
Interested in learning more about Tom Crean? Check out Michael Smith's biography about his life and adventures, An Unsung Hero. Interested in tasting your own delicious Crean's Fresh Irish Lager at the old creamery? Come to Dingle, duh!
6. Irish football is a big 'fooking' deal!
It’s not rugby. It’s not soccer. And it’s, most certainly, not American football. Don't make our mistake and attempt to equate it to any, or all, of those sports!
From an obviously ignorant outsider's perspective, here's what I've gathered: the field and lineup appear similar to soccer; the game seems to have rules that lean towards those of rugby; they uses a ball that could easily be mistaken for a volleyball; the players are utterly fearless, padless and not always unattractive...
Run by the Gaelic Athletic Association, or the GAA, Irish football is incredibly popular to follow and is one of the most prominently played field games in Ireland. Fun fact about the GAA: everyone who plays is amateur. Imagine the NFL. Now imagine them not paying the players. A bit shocking to me, but the players enjoy nationwide stardom and I’m pretty sure they don’t buy too many of their own pints on an average night out.
Which is the greatest team? Kerry, of course!
7. Puffins are realistic Guinness mascots.
These adorable little sea birds, as famously seen in the Guinness advertisement posters, live off of the coast of County Kerry in west Ireland for part of the year. From April until August, they congregate on the famous island of Skellig Michael before departing to be insanely cute, and apparently quite friendly, elsewhere.
I’ve already added a visit to Skellig Michael to My Irish Bucket List and can't wait to experience the overwhelming cuteness for myself. I wonder if they'll serve me a beer, too...?
That's all for my June's recap, but check back in a few weeks for more random, unsolicited fun facts about the Emerald Isle!
