Ireland

What do you know about Ireland? Watch the music video of Ed Sheeran's "Galway girl" and try to recognize all the Irish symbols in the video.

Can you find Ireland on the map of Europe?

Before you find out more about Ireland, try to do the quiz to see what you already know and watch the short video about Ireland's beauty.

Now read the text about Ireland and fill in the correct missing words.

Dublin Irish island Catholic the Irish Sea the USA Emerald Isle gold Saint Patrick’s Day

fiddle harp orange dancing shamrock 17th March hurling cliffs pubs

Ireland is the name of an _________________, but there are two countries placed on it: Northern Ireland, which is a part of the United Kingdom , and the Republic of Ireland as a separate country. The Gaelic name of the Republic of Ireland is Eire. The island is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, _________________ and the Celtic Sea. The Republic of Ireland is divided into 4 provinces and 32 counties and the capital city is _________________. The population is around 4,5 million people and 95% of the population is _________________. A hundred years ago, thousands of Irish families left Ireland to look for work in _________________. Today there are many people with Irish surnames and Irish relatives living there.

The two official languages are English and _________________. Since Ireland is a very green island it is also called the "_________________". Green is one of the symbols of Ireland and everybody wears green on _________________, the Irish national holiday which is celebrated on _________________. Leprechauns are Irish fairies which are often used as costumes on Saint Patrick's Day. They are shoemakers and they are not very friendly. They also have secret pots of _________________. If you find a leprechaun, you can look for his gold, but don’t look away from the leprechaun. If you do, he will disappear – and so will the gold! Of course, this is only a superstition.

The Irish flag is green, white and _________________; green stands for Catholics, orange stands for Protestants and white stands for the hope that these two religious groups can live in harmony.

The most famous symbol of Ireland is the _________________. It became a symbol because it grows in many places and it has three leaves, which according to the legend, played a very important role in explaining Christianity to the Irish people by Saint Patrick. Other Irish symbols are the Celtic cross, the Claddagh ring and the _________________, as the national instrument. Two other traditional instruments are the bagpipes and the _________________ (another word for violin). The Irish are famous for their playing, singing and _________________, and of course for their “Guinness” beer and the famous Irish _________________.

The national sport is _________________. Moreover, many famous writers are Irish: the most known are James Joyce, Oscar Wilde and Samuel Beckett. But Ireland is famous above all for its landscape with many beautiful _________________ and its typical characteristic towns. Far from the cities, there are also sites and castles that are maintained as national monuments.

Here are some Irish symbols mentioned in the text. Can you name them?

Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland

On 17th March Irish people celebrate their patron saint, Saint Patrick. He was a missionary who lived in Ireland and it is said that he arrived there as a slave. He was a slave for six years. He died on March 17th, 493 A.D. The legend says that he brought Christianity to Ireland and he used a shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity to the Irish people.

Another legend about Saint Patrick says that he put all the snakes in Ireland into a box and threw it into the Irish Sea and that is the reason why there are no snakes in Ireland and why the Irish Sea is so wavy.

Saint Patrick's Day is a celebration of the Irish culture and people listen to Irish music, eat traditional Irish food and take part in parades. On this day, everywhere you look you can see the colour green. People also pin shamrocks on their jackets and wear green ribbons. Children in Ireland have a tradition of pinching their friends who don’t wear green on this day! People who are not Irish celebrate this day, too. It is especially popular in Australia and in North America.

The Irish people are very famous for their music and dancing. One of the well-known forms of the Irish dance is the Irish stepdance, which was popularised from 1994 onwards by a show called Riverdance. Here is a video with the most famous Irish dancer, Michael Flatley.

Irish people are famous all over the world. Do you recognize some of these famous actors, musicians, writers and sportsmen?

Ireland has some interesting sports which are very popular in the country and worldwide. Try to match the sports names with the right picture.

hurling Gaelic football football horse riding cricket rugby

______________________________________________

The Irish accent is very unique and specific. Do you understand it? Let's see!

Did you know that...?

Ireland is the only country in the world that has a musical instrument as its national symbol?
they are the fourth biggest alcohol drinkers?
in the Irish language there is no word for YES or NO?
they speak in a strange word order – O – S – V?
many Irish surnames begin with Mc / Mac which means “son of?
many Irish surnames begin with O’ which means “grandson of”?
Halloween has its origin in Ireland?
most Irish people believe that fairies exist?
children are bumped upside down into their birthday cake?
a native of Dublin designed the iconic statuette of the Oscar award?

And after you have gathered all the information about Ireland, you can play a Kahoot game.

Click on the link on the right side.

Have fun!

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