Ireland is widely revered for its vibrant shades of green – not just from its grass, but also the color used for national team uniforms and jerseys.
John Tyndall was the first to demonstrate the greenhouse effect and explain why the sky appears blue. Additionally, he made many other groundbreaking discoveries.
The Hook Lighthouse
One of Ireland’s most notable and remarkable lighthouses can be found at the Hook Peninsula in County Wexford. Built over 800 years ago, this landmark still stands as testament to the strength and ingenuity of those responsible for its construction.
William Marshal was an Anglo-Norman magnate who spent much of his youth fighting on crusades. With that experience and vision in mind, he decided to build an original lighthouse at New Ross in order to assist ships entering and leaving its port.
Over centuries, Hook Head Lighthouse had been maintained by monks from various orders of monasticism – even during Henry VIII’s suppressions and through to civil war time. But after monks were expelled from Churchtown in 1641, shipwrecks became common. Mariners petitioned Duncannon Fort’s governor in vain for its restoration; eventually Charles II granted Letters Patent to Richard Reading who lit six Irish lighthouses again including Hook Head.
Current Lighthouse Tower Description The current tower stands four-stories high with walls up to 4m thick. It contains three rib-vaulted chambers on the lower tier and two on narrower upper section – connected by an internal mural stairway of 115 steps within walls that run the length of it – for lighthouse operation and visibility from seaward. Fully automated today, its beauty can now be enjoyed year round!
Unbelievably, in 1849 it was still reported that confusion regarding lighthouse identification was an ongoing problem. R. Hoskyn from Naval Magazine and Nautical Chronicle recounted how in poor weather conditions a West Indiaman Captain mistook the Hook lighthouse for Tuskar and accidentally sailed into Ballyteige Bay! Perhaps compounding their misidentification were their similar appearances.
The Claddagh Ring
The Claddagh Ring has become an internationally recognized symbol of Love, Loyalty and Friendship since it first appeared over 500 years ago in Ireland. This beautiful design, steeped in folklore and romanticism, can be worn by both men and women and often serves as engagement rings or wedding bands. It was named for Claddagh Village near Galway in West Ireland; though its source remains uncertain. Various tales exist regarding its creation by goldsmiths or goldsmiths during that era – many stories exist regarding its creation by goldsmiths during that era!
One of the more compelling tales involves Richard Joyce, a goldsmith from Galway’s small fishing village Claddagh. After being captured and sold into slavery in Algiers but escaping, Richard created a ring bearing the name of his hometown as a token to represent his true love who had waited patiently while he was away; upon returning home he gave it to her and they married; since then it has come to symbolize eternal commitment around the globe.
An alternate tale behind the Claddagh Ring involves Margaret Joyce of the Joyce family. Margaret was the daughter of Domingo de Rona, a Spanish merchant trading with Galway who left a fortune behind upon his death and used it to fund various projects throughout Connacht before an eagle dropped a ring into her lap that is now known as the Claddagh Ring.
Claddagh rings have long been worn by Irish people as an emblematic tribute to their Irish heritage and to emigration during the Great Famine in North America. When many immigrated, these rings became part of their precious possessions taken with them as they left home; becoming family heirlooms. Today millions worldwide wear Claddagh rings as a mark of honoring Irish heritage.
The First Divorce
Ireland is famous for its rolling green hills, castles, whiskey distilleries, rain and unique culture that draws millions of visitors each year. Ireland is also renowned for its vibrant culture of music, myths, legends, literature and many famous writers were born or lived there during some period in their lives, producing some of their best works such as Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift; Dracula by Bram Stoker; Ulysses by James Joyce and William Butler Yeats who authored gorgeous poetry that epitomizes Ireland itself.
Did you know that Ireland, in addition to having a rich literary tradition, was also the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage in 2015? Voters across Ireland supported overwhelmingly this groundbreaking law as they cast ballots to pass it.
Ireland is well known as one of the wettest countries in Europe, so make sure you pack a raincoat when visiting! Additionally, Ireland is famous for being home of Guiness beer; having been produced here for over 250 years! Don’t be put off if Guinness doesn’t appeal; the Irish take great pride in celebrating all their local brands; even creating their own Guinness Records book to showcase all these different brews!
Irish castles and ruins number more than 30,00 in number, many restored while others in disrepair; many can even be rented for overnight stays if desired.
Ireland boasts some amazing facts. Many of the world’s largest companies – Google, Facebook, Twitter, Apple and Intel among them – all maintain European headquarters there. Furthermore, Ireland boasts some amazing drinkers; being the sixth-largest beer drinkers worldwide with Guinness consumption being second only to New Zealand! Plus they’re the only country producing Foreign Extra Stout!
Same-Sex Marriage
Ireland is widely known for being the first nation to legalize same-sex marriage through popular referendum. This groundbreaking event saw 62% of voters vote yes – marking an immense success and victory for civil rights and progressive, secular society in a nation which only decriminalized homosexuality back in 1993.
The Yes campaign focused on equality for gay and straight couples when it came to taxes, property, inheritance and family benefits; while the No campaign stressed traditional values such as needing both parents for children. Both campaigns utilized social media to mobilize their supporters – with Yes winning by an overwhelming margin.
Following the vote, several cities and states passed laws permitting same-sex couples to marry and some municipalities allowed unmarried partners to receive certain spousal benefits. Unfortunately, however, same-sex marriage did not become widely approved across both Britain and Northern Ireland due to power sharing government collapse in 2017 and suspension of Northern Ireland Assembly; henceforth British Parliament in Westminster needed to pass regulations extending same-sex marriage legislation into Northern Ireland through legislation.
At Aruba, Curacao and Sint Maarten the issue of same-sex marriage remains an important one. While same-sex marriage may not be recognized in the Netherlands proper; nor in its British Overseas Territories Niue Tokelau American Samoa nor tribal nations; same-sex marriage remains part of culture as evidenced by television shows Modern Family Glee Brothers and Sisters Queer as Folk Brooklyn Nine-Nine as well as video games The Sims Fallout 2 Elder Scrolls V, movies such as Love Actually Emma as well as comic series by character Jean Paul Beaubier from Astonishing X-Men series comic series.
In March 2019 the Irish parliament voted in favour of gender recognition laws, which will enable those identifying as non-binary or transgender to legally change their legal gender without needing a divorce decree. The move received wide support across both political parties – especially Sinn Fein who boast five openly gay members of parliament who supported it strongly.