Ireland: Did You Know?

♣ Dublin hosts the AIB Street Performance World Championship every June. This year's event will be held from 18th to the 21st at Merrion Square. Performances include everything from piano juggling to break dancing. To meet all of the performers, click here.

♣ Catherine Kelly, who died in 1785, was allegedly the smallest Irish woman ever. Kelly was just 34 inches tall and weighed only 8 pounds and was referred to as “The Irish Fairy.” Source

♣ Each June, Dublin city celebrates Bloomsday. The three day event includes breakfasts, readings, films, talks, and walking tours all in honor of Irish novelist James Joyce and his famous work, Ulysses.

♣ More than 1,000 people recently came together in Sandymount in Dublin to create a human hour glass. The demonstrators, who were organized by Stop Climate Chaos, were sending a message to the Irish government about, you guessed it, climate change. To read more about this, click here.

♣ People are in Co. Derry are urged to wear a oak leaf on their lapel to mark the feast day of St. Columba (June 9th) similar to how the rest of the nation wear shamrocks to honor St. Patrick each March 17th.

♣ Forty years ago, world famous heart doctor and war hero Professor Frank Pantridge invented the portable defibrillator. Pantridge will be honored later this month in Belfast (he passed away in 2004) with a ceremony at Queen's University where a portrait of the late doctor will be unveiled.

♣ Mayo's Carne Golf Links, which was built from 1987-1992, was constructed mainly by farmers using hand spades and rakes which allowed little disturbance to the wild and ancient landscape.



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♣ Related Links
Diddlyi Blog
Ireland: Did You Know? Series

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