Ireland: Did You Know?
♣ Every year tens of thousands of people travel to North Cork for the Cahirmee horse fair in Buttevant. The 700 year old fair is the only one of its kind in Europe and includes everything from horse traders to antiques. To read more, click here.
♣ Ireland welcomes nearly 7 million visitors each year. The largest national groups visiting are Great Britain with 1,600,000 visitors, the USA with around 870,000 guests, Germany providing nearly 300,000 tourists, France accounting for a slightly lower number and nearly 190,000 Italians. Source
♣ Jarveys (hackney coaches) have been banned from Killarney National Park in Co. Kerry due to the coachmen’s refusal to use dung catching devices on their horses. For more on this story, click here.
♣ We already know that Dublin’s Phoenix Park is the largest urban park in Europe. But did you know that the park includes the residences of the Irish President and the Ambassador of the United States, cricket and polo fields, Ashtown Castle, the Garda (police) Headquarters, herds of deer roaming free and the Dublin Zoo.
♣ If you’re a big Irish salmon fan like my mother then you should travel to Ballina Co. Mayo. For the last 45 years, the Salmon Capital of Ireland along with tens of thousands of visitors celebrate salmon each July in a 10 day festival that is going on right now through the 19th. As the Mayo Advertiser put it, we can all “experience a 10-day family programme of colour, culture, ceol, agus craic in the lively market town of Ballina on Mayo’s majestic salmon rich River Moy.” Sounds fun! To read more, click here.
♣ The highest cliffs in Europe are located on Achill Island, Co. Mayo and stand at 664 m / 2178 ft (though some claim they nearly top 700 m / 2296 ft).
♣ Is the “Best Building in the World” in Ireland? Some people think Dublin’s Sean O’Casey Community Centre which is shaped like a block of Swiss cheese may be. The cheese building has been shortlisted in the “Best Building in the World” competition along with Beijing’s iconic ‘Bird’s Nest’ Olympic Stadium. Source
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♣ Related Links
Did You Know? Series
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