Irish History Trivia

1. One of the best-known battles in Ireland took place in 1690 and was to shape the destiny of several European nations. On which river did it take place?

From Quiz Battlefield Ireland

Answer: Boyne

The Battle of the Boyne was fought on July 1st, 1690, but due to the later adoption of the Gregorian calendar in place of the Julian calendar, it is now marked on July 12th. The fighting was between the armies of King William III (aka William Prince of Orange) and King James II. James had been king of Britain and Ireland. However, he was a convert to Catholicism in the predominantly Protestant Great Britain. William was the Protestant head of the Dutch royal house of Orange, and was married to James's daughter, Mary. In 1688, Parliament invited William and Mary to take the throne and they landed with an army in Devon. James fled to France. This is the point where pan-European politics came into play. King Louis XIV of France was at the time determined to make himself overlord of Europe A 'Grand Alliance' of other powers opposed this, and William of Orange was among them. Pope Alexander VIII supported the alliance. Supported by the French king, James II landed in Ireland with an army, intent on winning back his throne and promoting the Catholic faith. In this campaign, there were a number of battles throughout Ireland, but the most significant was on the banks of the Boyne. The kings led their armies. William had 36,000 men, comprising English, Scottish, Dutch, Danes and Huguenots (French Protestants). James had 25,000, made up of Irish Catholics, reinforced by 6,500 French troops. About 1,500 men died during the battle. William was victorious. After a portion of James's army was drawn off in a movement toward the town of Drogheda, the remaining 6,000 Jacobite troops were unable to withstand the onslaught of 26,000 led by William as they crossed the Boyne. William's victory made him leader of the Grand Alliance and in 1697 Louis XIV relinquished much of the territory he had won by conquest. (Apologies for the length of the II, but the Battle of the Boyne is often simplistically portrayed - especially in Ireland - when it was part of a more complicated political stratagem.)

From Quiz No Love Lost: Prelude To the Irish Civil War

Answer: Michael Collins and Arthur Griffith

All of these men were part of the Irish delegation (with Childers acting in a secretarial capacity only), but most of the negotiating was done by Collins and Griffith. Childers was vehemently opposed to the treaty. Barton later opposed the treaty, although he signed it and recommended it to the Dáil Éireann, the governing body of the Irish Republic.

From Quiz Ya say you want a revolution ...

Answer: Theobald Wolfe Tone

Wolfe Tone is one of many Protestant Irish rebel leaders.

From Quiz The Best of Times, The Worst of Times

Answer: 433 AD

It is widely accepted that Saint Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. However, Patrick was not a native of Ireland. In fact, Patrick was born in Scotland in 387 AD. His parents were of Roman descent and were stationed with one of the Roman colonies based in Scotland. Patrick's first visit to Ireland was not one that he had much choice in. At the age of fourteen he was kidnapped and brought to Ireland and sold as a slave to tend sheep. At the age of twenty Patrick escaped Ireland and returned to Scotland, but by this time he had found God. He studied to become a priest under Saint Germanus, who was the Bishop of Auxerre. Soon after his ordination he was made a Bishop himself and was asked to return to Ireland to help convert its people to Christianity. From the time he arrived back in Ireland in 433 AD tll his death in 461 AD, he dedicated himself to spreading Christianity across the island of Ireland. When he died, he was buried in Downpatrick, County Down, on the site of the first church that he had helped build in Ireland. (Question by Dolano)

From Quiz A Walk around Derry's Walls

Answer: Oak grove

Another Irish version of the city's name is Doire Cholmcille (the oak grove of Colmcille), reflecting the city's origins as a monastic settlement established by St. Colmcille in the 6th century. In the English language it's known to Nationalists as Derry but to many Unionists as Londonderry, to the 'politically correct' it's called 'Derry/Londonderry', and 'Stroke City' to the humorously ironic. The city is also known as the 'Maiden City' to its Unionist population, commemorating the fact that despite several sieges throughout its history its defences were never breached. For a small city (population 83,652 in the 2001 census) it certainly has a lot of names!

From Quiz 20th Century Ireland by Decade

Answer: Home Rule Party

A split had occurred in the Home Rule Party in the late nineteenth century as a result of Charles Stewart Parnell's affair with Kitty O'Shea. Redmond had supported Parnell but anti-Parnellites disagreed and so the party split. Parnell died in 1891, and slowly but surely, Redmond set about reuniting the party, which finally happened in 1900.

From Quiz Irish History

Answer: Theobald Wolfe Tone

Theobald Wolfe Tone was a leading figure in the Irish Republican Movement and is regarded by many as the father of Irish Republicanism.

From Quiz Ireland: From Treaty to Civil War

Answer: Eamon de Valera, Austin Stack, Cathal Brugha

The motion was passed by four votes to three. The four cabinet ministers who voted for the motion were W.T. Cosgrave, Arthur Griffith, Michael Collins and Robert Barton. Stack and Brugha were die-hard republicans who rejected the treaty on principle and de Valera was also opposed to the references to the British monarch. Furthermore, he was annoyed with Collins and Griffith for not referring back to him in Dublin before signing the Treaty. This exacerbated the personal enmity between de Valera and Collins, and their rivalry was to prove detrimental to Irish peace in the coming months.

From Quiz Early History of the GAA (1884-1891)

Answer: 1 November 1884

The GAA was set up on 1 November 1884. About 13 people were present at the meeting where Maurice Davin was chosen as the President of the new organisation. The man who was involved in the establishment of the GAA more than anyone else was Michael Cusack. On 11 October 1884 he wrote an anonymous article in the United Ireland newspaper called "A Word About Irish Athletics". In it he urged Irish people to reject English sports and to "take the management of their games into their own hands". The article was soon followed by the Maurice Davin's letter where he supported Cusack and agreed to help with the running of the new organisation. Maurice Davin at the time was the most famous Irish athlete.

From Quiz 1913 Dublin Strike and Lockout

Answer: Irish Transport and General Workers' Union

The Irish Transport and General Workers' Union was set up by James Larkin on 4 January 1909 after he was expelled from the National Union of Dock Labourers in Belfast. By 1912 the ITGWU had 18,000 members and it continued to grow. Many of its members were influenced by syndicalism and used the tactic of the "sympathetic strike" to put pressure on the employers. Very often employers gave in to the demands of the Trade Union to increase wages and improve working conditions. However in 1913 when the Dublin Tramway Company workers went on strike, William Martin Murphy (a very influential businessman who owned the Tramway Company as well as several newspapers, hotels and department stores) persuaded other employers to respond to the strike by locking out the workers involved in it. This marked the beginning of the 1913 Dublin Strike and Lockout.

From Quiz The Easter Uprising/Rebellion, 1916

Answer: Larne, during the night

The guns were smuggled into Larne, County Antrim on the night of 24th April 1914. These weapons were brought over from Hamburg, and the delivery consisted of 35,000 guns and five million rounds of ammunition. This process was known as "gun running".

From Quiz Ireland and Independence 1914 -1921

Answer: John Redmond

John Redmond had succeeded in getting a Home Rule Bill passed in the House of Commons. As a direct result of the end of the Lords Veto it would have become law after two years. However, he agreed to postpone Home Rule until after the War. Ironically, Ireland would not be satisfied with such limited self government when the war was finally over.

From Quiz An Gorta Mor , the Terrible Irish Famine

Answer: 8.2 million

The population was probably larger as people were slow to get involved with officials taking census returns. At 8 million, it is still double the 2001 population of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland combined.

From Quiz History of Ireland

Answer: Battle of the Boyne

William III, a Dutch-speaking protestant, defeated ex-King James II (who had been deposed in the 1688 'Glorious Revolution'). The battle was actually fought on July 1, but is commemorated on the 12th due to the change from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar in 1751.

From Quiz Irish History

Answer: Easter

From Quiz Irish History

Answer: Easter Monday

It was deferred by MacNeil from Sunday.

From Quiz Battlefield Ireland

Answer: Vikings

Between the 9th and 12th centuries, Vikings regularly took part in raids on Ireland. They also often allied themselves with local tribes in the seemingly interminable conflicts over the kingship of Ireland. The Vikings founded the cities of Dublin, Limerick, Cork, Wexford and Waterford. Gradually, the Vikings settled among the local populace, often intermarrying. They were content to settle mainly along the coast in places they had won in battle. The coming of the Normans in the 12th Century was to end the direct Viking influence. Much earlier the Greeks and the Romans knew about Ireland. While the Romans conquered Britain, there is little evidence that they invaded Ireland. That being said, evidence has been found of Roman settlements, or at last trading posts, in Ireland.

From Quiz Heroes of the Irish Struggle for Independence

Answer: Patrick Pearse

Patrick Pearse (1879-1916) was the son of a Protestant English father and an Irish Catholic mother. He had a deep love for the Irish language, and started a school called St. Enda's near Dublin where classes were taught in both English and Gaelic. Pearse joined a military organization called the Irish Volunteers, and also the secret society called the Irish Republican Brotherhood. On April 24, 1916, about 1,200 members of the Irish Volunteers, along with 200 members of the Irish Citizen Army under the leadership of James Connolly, occupied a number of strategic positions in the city of Dublin. Pearse and his followers seized the General Post Office in Dublin and made it their headquarters. Pearse read a proclamation called the "Poblacht na hÉireann" on the steps of the Post Office, declaring Irish independence. The British responded quickly, using all the military forces at their disposal to crush the rebellion. Six days of fierce fighting followed, during which much of central Dublin was destroyed. Following the surrender of the Irish forces on April 29, most of the Irish leaders were summarily executed by the British, including Pearse and his brother, Willie.

From Quiz No Love Lost: Prelude To the Irish Civil War

Answer: It allowed most of Ulster to remain part of the United Kingdom

All of these were provisions of the treaty; most were eventually nullified, but the division of Ireland has remained a problem to this day. Six of the nine counties of Ulster were allowed to remain part of the United Kingdom, and today are known as Northern Ireland. Instead of a republic, the treaty provided for an "Irish Free State" with dominion status within the British Commonwealth, and limited self-government.

From Quiz 20th Century Ireland by Decade

Answer: 1916

In Easter 1916, seven men signed the Proclamation of Independence. It was read out at the General Post Office in Dublin and the rising ensued. The seven men were Padraig Pierce, James Connolly, Tom Clarke, Joseph Plunkett, Sean McDermott, Eamonn Ceantt and Thomas McDonagh. All seven were shot dead after the rising.

From Quiz Irish History

Answer: Sinn Féin

Sinn Féin is a political party in Ireland. It was founded by Arthur Griffith in 1905, it is the principal party of Irish republicanism and its political ideology is left-wing. The name Sinn Fein translates literally as 'we ourselves', which represents Griffiths ideology that Ireland as a nation should be self-sufficient and not reliant on any other nation for food, etc.

From Quiz Ireland: From Treaty to Civil War

Answer: 7 votes

The treaty was passed by 64 votes to 57, after prolonged and bitter debates in the Dáil, which did nothing to lessen the ill-feeling between the two sides. After the results of the vote were made public, de Valera and the anti-Treaty T.D.s rejected the result and left the Dáil in protest. This move was a major step on the road to civil war, especially given the inflammatory speeches de Valera made after his withdrawal, in which he stated that "the majority has no right to do wrong" and that to get an Irish republic, it might be necessary to "wade through rivers of Irish blood". A direct allusion to civil war? Possibly, though we will never know for certain if de Valera meant it as such.

From Quiz Early History of the GAA (1884-1891)

Answer: Thurles

The GAA was set up in the Hayes' Commercial Hotel in Thurles, County Tipperary. The notice about the meeting in Thurles was posted by Michael Cusack and Maurice Davin in the United Ireland as well as the Freeman's Journal and the Irish Sportsman.

From Quiz 1913 Dublin Strike and Lockout

Answer: Dublin Employers' Federation

In 1911 after a series of successful strikes led by Larkin, employers seemed powerless. William Martin Murphy proposed to set up the Employers' Federation which would resist the ITGWU. When the strike began in 1913 the employers drew up the declaration which had to be signed by every employee. By signing it the worker agreed to leave the ITGWU and never join the Union again. If the employee refused to do so he/she was locked out. Murphy was also willing to starve the locked out workers so that they would have no choice but to return to work.

From Quiz The Easter Uprising/Rebellion, 1916

Answer: Show the Unionists' support for Britain by fighting for them

Sir Edward Carson was the Unionist leader. The Unionists wanted to stay united with Britain in particular, so to prove their loyalty Carson persuaded the authorities to absorb the Ulster Volunteers (a Unionist group) into the British Army as a distinct unit - the 36th (Ulster) Division. Carson hoped that by showing their loyalty, Ulster would be entitled to special treatment after the war.

From Quiz Ireland and Independence 1914 -1921

Answer: edward Carson

Edward Carson was a Unionist who was opposed to Home Rule, which he felt would be 'disastrous for the whole of Ireland'. In the event of Home rule being imposed from Westminister, he demanded that Ulster should be excluded. One of Redmond's biggest misjudgements was his underestimation of Unionist opposition to Home Rule.

From Quiz An Gorta Mor , the Terrible Irish Famine

Answer: West

The Atlantic seaboard, comprising parts of modern Munster, Ulster and all of Connacht were the most densely populated. The vast majority depended for their living on the land. They did not possess marketable skills, and most spoke only Gaelic.

From Quiz History of Ireland

Answer: Theobalde Wolfe Tone

Wolfe Tone actually managed to get the French to muster an invasion force to support his cause, but they were forced to turn back due to stormy weather.

From Quiz Irish History

Answer: Belfast and Dublin

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