Legend has it St. Patrick used the shamrock to illustrate the mystery of the Holy Trinity as one single entity, easily converting the nature-based Irish pagans to his Christian beliefs.
The discovery of the ill-fated shipwreck in 1985 by oceanographer Robert Ballard spurred renewed interest in the Titanic. Twelve years later James Cameron’s movie, Titanic, brought interest to a fever pitch (the love story portrayed by actors Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio certainly left movie goers feverish). It was the highest grossing film of all time in its day, which helped offset the $200 million that went into producing the blockbuster.
The boisterious, bearded Vikings are credited with founding several key cities in Ireland, among them Dublin, Waterford and Limerick.
Founded in 914, the city of Waterford is older than all the Northern European capitals with the exception of Paris and London. It is the only Irish city to retain its Viking place name - Vedrarfjordr - an Old Norse word which means 'haven from the windy sea' or 'winter port.'
children. As per conditions of the Treaty of Limerick following their defeat in the Williamite War (1688-91) in Ireland, those same soldiers, led by Patrick Sarsfield, were called to serve in French armies during the Nine Years War against the Dutch.
The worst of the emigration hemorrhage though occurred during the Potato Famine of 1845-1849 when a million Irish left for the U.S., Canada and Australia. Another million Irish died during the four years of famine. By 1900, the population of Ireland had been cut in half, to just under 4.5 million people. The largest of those exiled Irish headed for Boston, Chicago and New York City, which is why the Irish have become such a force in U.S. politics; and why the Chicago River is dyed green every St. Patrick’s Day.