The very impressive Roadside Goddess sculpture in Co Galway.
One per cent of the cost of every new road built in Ireland has to fund a piece of art, up to a total of €64,000. Each local authority decides the theme of the art on their stretch of roads.
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Co Wicklow man Tommy Kinsella was the world’s longest serving altar boy. He served at the Church of the Holy Redeemer in Bray for 81 years from 1917 to 1999. He held the Guinness World Record as the longest serving altar boy until Peter Staley from England claimed his record.
Dracula was written in 1897 by Irishman Bram Stoker. It has never been out of print and has been translated into 50 different languages.
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An old Irish folklore says that if you eat an apple pie on Christmas Eve you won’t suffer ill health the following year.
A rich man’s money can be described as ‘flúirseach’ (pronounced Flu-shirk) which literally means ‘profusely’ in Irish, although where money is concerned it has come to mean ‘plentiful’.
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The song ‘Red Sails in the Sunset’ made famous by Nat King Cole was written by Co Tyrone man Jimmy Kennedy.
The Irish used to have a saying – ‘Saturday’s flitting, a short sitting’. This meant that people wouldn’t take on anything major on the day before Sunday, the Holy Day. This included moving house, getting married or even travelling overnight.
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Check the price of a pint of Guinness when you were young!
All images copyright Ireland Calling
