St Patricks Day Trivia:  FunThings to Know About this Important Irish Holiday!

Sharing St Patricks Day trivia is a fun way to celebrate a 1,000 year old Irish tradition and an official Irish public holiday.  In fact, it is one of my favorite ways!  And it is much, much more than an excuse to wear green clothes and drink green beer!

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On a recent trip to Ireland I had the honor of hiking Croagh Patrick, the subject of one of the most powerful legends about St Patrick.  Since that time, I have had a new appreciation for the holiday that bears his name - and the interesting facts that surround that holiday.

Where St. Patrick's Day Come From?

St Patrick's Day celebrates the life and teachings of a man named Patrick, who became the foremost patron saint of Ireland.  

Born Maewyn Succat in Roman Britain, he was kidnapped and sold as a slave in Ireland at the age of 16.  He escaped, but later returned as St Patrick, bringing Christianity with him to the Emerald Isle.

Many legends in Irish folklore have been associated with St Patrick and the day that celebrates his life. His death occurred sometime around March 17, 461 AD.

For some, St Patricks day is a strictly holy day.  Many Irish families go to church in the morning to observe Lent, and then celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day (also known as the Feast of Saint Patrick) in the afternoon with food, drink, and dance.  

For many others - whether or not they have Irish ancestry - it is a time to celebrate with pints of Guinness and various happy shenanigans.

Below you will find a list of fun facts that I have gathered over the years, shared in the form of questions and answers.  Use them to boost your knowledge of Irish culture and celebrate Irish heritage every year on March 17th.

St Patricks Day Trivia:  Questions and Answers

Hey, anybody can Google St Patricks Day trivia.  Many of these facts are widely known, (some less so).  Thank you for choosing Irish Expressions to share them with you!  When you're done here, have a look at the History.com's 9 Surprising Facts about St Patrick.

Here we will use a question and answer format to make OUR St Patricks Day Trivia a bit more interesting!  And if you keep reading to the end, you will have the opportunity to download our popular Irish Expressions Playbook which contains all kinds of Irish information and activities to liven up your St Patrick's Day party.

Question 1: Was St Patrick actually Irish?
Answer:  No! Patrick was born in Roman Britain to a religious family, kidnapped and sold into slavery in Ireland.  He later escaped, only to return to Ireland as a missionary later in life.

Question 2: Why is green so prominent on St Patrick’s Day?
Answer: There are a number of answers that are acceptable.  Ireland herself is referred to as the Emerald Isle due to her lush green landscape. The world-famous Shamrock symbol is green.  Also, wearing green makes you invisible to those pesky leprechans, who will pinch you if they can see you. Wearing green is critical to prevent those pinches.  Obviously.

Question 3:  Where was the first St Patricks Day Parade?
Answer:  The city of Boston in the United States celebrated the first St. Patrick's Day parade we know of, as early as 1737.  According to Timothy Meagher, it was the Irish Americans who evolved the religious holiday in Ireland into a more celebratory occasion.

Question 4:  Does Dublin have one of the largest St. Patrick's Day celebrations?
Answer:  Yes.  Dublin's annual St. Patrick Day parade is one of the largest parades in the world.

Question 5:  How many people attend the annual St Patrick's Day parade in New York City?
Answer:  New York's St. Patrick's Day parade is attended by roughly 2 million people each year.

Question 6:  How much Guinness is consumed on St. Patrick's Day?
Answer:  Here's some important St Patricks Day trivia for you:  by one estimate, 13 million pints of Guinness are consumed during St. Patrick's Day celebrations around the world.

Question 7: What is the. most common food eaten on Saint Patrick's Day?
Answer: Corned beef and cabbage with Irish soda bread is a traditional meal on St. Paddy in the US.  It is not common in Ireland.

Question 8:  What is the 'drowning of the shamrock?'
Answer:  The St Patrick's Day practice of placing a shamrock in one's last glass of whiskey, before drinking it down.

Question 9:  What is the meaning of Erin go Bragh?
Answer:  These famous words are translated Ireland forever.

Question 10:  A well-known legend holds that St Patrick eliminated what reptile from the Emerald Isle?
Answer: Snakes!

Question 11:  What is a 3-letter word that describes a very popular Irish dance seen all over the word on St Patricks Day (and most other days :-)?
Answer:  J..I..G

Question 12:  Is it true that they dye the Chicago River green for Saint Patrick Day?
Answer:  Yes!  Two family clans in the Chicago area have been doing this for more than 50 years.  They use a top-secret powder to turn the river green for many hours.

Question 13:  According to legend, St Patrick used the shamrock to describe what central Christian idea?
Answer:  The Holy Trinity.

Question 14:  Is a Shamrock the same thing as a four-leaf clover?
Answer:  No!  The number of leaves of a shamrock (a key emblem of Ireland) is three, while the four-leaf clover has - obviously - four.

Question 15:  Why was drinking on St Patricks Day in Ireland forbidden between 1903 and 1970?
Answer:  The Church declared it sacrilegious.

Question 16:  Why was the St Patrick's Day parade in New York City in 1762 such an important event for Irish immigrants?
Answer:  Wearing of the color green, and the Shamrock in particular, were banned in Ireland at the time.  Irish immigrants and Irish soldiers station in NYC were able to display symbols and play music that were important to their culture at a time when they were inaccessible in the homeland.

Question 17:  How popular is St Patrick's Day around the world?
Answer:  More than 50 countries have St. Patrick's Day celebrations each year.

Question 18: What is one famous bit of St Patrick's Day trivia involving Montserrat, a small Caribbean island?
Answer: Montserrat, known as the "Emerald Isle of the Caribbean" due to its Irish ancestry, holds a week-long St. Patrick’s celebration mixing African and Irish heritage, featuring parades, music, and traditional dance – one of the few countries to have St. Patrick’s Day as a public holiday.

Question 19: What was the legal status of St. Patrick's Day in Ireland during the 20th century?
Answer: Up until the 1970s, pubs were closed in Ireland on March 17th in observance of St. Patrick’s religious significance. The law relaxed over time, turning it into a broader celebration of Irish culture and heritage.

Question 20: How did the global Irish diaspora influence St. Patrick’s Day?
Answer: The Irish diaspora, which spread due to events like the Great Famine, helped transform St. Patrick's Day into an international day of celebration, spreading Irish culture and tradition across the world, notably in the United States and Canada.

Question 21: Why is St. Patrick's Day on March 17th, specifically?
Answer: March 17th is believed to be the date of St. Patrick’s death. The day is both a commemoration of his life’s work and the influence he had on Ireland’s culture and faith identity.

Question 22: How did the tradition of the Irish "Lá Fhéile Pádraig" (St. Patrick's Festival) expand?
Answer: Originally, St. Patrick’s Day was more of a solemn occasion of religious observance. In the 20th century, it expanded beyond religious bounds to embrace cultural and festive elements, promoting Ireland's national identity on the global stage.

Question 23: Which non-Irish city dyes its beer green for St. Patrick's Day celebrations?
Answer: While cities around the world dye rivers and fountains, small pubs everywhere have taken to dyeing beer green as well, but Savannah, Georgia, is particularly known for its extreme dedication, with local brewers crafting exclusive batches just for the holiday.

Question 24: Is there a connection between St. Patrick’s Day and the popularity of the Irish language?
Answer: The holiday has inspired renewed interest in native Irish (Gaeilge) language courses and cultural activities. It’s seen as an opportunity to celebrate Irish heritage, including the preservation and revival of traditional language and customs.

Question 25: What is a unique Irish-American St. Patrick’s Day tradition involving ingredients like peas and radishes?
Answer: In New England, it’s traditional to plant peas on St. Patrick’s Day. Old farmers’ lore suggests that planting on the day will yield a bountiful harvest, marking a connection between the holiday and the beginning of the growing season.

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