- 1. Irish history is a rich tapestry weaving together tales of ancient Celts, Viking invasions, Norman conquests, and English rule. Spanning thousands of years, Ireland's history is marked by periods of conflict and resistance, poetry and myth, famine and emigration. From the prehistoric sites of Newgrange and the Hill of Tara to the Easter Rising of 1916 and the Troubles of the late 20th century, Ireland's past is a complex and fascinating story of identity, culture, and resilience.
Who was the first President of Ireland?
A) Mary Robinson
B) Michael D. Higgins
C) Douglas Hyde
D) Éamon de Valera
- 2. What event took place in 1916 that is considered a pivotal moment in Irish history?
A) Good Friday Agreement
B) Easter Rising
C) Great Famine
D) Battle of the Boyne
- 3. Which famous Irish leader was known as 'The Liberator'?
A) Michael Collins
B) Gerry Adams
C) Éamon de Valera
D) Daniel O'Connell
- 4. What year did Ireland officially declare itself a republic?
A) 1969
B) 1922
C) 1949
D) 1937
- 5. In which year did the Good Friday Agreement bring peace to Northern Ireland?
A) 1985
B) 1916
C) 1998
D) 1922
- 6. Who was the first female President of Ireland?
A) Margaret Thatcher
B) Mary Robinson
C) Queen Elizabeth II
D) Angela Merkel
- 7. What event marked the beginning of the Troubles in Northern Ireland in 1969?
A) Downing Street Declaration
B) Omagh bombing
C) Battle of the Bogside
D) Bloody Sunday
- 8. What year did Ireland gain its independence from Britain?
A) 1801
B) 1949
C) 1922
D) 1916
- 9. Who was known as 'The Father of the Land League' for his work in agricultural reform in Ireland?
A) Padraig Pearse
B) Arthur Griffith
C) Charles Stewart Parnell
D) Michael Davitt
- 10. What is the name of the historic political agreement that aimed to resolve the conflict in Northern Ireland?
A) St. Andrews Agreement
B) Dublin Accord
C) Belfast Agreement
D) Good Friday Agreement
- 11. What Irish pirate was known for his exploits along the coast of the Americas in the 16th century?
A) Grace O'Malley
B) Captain Kidd
C) Anne Bonny
D) Blackbeard
- 12. Who was the founder of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) in 1884?
A) Croke Park
B) Michael Cusack
C) Patrick Pearse
D) Eoin MacNeill
- 13. What is the Irish name for the Great Famine that occurred in the mid-19th century?
A) An Gorta Mór
B) The Hunger
C) Black '47
D) The Potato Blight
- 14. In what year did Ireland join the European Union?
A) 2001
B) 1960
C) 1973
D) 1992
- 15. Which Irish leader played a significant role in the negotiation of the Anglo-Irish Treaty in 1921?
A) Arthur Griffith
B) James Connolly
C) Éamon de Valera
D) Michael Collins
- 16. What year was the Easter Rising in Dublin led by Irish republicans against British rule?
A) 1922
B) 1941
C) 1932
D) 1916
- 17. What is the meaning of the name 'Treaty of Limerick'?
A) A treaty signed in 1691 that ended the Williamite War in Ireland
B) A peace agreement between Irish and Viking forces in the 9th century
C) A treaty that established the Irish Free State in 1922
D) A treaty signed in 1921 between Britain and Ireland for independence
- 18. What Irish king is known for his victory over the Vikings at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014?
A) Mael Sechnaill II
B) Niall of the Nine Hostages
C) Cormac Mac Airt
D) Brian Boru
- 19. What was the name of the law passed by the British in the 17th century to restrict the power of the Irish Catholic majority?
A) Act of Union
B) Plantation of Ulster
C) Penal Laws
D) Statute of Kilkenny
- 20. What influential historical figure established the monastic settlement of Glendalough in the 6th century?
A) St. Kevin
B) Brendan the Navigator
C) Columbanus
D) St. Patrick
- 21. In which year was the Bloody Sunday massacre in Derry, Northern Ireland?
A) 1981
B) 1998
C) 1972
D) 2003
- 22. Which famous book was written by James Joyce and is set in Dublin?
A) Dracula
B) Pride and Prejudice
C) To Kill a Mockingbird
D) Ulysses
- 23. Which Irish leader signed the Good Friday Agreement in 1998?
A) Martin McGuinness
B) Bertie Ahern
C) Gerry Adams
D) Ian Paisley
- 24. The peace wall separating Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods in Belfast is known as?
A) The Division Wall
B) The Peace Line
C) The Barrier
D) The Conflict Line
- 25. Which Irish musician is famous for songs like 'The Parting Glass' and 'Rocky Road to Dublin'?
A) Hozier
B) Luke Kelly
C) Enya
D) Bono
- 26. Which Irish writer was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1923?
A) Bram Stoker
B) George Bernard Shaw
C) William Butler Yeats
D) Samuel Beckett
- 27. Who led the Irish independence movement and later became the first President of Ireland?
A) Charles Stewart Parnell
B) James Connolly
C) Michael Collins
D) Éamon de Valera
- 28. Who was the last High King of Ireland before the Norman invasion?
A) Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair
B) Brian Boru
C) Cú Chulainn
D) Niall of the Nine Hostages
- 29. Who was the leader of the Irish Citizen Army during the Easter Rising?
A) Padraig Pearse
B) Countess Markievicz
C) James Connolly
D) Éamon de Valera
- 30. What year did Northern Ireland officially come into existence as a separate entity?
A) 1949
B) 1921
C) 1916
D) 1969
- 31. Which Viking king founded the city of Dublin in the 9th century?
A) Erik Bloodaxe
B) Ivar the Boneless
C) Sigtrygg Silkbeard
D) Olaf the White
- 32. In what year did the Great Famine ravage Ireland?
A) 1689-1691
B) 1601-1603
C) 1845-1852
D) 1779-1783
- 33. Which Irish saint is credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland in the 5th century?
A) Saint Columba
B) Saint Brigid
C) Saint Brendan
D) Saint Patrick
- 34. Which Irish author wrote the novel 'Ulysses', considered a masterpiece of modernist literature?
A) Oscar Wilde
B) Samuel Beckett
C) Bram Stoker
D) James Joyce
- 35. Who was the British monarch responsible for the forced planting of Scottish and English settlers in Ulster in the 17th century?
A) Elizabeth I
B) Henry VIII
C) James I
D) Charles I
- 36. In which county did the Battle of the Boyne take place in 1690?
A) County Wexford
B) County Tyrone
C) County Meath
D) County Antrim
- 37. Who famously penned the Irish rebel song 'The Foggy Dew'?
A) Wolfe Tones
B) Christy Moore
C) The Dubliners
D) Canon Charles O'Neill
- 38. Which political party in Ireland was founded in 1926 by Éamon de Valera after he left Sinn Féin?
A) Social Democrats
B) Fianna Fáil
C) Fine Gael
D) Labour Party
- 39. Who was the first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland when it was established in 1921?
A) David Lloyd George
B) Edward Carson
C) James Craig
D) Michael Collins
- 40. Which event marked the beginning of the Irish War of Independence in 1919?
A) The Battle of O'Connell Street
B) The Soloheadbeg Ambush
C) The Easter Rising
D) The Anglo-Irish Treaty
- 41. What was the name of the paramilitary organization founded by Michael Collins during the War of Independence?
A) Sinn Féin
B) The Irish Republican Army (IRA)
C) The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
D) The Black and Tans
- 42. Who was the leader of the Provisional Sinn Féin party during the Troubles in Northern Ireland?
A) Ian Paisley
B) Martin McGuinness
C) Gerry Adams
D) Bobby Sands
- 43. Which of the following cities is the capital of the Republic of Ireland?
A) Cork
B) Belfast
C) Dublin
D) Galway
- 44. Which Irish landmark was built around 3200 BC, making it older than Stonehenge and the Egyptian pyramids?
A) Bunratty Castle
B) Blarney Castle
C) Newgrange
D) The Rock of Cashel
- 45. In 1845, what event devastated Ireland, leading to mass starvation and emigration?
A) The Plantation of Ulster
B) The Easter Rising
C) The Great Famine
D) The Irish Rebellion
- 46. Which famous ship sank off the coast of Cork in 1915, leading to the loss of over a thousand lives?
A) The Britannic
B) The Lusitania
C) The RMS Oceanic
D) The Titanic
- 47. Which Irish musician is known for hits like 'Brown Eyed Girl' and 'Moondance'?
A) U2
B) Enya
C) Hozier
D) Van Morrison
- 48. What name is often given to the conflict in Northern Ireland between loyalists and republicans that lasted from the late 1960s to the late 1990s?
A) The Irish War
B) The Belfast Strife
C) The Troubles
D) The Northern Conflict
- 49. Which Irish Nobel laureate is known for his play 'Waiting for Godot'?
A) Samuel Beckett
B) William Butler Yeats
C) George Bernard Shaw
D) Seamus Heaney
- 50. What is the name of the ancient Irish symbol of a three-leafed plant, often associated with good luck?
A) Daffodil
B) Shamrock
C) Four-leaf Clover
D) Thistle
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