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Ireland True or False?

Can you guess whether these statements about the Republic of Ireland are true or false?
Quiz by overtired
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Last updated: May 17, 2023
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First submittedJanuary 27, 2021
Times taken46,196
Average score66.7%
Rating4.54
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1. Belfast is the capital of the Republic of Ireland
Dublin is the capital. Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland, a constituent country of the United Kingdom.
True
False
2. Ireland's currency is the Euro
True
False
3. James Joyce's novel "Ulysses" takes place in ancient Greece
It is set in Dublin
True
False
4. About 40% of Irish citizens speak Irish as their primary language
Only about 2% speak Irish daily. The vast majority speak English.
True
False
5. No country has won the Eurovision song contest more times than Ireland
Seven times (1970, 1980, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1994, and 1996). As of 2023, Sweden has equaled this record.
True
False
6. The Irish drive on the left
The Ireland/UK border would be complicated otherwise
True
False
7. Caber tossing is a traditional Irish sport
Caber tossing comes from Scotland
True
False
8. Saint Patrick's Day is celebrated on the supposed date of his death
17th of March
True
False
9. The population of Ireland is lower today than it was before the Great Famine of 1845–1852
Along with mass starvation, the famine saw a mass exodus of Irish citizens (19%), particularly to the US
True
False
10. The Government of Ireland does not officially recognise the term "British Isles"
"The British Isles is not an officially recognised term in any legal or inter-governmental sense. It is without any official status." Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern, 2005
True
False
11. Colcannon is Ireland's third-largest city
Colcannon is a traditional dish of mashed potatoes and cabbage or kale
True
False
12. James Bond has been played by an Irish actor
Pierce Brosnan was born in Drogheda
True
False
13. The 1916 Christmas Rising was an insurrection against British rule
It was the 1916 Easter Rising
True
False
14. Lucky Charms is Ireland's most popular cereal
Lucky Charms isn't sold in Ireland (except as a special import). The most popular cereal is Corn Flakes.
True
False
15. There are no wild snakes in Ireland
Legend says that St. Patrick chased them into the sea
True
False
60 Comments
+5
Level 55
Feb 1, 2021
I very like this one! Nominated!
+4
Level 86
Feb 1, 2021
Thanks! Glad you liked it :)
+5
Level 66
Mar 5, 2021
I miss the one about driving on the left, because I thought it meant the left side of the car. I feel stupid.
+1
Level 50
Apr 18, 2023
It happened the same to me
+13
Level 90
Mar 5, 2021
Embarassed not to get full marks on this one as an Irish person. I didn't know why 17th of March was Paddy's Day. Just that it was. The others were easy if you live in Ireland.
+4
Level 49
Mar 19, 2021
Same here CeartGoLeor, 100% Irish, and got the St Patrick's Day question wrong - and thought I was oh so clever for side stepping the 1916 question!! :)
+1
Level 66
Apr 28, 2024
I’m Irish too, exact same thing.
+2
Level 80
Mar 5, 2021
"Odysseus" is the same as "Ulysses", just in a different spelling, isn't it?
+4
Level 86
Mar 5, 2021
Yes, Ulysses is the Latinised name of Odysseus, but the title of the novel is Ulysses.

At least the original title. I didn't realise but it has been published in some languages under the title Odysseus. My fault, should have checked that. The question could be changed to say "Odyssey", or if that's too close perhaps "Iliad". Quizmaster?

+2
Level ∞
Mar 5, 2021
The question has been changed to remove any possible confusion.
+1
Level 86
Mar 5, 2021
Nice, thanks!
+7
Level 91
Mar 5, 2021
Trivia related to the uprising: In the memoirs of many people in pre-internet, pre-radio England many had assumed upon hearing that war had started in 1914 that it was with Ireland, not Germany.
+2
Level 58
Mar 17, 2021
Huh TIL. Got a source handy?
+2
Level 68
Mar 6, 2021
Congrats on yet again another feature! Good quiz!
+15
Level 86
Mar 6, 2021
13. The 1916 Christmas Rising was an insurrection against British rule.

A: False

Explanation: It was the 1916 Easter Rising

This seems to be explained sort of sideways. The 1916 Christmas Rising was actually an insurrection against the 1916 Easter Rising?

Shouldn't the explanation be something like, "There was no '1916 Christmas Rising.' The insurrection against British Rule in 1916 was the 'Easter Rising.' "?

The question seems to be deliberately misleading, as though the "1916 Christmas Rising" was a historic event and the question revolves around what triggered it. Why not say, "The 1916 insurrection against British rule was known as the 'Christmas Rising'."? Then the explanation would make perfect sense as is.

+2
Level 86
Mar 6, 2021
Great quiz, though! Thanks.
+11
Level 74
Mar 17, 2021
Exactly my thoughts. The question seems very out of place, as it the only one on these quizzes (that I know of) where the thing in question is just completely invented and the question does not ask about its historicity. I thought "well, who else would it've been against?" and clicked true.
+3
Level 74
Mar 17, 2021
True, normally they're worded like, "The insurrection against British rule that took place in Ireland in 1916 is known as the 'Christmas Rising'."

Super quiz though, much enjoyed.

+4
Level 86
Mar 17, 2021
I'd have no problem changing the question to "The 1916 insurrection against British rule is known as the Christmas Rising", except that as far as I'm aware doing so would reset the quiz and everyone would lose their points, so I don't think it would be approved.
+1
Level 80
Mar 17, 2023
I don't think there was a 1916 Christmas Rising.
+5
Level 78
Apr 10, 2023
The explanation is fine. Some people these days interpret texts only literally and have no comprehension of context, nor of general meaning and intent. It should be abundantly clear that "1916-Easter-Rising" should replace "1916-Christmas-Rising", due to the similarity of both phrases, instead of it replacing the completely different second part of the sentence regarding british rule.

The fact that this is even an issue is facepalm inducing.

+4
Level 97
Mar 8, 2021
love the fact that you added explanation for every question Great quiz! also: you totally fooled me with the "christmas rising" question, although i was well aware of "easter rising".. good job!
+5
Level 67
Mar 17, 2021
Same. I'm very familiar with the Easter Rising, but I was focused on the second part of the question and got it wrong.
+3
Level 89
Mar 8, 2021
"Lucky Charms" is not their favorite cereal? I'm disillusioned. Could that also mean that "Irish Spring" is not their favorite soap?
+1
Level 95
Mar 9, 2021
As opposed to Scottish Spring, which no true Scotsman can go without.
+4
Level 55
Feb 27, 2022
As an Irish person, we actually dont have Lucky Charms. Ive never seen them in any shops or have ever eaten them
+7
Level 74
Mar 17, 2021
Happy St Patrick's Day 🍀
+4
Level 70
Mar 17, 2021
happy st patricks day!
+3
Level 74
Mar 17, 2023
Happy St Patrick's Day! 🇮🇪
+1
Level 55
Mar 17, 2025
Happy St. Patrick's day!
+1
Level 70
Mar 17, 2021
Check out the Vietnam version right here
+2
Level 31
Mar 17, 2021
I'm Irish and I got the Christmas Rising answer wrong because I read it wrong lmao
+2
Level 72
Mar 17, 2021
I'm so embarrassed I got one right by reading the question wrong. I somehow imagined a "never" while reading "James Bond has been played by an Irish actor" and guessed true. So perfect score by default?
+1
Level 52
Mar 18, 2021
Fitting to play this on almost St. Patrick's Day

Happy St Patrick's Day everyone!

+1
Level 65
Mar 21, 2021
Question number 13:

The 1916 Christmas Rising was an insurrection against British rule

True

False

Both answers are correct. Since there was no 1916 Christmas Uprising, you're asking a question about the null set (a set with no elements). Everything is true (and false) about an element of the null set.

+5
Level 86
Mar 21, 2021
I'm intrigued.

So if one of the questions said "Dingboff Zapadoo was a president of Ireland", would that be both true and false because there was no Dingboff Zapadoo?

+2
Level ∞
Mar 21, 2021
No.
+10
Level 86
Mar 22, 2021
RIP Dingboff Zapadoo (NEVER - ALWAYS)
+3
Level 55
Mar 18, 2023
Dingboff Zapadoo is dead? Oh, well that's ruined my day!
+1
Level 72
Mar 17, 2025
How am I only learning about Dingboff Zabadoo's death only now??
+1
Level 64
Mar 17, 2025
He lives on in our hearts.
+1
Level 43
Mar 17, 2025
It would be more like a question saying "Mary Robertson was president of Ireland 1990 - 1997."

Answer: False

Explanation: It was Mary Robinson

Technically a correct question, but maybe some don't think it is very satisfying.

+1
Level 86
Mar 17, 2025
That's unrelated to the point they were making, or what my reply was illustrating.

But to your point, you've made your analogy a lot more sneaky than the question imo. Robertson is much closer to Robinson than Christmas is to Easter. It would be more like saying Mary Smith was president...

+2
Level 49
Jul 13, 2021
James Bond was scottish not irish
+2
Level 91
Mar 17, 2023
He was also Australian at one point.
+1
Level 40
Aug 2, 2022
Quiz title should be: Ireland True or False, not Ireland True or False?
+1
Level 86
Aug 2, 2022
It’s a convention with the true or false quizzes on JetPunk.
+1
Level 79
Mar 17, 2023
The stats on this must have declined in the last two years. I only got one additional question right and gained two stars.
+1
Level 65
May 17, 2023
Eurovision's going to need to be updated. Sweden now equal them.
+1
Level 86
May 17, 2023
Adjusted the wording, thanks
+2
Level 66
Jan 26, 2024
Given that you have a question about the status of the term "British Isles" in Ireland it seems fair to point out that the Republic of Ireland is not the name of any existing state. The name of the country is, in the English language, Ireland. Republic of Ireland is a description of the state but not its name.
+1
Level 86
Jan 26, 2024
This is true. Of course it's necessary to use Republic of Ireland in a quiz like this (and many other situations) to avoid confusion.
+2
Level 60
Mar 17, 2025
Question 5 does not make sense anymore. If it's a tie, surely it's not true then?
+3
Level 86
Mar 17, 2025
No country has won the Eurovision song contest MORE times than Ireland. This is true.
+1
Level 64
Mar 17, 2025
The 1916 question is a bit sneaky mind.

Got all except that one, must learn to read the question although I feel less bad seeing that only 28% of people have gotten it right despite it being one of the easier questions, everyone must fall into the same trap.

+1
Level 77
Mar 17, 2025
If anyone got 100% on this quiz then you actually got one question wrong. Sweden has now won the Eurovision Song Contest as many times as Ireland (7 wins each). They caught up with us in 2023. This question needs to be updated or removed.
+2
Level 86
Mar 17, 2025
Read the question again. Sweden has not won MORE Eurovision song contests than Ireland.
+1
Level 45
Mar 17, 2025
I thought the James Bond one was a trick question bc Sean Connery was Scottish
+1
Level 67
Mar 21, 2025
He's actually only been played by an Englishman twice
+1
Level 86
Mar 21, 2025
People say Dalton was Welsh, but he had English-American parents and grew up in England from the age of 3.

Anyway, after Connery took the role Ian Fleming wrote the character of Bond to be of Scottish-Swiss parents, and raised in Scotland.