1. Celtic
   Gaelic
2. Euskara
   There is no Irish language

Don't let them hear you say there's no Irish language! Gaelic, like many of the world's indigenous languages, was in danger of dying out. But today, it's mandatory to study in Irish schools.

1. Alba
   Eire
2. Cymru
   Scotia

Not surprisingly, the correct choice is "Eire." "Alba" and "Scotia" are alternate names for Scotland, while "Cymru" is Wales in the Welsh language.

1. Cardiff
   Cork
2. Dublin
   Waterford

Cardiff is the capital of Wales. Waterford, meanwhile, is home to the famous type of crystal.

1. Cork
   Dublin
2. Limerick
   Belfast

Dublin was actually founded by Viking invaders, and has been in foreign hands for much of its history. Nonetheless, it is the center of the Republic's civic life and culture.

1. Three
   Four
2. Five
   Six

The most famous province is Ulster, because of the strife in Northern Ireland. The other three are Munster, Leinster and Connaught. The provinces are now cultural entities, not actual political ones. Think of "the South" and "the Midwest" in America.

1. Amaranth
   Cornmeal
2. Mashed potatoes
   There is none

A shepherd's pie is a pot pie with mashed or whipped potatoes smoothed over the top. This replaces the traditional pie crust made from wheat.

1. Aryans
   Celts
2. Tatars
   Igbo

The Celts originated in continental Europe, not the British Isles. But they're now overwhelmingly associated with the Isles, and Ireland particularly. Just witness the "Celtic music" section of your local music store.

1. Foxes
   Wolves
2. Snakes
   Both #2 and #3

Many people know the legend of St. Patrick driving the snakes out of Ireland. Lesser known is that wolves are now extinct there. Hunting was the cause of that.

1. fastest
   smartest
2. smallest
   tallest

Ireland gave the world the Irish wolfhound. As the name suggests, it was bred to hunt wolves -- and its size was necessary for that task.

1. The Aran Sea
   The Irish Sea
   St. George's Channel
2. The North Channel
   All of these
   #2, #3, and #4

The body of water between Ireland and the mainland UK changes names as you go south, from "the North Channel" to "the Irish Sea" to "St. George's Channel." But there is no "Aran Sea."

1. Corn
   Hops
2. Potato
   Wheat

The "Great Famine" is known outside Ireland as the "Irish Potato Famine," because a main cause was potato blight. Many rural families were dependent on the potato as a cheap food source, and were unprepared to survive without it.

1. Days of Awe
   Easter Rising
2. Easter Uprising
   Insurrection

Ireland recently celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Rising. The festivities were complete with such tourist items as "Choclamation" bars (a play on the "Easter Proclamation," the manifesto that accompanied the rebellion).

1. The IRA was founded
   Ireland was partitioned into north and south
2. James Joyce was born
   The Great Famine ended

To say "north and south" doesn't quite express it -- geographically, Northern Ireland is quite small compared to the Republic. And the Republic of Ireland is a sovereign nation, whereas Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom.

1. Corned beef and cabbage
   Irish stew
2. Soda bread
   Coddle

That's right, corned beef and cabbage is actually an Irish-American creation. In that sense, it's like pizza, which is often mistaken for Italian food.

1. A castle on the Irish Sea
   A university
2. A political party
   An indie rock group

Sinn Fein was founded in 1905, and survived a split in 1970 (with a large number of members leaving to become the Workers' Party of Ireland). Sinn Fein is known for its left-wing politics and affiliation with the Irish Republican Army.

1. "The People"
   "The Land"
2. "One Country"
   "We Ourselves"

Sinn Fein's name reflected the desire for self-rule that was achieved with the founding of the Republic.

1. Gerry Adams
   Bobby Sands
2. John Major
   Rory O'Malley

Gerry Adams was a longtime power broker in Irish politics, even surviving an assassination attempt in 1984. He was replaced as Sinn Fein's president by Mary McDonald in February 2018.

1. Cork
   Derry
2. Galway
   Limerick

Derry is a city in Northern Ireland, at a latitude of 55 degrees north. It's farther north even than the Northern Irish capital of Belfast.

1. One
   Three
2. Four
   Seven

Northern Ireland comprises only four counties. This is as opposed to 26 in the Republic of Ireland, which is substantially bigger.

1. Eczema
   Easter lilies
2. Men on the make
   Bacon

Yup, if you order "bacon" in an Irish diner, you might get a blank stare from the waitress. It's worth knowing what's what on Irish menus, so you don't end up with something you didn't mean to order.

1. Cemeteries in Dublin
   Houses of Parliament
2. Celtic goddesses
   Types of bread

These are the lower and upper houses, respectively, of the parliament of the Republic. The parliament overall is called the "Oireachtas" in Gaelic.

1. Cider
   IPA
2. Light beer
   Stout

Light beer? Bite your tongue. Guinness is a dark, full-bodied stout. No word on whether it's actually "good for you," as its posters claimed.

1. Sinead O'Connor
   Seamus Heaney
2. Liam Neeson
   Mads Mikkelsen

Mikkelsen is Danish. O'Connor is an Irish singer and Neeson an actor, while Seamus Heaney was the well-known poet who gave the world a new translation of "Beowulf" in 1999.

1. A priest
   A warrior and hunter
2. A wise druid
   Father of all the leprechauns

Finn Mac Cool is a simpler spelling of Fionn Mac Cumhiall. This epic figure in Irish folklore is said to now sleep in a cave, waiting to awaken in Ireland's hour of greatest need. (Oh yeah? Where was he when Michael Flatley inflicted "Riverdance" on the world?)

1. Dublin
   Galway
2. Sligo
   Waterford

All of these cities are in the Republic of Ireland. Waterford, a port city, is located in the southeast.

1. 1608
   1784
2. 1885
   It depends how you count

All the above dates are important: the date of the granting of its first license, the date the distillery in Antrim County was built, and the date the existing distillery was rebuilt after a fire. Naturally, Bushmills puts the 1608 date on its labels. Any way you slice it, it's a venerable old business, and more than 100,000 people tour the distillery every year.

1. East
   North
2. South
   West

The Aran Islands are west of Galway Bay. Their names are Inishmore, Inishmaan, and Inisheer.

1. Three Decades Clash
   Soft War
2. Ulster Rising
   Troubles

"The Troubles" was the somewhat euphemistic name for the clash between North Ireland's loyalists (mostly Protestant) and those who supported a united independent Ireland (mostly Catholic). The Troubles came to an end with the passage of the Belfast Agreement, which included the decommissioning of paramilitary groups on both sides.

1. The Cranberries
   Boyzone
2. U2
   Van Morrison

U2 is the heavyweight here, as measured in sales of recorded music and concert tickets. They're not done making music yet, either.

1. Black pudding is made with pig's blood
   White pudding is more expensive
2. White pudding has milk in it
   One is made in Northern Ireland, the other in the Republic

Yes, this is where tourists' claims to want "an authentic Irish dining experience" usually stop -- at black pudding. It's made from pork, pig's blood and oats.

1. Bacon
   Eggs
2. Potatoes
   Sausage

Of course, people do experiment in the kitchen, particularly in the days of fusion cuisine. But this Irish comfort food is traditionally made with bacon, sausage, potatoes and onion.

1. Seamus Heaney
   James Joyce
2. Liam O'Flaherty
   William Butler Yeats

Joyce was a giant in the modernist movement. He spent much of his adult life in continental Europe, but wrote mostly about the city of Dublin.

1. Christy Brown
   Louis MacNeice
2. Patrick Pearse
   W.B. Yeats

Yeats proposed to Gonne several times, and was always rejected. The sticking point between them was that he was not as committed to the cause of Irish independence as she was.

1. Corrib
   Liffey
2. Louth
   Leinster

If you're visiting Dublin, you can cross the Liffey on the Samuel Beckett Bridge. It's named for one of Ireland's more prominent poet-playwrights.

1. University of Aberdeen
   Oxford University
2. Trinity College
   University of St. Andrews

This can be a little confusing, as there's also a Trinity College as part of Cambridge University in England. In a similar fashion, the University of Dublin established a college, Trinity College -- but since no other colleges were founded there, "Trinity College" and "University of Dublin" mean the same thing.