Irish history is rich, fascinating and complex, tracing the story of the Emerald Isle from ancient times to the present day. From the arrival of the Celts and the rise of the Gaelic kingdoms, to the struggle for independence and the formation of the modern state, Irish history is full of fascinating stories and events. Irish history trivia questions are a great way to test your knowledge of this rich cultural heritage and to learn more about the fascinating story of Ireland.
This list of Irish history trivia questions covers a wide range of topics and is designed to challenge your understanding of the country's past. Some of the questions are straightforward and can be answered by simple recall, while others require a deeper understanding of the subject matter. Regardless of your level of expertise, this list of Irish history trivia questions is sure to be both educational and entertaining.
Whether you're an Irish history buff, a student of the subject, or simply someone interested in learning more about the fascinating story of Ireland, this list of Irish history trivia questions is sure to provide you with hours of enjoyment and learning. So why not put your knowledge to the test and see how you fare? Let's explore the rich cultural heritage of Ireland and see how much you really know!
63 Irish History Trivia Questions Ranked From Easiest to Hardest (Updated for 2024)
- Change one letter in "droid" and you get what word that means a priest in the ancient Celtic tradition?
Answer: Druid
- Ireland's Great Famine, which lasted from 1845 to 1852, started with a massive destruction of what staple crop by the fungus-like organism Phytophthora infestans?
Answer: Potato
- After the Battle of Clontarf in 1014, Gaelic culture no longer faced a major threat from what seafaring Norse people?
Answer: Vikings
- What river whose name is also a common woman's first name is the longest in Ireland, at 224 miles?
Answer: Shannon
- Although often misattributed as a French invention owing to its name and history, what macabre beheading-device was actually first used in Ireland in 1307, over 450 years before it was first used in France?
Answer: Guillotine
- What hero of the Irish struggle of independence was the subject of a 1996 biopic starring Liam Neeson?
Answer: Michael Collins
- The Battle of Clontarf in 1014 is generally the event that ended what seafaring people as a threat to Gaelic culture?
Answer: Vikings
- Located within the Irish province of Munster, what city in Ireland is also a type of five-line poem which famously follows an AABBA rhyming scheme?
Answer: Limerick
- What there-word nickname, referring to the colors of both army and police uniform, was used for constables recruited into the Royal Irish Constabulary as reinforcements during the Irish War of Independence? The singular of this nickname is a cocktail comprising pale beer and dark beer, usually called a “half and half” in Ireland.
Answer: Black and Tans
- The name of which Irish river in the province of Leinster lends its name to a battle of 1690 fought between William III (William of Orange) and the exiled king James II?
Answer: Boyne
- On April 11, 1912, Francis Browne was on a pier in Ireland when he took one of the last known photos of what object?
Answer: The Titanic
- Thanks to their video for "Zombie" what '90s alt rock band were the first Irish band to reach one billion views on YouTube?
Answer: The Cranberries
- Saint Finbarr is usually cited as the founder of what Irish city that originally popped off as a monastic settlement in the 6th century?
Answer: Cork
- Two rebellions in Ireland, taking place from 1569-1573 and 1579-1583 respectively, were both named for and led by the Earl of what “D” title? It is also the first name of a South African archbishop who protested apartheid.
Answer: Desmond Rebellions
- What 1998 agreement between the British government, Irish government, and political parties of Northern Ireland was named after a religious holiday and is often considered the basis for the present devolved system of government in Northern Ireland?
Answer: Good Friday Agreement
- What was the term for the region of Irish land, centered on Dublin, that was directly controlled by the English government in the Late Middle Ages, reabsorbed into Ireland in the 17th century? It shares its name with a word meaning having little color.
Answer: The Pale
- Meaning "chief" or "leader," what T-word is used as a title for the Prime Minister of Ireland?
Answer: Taoiseach
- Two years following his publications of “The Watter’s Mou’” and “The Shoulder of Shasta”, what Irish author released his famous Gothic novel “Dracula” in 1897?
Answer: Bram Stoker
- What catastrophic event, occurring in 19th century Ireland, reduced the population by 20-25 percent and was caused in part by blight? In Gaelic it’s called “An Gorta Mor.”
Answer: Great Famine
- What is the name of the semi-state-owned company in Ireland that was created by the Turf Development Act of 1946 and shortly thereafter began developing peatlands of Ireland to provide economic benefits for Midland communities?
Answer: Bord na Móna
- What subatomic particle has its name taken from the James Joyce work "Finnegans Wake"? Varieties of this particle include strange and charmed.
Answer: Quark
- During the Easter Rising of 1916, what Dublin building served as the headquarters for the leaders of the uprising? Patrick Pearse read out the Proclamation of the Irish Republic outside of this building on April 24th.
Answer: Post Office
- Michael Collins was an Irish political leader. Who portrayed him in the 1996 film "Michael Collins?"
Answer: Liam Neeson
- "I can't believe the news today" begins what 1983 hit U2 song, which was inspired by The Troubles of Northern Ireland?
Answer: Sunday Bloody Sunday
- The Great Famine of the 1840s and the Easter Rising of 1916 are real-life events dramatized in what historical novel by Leon Uris?
Answer: Trinity
- What four-letter word was a term used for the currency of Ireland before the introduction of the Euro? This word can also mean flat-bottomed boat that is propelled with a pole.
Answer: Punt
- What sixth-largest city in Ireland, located on the West Coast, is sometimes known as the "Bilingual Capital of Ireland" due to many Gaelic speakers and has a namesake seven-day horse race that is one of the largest in Ireland?
Answer: Galway
- Written and directed by Kenneth Branagh, what semi-autobiographical 2021 film chronicles the life of a young boy growing up during The Troubles of the 1960s in Northern Ireland's capital?
Answer: Belfast
- What city was the second largest in Northern Ireland by population throughout the first decade of the 21st century?
Answer: Derry
- Which one of Ireland's six national parks is known for Turlough Hill, home to a perplexing bronze age settlement built on a mountaintop with no running water?
Answer: The Burren
- Don't say St. Patrick: originally the pagan festival of Imbolc, February 1 is the feast day for which Irish patron saint and Kildare monastery founder?
Answer: Saint Brigid of Kildare
- Officially neutral during World War II, Ireland referred to the war by what alarming E-word?
Answer: Emergency
- Partially sharing its name with Lucy Ricardo’s maiden name from the 1950s sitcom “I Love Lucy”, what is the name of the highest mountain range in Ireland?
Answer: MacGillycuddy's Reeks
- What is the old Latin name for Ireland, whose etymology is an old Celtic name altered to sound more like "land of winter" in Latin?
Answer: Hibernia
- Although it is unclear whether its lyrics refer to Irish history or to relationship issues, "The Troubles" is the final track on what U2 album that was released free to iTunes users in 2014?
Answer: Songs of Innocence
- The second-highest selling musical artist in Ireland's history (after U2) has never gone on tour and never performed a live solo concert. She rose to fame as the flag-bearer for new-age music in the late 1980s with songs like "Only Time" and "Orinoco Flow." Who is she?
Answer: Enya
- What is the two-word phrase that typically defines the series of laws that were imposed in an attempt to force Irish Catholics and Protestant dissenters to accept the established Church of Ireland? These laws were extant during much of the 1700s but began being repealed near the end of the century.
Answer: Penal Laws
- In 1691, at the end of the Williamite War in Ireland, the supporters of William III proved victorious over the supporters of James II, who were known by what term?
Answer: Jacobites
- Nowadays, this hotel-turned-headquarters in Dublin is the seventh tallest building in the Republic of Ireland. What is the current two-word name of this structure, which was Ireland's first tall building? We're looking for both words here.
Answer: Liberty Hall
- What third president of Ireland is often known for his controversial role in the Irish Civil War and created Fianna Fáil, the largest political party in Ireland from 1932 to 2011?
Answer: Éamon de Valera
- Historically celebrated widely in Ireland, what is the name for the Gaelic festival of May Day that's held about halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice?
Answer: Beltane
- We're positive: the first Irish scientist to win a Nobel prize, Ernest Walton, split the atom using what super-charged subatomic particles?
Answer: Protons
- Leopold Bloom is the protagonist of what groundbreaking Dublin-set novel that shares its name with a 19th century U.S. president?
Answer: Ulysses
- Reducing rack-rents and facilitating property ownership by the people actually on it were the tentpoles of what alliterative "League" founded in 1879 by Charles Stewart Parnell?
Answer: Land League
- International figures such as Tony Blair and Bill Clinton have both penned op-ed columns in what newspaper that launched in March 1859 as a Protestant nationalist paper?
Answer: The Irish Times
- In 1541, which English Tudor king beheaded Irish sovereignty and declared himself King of Ireland which the Irish parliament acknowledged the following year with the passage of the Crown of Ireland Act?
Answer: King Henry VIII
- What Irish town beginning with "W" was founded by Vikings around 800 A.D. and given its original Old Norse name Veisafjorðr – translating to "inlet of the mudflats” in English?
Answer: Wexford
- Adapted for the big screen in 1991, Roddy Doyle's "Barrytown" novels kicked off with a 1987 book about what titular Dublin soul band who presumably always showed up to their gigs on time?
Answer: The Commitments
- The Catholic lawyer Daniel O'Connell was given what grand nickname after beginning an 1823 campaign to help Ireland achieve emancipation?
Answer: The Liberator
- What “G” Irish newspaper editor founded the Sinn Fein political party in the early 1920s? He also led the Irish delegation that negotiated the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty.
Answer: Arthur Griffith
- From the 1870s until the end of World War I, the main form of Irish nationalism was a movement with what two-word name? It gets its name from the philosophy that the people who live in Ireland see themselves as the best to govern it.
Answer: Home Rule
- What is the surname of the Irish-born diplomat who exposed exploitation of native people in the Congo and Peru and who, in 1916, was executed for his part in the Easter Rising?
Answer: Casement
- What incendiary figure in British politics, who served as Lord Protector from 1653 to 1658, conquered a rebellious Ireland in 1651, transferring ownership to Puritans to pay for his invasion? He was played by Richard Harris in a 1970 Ken Hughes historical drama film.
Answer: Oliver Cromwell
- In 1759, Arthur Guinness started brewing his namesake stout at a brewery named for what sainted apostle?
Answer: Saint James
- What famous "Sir" had varied accomplishments such as being the first to introduce Ireland to potatoes and the person who gave Virginia its name?
Answer: Sir Walter Raleigh
- The Anglo-Irish agreement of 1985 was signed by Margaret Thatcher on the Anglo side and what Taoiseach on the Irish side?
Answer: Garret FitzGerald
- What 1014 battle near Dublin, Ireland saw the collapse of Viking power and The Kingdom of Dublin’s power in Ireland, at the hands of High King Brian Boru and the Irish army?
Answer: Clontarf
- What 16th Century Irish lord with an “O” last name, the Earl of Tyrone, led the Irish resistance against the Tudors during the Nine Years War?
Answer: Hugh O'Neill
- What 1601 “K” battle, the ultimate fight in England’s conquest of Gaelic Ireland, saw Hugh O’Neill and Hugh Roe O’Donnell rise against Elizabeth I during the Nine Years War?
Answer: Kinsale
- Born in County Down to Roman Catholic parents in 1916, what Irish economist and politician served as Secretary of the Department of Finance in the 1950s, Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland in the 1970s, and a Senator in the 1980s?
Answer: T.K. Whitaker
- St. Patrick’s Latin writings about Ireland, the oldest historical text of the country, has what one title? St. Augustine of Hippo famously wrote a book with the same title from 397-400 AD, albeit pluralized.
Answer: Confession
- A pretender to the English throne, Perkin Warbeck showed up in Cork in 1491 to find support for overthrowing Henry VII in the name of what Plantagenet house?
Answer: House of York
- In what year did Ireland formally leave the British Commonwealth and become fully acknowledged as an independent republic?
Answer: 1949
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About the Author
Eli Robinson is the Chief Trivia Officer at Water Cooler Trivia. He was once in a Bruce Springsteen cover band called F Street Band.
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