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The Weekly Irish Post Quiz....

HOW well do you really know Ireland — and, indeed, everything else?

Do you know which everyday English words came from the Irish language? Why an Irishman invented the submarine? Or what name is shared by places in Co. Down, Wales and the American state of Maine?

Those are among the puzzles waiting inside The Great Irish Quiz Book, a new collection published by The Irish Post.

Compiled and edited by Irish Post editor Mal Rogers, the book contains more than 2,000 questions covering Irish history, literature, music, mythology, geography, science, sport and entertainment. However, despite the title, it is not a book solely about Ireland.

The questions travel from Martello towers and the GAA to Hollywood, classical music, world capitals, wildlife, inventions and the more peculiar corners of general knowledge. Ireland provides the book’s heart, but certainly not its boundaries.

There is something here for the seasoned quiz champion, the occasional crossword enthusiast and anyone who simply enjoys picking up an unexpected fact

HAVE A GO: 20 QUESTIONS FROM THE BOOK:

The headquarters of which Irish broadcaster are at Montrose, Donnybrook, Dublin?
Which national flag does the GAA’s code say should be flown at games in accordance with protocol?
What is the name of the Russian exclave sandwiched between Lithuania and Poland?
Which American city and its suburbs provide the setting for The Bear, the American version of Shameless, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Home Alone?
A male pig is a boar; a female pig is a sow. Name one other mammal to which these terms apply.
Alain Delon, Matt Damon and Andrew Scott have all portrayed which Patricia Highsmith character, a con man, on screen?
Which country is known in Irish as an Bhreatain Bheag, and in French as le pays de Galles?
Which American state contains the northernmost point of the USA, as well as the easternmost and westernmost points of the country?
Who directed Ryan’s Daughter?
Dublin-born Nahum Tate, who wrote the words to ‘While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night’, became Poet Laureate in 1692. The next Irish-born holder was a Laois-born writer, appointed in 1968, whose son became a famous actor. Who was he?
Which office was created in June 1229 by King Henry III: (a) Lord Protector of Ireland; (b) Mayor of Dublin; (c) Chief Herald of Leinster; (d) Supreme Commander of the City Guard?
From January 1, 2010, what protective headgear became compulsory for hurlers at all levels?
Currer Bell, Acton Bell and Ellis Bell were the noms de plume of which sibling writers, whose father came from Co. Down?
As the crow flies, what is London’s closest foreign capital city?
What does bearna mean in Irish placenames?
On which Channel Island did soldiers of the 104th Regiment of Foot mutiny in 1783?
Which Irish artist, popular on British television, ‘rocks, but gently’ in a 1967 album title?
Following a scandal in Ireland, the wife of which writer change her surname to Holland for herself and their sons. What surname had they previously used?
Guarneri and Amati are legendary historic family names most famously associated with the master craftsmanship of which items?
The Kerryonians, the Grady Gang, the Daybreak Boys, the Westies and the Forty Thieves — were they: (a) showbands; (b) ice hockey teams; (c) criminal gangs in New York; (d) fledgling political parties in Ireland after independence?

The Great Irish Quiz Book has more than 2,000 questions that will put you to the ultimate quizzing test: about Ireland, the world — and everything in between.

The Great Irish Quiz Book costs £9.90 in both print and e-book editions. To order click here.

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