The Irish Victoria Cross recipients lists all Irish-born recipients of the Victoria Cross, the highest war honour of the British Empire and the Commonwealth of Nations. Since 1881 it has been awarded to service personnel for extraordinary valour and devotion to duty while facing a hostile force. Between 1858 and 1881 the Victoria Cross could be awarded for actions taken "under circumstances of extreme danger" not in the face of the enemy. Six people were awarded Victoria Crosses under this clause until it was amended in 1881 to only allow acts "in the presence of the enemy". It was awarded to members of the British Armed Forces which included Irish service personnel until 1922. As of April 2008, 188 recipients are listed who were born in Ireland or had full Irish parentage.

Both Catholic and Protestant officers and servicemen born in Ireland have received the honour. 30 Irish VC recipients received awards in the Crimean war, 52 Irish VCs in the Indian Mutiny, 46 Irish VCs in numerous other British Empire campaigns between 1857 to 1914, 37 Irish VCs in the First World War and eight Irishmen received VC awards for valour in the Second World War. Read more...

Brian mac Cennétig (c. 941; 23 April 1014), called Brian Bóruma (English: Brian Boru, Irish: Brian Boraime), was an Irish king who overthrew the centuries-long domination of the Kingship of Ireland by the Uí Néill. Building on the achievements of his father, Cennétig mac Lorcain, and brother, Mathgamain, Brian first made himself King of Munster, then subjugated Leinster, making himself ruler of the south of Ireland.

The Uí Néill king Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill, abandoned by his northern kinsmen of the Cenél nEógain and Cenél Conaill, acknowledged Brian as High King at Athlone in 1002. In the decade that followed, Brian campaigned against the northern Uí Néill, who refused to accept his claims, against Leinster, where resistance was frequent, and against Dublin. Brian's hard-won authority was seriously challenged in 1013 when his ally Máel Sechnaill was attacked by the Cenél nEógain king Flaithbertach Ua Néill, with the Ulstermen as his allies. This was followed by further attacks on Máel Sechnaill by the Norse Gaels of Dublin under their king Sihtric and the Leinstermen led by Máel Mórda mac Murchada. Brian campaigned against these enemies in 1013. In 1014, Brian's armies confronted the armies of Leinster and Dublin at Clontarf near Dublin on Good Friday. The resulting Battle of Clontarf was a bloody affair, with Brian, his son Murchad, and Máel Mórda among those killed. The list of the noble dead in the Annals of Ulster includes Irish kings, Norse Gaels, Scotsmen, and Scandinavians. The immediate beneficiary of the slaughter was Máel Sechnaill who resumed his interrupted reign as the last Uí Néill High King.

In death, Brian proved to be a greater figure than in life. The court of his great-grandson Muirchertach Ua Briain produced the Cogadh Gaedhel re Gallaibh, a work of near hagiography. The Norse Gaels and Scandinavians too produced works magnifying Brian, among these Njal's Saga, the Orkneyinga Saga, and the now-lost Brian's Saga. Brian's war against Máel Mórda and Sihtric was to be inextricably connected with his complicated marital relations, in particular his marriage to Gormlaith, Máel Mórda's sister and Sihtric's mother, who had been in turn the wife of Amlaíb Cuarán, king of Dublin and York, then of Máel Sechnaill, and finally of Brian. Read more...

From top, left to right: People's Park, St. Mary's Cathedral, Riverpoint, Daniel O'Connell Monument, Georgian architecture at Pery Square, King John's Castle

Limerick (/ˈlɪmərɪk/ LIM-ər-ik; Irish: Luimneach [ˈl̪ˠɪmʲ(ə)nʲəx]) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 102,287 at the 2022 census, Limerick is the third-most populous urban area in the Republic of Ireland, and the fourth-most populous city on the island of Ireland. It was founded by Scandinavian settlers in 812, during the Viking Age.

• ...that shamrock is an internationally registered trademark of the Government of Ireland?
• ...that Ireland consumes more tea per head of population than any other country in the world?
• ...that Letterkenny has the longest main street in Ireland?
• ...that cycle polo, a variant of polo played on bicycles instead of horses, originated in Ireland in 1891?