I think all of us have a secret desire to see Ireland and kiss the Blarney Stone....just in case it works..........

The Blarney Stone is a stone set in the wall of the Blarney Castle tower in the Irish village of Blarney. Kissing the stone is supposed to bring the kisser the gift of persuasive eloquence (blarney). The castle was built in 1446 by Cormac Laidhiv McCarthy (Lord of Muskerry) -- its walls are 18 feet thick (necessary to thwart attacks by Cromwellians and William III's troops). Thousands of tourists a year still visit the castle.

Of the 42 American Presidents, 21 have been of Irish descent.

Mary Robinson, the 7th President of Ireland, is the first woman to hold this office.

A recent discovery in County Mayo, Ireland of a Neolithic site known as Ceide Fields, is the largest Stone Age known community to be unearthed in Europe. It is believed that over 5000 people lived there until 3000 BC.

Ireland's largest church is St. Patrick's Cathedral. It stands a lofty 300 feet tall.

The longest bar in Ireland, built in 1955, is the Grandstand Bar at the Galway Racecourse, measuring 210 feet in length from end to end.

Dominic Lynch, the man who introduced opera to America, was the son of Irish immigrants but was educated in Ireland.

The famous Civil War tune " When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again" was written by Sarsfield Gilmore who was born in County Dublin, Ireland.

The first American celebration of Saint Patrick's Day was in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1737. 

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"Cockles and Mussels" 

<bgsound src="midi2/cocklesandmuscles.mid" loop="1">
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