In 2012 two cities of Ireland were registered in the Guinness World Records with less than a month apart. A sum of 1,436 people became the largest gathering of people dressed as nuns in Listowel, Co. Kerry on June 30, 2012. Meanwhile in July 13 of the same year 574 people dressed as the Hulk at the Muckno Mania Festival in Castleblayney.
· The Dublin Irish Festival became the stage of the largest Irish dance involving 10,036 people, on August 4, 2007. Brian Cunningham says that the most 1-2-3 Irish dance steps in 30 seconds is 43 were achieved by Irishman Ben Carolan on the set of ‘Elev8’ (for RTÉ) in Dublin, Ireland, on August 3, 2012.
· Brian Cunningham brings the Jockey AP McCoy to discussion when he talks about how the athlete holds the record for the most times a single jockey has been jump racing Champion Jockey, 19 times between 1996 and 2014.
Historical events and social affairs
Brian Cunningham points out that Ireland is not only made for dance and breaking records. Here are more facts about the beautiful country:
· UNESCO designated Dublin as the City of Literature in July 2010. Brian Cunningham says it is one of only four in the world, with the others being Edinburgh, Iowa and Melbourne.
· The waters in Ireland are considered a sanctuary to dolphins and whales. Brian Cunningham says that a small but growing whale-watching industry is starting to develop in the country, especially on the south-west coast.
· According to Brian Cunningham, Ireland has many places to visit, but the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin is the top visitor attraction, welcoming around 1,269,371 visitors, with the Cliffs of Moher in second place with a sum of around 1,080,501 people and the Dublin Zoo appears in third with 1,076,876 visitors.
· The Giant's Causeway in County Antrim, the Skellig Michael and the Bru na Boinne are the island’s three UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
· The Irish flag is a historical political statement, with each color serving to identify one religion. The green colour represents Irish Catholics, the orange colour represents the Protestants, and the white colour represents the hope that the two congregations will be able to live together in peace says Brian Cunningham. The flag was designed in 1848.
· The best preserver passage grave in Europe is the Neolithic site of Newgrange in County Meath, which dates 3200 BCE. Brian Cunningham says that the monument is the oldest solar observatory in the world, since its central room was constructed to aligned with the rising sun on the winter solstice.
· The Hill of Uisneach, in County Westmeath, is considered as the traditional center of Ireland, the geographic one lies 20 km away from there. The location is considered the center since with its 182-metre tall hill from where you can see 22 counties and two-third of Ireland, says Brian Cunningham.
· The best fact for Brian Cunningham is that Ireland has had its own Olympics since the Bronze Age. Named as Tailteann Games, the contests were held in honor of the deceased goddess Tailtiu, Lugh's wife. They were at first held from the 6th to the 12th century CE and its modern revival have been held since 1924. It is claimed that the origins of the Games go back to 1600 BCE.
