Ireland is associated with Leprechauns and Fairies and lots of magical and mystical things but is the luck of the Irish really true? Read on to find out more.
Ah, the luck of the Irish. It is a well-known expression associated with Irish people across the world. Well, in the past, Ireland has suffered tremendously through famine and other disasters so it hasn’t been only luck for us.
At the same time, Ireland has had its own fair share of good throughout history and maybe has had enough of it to make the “luck of the Irish” carry some real weight to it.
Here are some examples of when the luck of the Irish may have actually been actively helping out.
5. The EuroMillions lottery – the Irish hit the jackpot
The EuroMillions is a lottery that takes place across Europe that first started back in 2004 and has since had 15 winners from Ireland. The most recent Irish winner was in February 2020 when the lucky winner claimed the jackpot of €17 million.
The most amount of money won in the EuroMillions was by Dolores McNamara from Limerick who won a staggering €115 million back in July 2005. We can’t even think of how you could ever spend that much money!
You could give everyone in Ireland €10 and still have more than half of it left. To have 15 EuroMillions winners from Ireland in the last 16 years does suggest that there is some truth to the luck of the Irish.
4. The Eurovision – the European record breakers
The Eurovision is an international song competition that takes place once a year and is broadcast all over Europe. Ireland has a long history with Eurovision and it is something that many Irish people look forward to.
There have been 64 Eurovision’s so far and over 50 countries competing. Out of these 64 competitions to date, Ireland holds the records for most wins with 7 victories. We are also the only country to win the Eurovision 3 years in a row and in the 1990’s Ireland won the Eurovision 4 out of 5 years between 1992-1996.
Irish singer Johnny Logan is also the only person to have ever won the Eurovision twice. For such a small country Ireland has had huge success in the Eurovision and maybe it’s because of the Irish charm but maybe the luck of the Irish has also played a part.
3. The connection to the lost island of Atlantis – the luck of ancient Ireland
Not many Irish people know this, but a Swedish scientist Dr.Ulf Erlingsson has made claims that it is possible that Ireland is the lost island of Atlantis. It may seem crazy at first but some reasons that he gives are very interesting indeed.
One of those put forward by Dr. Urlingsson is that the shape and size of Ireland match identically to the shape and size of Atlantis. Ireland is 300 miles long and 200 miles wide, is wider in the middle and narrower at either end and is the only island out of the 50 biggest islands in the world that has a plain in the middle.
Another reason argued by Dr. Urlingsson is the range of significant Neolithic structures in Ireland such as Newgrange, Knowth, Dowth and The Hill of Tara, with all of these places featuring heavily in Irish lure and mythology.
Of course, the possibility of Ireland being the lost island of Atlantis is a long-shot but, if it was true it would go a long way to explaining the luck of the Irish and why it is so well known around the world.
2. Online slot machines – the luck of the Irish in one man
One specific case of the luck of the Irish coming into great effect is in regards to a man named Sean Doyle from Newcastle in County Down, who embodied everything that the phrase means.
In February 2019 while playing his favourite online slot machine game called ‘Mars Attack’, Sean had one lucky spin that returned him over €4.8 million, an incredible amount of money to win off one spin.
In true Irish fashion, this life-changing event didn’t go to Sean’s head and he was back in work the following day. This was definitely a case of the luck and charm of the Irish all rolled into once amazing event.
1. Punching above our weight in sports – amongst the best in the world
For such a small country with a little population of fewer than 5 million people, Ireland has historically punched about its weight in the world of sports. Whether it is rugby, golf, MMA, boxing, snooker, horse racing or many other sports, Ireland has always performed greater than the sum of its parts.
We have had golfers winning major tournaments, rugby teams winning the prestigious Six Nations four times led by the likes of Brian O’Driscoll, Irish boxers who were world champions and much much more international sporting success.
Yes, the Irish are very talented and hard-working people but there is no doubt that the luck of the Irish has also played its part along the way. How else could it be that such a small country was so big on the international stage?
