EUROPE DAY 2021 | 27 FOR 27 CHALLENGE!

This Europe Week, we challenged our Blue Star Programme pupils to share with us their favourite fact that they have learnt about one of the 27 EU countries. We wanted to see if we could get at least one fact about each member state, as discovered by our participating pupils…

And we were not disappointed! We received hundreds of fantastic facts from our brilliant pupils – it was very hard to choose just 27! (In fact, for some countries we weren’t able to decide on just one!)

Here are the results of our 27 For 27 Member States Challenge 2021:

27 Facts for 27 Member States Challenge

1. Austria – Austria was found in around 976!! And is a democratic republic country! – Sophie Rossiter, 4^th Class, Scoil Bhríde Cailíní

And: The Austrian flag has 3 stripes. 2 are red and 1 is white. The red stripes stand for strength and bravery and the white stands for peace and honesty. – Cristo Jaison, 5^th Class, Kilteevan NS

2. Belgium – Belgium holds the world record for the longest time without a government – Aoibhe O’Reilly – Paddock N.S.

And: The Mannekin Pis (statue in Brussels): Sculpted in 1619, this statue has over 600 costumes. – St Oliver’s Killarney.

3. Bulgaria – The ancient Bulgarian calender was declared as the most accurate in the world by UNESCO in 1973. – Jake O’Rilly, 6^th Class, Kilteevan NS

4. Croatia – The most popular dish in Croatia is called the black risotto known as crni rižot and it is made of cuttlefish or squid, olive oil, garlic, red wine and squid ink.- Robert Conway, 6^th Class, St. David’s B.N.S

5. Cyprus – Cyprus is the only foreign country to hold an English royal wedding. – Líadan O’Toole, 4^th Class, Glinsk N.S

6. Czech Republic – The word robot comes from the Czech word robota which means hard work – Saorla Carey, 6^th Class, Kilcoe NS

7. Denmark – The Danish language has no word for please instead they say can you be sweet or may I beg for you – Paddy Mooney, 6^th Class, St. David’s B.N.S.

8. Estonia – 1.4 million people approximately live in Estonia. – Jephthah Harnyway Omakun, Paddock N.S

9. Finland – Finland drinks more coffee than anyone else or any country in the world. –George Hoban, 5^th Class, Kilteevan N.S.

10. France – France is the largest country in the EU and sometimes called ‘the hexagon’. French was the official language of England for about 300 years. – Sowparnika, 4^th Class, Scoil Bhríde Cailíní

Also: The Louvre in France is the most visited attraction in Europe, is the world’s largest art museum and a historic monument is Paris. The Louvre is best known for being the home of the Mona Lisa painting by Leonardo da Vinci . The painting is behind bulletproof glass in a gallery of the Louvre museum and has been a part of the museum’s collection since 1804. It would take 100 days to see all of the art in the Louvre museum. 66% of the art was made by French artists. – David O’Donoghue, 4^th class, St. Mary’s Boys School, Abbeyfeale , Co. Limerick

11. Germany – 65% of the highways in Germany have no speed limit. – Sam Butler, 6^th Class, St David’s BNS 

12. Greece – Olympia is the birthplace of the Olympic games. Olympia was dedicated to the god Zeus and it became the most important religious and athletic centre in Greece. – St. Oliver’s Killarney.

Also Greece: The population of Greece is less than quarter of the people who visit each year – Ciarán Woods, Paddock N.S.              

13. Hungary – You don’t clink your glasses in Hungary. – Ethan, 5^th Class, Glinsk N.S.

14. Ireland – Irish Wolfhounds are the tallest dog breed in the world. – Ali O’Toole, 6^th Class, Glinsk N.S.

15. Italy – All three of Europe’s active volcanoes are in Italy. – Kalyani Sudheesh, 4^th Class, Scoil Bhríde Cailíní

Also: Italy is also known as Repubblica Italiana which means Italian Republic. – Thorben Klauer, 5^th Class, Hollywood N.S.

Also: The Vatican City in Rome is the smallest country in Europe and the world. It is deemed a separate country. – Barefield N.S.

16. Latvia – Nearly one in three of Latvians live in Riga. – Jamie Clarke, Paddock N.S

17. Lithuania – Lithuanian is one of the oldest languages to this day. – Cian McGlue, 6^th Class, St David’s BNS

Also Lithuania: There is no Easter bunny. Granny VelykuBobute gives the chocolate eggs to the children. – Ruta Dulaityte, Paddock N.S.

18. Luxembourg – Luxembourg has three official languages. – Ethan, 5^th Class, Glinsk N.S.

19. Malta – Wherever you are in Malta you are always only 20mins max from the beautiful sea and coast. – Emilia, 4^th Class, St. Brigets

20. Netherlands – Dutch Men are the earth’s tallest people in the world and the Netherlands are the world biggest flower exporter. – Sean Sexton, 4^th Class, Kilteevan N.S.

21. Poland – One of Poland’s major tourist attractions is the Wieliczka salt mine which contains an underground town including a café, church, a tennis court, a health clinic and a theatre! – Cormac Treacy, 4^th Class, Kilteevan NS

Also Poland: “Lady with an Ermine” appeared in Poland at the Princess Czartoryski Museum on December 20, 2019. – Michalina Zwawy, 4^th Class, Scoil Bhríde Cailíní

22. Portugal – Portugal holds the record for the longest and shortest reigning monarchs. The longest was seventy three years; shortest was twenty minutes. – Emma Shannon, Paddock N.S.

23. Romania – The president of Romania is Klaus Iohannis. – KFC, 4^th Class, Glinsk N.S.

24. Slovakia – Slovakia has 6000+ caves. – David Michael, 5^th Class, Kilcoe NS

25. Slovenia – In Slovenia there are around 10000 Beekeepers – Dawn, 6^th Class, Kilcoe NS

And similarly: 90% of the population are bee keepers – Sadhbh Woods, Paddock NS

26. Spain – In Spain, the tooth fairy is a mouse named Ratoncito Pérez. – Nicole, 5^th, Glinsk NS

27. Sweden – Sweden has so many different types of food such as kenalbulle and godis (pick and mix). – Shane Porter, 4^th Class, Kilteevan N.S