St. Patrick's Day Jeopardy

The real St. Patrick, Ireland's map, the wearing of the green, pub grub, Irish words and music, for March 17. Free to copy and played on phone buzzers.

6 categories · 30 clues · Final Jeopardy · everyone buzzes in from their phone

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Every clue on this board

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The Man Himself

$200
St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on this date every year.
What is March 17?
$400
Legend says Patrick used this three-leaved plant to explain the Holy Trinity.
What is the shamrock?
$600
Legend credits Patrick with driving these creatures out of Ireland, though the island had none after the last ice age.
What are snakes?
$800
Patrick was not Irish: he was born in this Roman province and taken to Ireland by raiders as a teenager.
What is Britain?
$1,000
Before green took over, St. Patrick was often linked with a shade of this color, still seen on Ireland's presidential flag.
What is blue?

Irish Geography

$200
Ireland's capital, this city on the River Liffey is home to the Guinness Storehouse.
What is Dublin?
$400
This is the longest river in Ireland.
What is the Shannon?
$600
These sheer sea cliffs in County Clare rise more than 200 meters above the Atlantic.
What are the Cliffs of Moher?
$800
About 40,000 interlocking basalt columns make up this landmark on the coast of County Antrim.
What is the Giant's Causeway?
$1,000
Counties Cork, Kerry and Limerick all lie in this southern province of Ireland.
What is Munster?

Wearing of the Green

$200
By schoolyard tradition, you risk a pinch on March 17 if you are not wearing this color.
What is green?
$400
Every year since 1962, this American city has dyed its river green for St. Patrick's Day.
What is Chicago?
$600
This fairy shoemaker of Irish folklore is said to keep a pot of gold hidden away.
What is a leprechaun?
$800
This musical instrument is Ireland's national emblem and appears on its euro coins.
What is the harp?
$1,000
The orange on Ireland's flag represents Protestant followers of this 17th-century king.
Who is William of Orange?

Pub Grub and Pints

$200
Arthur signed a 9,000-year lease on a Dublin brewery in 1759 and gave this stout its name.
What is Guinness?
$400
This hot drink combines coffee, Irish whiskey, sugar and a layer of cream.
What is Irish coffee?
$600
Served with cabbage, this salt-cured beef is the St. Patrick's Day dinner of choice in the United States.
What is corned beef?
$800
Made with buttermilk and baking soda instead of yeast, this quick bread is scored with a cross on top.
What is soda bread?
$1,000
This dish of mashed potatoes mixed with cabbage or kale is traditionally served in Ireland at Halloween.
What is colcannon?

Irish Words

$200
Raise a glass and say this Irish toast, which means health.
What is sláinte?
$400
This Irish word for fun, gossip and good company appears in the greeting what's the ___.
What is craic?
$600
Ireland's constitution gives this four-letter Irish word as the name of the state.
What is Éire?
$800
Meaning chief or leader, this Irish title is used for the head of the Irish government.
What is Taoiseach?
$1,000
In Irish folklore, this spirit whose name means woman of the fairy mound wails to warn of a coming death.
What is a banshee?

Music, Dance and Saints

$200
One of the world's biggest St. Patrick's Day parades marches up Fifth Avenue in this city.
What is New York City?
$400
Often confused with the shamrock, this lucky plant has one more leaf than usual.
What is a four-leaf clover?
$600
This Irish dance show began as a seven-minute interval act at the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin.
What is Riverdance?
$800
Unlike Scottish bagpipes, these Irish pipes are filled with air from a bellows pumped under the elbow.
What are uilleann pipes?
$1,000
Ireland's patron saints are Patrick, Brigid and this 6th-century monk who founded a monastery on Iona.
Who is Columba?

Final Jeopardy — The Saint's Day

March 17 is St. Patrick's feast day because tradition holds that it was the date of this event in his life.

What is his death?

How to run this board

Everyone claims a little Irish on March 17, and this board checks how much of it holds up. Categories cover the man behind the day, the map of Ireland, the wearing of the green, pub grub and pints, a few Irish words worth knowing, and the music, dance and saints of Irish culture.

It is pitched at a normal pub-quiz level: the $200 row is fair game for anyone holding a pint, and the $1000 row rewards the person at the table who has actually been to Galway. Put it on the bar's TV between rounds of music, let tables buzz from their phones, and read the Final aloud slowly; it catches out more people than you would expect.

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