Every March 17, people of Irish descent – and many who simply love a good celebration – pause to honor the Emerald Isle’s patron saint, St. Patrick. The day, which out‑ranks any other national festival in the number of countries that observe it, also offers a chance to reflect on Ireland’s rich cultural contributions. While the world owes Ireland food, drink, and folklore, the island also boasts a trove of baffling riddles that have left scholars, investigators, and curious minds scratching their heads for centuries. Below are ten of the most compelling enigmas tied to Irish history and heritage – all still unsolved.
10 St. Brendan Discovers America
“In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” That line may dominate schoolbooks, yet many Irish folk assert that a 6th‑century monk, St. Brendan the Navigator, beat Columbus – and even the Viking explorers – to the New World. Brendan’s daring voyages are chronicled in the 9th‑century “Navigatio Sancti Brendani Abbatis,” which tells of his crew dodging crystal‑like pillars (likely icebergs) and trudging for forty days across a vast, promised land that they never fully reached. Some wonder if that “promised land” was North America itself.
In 1983, Harvard marine biologist Barry Fell reported finding Ogham‑script petroglyphs in West Virginia, suggesting an early Irish presence on the continent. While most archaeologists remain skeptical, British adventurer Tim Severin built a replica of Brendan’s vessel and successfully retraced the supposed route in 1977, adding fuel to the speculation. Did Brendan truly set foot on American soil? The answer may forever elude us.
9 The Murder of William Desmond Taylor
Irish‑born filmmaker William Desmond Taylor directed over sixty silent‑era movies, working with stars such as Mary Pickford and Wallace Reid. His personal life was equally dramatic: he was romantically linked to famed comedian Mabel Normand, pursued obsessively by teenage protégé Mary Miles Minter, and surrounded by a cast of potential suspects. When Taylor was found shot dead in his Los Angeles bungalow on February 2, 1922, investigators eyed several candidates: Normand, who struggled with cocaine addiction; Minter, who allegedly spurned his advances; her mother Charlotte Shelby, a manipulative stage mother possibly in love with Taylor; and his cook‑valet Henry Peavey, who later died in an asylum from syphilis‑related dementia.
More than a century later, the case remains a cold, unsolved mystery that continues to tantalize detectives and historians alike.
8 The Abduction of Shergar
When Americans think of legendary racehorses, names like Secretariat and Seabiscuit surface, but Irish fans still revere Shergar, the 1981 Epsom Derby champion who won by ten lengths and later clinched the Irish Sweeps Derby by four. After retiring to Ballymany Stud, the prized stallion vanished in 1983, snatched by an armed gang demanding a ransom. When the kidnappers failed to prove Shergar was alive four days later, negotiations collapsed, and the horse was never recovered.
In 1999, a former IRA member claimed the organization stole Shergar to fund arms, alleging the horse panicked, broke a leg, and was destroyed. No arrests have been made, and Shergar’s body remains missing. To honor his legacy, the Shergar Cup was inaugurated the same year, celebrating his racing achievements.
7 The Tragedy of Aer Lingus Flight 712
On the morning of March 24, 1968, Aer Lingus Flight 712 lifted off from Cork bound for London with 61 souls aboard. Shortly after take‑off, air traffic control received a chilling message describing the aircraft at 12,000 feet, descending, and spinning rapidly. By noon, the plane had vanished. After futile attempts to contact Captain Bernard O’Beirne, London ATC ordered a search west of Strumble Head off the Welsh coast.
Wreckage eventually surfaced near Tuskar Rock off County Wexford’s southeast coast, and only fourteen bodies were recovered – there were no survivors. Theories abound: a bird strike, structural failure, or even an errant target drone from the nearby Aberporth missile range. A two‑year investigation, followed by a 2002 review from the Irish Air Accident Investigation Unit, still could not pinpoint a definitive cause.
6 The Disappearance of Amy Fitzpatrick
Fifteen‑year‑old Amy Fitzpatrick, a Dublin native living in Málaga, Spain, vanished on New Year’s Day 2008 after babysitting a friend’s brother. She left her home for a short walk and never returned. A massive search yielded no trace of the teenager.
In June 2009, Amy’s mother received an anonymous call from a man claiming Amy was kidnapped and alive in Madrid, followed by a text demanding a €500,000 ransom. Both communications originated from prepaid phones, and investigators could not locate the caller or verify his story. Five years later, Amy’s brother Dean was fatally stabbed in Dublin, a death later ruled manslaughter. The perpetrator was Dave Mahon, Amy’s mother’s boyfriend, who lived with the family at the time of her disappearance, adding a chilling twist to an already baffling case.
5 The Extinction of the Irish Elk
The Irish elk, a colossal Ice‑Age megalo‑cervid, once roamed from Ireland to Lake Baikal in Siberia, standing 2.2 metres tall at the shoulder with antlers spanning up to 3.6 metres – the largest deer ever recorded. Yet these majestic beasts vanished roughly 8,000 years ago, with the newest skeletal remains found only in western Russia.
Scientists propose several explanations: the elk’s inability to adapt to post‑glacial climate shifts, over‑hunting by early humans, or the impracticality of their massive antlers, which may have hampered escape from predators in forested habitats. Rumors of modern attempts to clone the Irish elk have circulated, hinting at a possible future resurrection.
4 The Origin of the Blarney Stone
For those seeking the “gift of gab,” Ireland offers two classic remedies: a pint of Guinness or, more mythically, a kiss on the Blarney Stone. This limestone block, set into the battlements of Blarney Castle near Cork, is said to grant eloquence to anyone who leans backward and kisses it.
Legend tells that castle builder Cormac Laidir MacCarthy was advised by the goddess Cliodhna to kiss the first stone he encountered on his way to court, granting him persuasive powers that helped win his case. He supposedly installed the stone in the castle’s parapet. In reality, the stone’s true origins remain a mystery.
Even farther afield, Texas Tech University in Lubbock claims a fragment of the Blarney Stone sits outside its old Electrical Engineering Building, with a campus legend that graduating seniors who kiss it receive the same eloquence.
3 The Banishment of Snakes
About half of Americans suffer from ophidiophobia, the fear of snakes. Those hoping to escape slithery reptiles have three options: Iceland, New Zealand, and Ireland. Legend credits St. Patrick with banishing snakes from the Emerald Isle in the 5th century, chasing them into the sea after a 40‑day fast.
Modern science, however, argues that snakes never inhabited post‑glacial Ireland, with only the common viviparous lizard thriving there. The prevailing explanation is that Ireland’s cool, damp climate proved inhospitable for cold‑blooded reptiles, even though nearby England and Scotland support snake populations. Whether myth or climate, the absence of snakes remains a fascinating footnote to Irish folklore.
2 The Fate of Francis Crozier
On May 19, 1845, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror departed England for the Canadian Arctic, seeking the elusive Northwest Passage under Sir John Franklin’s command. Irish Captain Francis Crozier, second‑in‑command, found himself leading the expedition after Franklin’s death, as the vessels became trapped in pack ice off King William Island.
In 1859, a terse note discovered in a cairn on the island revealed the crew’s desperate trek toward the mainland, a journey that ended in tragedy. The men likely succumbed to hypothermia, scurvy, starvation, and lead poisoning from poorly soldered canned meat. The precise circumstances of Crozier’s death remain unknown, though his legacy lives on in Dan Simmons’s novel “The Terror” and its 2018 AMC adaptation.
1 St. Patrick’s Grave
Known as the “Apostle of Ireland,” St. Patrick is the patron saint of all things Irish. While his birth and death dates are debated, it is widely accepted that he was an active missionary in the 5th century. Yet the exact location of his burial remains contested.
One claim places his grave on the grounds of Down Cathedral in the town of Downpatrick, Northern Ireland. Another tradition, held by medieval monks at Glastonbury Abbey in Somerset, England, asserts that after his Irish ministry, Patrick retired to the abbey, becoming its first abbot and being interred beside the high altar in the “Old Wattle Chapel.”
Given that Patrick was born in Roman‑occupied Britain, both possibilities carry weight. Regardless of where his remains lie, the saint’s legacy endures, and St. Patrick’s Day continues to inspire celebrations worldwide.