79 Fun-Filled St. Patrick's Day Trivia Questions for 2026, Sláinte!
Channel the luck of the Irish for these St Patrick’s Day trivia questions. You may know the St Patrick’s Day spiritual meaning, which, according to History.com, is to honor Ireland’s patron saint on the anniversary of his death, but other St Patrick’s Day trivia questions are more obscure. For example, why don’t you wear orange on St. Patrick’s Day? From St. Patrick’s Day trivia for adults to true or false St. Patrick’s Day trivia, we’ve compiled the best trivia questions and answers to test your knowledge of the holiday.
Some of these St Patrick’s Day trivia questions are trick questions, while others you probably know the answers to. Either way, you’ll have fun learning about Irish culture, folklore and, of course, St. Patrick himself.
Jump to Section
- St. Patrick's Day Trivia For Adults
- St. Patrick's Day Trivia For Kids
- True Or False St. Patrick's Day Trivia
- Find Out More About Irish Culture
St. Patrick's Day Trivia For Adults
St. Patrick’s Day trivia for adults is designed to make you think. Give these questions your best shot (no cheating!), and only check the answers if nobody guesses correctly.
1. Was St. Patrick actually Irish?
Answer: No — he was born in Roman Britain.
2. What was St. Patrick’s real name?
Answer: Maewyn Succat.
3. How old was St. Patrick when he was kidnapped and taken to Ireland?
Answer: About 16 years old.
4. What color was originally associated with St. Patrick?
Answer: Blue.
5. What plant did St. Patrick supposedly use to explain the Holy Trinity?
Answer: The shamrock.
6. What animal did St. Patrick allegedly banish from Ireland?
Answer: Snakes.
7. What country first declared St. Patrick’s Day a national holiday?
Answer: Ireland.
8. In what century did St. Patrick live?
Answer: The 5th century.
9. What day is St. Patrick’s Day celebrated?
Answer: March 17.
10. Which city dyes its river green every St. Patrick’s Day?
Answer: Chicago.
11. What is the traditional Irish alcoholic drink most associated with the holiday?
Answer: Guinness.
12. What does the word “leprechaun” come from in Irish folklore?
Answer: A type of fairy or shoemaker.
13. What is traditionally found at the end of a rainbow?
Answer: A pot of gold.
14. What symbol is not traditionally Irish: shamrock, harp, or clover?
Answer: Clover (the shamrock is a specific three-leaf plant).
15. What is the national symbol of Ireland besides the shamrock?
Answer: The harp.
16. Which U.S. city hosts one of the largest St. Patrick’s Day parades?
Answer: New York City.
17. What food is incorrectly associated with traditional Irish St. Patrick’s Day meals in the U.S.?
Answer: Corned beef and cabbage (it’s Irish-American, not traditional Irish).
18. What language did St. Patrick primarily help spread Christianity through?
Answer: Latin (religious texts), though he preached to Gaelic speakers.
19. What mythical creature is known for guarding treasure in Irish folklore?
Answer: Leprechauns.
20. What does wearing green on St. Patrick’s Day supposedly do?
Answer: Makes you invisible to leprechauns (and avoids pinching).
21. What is the traditional Irish toast often used on St. Patrick’s Day?
Answer: “Sláinte!”
22. What does “Sláinte” mean in English?
Answer: Health.
23. Which religion and branch is most associated with St. Patrick?
Answer: Christianity and Catholicism.
24. What flower is sometimes worn alongside the shamrock on March 17?
Answer: The shamrock itself is considered the flower.
25. What Irish symbol represents luck, though it’s mostly a modern association?
Answer: The four-leaf clover.
26. Why is St. Patrick considered the patron saint of Ireland?
Answer: He played a major role in converting the Irish to Christianity.
St. Patrick's Day Trivia For Kids
St. Patrick’s Day trivia for kids is fun and lighthearted, while still providing a learning opportunity. These playful questions are perfect for home and the classroom.
27. Are Leprechauns friendly or mischievous?
Answer: Mischievous!
28. How can you find a pot of gold?
Answer: Catch a Leprechaun!
29. Which other holiday has its origins in Ireland?
Answer: Halloween!
30. Was St. Patrick a real person?
Answer: Yes! In the 400s, St. Patrick was a prisoner in Ireland, who is now the patron saint of Ireland.
31. What are the three colors of Ireland?
Answer: Green, white and orange.
32. Why do frogs like St. Patrick's Day?
Answer: They are always wearing green!
33. What kind of spells do leprechauns cast?
Answer: Lucky Charms!
34. What is the top food eaten on St. Patrick's Day?
Answer: Cabbage.
35. How many leaves does a Shamrock have?
Answer: Three! Shamrocks and four-leaf clovers are not the same.
36. How should you greet someone on March 17?
Answer: Irish you a happy St. Patrick's Day!
37. What are the traditional colors of St. Patrick's Day?
Answer: Green, gold and white. Blue can also be an answer, as this was originally associated with St. Patrick.
38. What’s the capital of Ireland?
Answer: Dublin.
39. According to folklore, what’s a leprechaun’s occupation?
Answer: Shoemaker.
40. What's the symbol for gold on the Periodic Table of Elements?
Answer: Au.
41. What's the slogan for the breakfast cereal Lucky Charms?
Answer: "They're magically delicious."
42. Four-leaf clovers are considered what?
Answer: Good luck.
43. What kind of shoes do leprechauns wear in stories?
Answer: Buckled shoes.
44. On what date is St. Patrick’s Day celebrated?
Answer: March 17.
45. What Irish instrument uses a bag of air?
Answer: Bagpipes.
46. Is St. Patrick’s Day celebrated only in Ireland or around the world?
Answer: Around the world.
47. What season does St. Patrick’s Day take place in in the Northern Hemisphere?
Answer: Spring.
48. St. Paddy’s Day is celebrated annually on March 17, which is the anniversary of what?
Answer: Saint Patrick’s death, not his birthday, like some people assume.
49. What major Catholic holiday does St. Patrick’s Day occur during?
Answer: Lent.
50. Is a four-leaf clover easy or hard to find?
Answer: Hard to find.
51. What weather do you need to see a rainbow?
Answer: Rain and sunshine.
52. What type of celebration is most common on St. Patrick’s Day?
Answer: A parade.
True Or False St. Patrick's Day Trivia
If the other questions have you stumped, try these true or false St. Patrick’s Day trivia questions. You have a 50/50 chance of getting them right (bonus points if you can provide the correct answer for the false ones!).
53. Some people consider it good luck to wear orange on St. Patrick’s Day.
Answer: False — wearing orange on St. Patrick’s Day is often seen as bad luck because orange represents Protestantism and may be perceived as disrespectful to Ireland’s Catholic majority.
54. St. Patrick wrote many books that still survive today.
Answer: False — Only two short writings are attributed to him: Confessio and Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus.
55. March 17 marks the traditional death date of St. Patrick.
Answer: True.
56. The shamrock became popular as a symbol of Ireland only in the 20th century.
Answer: False — The shamrock was associated with Ireland centuries earlier, especially through St. Patrick legends.
57. St. Patrick’s Day began as a religious feast day.
Answer: True.
58. The color green has always been Ireland’s national color.
Answer: False — Blue was historically associated with Ireland before green became dominant.
59. Some of the earliest St. Patrick’s Day parades were held outside Ireland.
Answer: True; New York City’s iconic St. Patrick’s Day parade is among the oldest in the world.
60. Leprechauns come from Irish mythology rather than religious tradition.
Answer: True.
61. St. Patrick was officially canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church.
Answer: False — He lived before the modern canonization process existed.
62. Irish monks played a major role in preserving ancient manuscripts.
Answer: True.
63. St. Patrick’s Day is a public holiday in Ireland.
Answer: True.
64. The phrase “Erin go Bragh” means “Ireland forever.”
Answer: True.
65. Green beer originated in Ireland.
Answer: False — Green beer was first popularized in the United States, not Ireland.
66. St. Patrick’s Day celebrations often blend religious and cultural traditions.
Answer: True.
67. Ireland has fewer castles than any other European country.
Answer: False — Ireland actually has thousands of castles, one of the highest numbers in Europe.
68. The Celtic knot symbolizes eternity because it has no clear beginning or end.
Answer: True.
69. St. Patrick’s Day was once observed quietly with little public celebration.
Answer: True; it was only when Irish people immigrated to America that St. Patrick’s Day festivities began evolving into the lively celebrations that now define the holiday.
70. Leprechauns are always described as friendly helpers in Irish folklore.
Answer: False — They’re often portrayed as mischievous, tricky, and even sneaky.
71. Irish mythology existed long before Christianity arrived in Ireland.
Answer: True.
72. The harp appears on Ireland’s official coat of arms.
Answer: True.
73. St. Patrick’s Day celebrations were once discouraged in Ireland.
Answer: True; it was originally seen as a solemn religious day, and large displays of Irish culture were suppressed under British rule.
74. All Irish people celebrate St. Patrick’s Day the same way.
Answer: False — Traditions vary by region, family, and personal preference.
75. St. Patrick is also considered the patron saint of engineers.
Answer: False — He is primarily the patron saint of Ireland.
76. Some St. Patrick’s Day traditions were shaped by Irish immigrants abroad.
Answer: True; in fact, most of the world’s largest St. Patrick’s Day parades are in the U.S.
77. Ireland has two official languages.
Answer: True; they are Irish (Gaeilge or Irish Gaelic) and English.
78. St. Patrick’s Day has become one of the most widely celebrated cultural holidays in the world.
Answer: True.
Find Out More About Irish Culture
If these St Patrick’s Day trivia questions have you curious about Irish culture, explore it in creative ways. For example, you might consider taking a cooking class to improve your kitchen chef skills so you can make traditional St. Patrick’s Day dishes, like Irish soda bread and corned beef and cabbage (which is actually Irish-American, as you learned in the St Patrick’s Day trivia questions).
Or, perhaps you’d prefer a mixology class — after all, if there’s one thing St. Patrick’s Day is associated with (besides the color green, parades, leprechauns and shamrocks), it’s beer. While most mixologists focus primarily on cocktails, learning about the history of various alcoholic beverages and the techniques used to prepare them is a fascinating experience. Use your newfound knowledge to whip up festive drinks to serve while you play St Patrick’s Day trivia.
Art classes are another fun way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Take a pottery class and learn to mold a shamrock from clay, or even a leprechaun or a rainbow leading to a pot of gold. Or, try out a photography class to brush up on your picture-taking skills so you can capture a four-leaf clover in the perfect light (if you manage to find one, that is). Even candle-making classes can take on a St. Paddy’s day twist with green dye. Between St Patrick’s Day trivia and all of these opportunities to immerse yourself in Ireland's rich culture and history, you’ll be an honorary resident of the Emerald Isle in no time.
When you’re planning your St. Patrick’s Day party, don’t just think about St. Patrick’s Day food. Keep your guests entertained with these fun St Patrick’s Day trivia questions that will leave everyone scratching their heads (and wishing for a good luck charm to help them guess the answers!).
For even more fun ideas to celebrate the patron saint of Ireland, check out other experiences happening on Classpop!
