Ireland eat of potatoes a week. Consequently, dishes that are considered as national dishes represent a fundamental unsophistication to cooking, such as the Irish stew, bacon and cabbage, boxty, a type of potato pancake, or colcannon, a dish of mashed potatoes and kale or cabbage. Since the last quarter of the 20th century, with a re-emergence of wealth in Ireland, a "New Irish Cuisine" based on traditional ingredients incorporating international influences has emerged. This cuisine is based on fresh vegetables, fish (especially salmon, trout, oysters, mussels and other shellfish), as well as traditional soda breads and the wide range of hand-made
National symbols of Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland symbol of Ireland. Stout was largely unknown in Ireland when Arthur Guinness opened his brewery in 1759; the traditional beer was Irish red ale. Irish coffee, made with coffee, whiskey, sugar and cream and invented in Foynes in 1943, has been described as the national cocktail. The national dish of Ireland is the Irish stew; other national dishes include the full Irish breakfast/Ulster fry and bacon and cabbage. The national gemstone is Connemara / Conamara marble. Saint Patrick, a 5th-century bishop born in Britain, is Ireland's patron saint. Gaelic games constitute Ireland's national sports: Gaelic football, ladies' Gaelic football, hurling,