QUIZ OF THE YEAR

NEWS

1 Which country joined Nato on April 4, 2023? a) Finland

b) Romania

c) Turkey

d) Ukraine

2 Yevgeny Prigozhin, who led the Wagner mercenary group in revolt against the Russian leadership in June and died in August, had what byname, derived from his earlier business interests?

a) Putin’s croupier

b) Putin’s chef

c) Putin’s spymaster

d) Putin’s gardener

3 In September, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he expects to see what in his lifetime?

a) Cork winning the all-Ireland

b) An Irish person on the moon

c) Ireland winning the Eurovision again

d) A united Ireland

4 Police investigations into Scottish National Party fundraising revealed that the party had bought which item, kept at chief executive Peter Murrell’s mother’s house?

a) Massage chair

b) Motorhome

c) Combine harvester

d) Quad bike

5 What type of food was chosen as the signature dish for the coronation of King Charles III in May?

a) Coddle

b) Stew

c) Flapjack

d) Quiche

6 Who became leader of the Social Democrats in March?

a) Holly Cairns

b) Stephen Donnelly

c) Róisín Shortall

d) Conor McGregor

7 Who resigned as Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment in January?

a) Damien English

b) Jack Chambers

c) Hildegarde Naughton

d) Josepha Madigan

SPORT

1 Novak Djokovic’s loss to Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon men’s singles final in July was his first Centre Court defeat in how long?

a) Four years

b) Six years

c) Eight years

d) 10 years

2 Which player scored the winning goal in the Fifa Women’s World Cup final in Sydney in August?

a) Aitana Bonmatí

b) Jennifer Hermoso

c) Alexia Putellas

d) Olga Carmona

3 With 765 runs, who was player of the tournament and the topscoring batsman at the 2023 Cricket World Cup, also hitting a record 50th ODI century?

a) Virat Kohli

b) David Warner

c) Ben Stokes

d) Quinton de Kock

4 Katarina JohnsonThompson won a second world title in which event in August?

a) 400m

b) Javelin

c) Heptathlon

d) Marathon

5 Manchester City and West Ham won two of the three men’s European club football cups in 2023, but which side won the Europa League for a record seventh time?

a) Juventus

b) PSV

c) Sevilla

d) Liverpool

6 Which of these events was not disrupted by Just Stop Oil protesters in 2023?

a) Wimbledon Championships

b) Second Ashes Test

c) World Snooker Championship

d) Dublin City Marathon

7 The 2026 Commonwealth Games are currently without a host after which region pulled out in July?

a) Vancouver, Canada

b) Victoria, Australia

c) British Virgin Islands

d) Rhondda Valley, Wales

SCIENCE & INDUSTRY

1 COP28 agreed to ‘transition away’ from fossil fuels, the first mention of them in a final text. Where was COP28 held?

a) Nunavut, Canada

b) Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

c) Chennai, India

d) Houston, United States of America

2 In October Sharon White announced that she would step down as head of which business at the end of her current term?

a) Dunnes Stores

b) Kerry Group

c) AstraZeneca

d) John Lewis Partnership

3 April 2023 saw the closure of the last examples of what in Germany?

a) Petrol car factories

b) Analogue TV stations

c) Nuclear power plants

d) Munitions factories

4 Sam Bankman-Fried, convicted of fraud and other charges in November, founded which cryptocurrency exchange?

a) Binance

b) Bitcoin

c) FTX

d) PPE Medpro

5 In November 2023, Sam Altman was fired and then reinstated as CEO of which tech company that launched ChatGPT?

a) DeepMind

b) Microsoft-Activision

c) Bard

d) OpenAI

6 In June, scientists announced the breakthrough creation of what from stem cells?

a) Human embryo

b) Viral antibodies

c) Bone tissue

d) Regenerated limb

7 In March, HSBC purchased the UK branch of which collapsed bank for £1?

a) Anglo Irish Bank

b) Silicon Valley Bank

c) Credit Suisse

d) Northern Rock

CULTURE

1 Which band re-united for a one-off performance at Eurovision 2023 in Liverpool in May?

a) Girls Aloud

b) Frankie Goes to Hollywood

c) Whipping Boy

d) Jemini

2 Margot Robbie starred as the titular doll in Barbie, but which Irish actor played the lead in biopic Oppenheimer, released on the same day?

a) Barry Keoghan

b) Colin Farrell

c) Ciarán Hinds

d) Cillian Murphy

3 In May, UK prime minister Rishi Sunak revealed he was a big fan of the works of which author?

a) Agatha Christie

b) Hilary Mantel

c) Jilly Cooper

d) Helen Fielding

4 Which of these hit TV shows didn’t air its final season in 2023?

a) Succession

b) Doctors

c) Happy Valley

d) The Crown

5 In June 2023, Sotheby’s in London sold the painting Lady With A Fan for £85.3m, a record for a European auction. Who was the painting by?

a) Gustav Klimt

b) Pauline Bewick

c) David Hockney

d) Paula Rego

6 The winners of the 2023 Mercury Music Prize, Ezra Collective are considered to have broken what precedent?

a) The first band to win after splitting up

b) The first jazz act to win

c) The first anonymous act to win

d) The first tribute act to win

7 Which book became the UK’s fastest-selling non-fiction title on its release in 2023?

a) The Woman In Me by Britney Spears

b) Shakespeare by Judi Dench

c) Spare by Prince Harry

d) Politics On The Edge by Rory Stewart

2024

1 Which singer will bring their Eras Tour to Ireland in 2024?

a) Taylor Swift

b) Beyoncé

c) Britney Spears

d) Madonna

2 The planned city of Nusantara is set to become the new capital of which country in 2024?

a) Nigeria

b) Uzbekistan

c) Finland

d) Indonesia

3 Which of these sports is making its debut at the Paris 2024 Olympics?

a) Skate-boarding

b) Shinty

c) Breakdancing

d) Golf

4 Bradley Walsh and his son Barney will host a revival of which TV series, starting in January 2024?

a) Big Break

b) Gladiators

c) Tiswas

d) Robot Wars

5 Which of these websites will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2024?

a) Facebook

b) Google

c) Twitter/X

d) eBay

6 Which of these cultural institutions will celebrate its 120th anniversary in 2024?

a) Abbey Theatre

b) 3Olympia Theatre

c) Hugh Lane Gallery

d) The Chester Beatty

7 In 2024, Chinese New Year falls on February 10 and ushers in a year dedicated to which zodiacal sign?

a) Chicken

b) Pig

c) Monkey

d) Dragon