Mmmm, no, I've never been to Ireland.  I've unfortunately never been outside the USA.  However, I hope to one day live in a treehouse in Ireland with 93 cats.

I'll asume that the comment about Tolkien that was aimed at "Luan" was for me?  In which case, yes, I did know.  Did YOU know that there are two varieties of Tolkien's elvish, Quenya and Sindarin, that they were loosely based off of Finnish, and that it took Tolkien 7 years to write The Hobbit?
When The Lord of the Rings was being published, Tolkien said he was "baring [his] heart to be shot at", because the story was so important to him.
Also, Tolkien's Elves were based mainly off of Scandinavian folklore and also off of the Irish myths of the Tuatha De Dannan.

Don't let me start ranting about Irish Faerie Lore.  I'll never shut up.