Household Names Synonymous with Ireland Goes Beyond Saint Patrick

While there might not be one person more universally associated with Ireland than Saint Patrick, that doesn't mean there isn't a host of other Irish men and women who made themselves household names. The following are some of the more famous folks the Emerald Isle has ever produced.

* Pierce Brosnan. Though perhaps most famous for playing England's most famous spy, James Bond, Pierce Brosnan was actually born in County Meath, Ireland.

* Liam Neeson. Neeson is one of Hollywood's most recognizable actors, having starred in Steven Spielberg's "Schindler's List" as well as "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace." A native of Northern Ireland, Neeson also starred as Irish revolutionary Michael Collins in the biopic of the one-time Director of Intelligence for the Irish Republican Army.

* Jonathan Rhys Meyers. Like Brosnan, Meyers is most famous for playing an Englishman despite being a Dublin native. As Henry VII on the critically acclaimed television series "The Tudors," Meyers portrays one of history's most infamous characters.

* Paul Hewson. No Irish musician has sold more records than Paul Hewson and his bandmates, though many people are likely unaware of Paul Hewson's name. That's because Paul Hewson is the birth name of Bono, the lead singer for U2. Born and raised in Dublin, Bono not only met his future bandmates at the Mount Temple Comprehensive School, but his eventual wife as well.

* Ronald "Ronnie" Drew. While Bono and U2 might have sold the most records, perhaps no Irish musician was more beloved than Ronnie Drew, lead singer of the internationally successful Irish folk band The Dubliners. Before his death in 2008, Drew had performed with a host of musicians spanning the generations, from classic Irish folk artists The Chieftains to Irish-American punk band The Dropkick Murphys.