In Ireland the 17th of March has long been associated with St Patrick. In fact, it's not just Ireland but worldwide, with plenty of countries acknowledging the Irish holiday in some way. But throughout history plenty of other significant events have taken place on the same date...

Graham Finlay, from UCD's School of Politics & International Relations joined Sean today and went through some other major historical events that happened on the 17th March.

For the Roman Empire, for example, it would be 'Happy Liberalia!', honouring Liber Pater - an old god of wine. Liberalia included some unusual rituals, such as boys sacrificing their first beard (if they had it).

Then there was the Battle of Badr. There's some debate about the actual day of the battle, but it did take place on the 17th day of Ramadan. The battle became a very important event in the Muslim religion, with Graham describing exactly why.

You can hear more about Liberalia, the Battle of Badr and the declaration of the Kingdom of Italy below: