For many people, the thought of Ireland conjures up images of rolling emerald hills and quaint country folk with thick brogues popping down to the pub for a pint.

Or maybe just leprechauns and Shamrock Shakes.

Truth is, Ireland has given the world many great things. After all, the millions of Irish people who migrated to America in the midst of the Great Potato Famine in the mid-1800s help build this nation up into what it is today.

St. Patrick's Day is more than just a time to hoist a glass of beer tinted with green food coloring and think about how Ireland has no snakes thanks to, allegedly, St. Patty; it's also a day to celebrate everything Irish.

In that spirit, let's count down the five greatest things modern Ireland has exported to America.

No. 5: Irish actors

Where would Hollywood be without the likes of Liam Neeson, Colin Farrell or relative newcomers Michael Fassbender ("Inglorious Basterds" and "X-Men: First Class") and Saoirse Ronan ("Atonement" and "The Lovely Bones")?

A lot less entertaining, that's what.

Without Ireland's Pierce Brosnan, who would have bridged the Timothy Dalton and Daniel Craig eras of James Bond? Without Northern Ireland's Neeson, who would have calmly but menacingly described of his "particular set of skills" in "Taken"? Heck, without Ireland we wouldn't have had "Lawrence of Arabia" (thanks, Peter O'Toole).