Newfoundland is "the most Irish place outside Ireland," according to a column in the Irish Times that argues the isolation of The Rock preserved an Irish heritage unmatched anywhere else in the world.

Sinead Ní Mheallaigh -- you could hardly ask for a more Irish name -- teaches the Irish language at Memorial University in St. John's.

In a column for the Irish daily newspaper, she pointed out that Newfoundland was settled by Irish immigrants, that Ireland is still considered "back home" for many on the island, and that it's the only place on Earth that has an original indigenous Irish name -- Talamh an Eisc (land of the fish).

"(Early settlers) were far away from mainland Canada, far from America, and as a result, Irish traditions remained true and strong here within isolated communities," Ní Mheallaigh wrote.

Newfoundland even celebrates St. Patrick's Day as a civic holiday to this day.

"'More Irish than the Irish themselves' is a phrase often associated with the Normans who came to Ireland and married Irish women centuries ago. I never expected to fully understand what that meant, until I came here."