:''This page is about the '''Island''' of Ireland. For the '''State''' also called Ireland, see Republic_of_Ireland.
:''For an explanation of terms like ''Ulster'', ''Northern_Ireland'', ''(Great) Britain'' and ''United_Kingdom'' see '''British_Isles_(terminology)''' ''.
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Image:LocationIslandIreland.png]]
'''Ireland''' (Irish: ''Éire'') is the third-largest Island in Europe. It lies in the Atlantic_Ocean and it is composed of the Republic_of_Ireland (officially, '''Ireland'''), which covers five sixths of the island (south, east, west and north-west), and Northern_Ireland; part of the United_Kingdom, which covers the northeastern sixth of the island.
The Population of the island is approximately 5.8 million people; 4.1 million in the Republic of Ireland (1.6 million in Greater_Dublin) and 1.7 million in Northern Ireland (0.6 million in Greater Belfast).
Image:Ireland.A2003004.jpg satellite on 4_January 2003. Scotland, the Isle_of_Man and Wales are visible to the east]]
==Geography==
Image:Ireland_physical_small.png are shown on this map. (See also this larger version with more details).]]
{{main|Geography of Ireland}}
A ring of coastal mountains surrounds low central Plains. The highest peak is Carrauntuohill (Irish: ''Corrán Tuathail''), which is 1041 m (3414 feet). The island is bisected by the River_Shannon, at 259 km (161 mi) the longest river in Ireland or Britain. The island's lush vegetation, a product of its mild climate and frequent but soft rainfall, earns it the Sobriquet "Emerald Isle". The island's area is 84,079 km² (32,477 mile²).
Ireland is divided into four provinces: Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster. In Irish these are referred to as Cúige's ( Cúige - meaning fifths). Previously there were five provinces - Connacht, Munster, Ulster, Leinster and Meath, comprising the counties of Meath, Westmeath and Longford. These were further divided into 32 counties for administrative purposes. Six of the Ulster counties remain under British sovereignty as ''Northern_Ireland'' following Ireland's partition in 1922 (the remaining 26 forming present-day Republic_of_Ireland); since the UK's 1974 reshuffle these county boundaries no longer exist in Northern Ireland for administrative purposes, although Fermanagh_District_Council is almost identical to the county. In the Republic, the county boundaries are still adhered to for local government, albeit with Tipperary and Dublin subdivided (some cities also have their own administrative regions). For election constituencies, some counties are merged or divided, but constitutionally the boundaries have to be observed. Across Ireland, the 32 counties are still used in sports and in some other cultural areas and retain a strong sense of local identity.
Ireland's least arable land lies in the south-western and western counties. These areas are largely spectacularly mountainous and rocky, with beautiful green vistas.
==Politics== Image:Ireland-Capitals.PNG {{main2|Politics of Northern Ireland|Politics of the Republic of Ireland}} Politically, Ireland is divided into: * The Republic_of_Ireland, with its capital in Dublin. This state is often simply referred to internally and internationally as "Ireland" in English or "Éire" in Irish. Technically ''Ireland'' and Éire are the official ''names'' of the state while the "Republic of Ireland" is its official ''description''. * Northern_Ireland is unofficially known as 'the North', and 'Ulster' (the province of Ulster also includes Donegal, Cavan, and Monaghan which are in the Republic). ''Northern Ireland'' is a region of the United_Kingdom. Prior to the Government_of_Ireland_Act_1920 the island had been a unified political entity within the United_Kingdom (see United_Kingdom_of_Great_Britain_and_Ireland) from 1801. From 1541 the Kingdom_of_Ireland was established by the King_of_England, though this realm did not cover the whole island till the early 17th century. Up to then, Ireland had been politically divided into a number of different Irish kingdoms (Leinster, Munster, Connacht, Mide, Ulster, and others). Contrary to some assertions, at no time did a national kingdom headed by an Ard_Ri exist. {{see|Irish States (1171-present)}} In a number of respects, the island operates officially as a single entity, for example, in most kinds of sports. The major religions, the Roman_Catholic_Church, the Church_of_Ireland and the Presbyterian_Church_in_Ireland, are organised on an all-island basis. Some 92% of the population of the Republic of Ireland and about 44% of Northern Ireland is Roman_Catholic. Some trade unions are also organised on an all-Irish basis and associated with the Irish_Congress_of_Trades_Unions (ICTU) in Dublin, while others in Northern Ireland are affiliated with the Trades_Union_Congress (TUC) in the United_Kingdom - though such unions may organise in both parts of the island as well as in Britain. The island also has a shared culture across the divide in many other ways. Traditional Irish_music, for example, though showing some variance in all geographical areas, is, broadly speaking, the same on both sides of the border. Irish and Scottish traditional music have many similarities. The_Ireland_Funds, an international fund-raising organisation, tries to help people on both sides find peace and reconciliation through community development, education, arts and culture. The island is often referred to as being part of the British_Isles. However, some people, especially in Ireland, take exception to this name, which seems to suggest that both islands belong to Britain. For this reason, "Britain and Ireland" is commonly used as a more neutral alternative. Another suggestion, although much less used, is the Islands_of_the_North_Atlantic (IONA). ==Flag of Ireland== {{IrishFlags|clear="right"}} There is no universally agreed flag that represents the island of Ireland. Historically a number of flags were used, including St. Patrick's cross, the flag sometimes used for the Kingdom_of_Ireland and which represented Ireland on the Union_Jack after the Act of Union, a green flag with a harp (used by some radical nationalists in the 19th_century and which is also the flag of Leinster), a blue flag with a harp used from the 18th_century onwards by many nationalists (now the standard of the President_of_Ireland), and the Irish_tricolour. However as the tricolour is the flag of the Republic_of_Ireland it is not used to represent the island of Ireland, given that the island also includes Northern_Ireland. The Royal_Standard also shows a version of an ancient Irish flag in one of its four quadrants. St Patrick's Saltire is used to represent the island of Ireland by the all-island Irish_Rugby_Football_Union (IRFU). In contrast the Gaelic_Athletic_Association (GAA) uses the tricolour to represent the whole island. ==History== {{main|History of Ireland}} {{History of Ireland}} Image:Carrowmore_tomb,_Ireland.jpg, County_Sligo]] Ireland was mostly ice-covered and joined by land to Britain and Europe during the last Ice_age, has been inhabited for about 9,000 years. Stone_age inhabitants arrived sometime after 8000_BC, with the culture progressing from Mesolithic to high Neolithic over the course of three or four millennia. The Bronze_Age, which began around 2500_BC, saw the production of elaborate gold and bronze ornaments and weapons. The Iron_Age in Ireland is associated with people now known as Celts. They are traditionally thought to have colonised Ireland in a series of waves between the 8th and 1st centuries BC, with the Gael, the last wave of Celts, conquering the island and dividing it into five or more kingdoms. Many scholars, however, now favour a view that emphasises cultural diffusion from overseas over significant colonisation.The Romans referred to Ireland as Hibernia. Ptolemy in AD 100 records Ireland's geography and tribes. Native accounts are confined to Irish_poetry, myth, and archaeology. The exact relationship between Rome and the tribes of Hibernia is unclear; the only references are a few Roman writings. Tradition maintains that in AD 432, St. Patrick arrived on the island and, in the years that followed, worked to convert the Irish to Christianity. The druid tradition collapsed in the face of the spread of the new faith. Irish Christian scholars excelled in the study of Latin learning and Christian theology in the monasteries that flourished, preserving Latin learning during the Early Middle Ages. The arts of manuscript illumination, metalworking, and sculpture flourished and produced such treasures as the Book_of_Kells, ornate jewellery, and the many carved stone crosses that dot the island. This era was interrupted in the 9th_century by 200 years of intermittent warfare with waves of Viking raiders who plundered monasteries and towns. Eventually they settled in Ireland, and established many towns, including the modern day cities of Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Waterford. In 1172, King Henry_II_of_England gained Irish lands by the granting of the 1155 Bull Laudibiliter to him by then English Pope Adrian IV, and from the 13th_century, English law began to be introduced. English rule was largely limited to the area around Dublin, known as the Pale, and Waterford, but this began to expand in the 16th_century with the final collapse of the Gaelic social and political superstructure at the end of the 17th_century, as a result of the Tudor_re-conquest_of_Ireland and English and Scottish Protestant colonisation in the Plantations_of_Ireland, which established English control over the whole island. After the the Irish_Rebellion_of_1641, Irish Catholics were barred from voting or attending the Irish Parliament. The new English Protestant ruling class was known as the Protestant_Ascendancy {{IrishPeople}} In 1800 the Irish Parliament passed the Act of Union which, in 1801, merged the Kingdom_of_Ireland and the Kingdom_of_Great_Britain to create the United_Kingdom_of_Great_Britain_and_Ireland. The whole island of Ireland would remain within the United Kingdom, ruled directly by the UK Parliament in London. The 19th_century saw the Great Famine of the 1840s in which at least 1 million Irish people died and over a million were forced to emigrate. The late 19th and early 20th_century saw a vigorous but unsuccessful campaign for Irish Home_rule, followed by the eclipse of moderate nationalism by militant separatism. In 1922, following the Anglo-Irish_War, twenty-six counties of Ireland seceded from the United Kingdom as the Irish_Free_State. The remaining six, in the north-east, remained within the Union as Northern_Ireland. Secession for the rest of Ireland led directly to the Civil War, as militant nationalists split into two factions and turned against one another. ==History since partition== ===Irish Independence: The Irish Free State, Éire, Ireland=== {{main|History of the Republic of Ireland}} The Anglo-Irish Treaty was narrowly ratified by the Dáil in December 1921 but was rejected by a large minority, resulting in the Irish_Civil_War which lasted until 1923. In 1922, in the middle of this civil war, the '''Irish_Free_State''' came into being. For its first years the new state was governed by the victors of the Civil War. However in the 1930s Fianna Fáil, the party of the opponents of the treaty, were elected into government. The party introduced a new constitution in 1937 which renamed the state to simply "'''Éire''' or in the English language, '''Ireland'''" ''(preface to the Constitution)''. The state was neutral during World_War_II but offered some assistance to the Allies. In 1949 the state declared itself to be a republic and that henceforth it should be described as the '''Republic_of_Ireland'''. The state was plagued by poverty and emigration until the 1990s. That decade saw the beginning of unprecedented economic success, in a phenomenon known as the "Celtic_Tiger". By the early 2000s, it had become one of the richest countries (in terms of GDP per capita) in the European_Union, moving from being a net recipient to a net contributor and from a population with net emigration to one with net immigration. ===Northern Ireland=== {{main|History of Northern Ireland}} From its creation in 1921 until 1972 Northern Ireland enjoyed limited self-government within the United Kingdom, with its own parliament and prime minister. However the Protestant and Catholic communities in Northern Ireland each voted almost entirely along Sectarian lines, meaning that the government of Northern Ireland (elected by "first past the post") was always controlled by the Ulster_Unionist_Party. Consequently, Catholics could not participate in the government, which at times openly encouraged Discrimination in housing and employment. Nationalist grievances at unionist discrimination within the state eventually led to large Civil_rights protests in 1960s, which the government suppressed heavy-handedly, most notably on "Bloody Sunday". It was during this period of civil unrest that the Paramilitary Provisional_IRA, who favoured the creation of a United_Ireland, began its campaign against Unionist rule. Other groups, legal and illegal on the unionist side, and illegal on the nationalist side, began to participate in the violence and the period known as the "Troubles" began. Owing to the civil unrest the British_government suspended home rule in 1972 and imposed direct rule. In 1998, following a Provisional IRA cease-fire, the Good Friday Agreement was concluded and attempts began to be made to restore self-government to Northern Ireland on the basis of power sharing between the two communities. Violence has greatly decreased since the signing of the accord. In 2001 the armed police force in the north (which operated much like an army with armoured cars etc.), The Royal Ulster Constabulary (or RUC for short), was removed in place of the PSNI (Police Service of Northern Ireland) as a result of easing tensions. On July_28 2005, the Provisional IRA (PIRA) announced the end of its armed campaign and on September_25 2005 international weapons inspectors supervised the full disarmament of the PIRA. ==Sport== {{main|Sport in Ireland}} Gaelic_football and Hurling are the most popular sports in Ireland. Along with Camogie, Ladies'_Gaelic_football, handball and rounders, they make up the national sports of Ireland, collectively known as Gaelic_Games. All Gaelic games are governed by the Gaelic_Athletic_Association (GAA), with the exception of Ladies' Gaelic Football, which is governed by a separate organisation. The GAA is organised on an all-Ireland basis with all 32 counties competing; traditionally, counties first compete within their province, in the Provincial_championships, and the winners then compete in the All-Ireland senior hurling or football championships. The headquarters of the GAA (and the main stadium) is located at the 83,000 capacity Croke_Park in north Dublin. All major GAA games are played here, including the semi-finals and finals of the All-Ireland championships. All GAA players, even at the highest level, are amateurs and receive no wages. The Irish rugby team includes players from north and south, and the Irish_Rugby_Football_Union governs the sport on both sides of the border. Consequently in international rugby, the Ireland team represents the whole island. The same is true of Cricket. However, when Ireland was partitioned, organisation of Football_(soccer) in the Republic was transferred from the Belfast-based Irish_Football_Association (IFA) to the new Football_Association_of_Ireland (FAI). The IFA remained in charge of the game in the Six_counties. (Consequently in International Association Football, the island has two teams: the Republic of Ireland, and Northern Ireland.) Northern Ireland qualified for the World Cup Soccer finals in 1958 (where they made it to the quarter finals), 1982 and 1986. The Republic of Ireland made it to the World Cup in 1990 (where they made it to the quarter finals), 1994 and 2002. {{IrishSport|clear="right"}} Greyhound_racing and Horse_racing are both popular in Ireland: greyhound stadiums are well attended and there are frequent horse race meetings. The Republic is noted for the breeding and training of race horses and is also a large exporter of racing dogs. The horse racing sector is largely concentrated in the central east of the Republic. Boxing is also an all-island sport governed by the Irish_Amateur_Boxing_Association. Golf is an extremely popular sport in Ireland and Golfing Tourism is a major industry. The 2006 Ryder Cup will be held in the K Club in Co. Kildare, which is just outside Dublin. Prominent Irish sporting stars are: Sean Kelly (cycling), Stephen_Roche (cycling), Brian_O'Driscoll (rugby), Roy_Keane (soccer), Damien_Duff (soccer), D.J._Carey (hurling), Peter_Canavan (GAA), Aidan_O'Brien (racehorse trainer), Kieren_Fallon (jockey), Eddie_Jordan (F1), Padraig_Harrington (golf), Sonia_O'Sullivan (athlethics), Steve_Collins (boxing) and Ken_Doherty (snooker). ==Culture== {{main|Culture of Ireland}} ===Literature and the arts=== {{main2|Irish literature|Irish art}} For a comparatively small country, Ireland has made a disproportionately large contribution to world literature in all its branches, mainly in English. Poetry in Irish represents the oldest vernacular poetry in Europe with the earliest examples dating from the 6th_century; Jonathan_Swift, still often called the foremost Satirist in the English_language, was wildly popular in his day (''Gulliver's_Travels'', ''A_Modest_Proposal'', etc.) and remains so in modern times amongst both children and adults. In more recent times, Ireland has produced four winners of the Nobel_Prize_for_Literature: George_Bernard_Shaw, William_Butler_Yeats, Samuel_Beckett and Seamus_Heaney. Although not a Nobel_Prize winner, James_Joyce is widely considered one of the most significant writers of the 20th_century. His 1922 novel Ulysses is sometimes cited as the greatest English-language novel of the 20th century and his life is celebrated annually on June 16th in Dublin as the Bloomsday celebrations. {{IrishNobel|clear="right"}} The early history of Irish visual art is generally considered to begin with early carvings found at sites such as Newgrange and is traced through Bronze_age artifacts, particularly ornamental gold objects, and the religious carvings and Illuminated_manuscripts of the mediæval period. During the course of the 19th and 20th centuries, a strong indigenous tradition of painting emerged, including such figures as John_Butler_Yeats, William_Orpen, Jack_Yeats and Louis_le_Brocquy. ===Music and dance=== {{main|Irish music}} The Irish tradition of Folk_music and Dance is also widely known. In the middle years of the 20th century, as Irish society was attempting to modernise, traditional music tended to fall out of favour, especially in urban areas. During the 1960s, and inspired by the American Folk_music movement, there was a revival of interest in the Irish tradition. This revival was led by such groups as The_Dubliners, The_Chieftains, the Clancy_Brothers and Sweeney's_Men and individuals like Sean_Ó_Riada and Danny_O'Flaherty. Irish and Scottish traditional music are similar. Before long, groups and musicians including Horslips, Van_Morrison and even Thin_Lizzy were incorporating elements of traditional music into a rock idiom to form a unique new sound. During the 1970s and 1980s, the distinction between traditional and rock musicians became blurred, with many individuals regularly crossing over between these styles of playing as a matter of course. This trend can be seen more recently in the work of bands and individuals like U2, Clannad, The_Cranberries, Van_Morrison, Rory_Gallagher, and The_Pogues. Nevertheless, Irish music has shown an immense inflation of popularity with many attempting to return to their roots. There are also contemporary music groups that stick closer to a "traditional" sound, including Altan, Gaelic_Storm, Lúnasa, and Solas. Others incorporate multiple cultures in a fusion of style, such as Afro_Celt_Sound_System and Canadian Loreena_McKennitt. Ireland has done well in the Eurovision_Song_Contest, being the most successful country in the competition with seven wins. This achievement evokes mixed feelings in many Irish people. ==Demographics== Ireland has been inhabited for at least 9000 years, although little is known about the Neolithic inhabitants of the island. Early historical and genealogical records note the existance of dozens of different peoples (Attacotti, Conmaicne, Éoganacht, Érainn, Soghain, to name but a few). Over the last 1000 years, there have been influences by the Vikings, who founded several ports, including Dublin, and Normans, with significant admixture to the gene pool. However the greater part of the Irish population descends from the original inhabitants of the island who came after the end of the Ice Age. Although for many years the Irish were believed to be of Celtic origin, recent genetic evidence shows that both the Irish and the Welsh (and to a lesser degree England and Scotland) have many genetic traits in common with the people of the Basque region. Some theorize that although Basque is certainly not a Celtic language, there may have been a Celto-Basque link while others postulate that the pre-Celtic population of the island may have had Basque origins. Both positions are difficult to prove, as the information is relatively new. Culturally however, Ireland is undeniably Celtic. Mingling of native Irish inhabitants with the latinate peoples of Spain, France and Rome during the height of the Roman_Empire (and later following the expulsion of many Protestants from the predominantly Catholic Southern_France, many of whom subsequently migrated to Ireland) gave rise to what some refer to as Franco-celts or Latin-celts. These people are charecterised particularly by very dark, Black Hair_color, a trait that does not occur in "pure" Anglo-Saxon, and other significant genetic similarities to Southern Europeans. Franco-celts (or Latin-celts) are responsible in part, but not wholey, for the moderately high occurrence of black hair and other Southern_European characteristics amongst the Irish population. Ireland's largest religious denomination is Roman_Catholicism (about 70%), and most of the rest of the population adhere to one of the various Protestant denominations. The largest is the Church_of_Ireland. The Irish Muslim community is growing, mostly through increased immigration (see Islam_in_Ireland). The island also has a small Jewish community (See History_of_the_Jews_in_Ireland), although this has declined somewhat in recent years. Since joining the EU in 2004, Polish people have been the largest source of immigrants from Eastern_Europe, followed by other migrants from Lithuania, the Czech_Republic and Latvia. Ireland has also had large numbers of Romanians entering the country since the 1990s. A high standard of living, high wages and EU citizenship attract many of the migrants from the newest of the European Union countries. Nigerians, Chinese and people from other African countries also make up a large proportion of migrants to Ireland. ==Infrastructure== ===Transport=== {{main|Transport in Ireland}} ====Air==== Image:Aerlingus.a320-214.ei-cva.750pix.jpg The three most important international airports in the Republic are Dublin_Airport, Cork_Airport and Shannon_Airport. All provide extensive services to the UK, continental Europe and North America. The Irish national airline Aer_Lingus and low-cost operator Ryanair are based at Dublin. Shannon is an important stopover on trans-Atlantic route for refuelling operations. There are several smaller regional airports in the Republic (Galway_Airport, Kerry_Airport, Knock International Airport, Sligo_Airport, Waterford_Airport) that mostly limit their services to Ireland and the United Kingdom. In Northern Ireland there are three main airports. Belfast International (Aldergrove) provides routes to Ireland and Great_Britain, as well as many international services to Europe and recently Belfast-New_York (Newark). Belfast City and City_of_Derry_Airport mainly provide flights to Great_Britain. ====Rail==== Image:DART_Unit_8203.jpg.]] {{main2|History of rail transport in Ireland|Rail transport in Ireland}} The rail network in Ireland was developed by various private companies with the help of British_Government funding throughout the late 19th_century, reaching its greatest extent around the 1920s. The Broad_gauge of 1600 mm (5 ft 3 in) was eventually settled upon throughout the island, although there were Narrow_gauge (3 ft) railways also. Ireland also has one of the largest Freight Railways in Europe, operated by Bord_na_Móna. This company has a Narrow_gauge railway of 1200 Miles. In Dublin a new Light Rail System, named Luas opened in 2004. Two lines serve the south and west suburbs as well as the north city centre. More lines are planned as well as an eventual upgrade to Metro. The scheme is being run by the RPA. ====Road==== Image:DublinPortTunnelConstruction_2004_SeanMcClean.jpg]] {{main|Roads in Ireland}} As with Britain, motorists must drive on the left in Ireland, unfortunately tourists driving on the wrong side of the road cause serious accidents every year. The island of Ireland has an extensive road network, despite the low quality of many of these until recently. ''Northern Ireland'' has historically had better main roads, while the Republic of Ireland has an increasing motorway network, focused on Dublin and the east coast. Historically land owners developed most roads and later Turnpike_Trusts collecting tolls so that as early as 1800 Ireland had a 10,000 mile road network. 1815 marked the inauguration of the first Horsecar service from Clonmel to Thurles and Limerick. Nowadays the main bus companies are Bus_Éireann in the South and Ulsterbus in the North, with Dublin_Bus serving the needs of greater Dublin. ===Energy=== Image:Esb_logo.png For much of their existence Electricity_networks in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland were entirely separate. Both networks were designed and constructed independently, but are now connected with three interlinks and also connected by Northern_Ireland_Electricity (NIE) through Great_Britain to mainland Europe. The Electricity_Supply_Board (ESB) in the Republic drove a rural electrification programme in the 1940s until the 1970s. {{IrishArts|clear="right"}} The Natural_gas network is also now all-island, with a connection from Antrim to Scotland. Most of Ireland's gas comes from the Kinsale field. The Corrib_Gas_Field in Mayo has yet to come online, and is facing some localised opposition over the controversial decision to refine the gas onshore. Ireland, north and south has faced difficulties in providing continuous power at peak load. The situation in Northern Ireland is complicated by the issue of private companies not supplying NIE with enough power, while in the Republic, the ESB has failed to modernise its power stations. In the latter case, availability of power plants has averaged 66% recently, one of the worst such figures in Western Europe. There have been recent efforts in Ireland to use Renewable_energy such as Wind_energy with large Wind_farms being constructed in coastal counties such as Donegal, Mayo and Antrim. Recently what will be the world's largest offshore wind farm is being developed at Arklow_Bank off the coast of Wicklow. It is estimated to generate 10% of Irelands energy needs when it is complete. These constructions have in some cases been delayed by opposition from locals, most recently on Achill_Island, some of whom consider the Wind_turbines to be unsightly. Another issue in the Republic_of_Ireland is the failure of the ageing network to cope with the varying availability of power from such installations. Turlough_Hill is the only energy storage mechanism in Ireland. ==See also== * List_of_Ireland-related_topics * Republic_of_Ireland * Northern_Ireland * Kingdom_of_Ireland * The_Ireland_Funds *Irish_people ==External links== * Wikitravel guide to the Republic of Ireland * Wikitravel guide to Northern Ireland * Map of Ireland * Y-chromosome variation and Irish origin * Public domain photos of Ireland {{commons|Ireland|Ireland}} {{Ireland counties}} Category:Islands_in_the_British_Isles Category:Ireland Af:Ierland Ang:Īrland Ca:Irlanda Cs:Irsko Cy:Iwerddon Da:Irland_(ø) De:Irland_(Insel) Et:Iirimaa_saar Es:Isla_de_Irlanda Eo:Irlando Fr:Irlande Ga:Éire Ko:아일랜드_섬 Is:Írland It:Isola_d'Irlanda He:אירלנד_(אי) Kw:Ynys_Iwerdhon La:Hibernia Lt:Airijos_sala Nl:Ierland_(eiland) Ja:アイルランド島 No:Irland_(øy) Nn:Irland Pl:Irlandia_(wyspa) Ro:Irlanda_(insulă) Simple:Ireland Sl:Irska_(otok) Th:ไอร์แลนด์ Vi:Ireland Uk:Ірландія_(острів) Zh:爱尔兰岛
==Politics== Image:Ireland-Capitals.PNG {{main2|Politics of Northern Ireland|Politics of the Republic of Ireland}} Politically, Ireland is divided into: * The Republic_of_Ireland, with its capital in Dublin. This state is often simply referred to internally and internationally as "Ireland" in English or "Éire" in Irish. Technically ''Ireland'' and Éire are the official ''names'' of the state while the "Republic of Ireland" is its official ''description''. * Northern_Ireland is unofficially known as 'the North', and 'Ulster' (the province of Ulster also includes Donegal, Cavan, and Monaghan which are in the Republic). ''Northern Ireland'' is a region of the United_Kingdom. Prior to the Government_of_Ireland_Act_1920 the island had been a unified political entity within the United_Kingdom (see United_Kingdom_of_Great_Britain_and_Ireland) from 1801. From 1541 the Kingdom_of_Ireland was established by the King_of_England, though this realm did not cover the whole island till the early 17th century. Up to then, Ireland had been politically divided into a number of different Irish kingdoms (Leinster, Munster, Connacht, Mide, Ulster, and others). Contrary to some assertions, at no time did a national kingdom headed by an Ard_Ri exist. {{see|Irish States (1171-present)}} In a number of respects, the island operates officially as a single entity, for example, in most kinds of sports. The major religions, the Roman_Catholic_Church, the Church_of_Ireland and the Presbyterian_Church_in_Ireland, are organised on an all-island basis. Some 92% of the population of the Republic of Ireland and about 44% of Northern Ireland is Roman_Catholic. Some trade unions are also organised on an all-Irish basis and associated with the Irish_Congress_of_Trades_Unions (ICTU) in Dublin, while others in Northern Ireland are affiliated with the Trades_Union_Congress (TUC) in the United_Kingdom - though such unions may organise in both parts of the island as well as in Britain. The island also has a shared culture across the divide in many other ways. Traditional Irish_music, for example, though showing some variance in all geographical areas, is, broadly speaking, the same on both sides of the border. Irish and Scottish traditional music have many similarities. The_Ireland_Funds, an international fund-raising organisation, tries to help people on both sides find peace and reconciliation through community development, education, arts and culture. The island is often referred to as being part of the British_Isles. However, some people, especially in Ireland, take exception to this name, which seems to suggest that both islands belong to Britain. For this reason, "Britain and Ireland" is commonly used as a more neutral alternative. Another suggestion, although much less used, is the Islands_of_the_North_Atlantic (IONA). ==Flag of Ireland== {{IrishFlags|clear="right"}} There is no universally agreed flag that represents the island of Ireland. Historically a number of flags were used, including St. Patrick's cross, the flag sometimes used for the Kingdom_of_Ireland and which represented Ireland on the Union_Jack after the Act of Union, a green flag with a harp (used by some radical nationalists in the 19th_century and which is also the flag of Leinster), a blue flag with a harp used from the 18th_century onwards by many nationalists (now the standard of the President_of_Ireland), and the Irish_tricolour. However as the tricolour is the flag of the Republic_of_Ireland it is not used to represent the island of Ireland, given that the island also includes Northern_Ireland. The Royal_Standard also shows a version of an ancient Irish flag in one of its four quadrants. St Patrick's Saltire is used to represent the island of Ireland by the all-island Irish_Rugby_Football_Union (IRFU). In contrast the Gaelic_Athletic_Association (GAA) uses the tricolour to represent the whole island. ==History== {{main|History of Ireland}} {{History of Ireland}} Image:Carrowmore_tomb,_Ireland.jpg, County_Sligo]] Ireland was mostly ice-covered and joined by land to Britain and Europe during the last Ice_age, has been inhabited for about 9,000 years. Stone_age inhabitants arrived sometime after 8000_BC, with the culture progressing from Mesolithic to high Neolithic over the course of three or four millennia. The Bronze_Age, which began around 2500_BC, saw the production of elaborate gold and bronze ornaments and weapons. The Iron_Age in Ireland is associated with people now known as Celts. They are traditionally thought to have colonised Ireland in a series of waves between the 8th and 1st centuries BC, with the Gael, the last wave of Celts, conquering the island and dividing it into five or more kingdoms. Many scholars, however, now favour a view that emphasises cultural diffusion from overseas over significant colonisation.The Romans referred to Ireland as Hibernia. Ptolemy in AD 100 records Ireland's geography and tribes. Native accounts are confined to Irish_poetry, myth, and archaeology. The exact relationship between Rome and the tribes of Hibernia is unclear; the only references are a few Roman writings. Tradition maintains that in AD 432, St. Patrick arrived on the island and, in the years that followed, worked to convert the Irish to Christianity. The druid tradition collapsed in the face of the spread of the new faith. Irish Christian scholars excelled in the study of Latin learning and Christian theology in the monasteries that flourished, preserving Latin learning during the Early Middle Ages. The arts of manuscript illumination, metalworking, and sculpture flourished and produced such treasures as the Book_of_Kells, ornate jewellery, and the many carved stone crosses that dot the island. This era was interrupted in the 9th_century by 200 years of intermittent warfare with waves of Viking raiders who plundered monasteries and towns. Eventually they settled in Ireland, and established many towns, including the modern day cities of Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Waterford. In 1172, King Henry_II_of_England gained Irish lands by the granting of the 1155 Bull Laudibiliter to him by then English Pope Adrian IV, and from the 13th_century, English law began to be introduced. English rule was largely limited to the area around Dublin, known as the Pale, and Waterford, but this began to expand in the 16th_century with the final collapse of the Gaelic social and political superstructure at the end of the 17th_century, as a result of the Tudor_re-conquest_of_Ireland and English and Scottish Protestant colonisation in the Plantations_of_Ireland, which established English control over the whole island. After the the Irish_Rebellion_of_1641, Irish Catholics were barred from voting or attending the Irish Parliament. The new English Protestant ruling class was known as the Protestant_Ascendancy {{IrishPeople}} In 1800 the Irish Parliament passed the Act of Union which, in 1801, merged the Kingdom_of_Ireland and the Kingdom_of_Great_Britain to create the United_Kingdom_of_Great_Britain_and_Ireland. The whole island of Ireland would remain within the United Kingdom, ruled directly by the UK Parliament in London. The 19th_century saw the Great Famine of the 1840s in which at least 1 million Irish people died and over a million were forced to emigrate. The late 19th and early 20th_century saw a vigorous but unsuccessful campaign for Irish Home_rule, followed by the eclipse of moderate nationalism by militant separatism. In 1922, following the Anglo-Irish_War, twenty-six counties of Ireland seceded from the United Kingdom as the Irish_Free_State. The remaining six, in the north-east, remained within the Union as Northern_Ireland. Secession for the rest of Ireland led directly to the Civil War, as militant nationalists split into two factions and turned against one another. ==History since partition== ===Irish Independence: The Irish Free State, Éire, Ireland=== {{main|History of the Republic of Ireland}} The Anglo-Irish Treaty was narrowly ratified by the Dáil in December 1921 but was rejected by a large minority, resulting in the Irish_Civil_War which lasted until 1923. In 1922, in the middle of this civil war, the '''Irish_Free_State''' came into being. For its first years the new state was governed by the victors of the Civil War. However in the 1930s Fianna Fáil, the party of the opponents of the treaty, were elected into government. The party introduced a new constitution in 1937 which renamed the state to simply "'''Éire''' or in the English language, '''Ireland'''" ''(preface to the Constitution)''. The state was neutral during World_War_II but offered some assistance to the Allies. In 1949 the state declared itself to be a republic and that henceforth it should be described as the '''Republic_of_Ireland'''. The state was plagued by poverty and emigration until the 1990s. That decade saw the beginning of unprecedented economic success, in a phenomenon known as the "Celtic_Tiger". By the early 2000s, it had become one of the richest countries (in terms of GDP per capita) in the European_Union, moving from being a net recipient to a net contributor and from a population with net emigration to one with net immigration. ===Northern Ireland=== {{main|History of Northern Ireland}} From its creation in 1921 until 1972 Northern Ireland enjoyed limited self-government within the United Kingdom, with its own parliament and prime minister. However the Protestant and Catholic communities in Northern Ireland each voted almost entirely along Sectarian lines, meaning that the government of Northern Ireland (elected by "first past the post") was always controlled by the Ulster_Unionist_Party. Consequently, Catholics could not participate in the government, which at times openly encouraged Discrimination in housing and employment. Nationalist grievances at unionist discrimination within the state eventually led to large Civil_rights protests in 1960s, which the government suppressed heavy-handedly, most notably on "Bloody Sunday". It was during this period of civil unrest that the Paramilitary Provisional_IRA, who favoured the creation of a United_Ireland, began its campaign against Unionist rule. Other groups, legal and illegal on the unionist side, and illegal on the nationalist side, began to participate in the violence and the period known as the "Troubles" began. Owing to the civil unrest the British_government suspended home rule in 1972 and imposed direct rule. In 1998, following a Provisional IRA cease-fire, the Good Friday Agreement was concluded and attempts began to be made to restore self-government to Northern Ireland on the basis of power sharing between the two communities. Violence has greatly decreased since the signing of the accord. In 2001 the armed police force in the north (which operated much like an army with armoured cars etc.), The Royal Ulster Constabulary (or RUC for short), was removed in place of the PSNI (Police Service of Northern Ireland) as a result of easing tensions. On July_28 2005, the Provisional IRA (PIRA) announced the end of its armed campaign and on September_25 2005 international weapons inspectors supervised the full disarmament of the PIRA. ==Sport== {{main|Sport in Ireland}} Gaelic_football and Hurling are the most popular sports in Ireland. Along with Camogie, Ladies'_Gaelic_football, handball and rounders, they make up the national sports of Ireland, collectively known as Gaelic_Games. All Gaelic games are governed by the Gaelic_Athletic_Association (GAA), with the exception of Ladies' Gaelic Football, which is governed by a separate organisation. The GAA is organised on an all-Ireland basis with all 32 counties competing; traditionally, counties first compete within their province, in the Provincial_championships, and the winners then compete in the All-Ireland senior hurling or football championships. The headquarters of the GAA (and the main stadium) is located at the 83,000 capacity Croke_Park in north Dublin. All major GAA games are played here, including the semi-finals and finals of the All-Ireland championships. All GAA players, even at the highest level, are amateurs and receive no wages. The Irish rugby team includes players from north and south, and the Irish_Rugby_Football_Union governs the sport on both sides of the border. Consequently in international rugby, the Ireland team represents the whole island. The same is true of Cricket. However, when Ireland was partitioned, organisation of Football_(soccer) in the Republic was transferred from the Belfast-based Irish_Football_Association (IFA) to the new Football_Association_of_Ireland (FAI). The IFA remained in charge of the game in the Six_counties. (Consequently in International Association Football, the island has two teams: the Republic of Ireland, and Northern Ireland.) Northern Ireland qualified for the World Cup Soccer finals in 1958 (where they made it to the quarter finals), 1982 and 1986. The Republic of Ireland made it to the World Cup in 1990 (where they made it to the quarter finals), 1994 and 2002. {{IrishSport|clear="right"}} Greyhound_racing and Horse_racing are both popular in Ireland: greyhound stadiums are well attended and there are frequent horse race meetings. The Republic is noted for the breeding and training of race horses and is also a large exporter of racing dogs. The horse racing sector is largely concentrated in the central east of the Republic. Boxing is also an all-island sport governed by the Irish_Amateur_Boxing_Association. Golf is an extremely popular sport in Ireland and Golfing Tourism is a major industry. The 2006 Ryder Cup will be held in the K Club in Co. Kildare, which is just outside Dublin. Prominent Irish sporting stars are: Sean Kelly (cycling), Stephen_Roche (cycling), Brian_O'Driscoll (rugby), Roy_Keane (soccer), Damien_Duff (soccer), D.J._Carey (hurling), Peter_Canavan (GAA), Aidan_O'Brien (racehorse trainer), Kieren_Fallon (jockey), Eddie_Jordan (F1), Padraig_Harrington (golf), Sonia_O'Sullivan (athlethics), Steve_Collins (boxing) and Ken_Doherty (snooker). ==Culture== {{main|Culture of Ireland}} ===Literature and the arts=== {{main2|Irish literature|Irish art}} For a comparatively small country, Ireland has made a disproportionately large contribution to world literature in all its branches, mainly in English. Poetry in Irish represents the oldest vernacular poetry in Europe with the earliest examples dating from the 6th_century; Jonathan_Swift, still often called the foremost Satirist in the English_language, was wildly popular in his day (''Gulliver's_Travels'', ''A_Modest_Proposal'', etc.) and remains so in modern times amongst both children and adults. In more recent times, Ireland has produced four winners of the Nobel_Prize_for_Literature: George_Bernard_Shaw, William_Butler_Yeats, Samuel_Beckett and Seamus_Heaney. Although not a Nobel_Prize winner, James_Joyce is widely considered one of the most significant writers of the 20th_century. His 1922 novel Ulysses is sometimes cited as the greatest English-language novel of the 20th century and his life is celebrated annually on June 16th in Dublin as the Bloomsday celebrations. {{IrishNobel|clear="right"}} The early history of Irish visual art is generally considered to begin with early carvings found at sites such as Newgrange and is traced through Bronze_age artifacts, particularly ornamental gold objects, and the religious carvings and Illuminated_manuscripts of the mediæval period. During the course of the 19th and 20th centuries, a strong indigenous tradition of painting emerged, including such figures as John_Butler_Yeats, William_Orpen, Jack_Yeats and Louis_le_Brocquy. ===Music and dance=== {{main|Irish music}} The Irish tradition of Folk_music and Dance is also widely known. In the middle years of the 20th century, as Irish society was attempting to modernise, traditional music tended to fall out of favour, especially in urban areas. During the 1960s, and inspired by the American Folk_music movement, there was a revival of interest in the Irish tradition. This revival was led by such groups as The_Dubliners, The_Chieftains, the Clancy_Brothers and Sweeney's_Men and individuals like Sean_Ó_Riada and Danny_O'Flaherty. Irish and Scottish traditional music are similar. Before long, groups and musicians including Horslips, Van_Morrison and even Thin_Lizzy were incorporating elements of traditional music into a rock idiom to form a unique new sound. During the 1970s and 1980s, the distinction between traditional and rock musicians became blurred, with many individuals regularly crossing over between these styles of playing as a matter of course. This trend can be seen more recently in the work of bands and individuals like U2, Clannad, The_Cranberries, Van_Morrison, Rory_Gallagher, and The_Pogues. Nevertheless, Irish music has shown an immense inflation of popularity with many attempting to return to their roots. There are also contemporary music groups that stick closer to a "traditional" sound, including Altan, Gaelic_Storm, Lúnasa, and Solas. Others incorporate multiple cultures in a fusion of style, such as Afro_Celt_Sound_System and Canadian Loreena_McKennitt. Ireland has done well in the Eurovision_Song_Contest, being the most successful country in the competition with seven wins. This achievement evokes mixed feelings in many Irish people. ==Demographics== Ireland has been inhabited for at least 9000 years, although little is known about the Neolithic inhabitants of the island. Early historical and genealogical records note the existance of dozens of different peoples (Attacotti, Conmaicne, Éoganacht, Érainn, Soghain, to name but a few). Over the last 1000 years, there have been influences by the Vikings, who founded several ports, including Dublin, and Normans, with significant admixture to the gene pool. However the greater part of the Irish population descends from the original inhabitants of the island who came after the end of the Ice Age. Although for many years the Irish were believed to be of Celtic origin, recent genetic evidence shows that both the Irish and the Welsh (and to a lesser degree England and Scotland) have many genetic traits in common with the people of the Basque region. Some theorize that although Basque is certainly not a Celtic language, there may have been a Celto-Basque link while others postulate that the pre-Celtic population of the island may have had Basque origins. Both positions are difficult to prove, as the information is relatively new. Culturally however, Ireland is undeniably Celtic. Mingling of native Irish inhabitants with the latinate peoples of Spain, France and Rome during the height of the Roman_Empire (and later following the expulsion of many Protestants from the predominantly Catholic Southern_France, many of whom subsequently migrated to Ireland) gave rise to what some refer to as Franco-celts or Latin-celts. These people are charecterised particularly by very dark, Black Hair_color, a trait that does not occur in "pure" Anglo-Saxon, and other significant genetic similarities to Southern Europeans. Franco-celts (or Latin-celts) are responsible in part, but not wholey, for the moderately high occurrence of black hair and other Southern_European characteristics amongst the Irish population. Ireland's largest religious denomination is Roman_Catholicism (about 70%), and most of the rest of the population adhere to one of the various Protestant denominations. The largest is the Church_of_Ireland. The Irish Muslim community is growing, mostly through increased immigration (see Islam_in_Ireland). The island also has a small Jewish community (See History_of_the_Jews_in_Ireland), although this has declined somewhat in recent years. Since joining the EU in 2004, Polish people have been the largest source of immigrants from Eastern_Europe, followed by other migrants from Lithuania, the Czech_Republic and Latvia. Ireland has also had large numbers of Romanians entering the country since the 1990s. A high standard of living, high wages and EU citizenship attract many of the migrants from the newest of the European Union countries. Nigerians, Chinese and people from other African countries also make up a large proportion of migrants to Ireland. ==Infrastructure== ===Transport=== {{main|Transport in Ireland}} ====Air==== Image:Aerlingus.a320-214.ei-cva.750pix.jpg The three most important international airports in the Republic are Dublin_Airport, Cork_Airport and Shannon_Airport. All provide extensive services to the UK, continental Europe and North America. The Irish national airline Aer_Lingus and low-cost operator Ryanair are based at Dublin. Shannon is an important stopover on trans-Atlantic route for refuelling operations. There are several smaller regional airports in the Republic (Galway_Airport, Kerry_Airport, Knock International Airport, Sligo_Airport, Waterford_Airport) that mostly limit their services to Ireland and the United Kingdom. In Northern Ireland there are three main airports. Belfast International (Aldergrove) provides routes to Ireland and Great_Britain, as well as many international services to Europe and recently Belfast-New_York (Newark). Belfast City and City_of_Derry_Airport mainly provide flights to Great_Britain. ====Rail==== Image:DART_Unit_8203.jpg.]] {{main2|History of rail transport in Ireland|Rail transport in Ireland}} The rail network in Ireland was developed by various private companies with the help of British_Government funding throughout the late 19th_century, reaching its greatest extent around the 1920s. The Broad_gauge of 1600 mm (5 ft 3 in) was eventually settled upon throughout the island, although there were Narrow_gauge (3 ft) railways also. Ireland also has one of the largest Freight Railways in Europe, operated by Bord_na_Móna. This company has a Narrow_gauge railway of 1200 Miles. In Dublin a new Light Rail System, named Luas opened in 2004. Two lines serve the south and west suburbs as well as the north city centre. More lines are planned as well as an eventual upgrade to Metro. The scheme is being run by the RPA. ====Road==== Image:DublinPortTunnelConstruction_2004_SeanMcClean.jpg]] {{main|Roads in Ireland}} As with Britain, motorists must drive on the left in Ireland, unfortunately tourists driving on the wrong side of the road cause serious accidents every year. The island of Ireland has an extensive road network, despite the low quality of many of these until recently. ''Northern Ireland'' has historically had better main roads, while the Republic of Ireland has an increasing motorway network, focused on Dublin and the east coast. Historically land owners developed most roads and later Turnpike_Trusts collecting tolls so that as early as 1800 Ireland had a 10,000 mile road network. 1815 marked the inauguration of the first Horsecar service from Clonmel to Thurles and Limerick. Nowadays the main bus companies are Bus_Éireann in the South and Ulsterbus in the North, with Dublin_Bus serving the needs of greater Dublin. ===Energy=== Image:Esb_logo.png For much of their existence Electricity_networks in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland were entirely separate. Both networks were designed and constructed independently, but are now connected with three interlinks and also connected by Northern_Ireland_Electricity (NIE) through Great_Britain to mainland Europe. The Electricity_Supply_Board (ESB) in the Republic drove a rural electrification programme in the 1940s until the 1970s. {{IrishArts|clear="right"}} The Natural_gas network is also now all-island, with a connection from Antrim to Scotland. Most of Ireland's gas comes from the Kinsale field. The Corrib_Gas_Field in Mayo has yet to come online, and is facing some localised opposition over the controversial decision to refine the gas onshore. Ireland, north and south has faced difficulties in providing continuous power at peak load. The situation in Northern Ireland is complicated by the issue of private companies not supplying NIE with enough power, while in the Republic, the ESB has failed to modernise its power stations. In the latter case, availability of power plants has averaged 66% recently, one of the worst such figures in Western Europe. There have been recent efforts in Ireland to use Renewable_energy such as Wind_energy with large Wind_farms being constructed in coastal counties such as Donegal, Mayo and Antrim. Recently what will be the world's largest offshore wind farm is being developed at Arklow_Bank off the coast of Wicklow. It is estimated to generate 10% of Irelands energy needs when it is complete. These constructions have in some cases been delayed by opposition from locals, most recently on Achill_Island, some of whom consider the Wind_turbines to be unsightly. Another issue in the Republic_of_Ireland is the failure of the ageing network to cope with the varying availability of power from such installations. Turlough_Hill is the only energy storage mechanism in Ireland. ==See also== * List_of_Ireland-related_topics * Republic_of_Ireland * Northern_Ireland * Kingdom_of_Ireland * The_Ireland_Funds *Irish_people ==External links== * Wikitravel guide to the Republic of Ireland * Wikitravel guide to Northern Ireland * Map of Ireland * Y-chromosome variation and Irish origin * Public domain photos of Ireland {{commons|Ireland|Ireland}} {{Ireland counties}} Category:Islands_in_the_British_Isles Category:Ireland Af:Ierland Ang:Īrland Ca:Irlanda Cs:Irsko Cy:Iwerddon Da:Irland_(ø) De:Irland_(Insel) Et:Iirimaa_saar Es:Isla_de_Irlanda Eo:Irlando Fr:Irlande Ga:Éire Ko:아일랜드_섬 Is:Írland It:Isola_d'Irlanda He:אירלנד_(אי) Kw:Ynys_Iwerdhon La:Hibernia Lt:Airijos_sala Nl:Ierland_(eiland) Ja:アイルランド島 No:Irland_(øy) Nn:Irland Pl:Irlandia_(wyspa) Ro:Irlanda_(insulă) Simple:Ireland Sl:Irska_(otok) Th:ไอร์แลนด์ Vi:Ireland Uk:Ірландія_(острів) Zh:爱尔兰岛