Ireland

     From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The island of Ireland is the second-largest island in Europe. It lies on the west side of the Irish Sea, close to the island of Great Britain. It is composed of the Republic of Ireland in the south and Northern Ireland, an autonomous region of the United Kingdom.

Table of contents

1 Geography 2 Politics 3 History 4 Some Photos 5 See also 6 Footnotes

Geography

The island of Ireland, named Hibernia by the Romans, is 485km (301 miles) from North to South and 275km (171 miles) from East to West. Central lowlands are framed by hillier areas. The River Shannon, which runs from North-East to South-West, is the longest river, and there are a large number of lakes, of which Lough Neagh is the largest. For more detailed information see: Geography of Ireland.

Politics

Politically, the island of Ireland is currently divided into;

• Ireland or 'Eire', capital - Dublin, also referred to as the Republic of Ireland or 'the Republic'.
• Northern Ireland, capital - Belfast, also referred to controversially as the 'Six Counties', 'The North of Ireland', and 'Ulster'.¹

The island is often said to be part of the British Isles. However, many people, especially those from the Republic, take exception to this name, which seems to suggest the whole island belongs to Britain. For this reason, "Britain and Ireland" is commonly used as a more neutral alternative. The terms Islands of the North Atlantic (IONA) or "these islands of ours" are sometimes used also.

History

See also history of Ireland, for more details.

The division of the island into "Northern" and "Republic" is a relatively recent development, only coming about in 1920 after hundreds of years of violent repression, penal laws and various failed rebellions. The island itself has been inhabited for about 9,000 years. The Irish language (Gaeilge) arrived with the Celts in the last centuries BCE; it is referred to as 'Irish' by the people of Ireland, and sometimes anglicized into 'Gaelic' by foreigners (which can prompt confusion with the Scottish Gaelic language). Almost nothing is known of the languages spoken before. In the 5th century, the country was converted to Christianity with Saint Patrick being central in this effort according to tradition. It subsequently became a centre of Christian scholarship. This was brought largely to an end, however, with the invasion of the Vikings in the 10th century and the Normans in the 12th century.

In 1172, King Henry II of England gained Irish lands, 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 initially, 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. In the middle of the 1800's the country sufferd a huge potato famine. Although there was no shortage of corn the British exported it all back to England leaving no food at all for the starving Irish. It reached a stage where Irish were committing crimes to get fed in prison. Huge numbers starved and many more moved to North America and Australia. The result was that, between deaths and imigrants the population halved in that 6 years from over 8 million to around 4 million, from which it still has not recovered. From that time, English (more accurately British) influence and expansion grew, and with it spread the English language. Over time there grew a movement to shake off British rule, and for Ireland to become indpendent.

More recently, the Good Friday Agreement of April 10, 1998 has brought a degree of powersharing to Northern Ireland, giving both unionists, who favour it remaining a part of the United Kingdom, and nationalists, who favour it becoming part of the Irish state, a hand in running its affairs. However, the power conferred by the agreement is limited, and the agreement has come close to breaking down on a number of occasions. The political future of Northern Ireland remains unclear.

In a limited number of areas, the island operates as a single entity. The Irish rugby team, for instance, includes players from the north and the south, and the Irish Rugby Football Union governs the sport on both sides of the divide. Gaelic football is the most popular form of football and is played and organised on an All-Ireland basis. Hurling, a kind of field hockey, is another popular traditional Irish sport, with teams from all 32 counties north and south competing. However, successes in this sport largely are confined to southern teams. Both these sports are governed by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), with its headquarters at Dublin's Croke Park, a magnificent 80,000 seater stadium at which both All-Ireland finals are played. Many matches in the final stages of the campaign (i.e. Quarter-finals, Semi-Finals etc.) are played here. Boxing is also an All-Ireland sport governed by the I.A.B.A. The major religions, the Roman Catholic Church, the Church of Ireland and the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, are organised on an all-island basis. More than 95% of the Irish people belong to the Roman Catholic Church. However soccer is organised within each state, with the (Northern) Irish Football Association and the (Southern) Football Association of Ireland. Some trades 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.

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 divide.

Some Photos

See also

• List of Ireland-related topics

Footnotes

¹ The term Ulster is often used by many unionists. The terms North of Ireland or Six Counties are used by many nationalists and republicans. Each community usually takes offence at the other's term. Northern Ireland is the official name and the one used most widely across the communities. The actual province of Ulster consists of the Six Counties of Northern Ireland AND Counties Donegal, Monaghan & Cavan which are in the Republic of Ireland.