The Republic of Ireland (Éire in Irish; ireland.ie) is a country in Europe. It shares the island of Ireland with Northern Ireland, a part of the United Kingdom.
Regions
Ireland is made up of four provinces, each containing several counties:
However, travelers may be confused as the country is not marketed for tourism by these provincial names. Rather, tourists find themselves being welcomed to the "Sunny South East", "The West", "The North West", "The Shannon Region" and "The Midlands". It is better to plan travel by county names, cities, towns, etc., rather than worrying about which province one is going into.
Cities
Other destinations
Understand
Celtic tribes settled on the island in the 4th century B.C. Invasions by Norsemen that began in the late 8th century were finally ended when King Brian BORU defeated the Danes in 1014. English invasions began in the 12th century and set off more than seven centuries of Anglo-Irish struggle marked by fierce rebellions and harsh repressions. A failed 1916 Easter Monday Rebellion touched off several years of intense guerrilla warfare that in 1922 resulted in independence from the UK for 26 southern counties; six northern (Ulster) counties remained part of the United Kingdom _ a status whose disputed nature has lasted to the present day. In 1949 Ireland withdrew from the British Commonwealth; it joined the European Community in 1973. Irish governments have sought the peaceful unification of Ireland and have cooperated with Britain against extra-state armed groups. A peace settlement for Northern Ireland, known as the Good Friday Agreement and approved in 1998, is currently being implemented.
Get in
By plane
(The Republic of) Ireland is served by 4 international airports, Dublin (DUB) , Shannon (SNN) , Cork (ORK) and Ireland West Knock (NOC) . Dublin is connected to several cities in the US, Canada, the UK and continental Europe. Shannon, close to the cities of Limerick and Ennis, also has flights to the US, Canada, the UK and Europe. Cork has flights to most UK destinations and a wide variety of European cities. It is easily accessed from any of the major European hubs, including all of the London airports. Knock Airport has daily scheduled flights to several UK cities as well as to Boston and New York in USA, as well as various chartered flights to (mostly) holiday destinations in Europe.
Smaller regional airports that operate domestic and UK services are Donegal (CFN) ,Galway (GWY) , Kerry (KIR) , Sligo (SXL) and Waterford (WAT) .
There are airports in Northern Ireland in Derry (Londonderry) (LDY), Belfast International (BFS) and Belfast City (George Best) (BHD).
National carrier (and formerly state owned) Aer Lingus concentrates on providing cheap fares from central airports, with good service, and has cheap deals available from the UK, continental Europe, the USA and Dubai. It is usually considerably cheaper than Ryanair for flights booked close to the travel date. Ryanair is another source of flights to Ireland, particularly from the UK, however extras such as baggage charges, taxes and other charges can add a considerable amount to the total price. Comprehensive listings of airlines flying directly into Ireland, along with destinations and timetables, can be found on the Dublin, Shannon, Cork and Knock airport websites. A regional service is also provided by Aer Arann which flies internally within Ireland and externally mainly to and from the United Kingdom.
By train
The only cross-border train is the Enterprise service jointly run by Irish Rail and Northern Ireland Railways from Belfast Central to Dublin Connolly.
A Rail-Sail Scheme is also available, linking Stena Line or Irish Ferries Ferry companies with Irish and UK Train Companies. They mainly operate from UK cities across the various Irish and British Rail Network via the Dublin-Holyhead routes.
By bus
Cross border services are operated by Ulsterbus and Bus Éireann.
Eurolines operate services to Great Britain and beyond in conjunction with Bus Eireann and National Express (Great Britain). Bus Éireann also operates frequent services to and from Eastern Europe, in particular Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
By boat
Ireland is served by numerous services to Great Britain and France:
Other operators to Ireland include:
From the UK and Northern Ireland
Due to Ireland's long relationship with Britain, citizens of Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom do not require passports to enter the Republic. As a consequence, there are no passport controls at land border crossing points. In fact, the border is rarely signposted and it is often difficult to tell when you have crossed from the Republic into Northern Ireland and vice-versa. The most obvious signal is that the roadsigns on the Republic side are jointly in Irish and English and speed limits and distances are shown in kilometres. Occasionally, the police (Garda) or Irish customs officials may set up random checkpoints at border crossing points and may stop and question drivers exiting and entering, but are usually friendly and will normally wave tourists through without any trouble. When arriving at an Irish airport from the UK, you will be required to produce photo ID (drivers licence or passport) to prove that you are a British or Irish citizen.
Get around
By car
There are many car hire companies in Ireland and you can pick up in the cities or at the airports, though it may cost more to pick up at an airport. Note that Ireland is unique among European countries in that it will not accept third party collision damage insurance coverage when you rent a car. Many credit cards, for example, will pay the cost of the collision insurance (CDW) when you rent a car using that credit card. However, Irish car hire agencies will not accept this insurance. By Irish law, you must buy the CDW at the rental agency.
Taxis
It is highly recommended that you call ahead to book a taxi. The hotel, hostel, or bed and breakfast you are staying in will usually call the cab company they work closely with for your convenience. Taxis should be reasonably easy to pick up on the streets in Dublin and Cork but may be harder to find crusing the streets in smaller cities and towns so it is often best to telephone for one. It is recommended to call the cab company in advance if possible and give them a time to be picked up, no matter if its 4 hours in advance or 30 minutes in advance. Work with the same cab company your hotel does and let them know your final destination if there is more than one stop. You will also need to give them a contact phone number over the phone, so if calling from a pay phone, be prepared for them to deny your claim for a taxi cab. The average waiting time may be anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes depending on demand and time of day.
Rules of the Road/Road User Etiquette
Driving and road rules are similar to the UK - e.g. drive on the left and yield to the right on roundabouts. The most noticeable difference is the fact that distances and speed limits are displayed in kilometres or kilometres per hour in the Republic of Ireland. This can be confusing to anyone travelling across the border from Northern Ireland, which, like Britain, uses miles and miles per hour. The legal blood-alcohol limit is low so it may be best to abstain. Drivers often 'thank' each other by flashing their hazard lights or waving - this is purely a convention. Irish road signs are nominally bilingual, with place names displayed in Irish in italic font, with the corresponding English name in capitals immediately below. In the "Gaeltacht" areas in the far west, some road signs are written in Irish language only. There are four types of road classification:
Ireland has a small but steadily growing motorway network which centers around Dublin. The main motorways are:
Note that unlike their UK counterparts, most Irish motorways have some tolled sections. Tolls are low by French or Italian standards, and vary from €1.70 upwards, depending on which motorway you are traveling on. Tariffs are displayed a few of kilometers from the plaza. For the visitor, it's important to note that the only tolled road that accepts credit cards is the M4 between Kilcock and Kinnegad. All others are Euro cash only, so take care if you're arriving from the North via the M1.
For 2007, the tolled sections and their charges (for private cars) are as follows:
Until relatively recently, the road network in Ireland was very poorly maintained and road signage sparse. Things have changed markedly on the major arterial N-roads which have seen major renovation work with help from EU funding. The road surfaces can be very poor on the lesser used N- and R- numbered routes.
Speed Limits
As mentioned above, speed limits in the Republic of Ireland (but not in Northern Ireland) are in kilometres per hour. The general maximum speed limits are as follows:
Local Councils may apply other limits in specific areas as required. A very common limit is that of 60 kph when leading from a higher speed limit into a built-up area, and vice-versa. Also when roads are being maintained or worked upon in some way, the limit may be temporarily changed.
Car rental companies
There are numerous car rental companies, many with contact desks at air and sea ports.
By plane
Aer Arann and Aer Lingus operate domestic flights out of Dublin, Donegal, Cork and other locations to various regional destinations. Ryanair also operates flights from Dublin to Cork to rival Irish Rail.
By train
Most trains in Ireland operate to and from Dublin. Enormous expenditure on modernising the state-owned Irish Rail system is ongoing, including the introduction of many new trains. The frequency and speed of services is being considerably increased, especially on the Dublin-Cork line. If you book on-line for Intercity travel, be aware that there may be a cheaper fare option available to you at the office in the station itself. Not all special rates, e.g., for families, are available on line.
Note that there are two main stations in Dublin - Connolly Station (for trains to Belfast, Sligo and Rosslare) and Heuston Station (for trains to Cork, Limerick, Tralee, Kilarney, Galway, Westport, Kilkenny and Waterford.)
In the Dublin city area the electrified DART (acronym for Dublin Area Rapid transit coastal railway travels from Malahide and the Howth peninsula in the North to Bray and Greystones in Co. Wicklow via Dun Laoghaire and Dublin city center. An interchange with main line services and the Luas Red line is available at Dublin Connolly.
By tram
Dublin has a tram system, known as Luas (the Irish word for speed.) There are two lines. One (the red-line) operates from Dublin city centre (Connolly Station) to a large suburb south-west of the City (Tallaght) and the other (the green line) south-east (to Sandyford) from St Stephen's Green. Tickets must be puchased from machines before boarding the tram. Tickets are checked in the Luas at random by guards but generally ticketing works on a trust system thus free rides are possible, but not advisable, as the fines for fare-dodging can be quite high.
The Luas tram provides a very useful link between Dublin's Connolly and Heuston railway stations.
By bus
Dublin has an extensive, city-wide bus service operated by Dublin Bus (or, in Irish, Bus Átha Cliath.) Season tickets and all day tickets are also available.
JJ Kavanagh & Sons operate an extensive intercity network directly from Dublin Airport and Shannon Airport to Limerick , Carlow , Waterford , Clonmel ,Kilkenny and Dublin city Center plus local services in major towns. JJKavanaghs website shows current timetables for all routes.
Bus Éireann operate an extensive intercity network plus local services in major towns. Citylink provides frequent service from Galway to Shannon, Dublin, and Dublin Airport. Busnestor runs the Galway to Dublin and Athlone to Dublin routes. Aircoach connects Dublin with Cork and Belfast. Bus Eireann's website provides various options for buying online bus tickets which offer a good discount compare to buying them at the station or on the bus.
By boat
By bicycle
Ireland is beautiful for biking, but have a good touring bike with solid tires as road conditions are not always excellent. Biking along the south and west coasts you can be prepared for variable terrain, lots of hills and often into the wind. There are plenty of campgrounds along the way for long distance cyclists.
The planned Eurovelo cycle route in Ireland will connect Belfast to Dublin via Galway, and Dublin to Rosslare via Galway and Cork. Visit their website for updates on the status of the path.
Dublin has some marked bicycle lanes and a few non-road cycle tracks. Traffic is fairly busy, but a cyclist confident with road cycling in other countries should have no special difficulties (except maybe for getting used to riding on the left). Cyclists have no special right of way over cars, particularly when using shared use paths by the side of a road, but share and get equal priority when in the traffic lane. Helmets are not legally required, but widely available for those who wish to use them.
Talk
English is spoken everywhere but Irish (Gaeilge) is the first official language. Most people have some understanding of this but it is used as a first language by only about 400,000 people, most of whom live in rural areas known as the Gaeltacht. About 40% of Irish citizens claim to understand and speak the language. As the Gaeltacht are generally scenic areas it is likely that visitors will go there. Tourists will not be expected to speak Irish but it will be noticeable on road signs, etc. For instance, a law was recently passed that behooves the English name of Dingle, County Kerry to be changed to An Daingean, the Irish version. This should not confuse visitors.
In order to enter certain Irish Universities, it is necessary to have taken Irish to Leaving Cert level, and passed. Indeed it is a compulsory language at school, although its method of teaching has come under criticism. Nevertheless, although it has come under threat, and sometimes is seen as a waste of resources by a certain few, the language is held fondly amongst the Irish themselves.
There is extensive Irish language broadcasting on TV and radio. Irish is related and very similar (but not identical) to Scottish Gaelic. However, many native Irish speakers will take offense if you call Irish "Gaelic" as this is the incorrect term and refers to Scottish Gaelic. The correct Irish term is Gaeilge (Pronounced "Gale-geh"). Referring to it simply as "Irish" is a fine alternative. It is not necessary to know any Irish in order to get around in Ireland. See also: Irish phrasebook
Buy
Ireland is part of the Eurozone, so as in many other European Union countries the currency here is the euro (symbol: €). Stand Alone Cash machines (ATMs)are widely available in every city and town in the country and Laser cards as well as credit cards are accepted in 90% of outlets. Fees are not charged by Irish ATMs (but beware that your bank may charge a fee).
Along border areas, it is common for UK pounds sterling to be accepted as payment, with change given in euro. Some outlets, notably border petrol stations (fuel is much cheaper in the Republic, resulting in many Northern motorists purchasing their fuel in the Republic) will give change in sterling if requested.
Credit Cards
In Ireland some hotels and many shops and restaurants will automatically bill your credit card in your home currency, at a very poor exchange rate, typically 1% or 2% worse than if they'd billed you in euros. This sometimes makes for as much as a 4% commission, split between the store and the provider, Fexco.
Before using a credit card at a business that caters to tourists, ask if they use Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC), and check your receipt afterwards, to make sure it doesn't show a charge in your home currency.
Mastercard, Maestro and Visa are virtually accepted everywhere. American Express and Diners Club are not as widely accepted. Discover card is very rarely accepted and it would not be wise to rely on this alone.
Eat
Food is expensive in Ireland, although quality has generally improved enormously in the last ten years. Most small towns will have a supermarket and many have a weekly farmers' market. The cheapest option for eating out is either fast food or pubs. Many pubs offer a carvery lunch consisting of roasted meat, vegetables and the ubiquitous potatoes, which is usually good value. Selection for vegetarians is limited outside the main cities.
Modern Irish cuisine emphasizes fresh local ingredients, simply prepared and presented (sometimes with some Mediterranean-style twists). Meat (especially lamb), seafood and dairy produce can be of a very high quality.
Try some soda bread, made with buttermilk and leavened with bicarbonate of soda rather than yeast. It is heavy, tasty and almost a meal in itself!
In recent years many good quality inexpensive restaurants have been set up.
The small town of Kinsale near Cork has become internationally famous for its many excellent restaurants, especially fish restaurants.
Etiquette
Only basic table manners are considered necessary when eating out, unless you're with company that has a more specific definition of what is appropriate. As a general rule, so long as you don't make a show of yourself by disturbing other diners there's little else to worry about. It's common to see other customers using their mobile phones - this sometimes attracts the odd frown or two but goes largely ignored. If you do need to take a call, keep it short and try not to raise your voice. The only other issue to be concerned about is noise - a baby crying might be forgivable if it's resolved fairly quickly, a contingent of adults laughing very loudly every couple of minutes or continuously talking out loud will attract negative attention. However, these rules are largely ignored in fast-food restaurants and pubs.
Traditionally, tipping was never considered to be a necessity and was entirely optional. However, recently it has become common to tip up to 10% of the bill total. Some establishments will add a 10-15% service charge on top of the obligatory 13.5% Government VAT charge, especially for larger groups. If a service charge is levied, a tip would not normally be left, unless to reward exceptional service.
Drink
One of Ireland's most famous exports is stout, a dark, dry beer. The strong taste can be initially off-putting but perseverance is well-rewarded! The most famous variety is Guinness, brewed in Dublin and available throughout the country. Murphy's and Beamish's stout are brewed in Cork and available mainly in the south of the country. Murphy's is slightly sweeter and creamier-tasting than Guinness, while Beamish has a strong, almost burnt taste. Several micro-breweries are now producing their own interesting varieties of stout, including O'Hara's in Carlow, the Porter House in Dublin and the Franciscan Well Brewery in Cork. Ales such as Smithwick's are also popular, particularly in rural areas. Bulmers Cider (Known as Magners in other countries) is also a popular and widely available Irish drink. It is brewed in Clonmel, Co. Tipperary.
The other competitor for national drink of Ireland is tea. The Irish drink more tea per capita than any other people in the world. Cork, Dublin and Galway abound with slick, stylish coffee bars, but if you visit any Irish home you will probably be offered a cup of tea (usually served with milk, unless you explicitly state otherwise!).
Coffee is also widely drunk in Ireland. (If you don't drink tea, you drink coffee!)
Sleep
There are hotels of all standards including some very luxurious. Bed and Breakfast is widely available. These are usually ery friendly and good value. There is an official youth hostel association - An Óige. These hostels are often in remote and beautiful places, designed mainly for the outdoors. There are also independent hostels which are marketed as independent hostels of Ireland. These are nearly always found in towns. There are official campsites although fewer than many countries (given the climate). Wild camping is tolerated, although you should seek permission.
There is a free accommodation finder for Dublin called Almara Accommodations Dublin inquiry form is www.almarabb.com/almaraa.htm
Learn
You can learn many interesting facts about Ireland's history and culture. One of the things Ireland is most famous for is Irish dancing. ('Riverdance,' a popular show centered on Irish step dancing, started in Ireland.) Irish traditional music is also world renowned, with The Chieftains musical group being its international ambassadors.
Ireland has internationally-respected universities, including the venerable Trinity College Dublin (the only college of the University of Dublin). The National University of Ireland has constituent colleges in Dublin, Galway, Cork and Maynooth. Other colleges/universities include Dublin City University (DCU), University of Limerick (UL), Institues of technology in the larger towns/cities around the country and other higher education colleges.
Literature has many great Irish authors, including James Joyce, Samuel Beckett, Oscar Wilde, Brendan Behan and Oliver Goldsmith. The writer of "Gulliver's Travels", Dean Jonathan Swift was from Dublin and poets, W. B. Yeats and Patrick Kavanagh also hailed from Ireland. Especially in Dublin, there are many literary tourist attractions and tours.
Work
Ireland is part of the European Union/European Economic Area, and as such any EU/EEA or Swiss national has an automatic right to take up employment in Ireland. Non EU/EEA citizens will generally require a work permit and visa. Further information can be found on Citizens Information , the Irish government's public services information website.
Stay safe
The police force is known as An Garda Síochána (or just "Garda"), and police officers as Garda (singular) and Gardaí (plural, pronounced Gar-dee), though informally the English term Guard(s) is usual. The term Police is rarely used, but is of course understood. Regardless of what you call them, they are generally unarmed, courteous and approachable.
Crime is relatively low by most European standards but not very different. Late night streets in cities can be dangerous, as anywhere. If you need the Gardaí, an ambulance or the fire brigade, you can use 999 or 112 as the emergency number; both work from landlines and mobile (cell) phones.
Stay healthy
Smoking
Since March 2004 almost all enclosed places of work, including bars, restaurants, cafés, Etc., in Ireland have been designated as smoke-free. Rooms in Hotels and Bed & Breakfast establishments are not required by law to be smoke-free. Even though they are not obliged to enforce the ban, owners of these establishments are, however, free to do so if they wish. Most hotels have designated some bedrooms as smoking and some as non-smoking, so you should specify at the time of booking if you have a preference either way. The smoking ban also applies to common areas within buildings. This means for example that corridors, lobby areas and reception areas of buildings such as apartment blocks and hotels are also covered under the law.
Most larger bars and cafés will have a covered smoking area often with heating. If one does not exist be aware that it is illegal to consume alcohol on the street so you may have to leave your drink at the bar.
Any person found guilty of breaching the ban on smoking in the workplace may be subject to a fine of up to €3,000.
Quirks
Often, in smaller towns and villages and especially on a country road, if you walk past somebody it is customary to say hello. They may also ask you "how are you?", or another similar variation. It is polite to respond to this greeting but it is not expected that you would give any detail on how you really are, if the person is a stranger - a simple hello or "how are you?" back will suffice!
When accepting gifts, a polite refusal (such as, "no really you shouldn't") is common after the first offer of the item. Usually, this is followed with an insistence that the gift or offer is accepted, at which point your answer is likely to become more recognized. However, some people can be very persuasive - this isn't meant to be over-bearing, just courteous.
Contact
Phone numbers in this guide are given in the form that you would dial them from within Ireland. This form in general is a two- or three-digit area code (always begins with a 0), and the local number, which may be from five to seven digits long. When dialling a land line number from another land line within the same area (i.e., the same area code) the area code can be ignored, and the local number only is required. There are more mobile phones than people in the Republic of Ireland, and the majority of these are prepay. All mobile numbers begin with 087, 086, 085 or 083 (this code must be dialled regardless of location or operator of dialler). Mobiles are cheap by European standards to buy, and if staying for more than 2 months, it could be cheaper to buy a phone than phone cards. The era of the pay phone is coming to an end, and nowadays, the only way they make a profit, is for the booth itself to be covered in advertising.
When calling from abroad, dial your international access code, followed by 353 and the area code (dropping the starting '0'), then the remainder of the number.
Non-geographic numbers
Non-geographic numbers are those which are not specific to a geographical region and are technically charged at the same rate regardless of where the caller is located.
Calling Home
Ireland has 4 mobile networks (prefix code in brackets)
However, customers who change between networks have the option to retain their full existing number, so it is possible for a Vodafone customer to have an 085 prefixed number, for instance. Tesco Mobile and Digiweb will both launch services in the near future, with prefix codes of 089 and 088 respectively.
A tri- or quad-band phone will work, check that your operator has a roaming agreement.
You can also buy prepay GSM cards if you have an unlocked handset. This can be considerably cheaper as it means that you will be assigned an Irish number which you can be called at during your trip and your outgoing calls are charged at normal Irish mobile rates.
Pay phones are fairly widely available (but becoming less so) and most take coins, prepaid calling cards and major credit cards. You can also reverse charges/call collect or use your calling card by following the instructions on the display.
To dial internationally:
00 + country code + area code + local number
To dial an Irish number:
Simply dial all of the digits including the area code. You can, optionally, drop the area code if you're calling from within the area, but it makes no difference to the cost or routing.
Fixed line numbers have area codes 01,02,04,05,06,07,09 and mobile phones are 08
Special rate numbers, such as freefone 1-800 all start with "1"
Operator service is unavailable from pay phones or mobile phones.
Emergency Service dial 999 or 112 (Pan European code that runs in parallel). This is the equivilant of 911 in the US/Canada and is free from any phone.
Directory information: (provided competing operators through the following codes: call charges vary depending on what they're offering and you'll see 118 codes advertised heavily)
They will usually offer call completion at a very high price, and all of them will send the number by SMS to your mobile if you're calling from it.
Ireland (Éire; Ulster Scots: Airlann) is the third largest island in Europe and the twentieth largest in the world. It lies to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain. Politically, the state known as Ireland covers five sixths of the island, with Northern Ireland, a part of the United Kingdom, occupying the remainder in the northeast. The name 'Ireland' derives from Old Irish Ériu (in modern Irish, Éire) with the addition of the Germanic word 'land'. This word, from Proto-Celtic *Īwerjū, which also gave Middle Welsh Iwerd "Irish Sea", originally meant "fatness", in the sense of fertile.
The population of the island is slightly under six million (2006), with 4,239,848 in the Republic of Ireland (1.7 million in Greater Dublin) and about 1.7 million in Northern Ireland (0.6 million in Greater Belfast).
Political geography
The island of Ireland has two distinct jurisdictions:
For the political history of the island, see History of Ireland.
Traditionally, Ireland is subdivided into four provinces: Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster, and since the 19th century, 32 counties. Twenty-six of the counties are in the Republic of Ireland, and the remaining six (all in Ulster) are in Northern Ireland. All the counties in Northern Ireland, County Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Tipperary now have only had ceremonial status, being replaced by District Councils i.e. County Dublin split into Fingal County Council, South Dublin County Council, Dun Laoighre/Rathdown County Council and Dublin City Council. Across Ireland, the 32 traditional counties are still used in sports and in some other cultural areas, and retain a strong sense of local identity.
All-island institutions
In a number of areas the island operates officially as a single entity. For example, most of the most popular sports on the island operate on an all-Ireland basis, such Gaelic Games, Rugby and Golf. The notable exception to this is soccer, although an all-Ireland cup competition, the Setanta Cup, was created in 2005. The creation of an all-island league and a single international team has been publicly touted by various prominent figures on the island in recent years, such as Irish government minister Dermot Ahern and Northern Ireland legend George Best. However, the international governing body, FIFA, has ruled it out as impossible under its rules, and the respective local bodies have expressed no interest.
The major religious bodies, the Roman Catholic Church, the Methodist Church in Ireland, the Church of Ireland/Anglican and the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, are organised on an all-island basis. Some trade unions are also organised on an all-island 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, and some affiliate to both — although such unions may organise in both parts of the island as well as in Britain. The Union of Students in Ireland operates in both jurisdictions, but organises jointly in Northern Ireland with the National Union of Students (the United Kingdom's student body), under the name NUS-USI.
The Good Friday Agreement provides for all-Ireland governance in various guises. For example, a North-South Ministerial Council was established as a forum in which ministers from the Irish government and the Northern Ireland Assembly
can discuss matters of mutual concern and formulate all-Ireland policies in twelve "areas of cooperation",such as agriculture, the environment and transport. Six of these policy areas have been provided with implementation bodies, an example of which is the Food Safety Promotion Board. Tourism policy is also managed on an all-Ireland basis, by Tourism Ireland.
An increasingly large amount of commercial activity operates on an all-Ireland basis, particularly in the context of the European Union. There have been calls for the creation of an "all-island economy" from members of the business community and policy-makers on both sides of the border, so as to benefit from economies of scale and boost competitiveness in both jurisdictions.. This is a stated aim of the Irish government and nationalist political parties in the Northern Ireland Assembly. One commercial area in which the island already operates largely as a single entity is the energy market.
The island also has a shared culture in many other ways. Traditional Irish music, for example, is, broadly speaking, the same on both sides of the border.
Physical geography
A ring of coastal mountains surrounds low central plains. The highest peak is Carrauntoohill (Corrán Tuathail) in County Kerry, which is 1,041 m (3,414 feet). The River Shannon, at 386 km (240 miles) is the longest river in Ireland. 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 84,412 km² (32,591 square miles).
Ireland's least arable land lies in the south-western and western counties. These areas are largely mountainous and rocky, with dramatic green vistas.
Climate
Overall, Ireland has a mild, but changeable, climate all year with few extremes. The warmest recorded air temperature was 33.3°C (91.94°F) at Kilkenny Castle, County Kilkenny on 26 June 1887, whereas the lowest recorded temperature was -19.1°C (-2.38°F) at Markree Castle, County Sligo on 16 January 1881..
Other statistics show that the greatest recorded annual rainfall was 3964.9mm in the Ballaghbeena Gap in 1960. The driest year on record was 1887, with only 356.6mm of rain recorded at Glasnevin, while the longest period of absolute drought was in Limerick where there was no recorded rainfall over 38 days during April and May of 1938.
The climate is typically insular, and as a result of the moderating moist winds which ordinarily prevail from the Atlantic, it is of a temperate nature, avoiding the extremes in temperature of many other global areas sharing similar latitudes.
Precipitation falls throughout the year, but is light overall, particularly in the east. The west, however, tends to be wetter on average and prone to the full force of Atlantic storms, more especially in the late autumn and winter months, which occasionally bring destructive winds and high rainfall totals to these areas, as well as snow and hail. The regions of North Galway and East Mayo have the highest incidents of recorded lightning annually (5 to 10 days per year). Munster in the south records the least snow with Ulster in the north more prone to snow. Some areas along the south and southwest coasts have not had any lying snow since February 1991.
Inland areas are warmer in summer, and colder in winter - there are usually around 40 days of below freezing temperatures (0°C) at inland weather stations, but only 10 days at coastal stations. Ireland is sometimes affected by heat waves, most recently 1995, 2003, 2006 and 2007.
Geology
Geologically, the island consists of a number of provinces - in the far west around Galway and Donegal is a medium to high grade metamorphic and igneous complex of Caledonide (Scottish Highland) affinity. Across southeast Ulster and extending southwest to Longford and south to Navan is a province of Ordovician and Silurian rocks with more affinities with the Southern Uplands province of Scotland. Further south, there is an area along the Wexford coast of granite intrusives into more Ordovician and Silurian rocks with a more Welsh affinity.
In the southwest, around Bantry Bay and the mountains of Macgillicuddy's Reeks, is an area of substantially deformed but only lightly metamorphosed Devonian-aged rocks with a more Cornish affinity.
This partial ring of "hard rock" geology is covered by a blanket of Carboniferous limestones over the centre of the country, giving rise to the comparatively fertile and famously "lush" landscape of the country. The west coast district of the Burren around Lisdoonvarna has well developed karst features. Elsewhere, significant stratiform lead-zinc mineralisation is found in the limestones (around Silvermines and Tynagh).
Hydrocarbon exploration is continuing. The first major find was the Kinsale Head gas field off Cork/Cobh by Marathon Oil in the mid-1970s. More recently, in 1999, Enterprise Oil announced the discovery of the Corrib Gas Field. This has increased activity off the west coast in parallel with the "West of Shetland" step-out development from the North Sea hydrocarbon province. Exploration continues, with a frontier well planned north of Donegal for August 2006 and continuing drilling of prospects in the Irish Sea and St Georges Channel.
Wildlife
Ireland has fewer animal and plant species than either Britain or mainland Europe because it became an island shortly after the end of the last Ice Age, about 8,000 years ago. Many different habitat types are found in Ireland, including farmland, open woodland, temperate forests, conifer plantations, peat bogs, and various coastal habitats.
Fauna
Only 31 mammal species are native to Ireland, again because it was isolated from Europe by rising sea levels after the Ice Age. Some species, such as the red fox, hedgehog, stoat, and badger are very common, whereas others, like the Irish hare, red deer and pine marten are less common and generally seen only in certain national parks and nature reserves around the island. Some introduced species have become thoroughly naturalised, e.g. rabbits and the brown rat. See List of Irish mammals.
The Walrus (Odebenus rosmarus (L.) is also found around the Irish coasts. Many of the sightings were made by fisherman and other sports enthusiasts who did not recorde the sightings with care. The first record of walruses in Ireland seems to have been in 1897 in the mouth of the Shannon.
24 species of cetacean have been recorded in Irish waters.Species of Whale and Dolphin have been recorded off the coast of Ireland: Minke Whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata Lacépède); Humpback Whale (Magaptera novaeangliae (Borowski)); Sowerby's Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon bidens Sowerby); Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus Linnaeus); Harbour Porpoise (Phocoena phocoena (Linnaeus); Long-finned Pilot Whale (Globicephala melaena (Traill); Killer Whale (Orcinus orca (Linnaeus)); White-beaked Dolphin (Lagenorhynchus albirostris Gray); White-sided Dolphin (Lagenorhynchus acutus Gray); Risso's Dolphin (Grampus griseus (Cuvier)); Striped Dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba (Mayen)); Common dolphin (Delphinus delphis Linnaeus); Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus (Montagu)).
Species that have become extinct in Ireland include the wolf, the Irish Great Elk, the great auk, the beaver, the bear, the wildcat, and native cattle breeds.
About 400 species of birds have been recorded in Ireland. Many of these species are migratory. There are Arctic birds, which come in the winter, and birds such as the swallow, which come from Africa in the summer to breed. Ireland has a rich marine avifauna, with many large seabird colonies dotted around its coastline such as those on the Saltee Islands, Skellig Michael and the Copeland Islands. Also of note are golden eagles, recently reintroduced after decades of extinction.
There are no snakes in Ireland and only one reptile is native to the country, the common lizard. The common lizard appears to have a widespread distribution across the entire island with coastal, bogland and mountainous areas showing highest numbers of sightings. Three amphibians are found, the frog, the common newt and the natterjack toad. There are question marks over whether the frog is actually native to Ireland with some historic accounts telling that the frog was introduced in the 18th century. The natterjack toad is only found in a few localised sites in Co Kerry and west Cork. Certain marine turtle species appear regularly off the south west coast but do not come ashore.
Irish Wildlife Manuals is a series of contract reports relating to the conservation management of habitats and species in Ireland. The volumes are published on an irregular basis by Ireland's National Parks and Wildlife Service.
The majority of species have been introduced from abroad as a result of shipping, aquaria etc. Some have been deliberately introduced.Animals such as Calyptraea chinensis, a gastropod. This species was first recorded in Clew Bay in 1963. During 1980-81 a total of 121 dredge hauls were carried out in Inishlyre Harbour and hundreds of the gastropods were found. The first records of the species in Irish waters may have been in the 19th century. This point is discussed in some detail by Minchin, et al.
The marine fauna of the Celtic Sea includes over 340 species of invertebrate and fish.
Flora
:See also :Category:Flora of Ireland.
Until medieval times Ireland was heavily forested with oak, pine, beech and birch. Forests now cover about 5% of the land. Because of its temperate climate, many species, (including sub-tropical ones like Arecaceae) will grow in Ireland. Much of the land is now covered with pasture, and there are many species of wild-flower. Gorse (Ulex europaeus), a wild furze, is commonly found growing in the uplands, and ferns are plentiful in the more moist regions, especially in the western parts of Ireland. It is home to hundreds of plant species, some of them unique to the island.
The country has been invaded by: Spartina x townsendii H. & J. Groves. The country has been invaded by some algae, some of which are now well established: Asparagopsis armara Harvey first recorded by de Valera in 1939; Colpomenia peregrina now locally abundant it was first recorded in the 1930's; Sargassum muticum (Yendo) Fensholt now well establshed in Strangford Lough; Codium fragile ssp. atlanticum and Codium fragile ssp. tomentosum both of these subspecies are now well established.
History
A long cold climatic spell prevailed until about 9,000 years ago, and most of Ireland was covered with ice. This era was known as the Ice Age. Sea-levels were lower then, and Ireland, as with its neighbour Britain, instead of being islands, were part of a greater continental Europe. Mesolithic stone age inhabitants arrived some time after 8000 BC. Agriculture arrived with the Neolithic circa 4000 to 4500 BC where sheep, goats, cattle and cereals were imported from southwest continental Europe. At the Céide Fields in County Mayo, an extensive Neolithic field system - arguably the oldest in the world - has been preserved beneath a blanket of peat. Consisting of small fields separated from one another by dry-stone walls, the Céide Fields were farmed for several centuries between 3500 and 3000 BC. Wheat and barley were the principal crops cultivated.
The Bronze Age, which began around 2500 BC, saw the production of elaborate gold as well as bronze ornaments, weapons and tools. The Iron Age in Ireland was supposedly associated with people 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 Gaels, the last wave of Celts, conquering the island and dividing it into five or more kingdoms. Many scientists and academic scholars now favour a view that
emphasises cultural diffusion from overseas over significant colonisation such as
what Clonycavan Man was reported to be. The Romans referred to Ireland as Hibernia and/or Scotia. 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.
In medieval times, the monarch (also known as the High King) reigned over the (then five) provinces of Ireland. These provinces too had their own kings, who were subject to the monarch, who resided at Tara. The written judicial system was the Brehon Law, and it was administered by professional learned jurists who were known as the Brehons.
According to early medieval chronicles, in 431, Bishop Palladius arrived in Ireland on a mission from Pope Celestine to minister to the Irish "already believing in Christ." The same chronicles record that Saint Patrick, Ireland's patron saint, arrived in 432. There is continued debate over the missions of Palladius and Patrick, but the general consensus is that they both existed and that 7th century annalists may have mis-attributed some of their activities to each other. Palladius most likely went to Leinster, while Patrick is believed to have gone to Ulster, where he probably spent time in captivity as a young man.
The druid tradition collapsed in the face of the spread of the new religion. Irish Christian scholars excelled in the study of Latin and Greek learning and Christian theology in the monasteries that flourished, preserving Latin and Greek 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. From the 9th century, waves of Viking raiders plundered monasteries and towns, adding to a pattern of endemic raiding and warfare. Eventually Vikings settled in Ireland, and established many towns, including the modern day cities of Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Waterford.
In 1171, King Henry II of England invaded Ireland, using the 1155 Bull Laudabiliter issued to him by then English Pope Adrian IV to claim sovereignty over the island, and forced the Cambro-Norman warlords and some of the Gaelic Irish kings to accept him as their overlord. From the 13th century, English law began to be introduced. By the late thirteenth century the Norman-Irish had established the feudal system throughout most of lowland Ireland. Their settlement was characterised by the establishment of baronies, manors, towns and large land-owning monastic communities. The towns of Dublin, Cork, Wexford, Waterford, Limerick, Galway, New Ross, Kilkenny, Carlingford, Drogheda, Sligo, Athenry, Arklow, Buttevant, Carlow, Carrick-on-Suir, Cashel, Clonmel, Dundalk, Enniscorthy, Kildare, Kinsale, Mullingar, Naas, Navan, Nenagh, Thurles, Wicklow, Trim and Youghal were all under Norman-Irish control. In the fourteenth century the English settlement went into a period of decline and large areas, for example Sligo, were re-occupied by Gaelic septs. From the late fifteenth century English rule was once again expanded, first through the efforts of the Earls of Kildare and Ormond then through the activities of the Tudor State under Henry VIII and Mary and Elizabeth. This resulted in the complete conquest of Ireland by 1603 and the final collapse of the Gaelic social and political superstructure at the end of the 17th century, as a result of English and Scottish Protestant colonisation in the Plantations of Ireland, and the disastrous Wars of the Three Kingdoms and the Williamite War in Ireland. After 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. Towards the end of the 18th century the entirely Protestant Irish Parliament attained a greater degree of independence from the British Parliament than it had previously held. Under the Penal Laws no Irish Catholic could sit in the Parliament of Ireland, even though some 90% of Ireland's population was native Irish Catholic when the first of these bans was introduced in 1691. This ban was followed by others in 1703 and 1709 as part of a comprehensive system disadvantaging the Catholic community, and to a lesser extent Protestant dissenters. In 1798, many members of this dissenter tradition made common cause with Catholics in a rebellion inspired and led by the Society of United Irishmen. It was staged with the aim of creating a fully independent Ireland as a state with a republican constitution. Despite assistance from France the Irish Rebellion of 1798 was put down by British forces.
In 1800, the British and subsequently the unrepresentative 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 passage of the Act in the Irish Parliament was achieved with substantial majorities, in part (according to contemporary documents) through bribery, namely the awarding of peerages and honours to critics to get their votes. Thus, Ireland became part of an extended United Kingdom, ruled directly by the UK Parliament in London. The 19th century saw the Great Famine of the 1840s, during which one million Irish people died and over a million emigrated. Mass emigration became entrenched as a result of the famine and the population continued to decline until late in the 20th century. The pre-famine peak was over 8 million recorded in the 1841 census. The population has never returned to this level.
The 19th and early 20th century saw the rise of Irish Nationalism especially among the Catholic population. Daniel O'Connell led a successful unarmed campaign for Catholic Emancipation. A subsequent campaign for Repeal of the Act of Union failed. Later in the century Charles Stewart Parnell and others campaigned for self government within the Union or "Home Rule". An armed rebellion took place with the Easter Rising of 1916, and the subsequent Irish War of Independence. In 1921, a treaty was concluded between the British Government and the leaders of the Irish Republic. The Treaty recognised the two-state solution created in the Government of Ireland Act 1920. Northern Ireland was presumed to form a home rule state within the new Irish Free State unless it opted out. Northern Ireland had a majority Protestant population and opted out as expected, its in-built majority choosing to remain part of the United Kingdom, incorporating within its border a significant Catholic/Nationalist minority. A Boundary Commission was set up to decide on the boundaries between the two Irish states, though it was subsequently abandoned after it recommended only minor adjustments to the border. Disagreements over some provisions of the treaty led to a split in the Nationalist movement and subsequently to the Civil War. The civil war ended in 1923 with the defeat of the Anti-treaty forces.
History since partition
Irish Independence: The Irish Free State, Éire, Ireland
The Anglo-Irish Treaty was ratified by the Dáil in December 1921 by a vote of 64 - 57. The minority refused to accept the result and this eventually resulted in the beginning of the Irish Civil War, which lasted until 1923. In 1922, in the middle of this civil war, the Irish Free State came into being. During its early 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 "Éire or in the English language, Ireland" (article 4 of the Constitution).
The state was neutral during World War II which was known internally as The Emergency. It offered some assistance to the Allies, especially in Northern Ireland. It is estimated that around 50,000 volunteers from Éire/Ireland joined the British armed forces during the second World War. In 1949, Ireland declared itself to be a republic and that henceforth it should be described additionally as the Republic of Ireland. The Republic experienced large-scale emigration in the 1950s and again in the 1980s. From 1987 the economy recovered and the 1990s 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 of the budget to becoming a net contributor during the next Budget round (2007-13), and from a country of net emigration to one of net immigration. In October 2006, there were talks between Ireland and the U.S. to negotiate a new immigration policy between the two countries, in response to the growth of the Irish economy and desire of many U.S. citizens who sought to move to Ireland for work.
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland was created as an administrative division of the United Kingdom by the Government of Ireland Act 1920. From 1921 until 1972, Northern Ireland was granted limited self-government within the United Kingdom, with its own parliament and prime minister.
In the first half of the 20th century, Northern Ireland was largely spared the strife of the Civil War in the south, but there were sporadic episodes of inter-communal violence between Catholics and Protestants during the decades that followed partition. Although the Irish Free State was neutral during World War II, Northern Ireland as part of the United Kingdom was not, and became deeply involved in the British war effort (albeit without military conscription as it was introduced in Great Britain). Belfast suffered a bombing raid from the German Luftwaffe in 1941.
In elections to the 1921-1972 regional government, 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" from 1929) was always controlled by the Ulster Unionist Party. Over time, the minority Catholic community felt increasingly alienated by the regional government in Northern Ireland, with further disaffection fuelled by incidents such as gerrymandering of the local council in Londonderry in 1967, and the discrimination of Catholics in housing and employment.
In the 1960s Nationalist grievances at unionist discrimination within the state eventually led to large civil rights protests, 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 what it called the "British occupation of the six counties". 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, resulting in approximately 3000 deaths over the subsequent three decades. Owing to the civil unrest as "The Troubles" erupted, the British government suspended home rule in 1972 and imposed direct rule from Westminster.
Attempts were made to end "The Troubles", such as the Sunningdale Agreement of 1974 and Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985, but ultimately were failures mainly due to the continuing level of violence. More recently in 1998, following a Provisional IRA cease fire and multi-party talks, the Good Friday Agreement was concluded and ratified by referendum in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. This agreement attempts 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. The power-sharing assembly was suspended several times but was restored on 8 May 2007.
In 2001 the police force in Northern Ireland, the Royal Ulster Constabulary, was replaced by the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
On 28 July 2005, the Provisional IRA announced the end of its armed campaign and on 25 September 2005 international weapons inspectors supervised what they currently regard as the full decommissioning of the Provisional IRA's weapons.
Sport
Gaelic football and hurling are the most popular sports in Ireland, with rugby and soccer also being popular. Hurling and Gaelic football, along with Camogie, Ladies' Gaelic football, handball and rounders, 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 82,500 capacity Croke Park in north Dublin. Major GAA games are played there, including the semi-finals and finals of the All-Ireland championships. During the redevelopment of the Lansdowne Road stadium, International Rugby is being played there, with huge success. 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, golf, tennis and hockey. The Irish rugby team have played in every Rugby World Cup, making the quarter-finals at four of them. Ireland also hosted games during the 1991 Rugby World Cup (including a quarter and semi-final) and the 1999 Rugby World Cup (including a quarter-final). There are also four professional provincial sides that contest the Magners League and European Heineken Cup. Irish rugby has become increasingly competitive at both the international and provincial levels since the sport went professional in 1994. During that time, Ulster (1999) and Munster (2006) have both won the European Cup.
The Irish Football Association (IFA) was originally the governing body for football (soccer) throughout the island. Football has been played in Ireland since the 1860s (Cliftonville F.C. Belfast being the oldest club on the island), but remained a minority sport outside of Ulster until the 1880s. However, some clubs based outside Belfast felt that the IFA largely favoured Ulster-based, Protestant clubs in such matters as selection for the national team. Following an incident in which, despite an earlier promise, the IFA moved an Irish Cup final replay from Dublin to Belfast, the clubs based in the Free State set up a new Football Association of the Irish Free State (FAIFS) - now known as the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) - in 1921.
Despite the new organisation being initially blacklisted by the Home Nations' football associations, the Association was recognised by FIFA in 1923 and organised its first international fixture in 1926 (against Italy in Turin). However, both the IFA and FAI continued to select their teams from the whole of Ireland, with some players earning international caps for matches with both teams. Both also referred to their respective teams as "Ireland". It was not until 1950 that FIFA directed the Associations only to select players from within their respective territories, and in 1953 FIFA further clarified that the FAI's team was to be known only as "Republic of Ireland", and the IFA's team only as "Northern Ireland" (with certain exceptions).
Northern Ireland qualified for the FIFA World Cup finals in 1958 (when they reached the quarter-finals), 1982 and 1986. The Republic of Ireland qualified for the World Cup in 1990 (when they reached the quarter-finals), 1994 and 2002. The IFA still retains All-Ireland cups and trophies at its Belfast HQ.
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.
The west coast of Ireland, and Donegal Bay in particular has some superb surfing beaches; being fully exposed to the fury of the Atlantic Ocean, beaches such as Rossnowlagh and Bundoran catch any swell going. Surfing in Donegal Bay is big business, as it attracts surfers from all over western Europe aiming to catch Europe's largest waves. Since Donegal Bay is shaped like a funnel (like the Bristol Channel), the West/South-West winds coming off the Atlantic are funnelled, increasing the speed and size of the incoming rollers, and creating good surf, especially in winter. In recent years, Bundoran has hosted European championship surfing. The south-west of Ireland, such as the Dingle Peninsula also has surf beaches, although Donegal Bay is usually first choice for Ireland's surfing community.
With thousands of lakes, over 14,000 km of fish bearing rivers, and over 3,700 km of coastline, Ireland is a popular angling destination. The temperate Irish climate is suited to sport angling, with moderate summers, mild winters and adequate rainfall throughout the year. While salmon and trout fishing remain popular with anglers, salmon fishing in particular received a boost in 2006 with the closing of the salmon driftnet fishery. Coarse fishing (for bream, roach, rudd and hybrids) continues to increase its profile. Sea angling is developed with many beaches mapped and signposted. In recent times the range of sea angling species has increased; most notably blue fin tuna, golden grey mullet and gilthead bream are now regularly caught from Irish shores.
Golf is a popular sport in Ireland and golf tourism is a major industry. The 2006 Ryder Cup was held at The K Club in County Kildare.
In 2007, the Irish National Cricket team were among the Associate nations which qualified for the 2007 Cricket World Cup. The Irish team defeated Pakistan and finished second in their pool, earning a place in the Super 8 section of the competition.
:See also: List of Irish sports people
Places of interest
Some interesting places to visit on the island of Ireland include the following:
Culture
Literature and the arts
For an island of relatively small population, 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 considered one of the most important works of Modernist literature and his life is celebrated annually on June 16 in Dublin as the Bloomsday celebrations.
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
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, Sweeney's Men, and individuals like Seán Ó Riada and Christy Moore. Irish and Scottish traditional music share some similar characteristics.
Before too long, groups and musicians including Horslips, Van Morrison, and 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 artists like U2, Enya, Flogging Molly, Moya Brennan, The Saw Doctors, Damien Rice, The Corrs, Sinéad O'Connor, Clannad, The Cranberries, Rory Gallagher, Westlife, B*witched, BoyZone, Gilbert O'Sullivan, Black 47, Wolfe Tones, Ash and The Pogues.
There is a growing genre of Irish music fused with heavy heavy metal called Celtic Metal / Celtic Battle Metal (also sometimes called Folk Metal). Geasa, Primordial, Waylander, and Cruachan are examples of bands who perform this style of music.
Irish music has shown an immense inflation of popularity with many attempting to return to their roots. Some contemporary music groups stick closer to a "traditional" sound, including Altan, Gaelic Storm, Lúnasa, and Solas. Others incorporate multiple cultures in a fusion of styles, such as Afro Celt Sound System.
The Republic of Ireland has done well in the Eurovision Song Contest, being the most successful country in the competition, with seven wins.
Modern architecture
In the 20th century, Irish architecture followed the international trend towards modern, sleek and often radical building styles, particularly after independence in the first half of the century. New building materials and old were utilised in new ways to maximise style, space, light and energy efficiency. 1928 saw the construction of Ireland's first all concrete Art Deco church in Turners Cross , Cork. The building was designed by Chicago architect Barry Byrne and met with a cool reception among those more accustomed to traditional designs.
In 1953, one of Ireland's most radical buildings, Bus Éireann's main Dublin terminal building, better known as Busáras was completed. It was built despite huge public opposition, excessive costs (over £1m) and even opposition from the Catholic Church . Michael Scott, its architect is now considered one of the most important architects of the twentieth century in Ireland .
A significant change in Ireland's architecture has taken place over the last few years, with a major shift towards the European continental ethos of architecture and urbanity. There are currently three buildings in planning that would eclipse the country's current tallest building record - held by Cork County Hall in Cork - these include the U2 Building, Players Mill and The Tall Building all of them in Dublin. One of the most symbolic structures of modern Irish architecture is the Spire of Dublin. Completed in January 2003, the structure was nominated in 2004 for the prestigious Stirling Prize.
Science
Ireland has a proportionately rich history in science and is known for its excellence in scientific research conducted at its many universities and institutions.
Physicist Ernest Walton, winner of the 1951 Nobel Prize in Physics (along with Sir John Douglas Cockcroft), helped develop a new theory of Wave equation, which lead to a new era of accelerator-based experimental nuclear physics. Walton won the Nobel Prize in Physics on November 16, 1951 when he and Cockcroft split the nucleus of the atom by artificial means (specifically, for "work on the transmutation of the atomic nuclei by artificially accelerated atomic particles"). This was also the first nuclear transmutation of an chemical element by artificial means (which is popularly known as splitting the atom).
Physicist George Johnstone Stoney, the uncle of the physicist George FitzGerald and distant relative of mathematician Alan Turing, is famous for introducing the term electron in 1874. The Planck scale, which contemporary physics has settled on as the most suitable scale for a unified theory, was anticipated by Stoney. Like Planck after him, Stoney realized that large-scale effects such as gravity and small-scale effects such as electromagnetism naturally imply an intermediate scale where physical differences might be rationalized.
Physicist Joseph Larmor published the Lorentz transformations some two years before Hendrik Lorentz (1899, 1904) and eight years before Albert Einstein (1905). Larmor predicted the phenomenon of time dilation, at least for orbiting electrons, and verified that FitzGerald-Lorentz contraction (length contraction) should occur for bodies whose atoms are held together by electromagnetic forces.
Physicist George Francis FitzGerald is best known for his conjecture in 1889 that if all moving objects were foreshortened in the direction of their motion, it would account for the curious result of the Michelson-Morley experiment.
Physicist John Stewart Bell is famous as the originator of Bell's Theorem, one of the most important theorems in quantum physics. It is notable for showing that the predictions of quantum mechanics are not intuitive. Bell's most famous paper concerned the discovery of the Bell-Jackiw-Adler anomaly (which is also known as the Chiral anomaly). At the time, theory predicted that the neutral pion could not decay into two photons, however, this had been observed experimentally. Bell, Roman W. Jackiw and Stephen L. Adler explained the observed decays theoretically by adding an "anomalous" term resulting from the divergences of quantum field theory. A condition that the "anomaly" produced agreement with experiment was that the sum of the charges of the elementary fermions had to be zero. This work also provided important support for the color-theory of quarks (the idea that quarks exist in three 'colours'), now part of the widely accepted Standard Model. Bell was nominated for a Nobel prize and, had he lived longer, might well have received it.
The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS) was established in 1940 by the Taoiseach Éamon de Valera. In 1940, physicist Erwin Schrödinger received an invitation to help establish the Institute. He became the Director of the School for Theoretical Physics and remained there for 17 years, during which time he became a naturalized Irish citizen.
Demographics
Ireland has been inhabited for at least 9,000 years, although little is known about the paleolithic and neolithic inhabitants of the island (other than by inference from genetic research in 2004 that challenges the idea of migration from central Europe and proposes a flow along the Atlantic coast from Spain). Early historical and genealogical records note the existence of dozens of different peoples that may or may not be "mythological" (Cruithne, Attacotti, Conmaicne, Eóganachta, Érainn, Soghain, to name but a few).
During the past 1,000 years or so, the genetic mix has added Vikings, Normans, Scottish and English ancestors to the indigenous gene pool.
Ireland's largest religious group is the Catholic Church (about 70% for the entire island, and over 90% for the Republic), and most of the rest of the population adhere to one of the various Protestant denominations. The largest is the Anglican 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 (over 180,000) from Central Europe, followed by other immigrants from Lithuania, the Czech Republic and Latvia.
Ireland's high standard of living, high wage economy and EU membership attract many migrants from the newest of the European Union countries: Ireland has had a significant number of Romanian immigrants since the 1990s. In recent years, mainland Chinese have been migrating to Ireland in significant numbers. Nigerians, along with people from other African countries have accounted for a large proportion of the non-European Union migrants to Ireland.
After Dublin (1,661,185 in Greater Dublin), Ireland's largest cities are Belfast (579,276 in Greater Belfast), Cork (380,000 in Metropolitan Cork), Derry (94,329 in Derry Urban Area), Limerick (93,321 incl. suburbs), Galway (71,983), Lisburn (71,465), Waterford (45,775 excluding near suburbs), Drogheda (35,090), Newry (27,433), Kilkenny (23,967 incl. suburbs) and Armagh (14,590).
Transport
Air
The four most important international airports in Ireland are Dublin Airport, Belfast International Airport (Aldergrove), Cork International Airport and Shannon Airport. All provide extensive services to Great Britain and continental Europe, while Belfast, Dublin, Shannon and Knock also offer a range of transatlantic services. Shannon was once an important stopover on the trans-Atlantic route for refuelling operations and, with Dublin, is still one of the Republic's two designated transatlantic gateway airports.
There are several smaller regional airports: George Best Belfast City Airport, Derry Airport, Galway Airport, Kerry Airport (Farranfore), Ireland West Airport (Knock), Sligo Airport, Waterford Airport, and Donegal Airport (Carrickfinn). Scheduled services from these regional points are mostly limited to Ireland and Great Britain.
Rail
The rail network in Ireland was developed by various private companies, some of which received (British) Government funding in the late 19th century. The network reached its greatest extent by 1920. The broad gauge of 1,600 mm (5ft 3in) was eventually settled upon throughout the island, although there were also hundreds of miles of ) narrow gauge railways.
Long distance passenger trains in the Republic are managed by Iarnród Éireann (Irish Rail) and connect most major towns and cities across the country. In Dublin, two local rail networks provide transportation in the city and its immediate vicinity. The Dublin Area Rapid Transit (DART, pictured right) links the city centre with surrounding suburbs. Additionally, a new light rail system named Luas, opened in 2004, transports passengers within city limits. Several more Luas lines are planned as well as an eventual upgrade to metro. The scheme is being run by Veolia under franchise from the RPA. Under the Irish government's Transport 21 plan, reopening the Navan-Clonsilla rail link, the Cork Midleton rail link and the Western Rail Corridor are amongst plans for Ireland's railways.
In Northern Ireland, all rail services are provided by Northern Ireland Railways, part of Translink. Services in Northern Ireland are sparse in comparison to the rest of the UK. A large railway network was severely curtailed in the 1950s and 1960s (in particular by the Ulster Transport Authority). The current situation includes suburban services to Larne, Newry and Bangor, as well as services to Derry. There is also a branch from Coleraine to Portrush.
Ireland also has one of the largest freight railways in Europe, operated by Bord na Móna. This company has narrow gauge railways totalling 1,930 kilometres (1,200 miles).
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