Ireland

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND

Ø Location: Ireland is an island in north-western Europe.  The Republic of Ireland (Irish: Éire) is a nation state of Western Europe. It constitutes the main portion of (the island of) Ireland, and is bounded to the northeast by Northern Ireland which is part of the United Kingdom

Ø Capital  (and largest city): Dublin

§  The island of Ireland has two distinct jurisdictions:

§  Ireland (political description is the Republic of Ireland), a sovereign state, covers five-sixths of the island. Its capital is Dublin.

§  Northern Ireland, part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, covers the remaining sixth. Its capital is Belfast.

Ø Official languages: English, Irish.

§  Ireland is bilingual but predominantly English speaking;

§  “Irish” is the first official language, the second most commonly spoken language.

Ø Government: Parliamentary Democracy.

Ø Formation: 

§  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.  Ireland became part of an extended United Kingdom, ruled directly by the UK Parliament in London.

Independence		from the United Kingdom
-	Declared	24 April 1916
-	Ratified	21 January 1919
-	Recognised	6 December 1922
-	Current constitution

§ In 1937, the electorate accepted in a referendum, a new constitution which renamed the state "Éire or in the English language, Ireland".

Ø  European Union Accession: 1st January 1973

Ø  Currency:  Euro (EUR).

Ø  Climate: Typically insular.

§ Overall, Ireland has a mild, but changeable, Oceanic climate with few extremes. The warmest recorded air temperature was 33.3°C (91.94 °F) at Kilkenny Castle, County Kilkenny, where as the lowest recorded temperature was −19.1 °C (−2.38 °F) at Markree Castle, County Sligo.

§ The climate is typically insular, and as a result of the moderating moist winds which ordinarily prevail from the South-Western Atlantic, it is temperate, avoiding the extremes in temperature of many other global areas sharing similar latitudes.

Ø  Geography:

§  Ireland includes low central plains surrounded by mountains and the island is bisected by the River Shannon with the longest estuary. Along the rivers there are so many lakes; with the largest is the “Lough Neagh”.

§  The geography of Ireland describes an island in northwest Europe in the North Atlantic Ocean. The main geographical features of Ireland include low central plains surrounded by a ring of coastal mountains. The highest peak is “Carrauntoohil”, which is 1,041 m (3,414 ft) above sea level.

§  The western coastline is rugged, with many islands, peninsulas, and headlands.                                               

§  The island is bisected by the “River Shannon”, which at 259 km (161 s) with a 113 km (70 miles) estuary is the longest river in Ireland and flows south from “County Cavan” in the north to meet the Atlantic just south of Limerick. There are a number of sizable lakes along Ireland's rivers, with “Lough Neagh” being the largest.

Ø  Economy:

§  Southeast Ireland (County Carlow, County Kilkenny, County Waterford, County Wexford). A rather cosmopolitan section of Ireland, famous for its Waterford crystal. Many famous designers have contributed to the collections ranging from glass tumblers to chandeliers.

§  Shannon Region (County Clare, County Limerick, County Tipperary)
A region often visited for its castles and the awe-inspiring Cliffs of Moher.

§  Dublin is a very popular tourist destination and is the fourth most visited European capital.

§  Cork second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and known for good food, pubs, shopping and festivals.- located on the banks of the River Lee.

§  Galway hosts over fifty festivals a year, including the Galway Oyster Festival. The locals seem to give off a positive Bohemian vibe.

Ø  Religion:  Ireland society is mainly Roman Catholic.

Ø  Famous people:

§ Classical music, or Art music as it is sometimes known, has produced a number of successful composers including Thomas Moore and Turlough Ó Carolan. John Field, who lived in the early Romantic era has been credited with the creation of the nocturne form, later developed by the young Frédéric Chopin.

§ Today, the best-known living Irish composer is Gerald Barry whose operatic works have been particularly successful in the UK and Europe.

§ Music: Choral music in Ireland, has produced one of the most successful choirs in the world Anúna, who, while best known for their contribution to Riverdance in the early 1990s, have also been nominated for a Classical Brit Award in the UK and were invited to give the first ever Irish Prom at the BBC Proms series in the Royal Albert Hall in 1999.

§ The Cranberries, Bob Geldof,  The Corrs, Enya, Westlife, Celtic Woman, U2, Sinéad O'Connor …