Ireland

Celtic tribes arrived on the island between 600-150 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 guerrilla warfare that in 1921 resulted in independence from the UK for 26 southern counties; six northern (Ulster) counties remained part of the UK. In 1948 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 terrorist groups. A peace settlement for Northern Ireland is being implemented with some difficulties. In 2006, the Irish and British governments developed and began to implement the St. Andrews Agreement, building on the Good Friday Agreement approved in 1998.

The name Ireland derives from the name HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89riu" \o "Ériu" Ériu (in modern HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_language" \o "Irish language" Irish, Éire) with the addition of the HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanic_languages" \o "Germanic languages" Germanic word land. Most other western European names for Ireland derive from the same source, such as HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_language" \o "French language" French Irlande, HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_language" \o "Spanish language" Spanish, HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_language" \o "Italian language" Italian and HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_language" \o "Portuguese language" Portuguese Irlanda, HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_language" \o "German language" German Irland and HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_language" \o "Dutch language" Dutch Ierland.

Ireland is the HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_islands_by_area" \o "List of islands by area" third largest HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island" \o "Island" island in HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe" \o "Europe" Europe, HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/" \l "cite_note-0" \o "" [1] and the twentieth-largest island in the world. HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/" \l "cite_note-1" \o "" [2] It is about the size of West Virginia. It lies to the north-west of HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_Europe" \o "Continental Europe" continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islet" \o "Islet" islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Sea" \o "Irish Sea" Irish Sea, is the island of HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Britain" \o "Great Britain" Great Britain. Politically, the state HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland" \o "Republic of Ireland" Ireland (described as the Republic of Ireland in cases of HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambiguity" \o "Ambiguity" ambiguity) covers five-sixths of the island, with HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Ireland" \o "Northern Ireland" Northern Ireland, part of the HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom" \o "United Kingdom" United Kingdom, covering the remainder in the north-east.

The HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population" \o "Population" population of the island is slightly over six million (2007), with 4.34 million in the Republic of Ireland HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/" \l "cite_note-2" \o "" [3] (1.7 million in HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Dublin" \o "Greater Dublin" Greater Dublin HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/" \l "cite_note-3" \o "" [4]) and an estimated 1.75 million in Northern Ireland HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/" \l "cite_note-4" \o "" [5] (0.6 million in HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Belfast" \o "Greater Belfast" Greater Belfast HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/" \l "cite_note-5" \o "" [6]). This is a significant increase from a modern historical low in the 1960s, but still much lower than the peak population of over 8 million in the early 19th century, prior to the HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_potato_famine" \o "Irish potato famine" Irish potato famine.

HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland" \o "Republic of Ireland" Ireland (political description is the Republic of Ireland), HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/" \l "cite_note-6" \o "" [7] a HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereignty" \o "Sovereignty" sovereign HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State" \o "State" state, covers five-sixths of the island. Its HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital" \o "Capital" capital is HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dublin" \o "Dublin" Dublin.

HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Ireland" \o "Northern Ireland" Northern Ireland, part of the HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_of_Great_Britain_and_Northern_Ireland" \o "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, covers the remaining sixth. Its capital is HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belfast" \o "Belfast" Belfast.

Physical Geography
A ring of coastal mountains surrounds low central HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plain" \o "Plain" plains. The highest peak is HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrauntoohil" \o "Carrauntoohil" Carrauntoohil ( HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_language" \o "Irish language" Irish: Corrán Tuathail) in HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Kerry" \o "County Kerry" County Kerry, which is 1,038 m (3,406 ft). HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/" \l "cite_note-16" \o "" [17] The HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Shannon" \o "River Shannon" River Shannon, at 386 km (240 miles) is the longest river in Ireland. HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/" \l "cite_note-17" \o "" [18] The island's lush vegetation, a product of its mild climate and frequent but soft rainfall, earns it the HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sobriquet" \o "Sobriquet" sobriquet "Emerald Isle". The island's area is 84,412 km² HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/" \l "cite_note-irlgov-18" \o "" [19] (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 HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panorama" \o "Panorama" vistas, hence the attributive name "the Emerald Isle".

Climate
Overall, Ireland has a mild, but changeable, HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oceanic_climate" \o "Oceanic climate" Oceanic climate with few extremes. The warmest recorded air temperature was 33.3 °C (91.94 °F) at HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilkenny_Castle" \o "Kilkenny Castle" Kilkenny Castle, HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Kilkenny" \o "County Kilkenny" County Kilkenny on HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_26" \o "June 26" 26 June HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1887" \o "1887" 1887, where as the lowest recorded temperature was −19.1 °C (−2.38 °F) at HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markree_Castle" \o "Markree Castle" Markree Castle, HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Sligo" \o "County Sligo" County Sligo on HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_16" \o "January 16" 16 January HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1881" \o "1881" 1881. HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/" \l "cite_note-19" \o "" [20]

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 areas in the world at 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.

Animals

Only 26 land HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammal" \o "Mammal" mammal species are native to Ireland, because it was isolated from Europe by rising sea levels after the HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_Age" \o "Ice Age" Ice Age.

Emigration

The HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Hunger" \o "The Great Hunger" Great Famine, which began in the 1840s, caused the deaths of one million Irish people, and caused over a million to emigrate. HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/" \l "cite_note-42" \o "" [43] By the late 1840s, as a result of the famine, half of all HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_to_the_United_States" \o "Immigration to the United States" immigrants to the HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States" \o "United States" United States originated from Ireland. A total of 35 million HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_ancestry" \o "American ancestry" Americans (12% of total population) reported HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_diaspora" \o "Irish diaspora" Irish ancestry in the 2005 HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Community_Survey" \o "American Community Survey" American Community Survey. HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/" \l "cite_note-43" \o "" [44] 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. HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/" \l "cite_note-44" \o "" [45]

Ireland experienced large-scale emigration in the 1950s and again in the 1980s. From 1987 the economy improved and the 1990s saw the beginning of unprecedented economic success, in a phenomenon known as the " HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtic_Tiger" \o "Celtic Tiger" Celtic Tiger". By 2007 it had become the fifth richest country (in terms of GDP per capita) in the world, and the second richest in the HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union" \o "European Union" European Union, moving from being a net recipient of the HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union_Budget" \o "European Union Budget" 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. HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/" \l "cite_note-46" \o "" [47]

Religion

Ireland's largest religious group is the HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church" \o "Catholic Church" Catholic Church (over 73% for the entire island, and about 86.8% HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/" \l "cite_note-census2006-religion-64" \o "" [65] for the Republic), and most of the rest of the population adhere to one of the various HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestant" \o "Protestant" Protestant denominations. The largest is the Anglican HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Ireland" \o "Church of Ireland" Church of Ireland.

North – Protestant

South – Catholic

Science

Founder of modern chemistry HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Boyle" \o "Robert Boyle" Robert Boyle was an Anglo-Irish natural philosopher, chemist, physicist, inventor and early gentleman scientist, noted for his work in physics and chemistry. He is best known for the formulation of HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boyle%27s_law" \o "Boyle's law" Boyle's law.

Music

The Irish tradition of HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folk_music" \o "Folk music" folk music and HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dance" \o "Dance" dance is also widely known. - Celtic – U2

Sports

The most popular sports in Ireland are HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaelic_Football" \o "Gaelic Football" Gaelic Football and HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_Football" \o "Association Football" Association Football. Together with HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurling" \o "Hurling" Hurling and HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_union" \o "Rugby union" Rugby, they make up the four biggest team sports in Ireland. HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaelic_Football" \o "Gaelic Football" Gaelic Football is the most popular in terms of match attendance and community involvement HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/" \l "cite_note-52" \o "" [53], and the HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All-Ireland_Football_Final" \o "All-Ireland Football Final" All-Ireland Football Final is the biggest day in Ireland's sporting calendar. HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_football" \o "Association football" Association football, meanwhile, is the most commonly played team sport in Ireland and the most popular sport in which Ireland fields international teams

Cities

After Dublin (1.7m in Greater Dublin), Ireland's largest cities are HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belfast" \o "Belfast" Belfast (700,000) in Greater Belfast), HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cork_%28city%29" \o "Cork (city)" Cork (380,000 in HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Cork" \o "Greater Cork" Greater Cork), HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derry" \o "Derry" Derry (94,329 in HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derry_Urban_Area" \o "Derry Urban Area" Derry Urban Area), HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limerick" \o "Limerick" Limerick (93,321 incl. suburbs HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limerick_urban_area" \o "Limerick urban area" Limerick urban area), HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galway" \o "Galway" Galway (71,983), HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisburn" \o "Lisburn" Lisburn (71,465), HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterford" \o "Waterford" Waterford (49,240 including suburbs), HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newry" \o "Newry" Newry (27,433), HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilkenny" \o "Kilkenny" Kilkenny (23,967 incl. suburbs) and HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armagh" \o "Armagh" Armagh (14,590).

Languages

Ireland is multilingual but predominantly HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiberno-English" \o "Hiberno-English" English-speaking, with HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_language" \o "Irish language" Irish, the first official language of the Republic, the second most commonly spoken language. HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/" \l "cite_note-65" \o "" [66] In the North, English is the de facto official language, but official recognition is afforded to both Irish and HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulster-Scots" \o "Ulster-Scots" Ulster-Scots language. All three languages are spoken on both sides of the border. In recent decades, with the with the increase of immigration on an all-Ireland basis, many more languages have been introdced, particularly deriving from Asia and Eastern Europe, such as Chinese, Polish, Rusian, Turkish and Latvian.

Economy
In July 2006, a survey undertaken by Bank of Ireland Private Banking showed that, of the top 8 leading HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OECD" \o "OECD" OECD nations, the Republic of Ireland was ranked the second wealthiest per capita country in the world, showing an average wealth per head of nearly €150,000 (~ $190,000). HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/" \l "cite_note-70" \o "" [71] This is behind Japan, and ahead of other countries such as the United States, United Kingdom and Germany.

Education in Ireland is free at all levels, including college (university).

In 2005, Ireland was ranked the best place to live in the world, according to a " HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quality_of_life" \o "Quality of life" quality of life" assessment by Economist magazine. The country's combination of increasing wealth and traditional values gives it the conditions most likely to make its people happy, the survey found. These conditions include health, freedom, unemployment, family life, climate, political stability and security, gender equality and family and community life. HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Economist" \o "The Economist" The Economist said: "Ireland wins because it successfully combines the most desirable elements of the new, such as low unemployment and political liberties, with the preservation of certain cosy elements of the old, such as stable family and community life."

Telephones 2.097 million
Cell Phones 4.69 millions

The Republic of Ireland's Flag

The Republic of Ireland's flag is made of three equal-sized rectangles of orange, white, and green (this type of flag is called a HYPERLINK "http://www.enchantedlearning.com/geography/flags/tricolor.shtml" tricolor). The flag is twice as wide as it is tall. The green side is by the flagpole. This flag was first used in 1848.

The green color on the flag represents the native people of Ireland (most of whom are Roman Catholic). The orange color represents the British supporters of William of Orange who settled in Northern Ireland in the 17th century (most of whom are Protestant). The white in the center of the flag represents peace between these two groups of people.

Saint Patrick ( HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_language" \o "Latin language" Latin: Patricius HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/" \l "cite_note-1" \o "" [2], HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_language" \o "Irish language" Irish: Naomh Pádraig) was a HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Britain" \o "Roman Britain" Roman Britain-born HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity" \o "Christianity" Christian HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missionary" \o "Missionary" missionary and is the HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patron_saint" \o "Patron saint" patron saint of HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ireland" \o "Ireland" Ireland along with HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigid_of_Kildare" \o "Brigid of Kildare" Brigid of Kildare and HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columba" \o "Columba" Columba. When he was about sixteen he was captured by Irish raiders and taken as a HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slave" \o "Slave" slave to Ireland, where he lived for six years before escaping and returning to his family. He entered the church, as his father and grandfather had before him, becoming a HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deacon" \o "Deacon" deacon and a HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishop" \o "Bishop" bishop. He later returned to Ireland as a missionary in the north and west of the island, but little is known about the places where he worked and no link can be made between Patrick and any church. By the eighth century he had become the patron saint of Ireland. The Irish monastery system evolved after the time of Patrick and the Irish church did not develop the diocesan model that Patrick and the other early missionaries had tried to establish.

The available body of evidence does not allow the dates of Patrick's life to be fixed with certainty, but it appears that he was active as a missionary in Ireland during the second half of the fifth century. Two letters from him survive, along with later HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagiographies" \o "Hagiographies" hagiographies from the seventh century onwards. Many of these works cannot be taken as authentic traditions. Uncritical acceptance of the HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annals_of_Ulster" \o "Annals of Ulster" Annals of Ulster (see below) would imply that he lived from 378 to 493, and ministered in modern day northern Ireland from 433 onwards.

Revival
On 21st September, 1857 Jeremiah Lanphier began a series of prayer meetings in New York, seeking divine guidance. (6-10,000 people)

Coincidentally, the very month that Jeremiah Lanphier began his prayer meeting in New York, four young Irishmen began a weekly prayer meeting in a village near Ballymena. This meeting is generally regarded as the origin of the 1859 revival that swept through most of the towns and villages in the north of Ireland and in due course brought 100,000 converts into the churches.