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Ireland

Ireland is an island in Western Europe. It is part of the British Isles. Politically, it is divided into two parts. The Republic of Ireland covers five-sixths of the island. Northern Ireland in the north-east is part of the United Kingdom. The Atlantic Ocean, the North Channel, the Irish Sea and St George's Channel surround Ireland.
A rolling plain covers most of the center of the island. Mountains and uplands rise near the coast. The highest mountains are just over 3,000 feet above sea level. Ireland has many lakes, called loughs, and rivers. Peat hogs, swamps consisting of decayed plants, cover much of the western part. The Irish cut the peat, dry it and use it for fuel. The most important river is the Shannon.
The climate is mild and damp. Rainfall is heavy everywhere, especially in the southwest. The lush green grass of Ireland has given the country its nickname of the “Emerald Isle”.

Farming is important throughout Ireland. Farmers rear cattle and sheep, and the Republic exports large quantities of dairy products. Linen, ships and aircraft are the chief industrial products of Northern Ireland. The Republic has fewer industries, but they are growing rapidly.
The people of Ireland are mostly Celtic or Norman in origin. They speak English, but in the Republic the first official language is Gaelic, the old language of Ireland. Few people speak it. Religion is important in Ireland. Most of the people in the Republic are Roman Catholics, while two-thirds of those in Northern Ireland are Protestants. Religious differences have played a large part in keeping the island divided.

In the Republic, the head of state is an elected president. A prime minister who heads the leading party in an elected parliament rules the country. In Northern Ireland, a parliament and government make and administer local laws, but all external affairs are handled by the United Kingdom government.

The first inhabitants of Ireland probably went there about 8,000 years ago. But the Celts, the ancestors of present-day Irish people, did not settle in the island until about 350 B.C.
St Patrick, a missionary, converted the country to Christianity during the A.D. 400's. Vikings from Scandinavia raided the country from the late TOO s onwards, and many of them settled there.
Normans from England invaded Ireland during the 1100's, and ruled much of the country during the next 300 years. During the 1500's, the Tudor rulers of England exerted their power over the island, and Henry VIII took the title of King of Ireland.

During the English Civil War, in the mid-1600’s, the Protestant parliamentary forces under Oliver Cromwell killed many or the Roman Catholic Irish. More English people were then settled on the island. In the late 1600’s, many Irish supported the exiled Roman Catholic king, James II, against the Protestant William III. During the next 100 years, harsh laws were passed against Roman Catholics.

In 1801, Ireland was made part of the United Kingdom. During the 1800’s the Irish campaigned for Homo Rule - the right to set up their own government. They rebelled in 1916 and 1919. Fighting ended in 1921, when 26 of the Irish counties were declared an independent dominion, the Irish Free State.

Ireland, Facts and Figures
Area: 27,135 square miles (Republic)
5,459 square miles (Northern Ireland). 

In 1937. the Irish Free State was renamed “Eire” the country's ancient name.In 1949, Eire became the Republic of Ireland, cutting links with Britain and the British Commonwealth. In the late 1960’s and 1970's, fighting occurred in Northern Ire-land between the Roman Catholic and Protestant communities.