Irleand history
Ireland is a beautiful island that is washed and influenced by the Atlantic Ocean in the west it is known for its gorgeous landscape, the green hillsides and the rocky coastline. Thanks to the influence of the Gulf Stream, it is warm there through the year and it gets much rain and sun it is often called the Emerald Island because it is green all the year round. Filmmakers from all over the world have used the beautiful landscape of the island since film-making started.
The Archaeology of Ancient Ireland
Prehistoric Ireland. Little remains of Irish dwellings that predates the sixth century a.d. The abundance of wood and the difficulty of working stone with primitive tools undoubtedly accounts in part for this. In addition, the primitive farming practice of depleting the fields and then moving on to new ones made the laborious erection of a permanent stone dwelling unfeasible. Moreover, livestock constituted a major part of the wealth of the time, and the pasturing of flocks required considerable mobility, since the animals lived as foragers and were not, for the most part, fed grain from the laboriously worked fields. Furthermore, there were at that time no towns or even villages where artifacts might accumulate over a considerable period of time. At the most there were quasi-permanent encampments such as the royal sites of Cruachan and Emain Macha.
Early History
.Relics from the Stone Age lead to the conclusion that Ireland is 8,000 years old, the first settlers probably travelling from Scandinavia to Scotland (at that time England was still linked by land to northern Europe) then across what was a narrow sea gap to Ireland. These early settlers became the Tribes of Firbolg and Tuatha De Dannann when they were invaded by the Milesius of Spain around 1,000 B.C.. Today's Irish Race is a combination of the three-above mentioned tribes known as the one Celtic Race. After the Bronze Age and during the Iron Age around 400 A.D., brought about new technologies . The large Roman Empire stopped short of Ireland although dominating most of Europe. The Vikings began invasions of Ireland in the 9th Century. In 1171 King Henry of England asserted sovereignty with the building of abbey-churches and castles. Later, Henry VIII added the title of "King Of Ireland" although the Reformation falling short of it's intentions of pure English control. By the mid-16 century, the first plantation policy took effect which led to redistribution of wealth and suppression of Catholicism. Farms lands were confiscated from Catholics and given to Protestant settlers. By the mid-17th century Charles Cromwell and his puritan forces supervised destruction of key parts of Ireland, leaving the Irish resistance in shambles. In 1690 Protestant William of Orange beat his father-in-law, James II, over succession of the British throne. In 1800 the Irish parliament was abolished forming the Act of Union which was the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
Geography
Ireland, Republic of (Gaelic Éire), republic comprising about five-sixths of the island of Ireland. the country consists of the provinces of Leinster, Munster, and Connaught (Connacht) and part of the province of Ulster. the rest of Ulster, which occupies the north-eastern part of the island, constitutes Northern Ireland, a constituent part of Great Britain. the republic has a total area of 70,283 sq km (27,136 sq mi).
Population
The population of Ireland is predominantly of Celtic origin No significant ethnic minorities exist. Characteristics of the population of the Irish Republic is 3,540,643., giving the country an overall population density of about 50 persons per sq km (about 129 per sq mi). The population decreased from the 1840s, when about 6.5 million persons lived in the area included in the republic, until about 1970, largely because of a high emigration rate. In the 1980's, the population increased at an annual rate of only 0.5%. About 57% of the population live in urban areas.
Cities & Counties
For administrative purposes, Ireland is divided into 27 counties, most of which are described in separate articles, and 5 county boroughs, which are coextensive with the cities of Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, and Waterford. The following counties are in Ireland: Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois (Laoighis), Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath, Wexford, and Wicklow, in Leinster Province; Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary North Riding, Tipperary South Riding, and Waterford, in Munster Province; Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Roscommon, and Sligo, in Connaught (Connacht) Province; and Cavan, Donegal, and Monaghan, in Ulster Province. The capital and largest city is Dublin, with a population of 920,956. Cork is the second largest city and a major port, with a population of 173,694. Other cities and towns, important primarily as trading centres for produce, with their population figures include Limerick (76,557) and Waterford (41,054).
Religion and Language
About 94% of the people of Ireland are Roman Catholics, and less than 4% are Protestants. Protestant groups include the Church of Ireland (Anglican) and the Presbyterian and Methodist denominations. Freedom of worship is guaranteed by the constitution. Almost all the people speak English, and about one-fourth also speak Irish, a Gaelic language that is the traditional tongue of Ireland. Irish is spoken as the vernacular by a relatively small number of people, however, mostly in areas of the west. The constitution provides for both Irish and English as official languages.
Education
Irish influence on Western education began 14 centuries ago. From the 6th to the 8th century, when western Europe was largely illiterate, nearly 1000 Irish missionaries travelled to England and the Continent to teach Christianity. During the early Middle Ages, Irish missionaries founded monasteries that achieved extensive cultural influence; the monastery at Sankt Gallen (Saint Gall), Switzerland, is especially famous for its contributions to education and literature. Classical studies flowered in ancient Ireland. Distinctive also at the time were the schools of writers and other learned men who traveled from town to town, teaching their arts to students. The schools, an important part of Irish education, were suppressed in the 16th century by Henry VIII, king of England. University education in Ireland began with the founding of the University of Dublin, or Trinity College, in 1592. The National University of Ireland, established in 1908 in Dublin, has constituent university colleges in Cork, Dublin, and Galway; another leading college is Saint Patrick's College (1795), in Maynooth, affiliated with the National University. The Irish language has been taught in all government-subsidized schools since 1922, but fewer than 10,000 pupils speak it as their first language. Ireland has a free public school system, with attendance compulsory for all children between 6 and 15 years of age. In the late 1980s some 574,000 pupils were enrolled annually in about 3440 elementary schools. Secondary schools, primarily operated by religious orders and largely subsidized by the state, numbered nearly 600, with an annual enrolment of approximately 234,000. Yearly enrolment at universities and colleges total about 59,500. Ireland also has several state-subsidized training colleges, various technical colleges in the larger communities, and a network of winter classes that provide agriculture instruction for rural inhabitants.
Culture & the Arts
It is probable that Ireland was first occupied by Neolithic people, users of flint, and then by the small, dark, warlike people from the Mediterranean, users of bronze, who are known in legend as the Firbolgs. Later came the Picts, also an immigrant people of the Bronze Age. Extensive traces of the culture of this early period survive in the form of stone monuments (menhirs, dolmens, and cromlechs) and stone forts, dating from 2000 to 1000 bc. During the Iron Age, the Celtic invasion (circa 350 bc) introduced a new cultural strain into Ireland, one that was to predominate. The oldest relics of the Celtic (Gaelic) language can be seen in the 5th-century Ogham stone inscriptions in county Kerry. Ireland was Christianized by St. Patrick in the 5th century. The churches and monasteries founded by him and his successors became the fountainhead from which Christian art and refinement permeated the crude and warlike Celtic way of life. Ireland is famous for its contributions to world literature (see Gaelic Literature; Irish Literature). Two great mythological cycles in Gaelic—the Ulster (Red Branch) and the Fenian (Ossianic)—tell the stories of such legendary heroes as Cś Chulainn (Cuchulain), Maeve Medb), Finn mac Cumhail (Finn MacCool), and Deirdre. After a long and bitter colonization by England, Ireland gave the world some of the greatest writers in the English language, including Jonathan Swift, Oliver Goldsmith, and George Bernard Shaw. Associated with the struggle for independence in this century is the Irish literary revival, which produced the works of William Butler Yeats and Sean O'Casey. James Joyce was a formative influence on much of later 20th-century European literature. Saint Patrick's Day, March 17, is the most important national holiday in Ireland. The national sports are hurling, a strenuous game similar to field hockey, and Gaelic football, which resembles soccer. Horse racing is a highly popular spectator sport throughout the republic. From the 5th to the 9th century the Irish monasteries produced artworks of world renown, primarily in the form of illuminated manuscripts. The greatest such work is the Book of Kells, which has some of the most beautiful calligraphy of the Middle Ages (see Celts: Art). Native art seems to have disappeared during the period of English domination, but after the 17th century a number of Irish painters and sculptors achieved fame. The Irish painters George Barret (1732-84), James Barry (1741-1806), and Nathaniel Hone (1718-84) were cofounders, with Sir Joshua Reynolds, of the Royal Academy in 1768. James Arthur O'Connor (1791-1812) was a noted landscape artist of his period, and Daniel Maclise (1806-70) painted the magnificent frescoes in the Royal Gallery of the House of Lords. Notable among Irish painters of the 19th century were Nathaniel Hone, Jr. (1831-1917), and Walter F. Osborne (1859-1903). More recently, the expressionist painter Jack B. Yeats (1871-1957), the cubist painter Mainie Jellett (1897-1944), and the stained-glass artist Evie Hone (1894-1955) have achieved widespread recognition and acclaim for their work. rish harpers were known throughout Europe as early as the 12th century. The most celebrated of these was the blind Torlogh O'Carolan, or Carolan (1670-1738), who composed about 200 songs on varied themes, many of which were published in Dublin in 1720. About the same time, an annual folk festival called the face was instituted, devoted to the preservation and encouragement of harping. Irish folk music ranges from lullabies to drinking songs, and many variations and nuances of tempo, rhythm, and tonality are used. At the Belfast Harpers' Festival in 1792, Edward Bunting (1773-1843) made a collection of traditional Irish songs and melodies, which he published in 1796. Thomas Moore, the great Irish poet, made extensive use of Bunting's work in his well-known Irish Melodies, first published in 1807. Classical forms of music were not widely known in Ireland until the 18th century. Pianist John Field was the first Irish composer to win international renown, with his nocturnes. Michael William Balfe (1808-70) is well known for his opera The Bohemian Girl. Among the most prominent of Irish performing artists was the concert and operatic tenor John McCormack. The most important Irish libraries and museums are in Dublin. The National Library of Ireland, with more than 500,000 volumes, is the largest public library in the country. Trinity College Library, founded in 1601, contains about 2.8 million volumes, including the Book of Kells. Together with exhibits in the fields of art, industry, and natural history, and representative collections of Irish silver, glass, textiles and lace, the National Museum houses outstanding specimens of the remarkable metal craftsmanship of the early Christian period in Ireland, including the Tara Brooch, the Ardagh Chalice, and the Moylough Bell Shrine (all dating from the 8th century), as well as the Lismore Crozier and the Cross of Cong (both 12th century). The National Gallery in Dublin has an admirable collection of paintings of all schools. Most cities have public libraries and small museums. Interest in the theatre is strong in Ireland. The famed Abbey Theatre and the Gale Theatre, both in Dublin, receive government grants. The Arts Council, a body appointed by the prime minister, gives grants to arts organizations and publishers; the Gael-Linn promotes the Irish language and culture.
Economy
The economy of Ireland has been traditionally agricultural. Since the mid-1950s, however, the country's industrial base has expanded, and now mining, manufacturing, construction, and public utilities account for approximately 37% of the gross domestic product and agriculture for only about 12%. Private enterprise operates in most sectors of the economy. The agricultural enterprise producing the most income is animal husbandry. In the late 1980s livestock included some 5.6 million cattle, 4.3 million sheep, 960,000 hogs, and 55,000 horses. Poultry production is also important. The principal field crops are wheat, barley, oats, and potatoes. Among other important crops are hay, turnips, and sugar beets. The best farmlands are found in the east and southeast. The government of Ireland has undertaken extensive schemes of reforestation in an effort to reduce the country's dependence on timber imports and to provide raw material for new paper mills and related industries. In the late 1980s forestland occupied nearly 5% of Ireland's total area; the annual output of round wood was 1.2 million cu m (42.3 million cu ft). The fishing industry, which has traditionally been underdeveloped, is expanding; the annual catch in the late 1980s was some 247,400 metric tons. Deep-sea catches include herring, cod, mackerel, whiting, and plaice. Crustaceans, particularly lobsters, crawfish, and prawns, and such molluscs as oysters and periwinkles, are plentiful in coastal waters and form the bulk of the country's seafood exports. The inland rivers and lakes provide excellent fishing for salmon, trout, eel, and several varieties of coarse fish. Although mining plays a relatively minor role in the Irish economy, discoveries of new deposits in recent decades have led to a considerable expansion of mineral production. Annual mineral output in the late 1980s included about 45,000 metric tons of coal, 177,000 metric tons of zinc, and 33,800 metric tons of lead. Ireland is one of the leading exporters of lead and zinc in Europe. Natural gas is extracted off the south-western coast; yearly output in the mid-1980s was 1.6 billion cu m (56.5 billion cu ft). Peat is dug in large quantities for domestic and industrial fuel and also for horticultural purposes; annual output in the late 1980s was 6.3 million tons. Ireland has diversified manufacturing, most of it developed since 1930. Among the food-processing industries, the most important are meat packing, brewing and distilling, grain milling, sugar refining, and the manufacture of dairy products, margarine, confections, and jam. Other important manufactured articles include office machinery and data-processing equipment; electrical machinery; tobacco products; woolen and worsted goods; clothing; cement; furniture; soap; candles; building materials; footwear; cotton, rayon, and linen textiles; hosiery; paper; leather; machinery; refined petroleum; and chemicals. The Irish pound (0.7 pounds equal U.S.$1; 1998) is the basic unit of currency, and is one of the strongest currencies in the world having gained 30% against the mighty US Dollar in the nineties. Before March 1979, the Irish pound was exchangeable at a par with the British pound sterling. The Central Bank of Ireland, established in 1942, is the bank of issue. Associated with the Central Bank are the leading commercial (or associated) banks with their networks of local branches. Mergers have reduced the number of these associated banks. On the other hand, the number of merchant banking houses has increased, and leading North American and continental European banks now have offices in Dublin. Trustee banks and the Post Office Savings Bank mainly serve small individual accounts. Commerce and Trade:Dublin and Cork are the manufacturing, financial, and commercial centres of Ireland. Dublin is the most important seaport; Cork is the main port for transatlantic passenger travel. Other significant ports include Dśn Laoghaire, Waterford, Rosslare, and Limerick. Ireland became a member of the European Community (EC) in 1973, thus expanding the market for the country's important agricultural exports. Imports in the late 1980s totaled about $14.6 billion annually, and exports, including re exports, about $18.4 billion. The major trading partners of Ireland include Great Britain, Germany, the United States, France, and Japan. The most important exports include electric and electronic equipment, livestock, meat, dairy products, chemicals, and textiles and clothing; about two-thirds of all exports are to EC countries. Imports are primarily machinery, transport equipment, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, cereals and foodstuffs, textiles, and iron and steel. Tourism has been effectively promoted and has increased steadily in importance. By the late 1980s, some 2.7 million tourists annually generated approximately $1 billion for the economy of Ireland. Transportation and Communications: Ireland has 2700 km (1680 mi) of railway track, all operated by the state-owned Irish Transport Company and linking all important points on the island. The highway system totals about 92,300 km (about 57,350 mi), of which about 94% was paved. Navigable inland waterways total about 435 km (about 270 mi). International airports are located at Shannon, Dublin, and Cork, and several international air-transport systems provide regular service between Ireland and major cities throughout the world. All postal, telegraph, telephone, and broadcasting services are operated by government agencies or statutory bodies. In the mid-1980s about 942,000 telephones were in use. Radio Telefķs Éireann, the public broadcasting authority, operated three radio channels and two television channels. In the late 1980s radios in use numbered about 2.1 million and television receivers, approximately 937,000. Labor: In the late 1980s the total laborforces was about 1.3 million, of which approximately 13% was engaged in agriculture, forestry, and fishing. Some 667,000 workers in both the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland are members of unions affiliated with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.
Government
The government of Ireland is based on the constitution of 1937, as amended. This document proclaims Ireland a sovereign, independent, democratic state. The constitution also defines the national territory as the whole of Ireland. The country became a republic in 1949. Executive power under the Irish constitution is vested in the government (cabinet), consisting of about 15 members. The government, responsible to the lower house of the national legislature, is headed by the taoiseach, or prime minister. This official is nominated by the lower house and appointed by the president. The members of the government head the various administrative departments, or ministries. They are nominated by the prime minister and, subject to the approval of the lower house, appointed by the president. The president of Ireland is the head of state and is elected by direct popular vote for a 7-year term. Legislative authority is vested in a bicameral legislature known as the Oireachtas. This is composed of a 166-member lower house, or Dįil Éireann, and a 60-member senate, or Seanad Éireann. The members of the Dįil are elected for terms of up to five years by proportional representation. Eleven members of the senate are selected by the prime minister and six members are elected by the universities. The remaining 43 members of the senate are elected by an electoral college consisting of about 900 members from the county borough councils, county councils, the Dįil, and the senate. The elected members of the senate are chosen from candidates representing national culture, labor, agriculture and fisheries, public administration and social services, and commerce and industry. The senate may not veto legislation enacted by the Dįil and is otherwise restricted in authority. Judicial authority in Ireland is vested in a supreme court, a high court, a court of criminal appeal, and circuit and district courts. All of the judges of these courts are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the government. The system of proportional representation by which members are elected to the Dįil favors a multiplicity of political parties representing special interests. In recent years, however, four parties have emerged as the most powerful: Fianna Fįil, Fine Gael, the Progressive Democrats. and Labour. Local Government: County councils, county borough corporations, borough corporations, urban district councils, and town commissioners are charged with responsibility for most locally administered services , including health and sanitation, housing, water supply, and libraries. Members are elected to these local bodies by popular vote, generally for 5-year terms. Local executive organization is based on the manager system. A central appointments commission in Dublin chooses the executive manager of local authorities by examination. Local government generally is supervised by the department of local government.
Health and Welfare
Irleand history
Ireland is a beautiful island that is washed and influenced by the Atlantic Ocean in the west it is known for its gorgeous landscape, the green hillsides and the rocky coastline. Thanks to the influence of the Gulf Stream, it is warm there through the year and it gets much rain and sun it is often called the Emerald Island because it is green all the year round. Filmmakers from all over the world have used the beautiful landscape of the island since film-making started.
The Archaeology of Ancient Ireland
Prehistoric Ireland. Little remains of Irish dwellings that predates the sixth century a.d. The abundance of wood and the difficulty of working stone with primitive tools undoubtedly accounts in part for this. In addition, the primitive farming practice of depleting the fields and then moving on to new ones made the laborious erection of a permanent stone dwelling unfeasible. Moreover, livestock constituted a major part of the wealth of the time, and the pasturing of flocks required considerable mobility, since the animals lived as foragers and were not, for the most part, fed grain from the laboriously worked fields. Furthermore, there were at that time no towns or even villages where artifacts might accumulate over a considerable period of time. At the most there were quasi-permanent encampments such as the royal sites of Cruachan and Emain Macha.
Early History
.Relics from the Stone Age lead to the conclusion that Ireland is 8,000 years old, the first settlers probably travelling from Scandinavia to Scotland (at that time England was still linked by land to northern Europe) then across what was a narrow sea gap to Ireland. These early settlers became the Tribes of Firbolg and Tuatha De Dannann when they were invaded by the Milesius of Spain around 1,000 B.C.. Today's Irish Race is a combination of the three-above mentioned tribes known as the one Celtic Race. After the Bronze Age and during the Iron Age around 400 A.D., brought about new technologies . The large Roman Empire stopped short of Ireland although dominating most of Europe. The Vikings began invasions of Ireland in the 9th Century. In 1171 King Henry of England asserted sovereignty with the building of abbey-churches and castles. Later, Henry VIII added the title of "King Of Ireland" although the Reformation falling short of it's intentions of pure English control. By the mid-16 century, the first plantation policy took effect which led to redistribution of wealth and suppression of Catholicism. Farms lands were confiscated from Catholics and given to Protestant settlers. By the mid-17th century Charles Cromwell and his puritan forces supervised destruction of key parts of Ireland, leaving the Irish resistance in shambles. In 1690 Protestant William of Orange beat his father-in-law, James II, over succession of the British throne. In 1800 the Irish parliament was abolished forming the Act of Union which was the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
Geography
Ireland, Republic of (Gaelic Éire), republic comprising about five-sixths of the island of Ireland. the country consists of the provinces of Leinster, Munster, and Connaught (Connacht) and part of the province of Ulster. the rest of Ulster, which occupies the north-eastern part of the island, constitutes Northern Ireland, a constituent part of Great Britain. the republic has a total area of 70,283 sq km (27,136 sq mi).
Population
The population of Ireland is predominantly of Celtic origin No significant ethnic minorities exist. Characteristics of the population of the Irish Republic is 3,540,643., giving the country an overall population density of about 50 persons per sq km (about 129 per sq mi). The population decreased from the 1840s, when about 6.5 million persons lived in the area included in the republic, until about 1970, largely because of a high emigration rate. In the 1980's, the population increased at an annual rate of only 0.5%. About 57% of the population live in urban areas.
Cities & Counties
For administrative purposes, Ireland is divided into 27 counties, most of which are described in separate articles, and 5 county boroughs, which are coextensive with the cities of Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, and Waterford. The following counties are in Ireland: Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois (Laoighis), Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath, Wexford, and Wicklow, in Leinster Province; Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary North Riding, Tipperary South Riding, and Waterford, in Munster Province; Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Roscommon, and Sligo, in Connaught (Connacht) Province; and Cavan, Donegal, and Monaghan, in Ulster Province. The capital and largest city is Dublin, with a population of 920,956. Cork is the second largest city and a major port, with a population of 173,694. Other cities and towns, important primarily as trading centres for produce, with their population figures include Limerick (76,557) and Waterford (41,054).
Religion and Language
About 94% of the people of Ireland are Roman Catholics, and less than 4% are Protestants. Protestant groups include the Church of Ireland (Anglican) and the Presbyterian and Methodist denominations. Freedom of worship is guaranteed by the constitution. Almost all the people speak English, and about one-fourth also speak Irish, a Gaelic language that is the traditional tongue of Ireland. Irish is spoken as the vernacular by a relatively small number of people, however, mostly in areas of the west. The constitution provides for both Irish and English as official languages.
Education
Irish influence on Western education began 14 centuries ago. From the 6th to the 8th century, when western Europe was largely illiterate, nearly 1000 Irish missionaries travelled to England and the Continent to teach Christianity. During the early Middle Ages, Irish missionaries founded monasteries that achieved extensive cultural influence; the monastery at Sankt Gallen (Saint Gall), Switzerland, is especially famous for its contributions to education and literature. Classical studies flowered in ancient Ireland. Distinctive also at the time were the schools of writers and other learned men who traveled from town to town, teaching their arts to students. The schools, an important part of Irish education, were suppressed in the 16th century by Henry VIII, king of England. University education in Ireland began with the founding of the University of Dublin, or Trinity College, in 1592. The National University of Ireland, established in 1908 in Dublin, has constituent university colleges in Cork, Dublin, and Galway; another leading college is Saint Patrick's College (1795), in Maynooth, affiliated with the National University. The Irish language has been taught in all government-subsidized schools since 1922, but fewer than 10,000 pupils speak it as their first language. Ireland has a free public school system, with attendance compulsory for all children between 6 and 15 years of age. In the late 1980s some 574,000 pupils were enrolled annually in about 3440 elementary schools. Secondary schools, primarily operated by religious orders and largely subsidized by the state, numbered nearly 600, with an annual enrolment of approximately 234,000. Yearly enrolment at universities and colleges total about 59,500. Ireland also has several state-subsidized training colleges, various technical colleges in the larger communities, and a network of winter classes that provide agriculture instruction for rural inhabitants.
Culture & the Arts
It is probable that Ireland was first occupied by Neolithic people, users of flint, and then by the small, dark, warlike people from the Mediterranean, users of bronze, who are known in legend as the Firbolgs. Later came the Picts, also an immigrant people of the Bronze Age. Extensive traces of the culture of this early period survive in the form of stone monuments (menhirs, dolmens, and cromlechs) and stone forts, dating from 2000 to 1000 bc. During the Iron Age, the Celtic invasion (circa 350 bc) introduced a new cultural strain into Ireland, one that was to predominate. The oldest relics of the Celtic (Gaelic) language can be seen in the 5th-century Ogham stone inscriptions in county Kerry. Ireland was Christianized by St. Patrick in the 5th century. The churches and monasteries founded by him and his successors became the fountainhead from which Christian art and refinement permeated the crude and warlike Celtic way of life. Ireland is famous for its contributions to world literature (see Gaelic Literature; Irish Literature). Two great mythological cycles in Gaelic—the Ulster (Red Branch) and the Fenian (Ossianic)—tell the stories of such legendary heroes as Cś Chulainn (Cuchulain), Maeve Medb), Finn mac Cumhail (Finn MacCool), and Deirdre. After a long and bitter colonization by England, Ireland gave the world some of the greatest writers in the English language, including Jonathan Swift, Oliver Goldsmith, and George Bernard Shaw. Associated with the struggle for independence in this century is the Irish literary revival, which produced the works of William Butler Yeats and Sean O'Casey. James Joyce was a formative influence on much of later 20th-century European literature. Saint Patrick's Day, March 17, is the most important national holiday in Ireland. The national sports are hurling, a strenuous game similar to field hockey, and Gaelic football, which resembles soccer. Horse racing is a highly popular spectator sport throughout the republic. From the 5th to the 9th century the Irish monasteries produced artworks of world renown, primarily in the form of illuminated manuscripts. The greatest such work is the Book of Kells, which has some of the most beautiful calligraphy of the Middle Ages (see Celts: Art). Native art seems to have disappeared during the period of English domination, but after the 17th century a number of Irish painters and sculptors achieved fame. The Irish painters George Barret (1732-84), James Barry (1741-1806), and Nathaniel Hone (1718-84) were cofounders, with Sir Joshua Reynolds, of the Royal Academy in 1768. James Arthur O'Connor (1791-1812) was a noted landscape artist of his period, and Daniel Maclise (1806-70) painted the magnificent frescoes in the Royal Gallery of the House of Lords. Notable among Irish painters of the 19th century were Nathaniel Hone, Jr. (1831-1917), and Walter F. Osborne (1859-1903). More recently, the expressionist painter Jack B. Yeats (1871-1957), the cubist painter Mainie Jellett (1897-1944), and the stained-glass artist Evie Hone (1894-1955) have achieved widespread recognition and acclaim for their work. rish harpers were known throughout Europe as early as the 12th century. The most celebrated of these was the blind Torlogh O'Carolan, or Carolan (1670-1738), who composed about 200 songs on varied themes, many of which were published in Dublin in 1720. About the same time, an annual folk festival called the face was instituted, devoted to the preservation and encouragement of harping. Irish folk music ranges from lullabies to drinking songs, and many variations and nuances of tempo, rhythm, and tonality are used. At the Belfast Harpers' Festival in 1792, Edward Bunting (1773-1843) made a collection of traditional Irish songs and melodies, which he published in 1796. Thomas Moore, the great Irish poet, made extensive use of Bunting's work in his well-known Irish Melodies, first published in 1807. Classical forms of music were not widely known in Ireland until the 18th century. Pianist John Field was the first Irish composer to win international renown, with his nocturnes. Michael William Balfe (1808-70) is well known for his opera The Bohemian Girl. Among the most prominent of Irish performing artists was the concert and operatic tenor John McCormack. The most important Irish libraries and museums are in Dublin. The National Library of Ireland, with more than 500,000 volumes, is the largest public library in the country. Trinity College Library, founded in 1601, contains about 2.8 million volumes, including the Book of Kells. Together with exhibits in the fields of art, industry, and natural history, and representative collections of Irish silver, glass, textiles and lace, the National Museum houses outstanding specimens of the remarkable metal craftsmanship of the early Christian period in Ireland, including the Tara Brooch, the Ardagh Chalice, and the Moylough Bell Shrine (all dating from the 8th century), as well as the Lismore Crozier and the Cross of Cong (both 12th century). The National Gallery in Dublin has an admirable collection of paintings of all schools. Most cities have public libraries and small museums. Interest in the theatre is strong in Ireland. The famed Abbey Theatre and the Gale Theatre, both in Dublin, receive government grants. The Arts Council, a body appointed by the prime minister, gives grants to arts organizations and publishers; the Gael-Linn promotes the Irish language and culture.
Economy
The economy of Ireland has been traditionally agricultural. Since the mid-1950s, however, the country's industrial base has expanded, and now mining, manufacturing, construction, and public utilities account for approximately 37% of the gross domestic product and agriculture for only about 12%. Private enterprise operates in most sectors of the economy. The agricultural enterprise producing the most income is animal husbandry. In the late 1980s livestock included some 5.6 million cattle, 4.3 million sheep, 960,000 hogs, and 55,000 horses. Poultry production is also important. The principal field crops are wheat, barley, oats, and potatoes. Among other important crops are hay, turnips, and sugar beets. The best farmlands are found in the east and southeast. The government of Ireland has undertaken extensive schemes of reforestation in an effort to reduce the country's dependence on timber imports and to provide raw material for new paper mills and related industries. In the late 1980s forestland occupied nearly 5% of Ireland's total area; the annual output of round wood was 1.2 million cu m (42.3 million cu ft). The fishing industry, which has traditionally been underdeveloped, is expanding; the annual catch in the late 1980s was some 247,400 metric tons. Deep-sea catches include herring, cod, mackerel, whiting, and plaice. Crustaceans, particularly lobsters, crawfish, and prawns, and such molluscs as oysters and periwinkles, are plentiful in coastal waters and form the bulk of the country's seafood exports. The inland rivers and lakes provide excellent fishing for salmon, trout, eel, and several varieties of coarse fish. Although mining plays a relatively minor role in the Irish economy, discoveries of new deposits in recent decades have led to a considerable expansion of mineral production. Annual mineral output in the late 1980s included about 45,000 metric tons of coal, 177,000 metric tons of zinc, and 33,800 metric tons of lead. Ireland is one of the leading exporters of lead and zinc in Europe. Natural gas is extracted off the south-western coast; yearly output in the mid-1980s was 1.6 billion cu m (56.5 billion cu ft). Peat is dug in large quantities for domestic and industrial fuel and also for horticultural purposes; annual output in the late 1980s was 6.3 million tons. Ireland has diversified manufacturing, most of it developed since 1930. Among the food-processing industries, the most important are meat packing, brewing and distilling, grain milling, sugar refining, and the manufacture of dairy products, margarine, confections, and jam. Other important manufactured articles include office machinery and data-processing equipment; electrical machinery; tobacco products; woolen and worsted goods; clothing; cement; furniture; soap; candles; building materials; footwear; cotton, rayon, and linen textiles; hosiery; paper; leather; machinery; refined petroleum; and chemicals. The Irish pound (0.7 pounds equal U.S.$1; 1998) is the basic unit of currency, and is one of the strongest currencies in the world having gained 30% against the mighty US Dollar in the nineties. Before March 1979, the Irish pound was exchangeable at a par with the British pound sterling. The Central Bank of Ireland, established in 1942, is the bank of issue. Associated with the Central Bank are the leading commercial (or associated) banks with their networks of local branches. Mergers have reduced the number of these associated banks. On the other hand, the number of merchant banking houses has increased, and leading North American and continental European banks now have offices in Dublin. Trustee banks and the Post Office Savings Bank mainly serve small individual accounts. Commerce and Trade:Dublin and Cork are the manufacturing, financial, and commercial centres of Ireland. Dublin is the most important seaport; Cork is the main port for transatlantic passenger travel. Other significant ports include Dśn Laoghaire, Waterford, Rosslare, and Limerick. Ireland became a member of the European Community (EC) in 1973, thus expanding the market for the country's important agricultural exports. Imports in the late 1980s totaled about $14.6 billion annually, and exports, including re exports, about $18.4 billion. The major trading partners of Ireland include Great Britain, Germany, the United States, France, and Japan. The most important exports include electric and electronic equipment, livestock, meat, dairy products, chemicals, and textiles and clothing; about two-thirds of all exports are to EC countries. Imports are primarily machinery, transport equipment, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, cereals and foodstuffs, textiles, and iron and steel. Tourism has been effectively promoted and has increased steadily in importance. By the late 1980s, some 2.7 million tourists annually generated approximately $1 billion for the economy of Ireland. Transportation and Communications: Ireland has 2700 km (1680 mi) of railway track, all operated by the state-owned Irish Transport Company and linking all important points on the island. The highway system totals about 92,300 km (about 57,350 mi), of which about 94% was paved. Navigable inland waterways total about 435 km (about 270 mi). International airports are located at Shannon, Dublin, and Cork, and several international air-transport systems provide regular service between Ireland and major cities throughout the world. All postal, telegraph, telephone, and broadcasting services are operated by government agencies or statutory bodies. In the mid-1980s about 942,000 telephones were in use. Radio Telefķs Éireann, the public broadcasting authority, operated three radio channels and two television channels. In the late 1980s radios in use numbered about 2.1 million and television receivers, approximately 937,000. Labor: In the late 1980s the total laborforces was about 1.3 million, of which approximately 13% was engaged in agriculture, forestry, and fishing. Some 667,000 workers in both the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland are members of unions affiliated with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.
Government
The government of Ireland is based on the constitution of 1937, as amended. This document proclaims Ireland a sovereign, independent, democratic state. The constitution also defines the national territory as the whole of Ireland. The country became a republic in 1949. Executive power under the Irish constitution is vested in the government (cabinet), consisting of about 15 members. The government, responsible to the lower house of the national legislature, is headed by the taoiseach, or prime minister. This official is nominated by the lower house and appointed by the president. The members of the government head the various administrative departments, or ministries. They are nominated by the prime minister and, subject to the approval of the lower house, appointed by the president. The president of Ireland is the head of state and is elected by direct popular vote for a 7-year term. Legislative authority is vested in a bicameral legislature known as the Oireachtas. This is composed of a 166-member lower house, or Dįil Éireann, and a 60-member senate, or Seanad Éireann. The members of the Dįil are elected for terms of up to five years by proportional representation. Eleven members of the senate are selected by the prime minister and six members are elected by the universities. The remaining 43 members of the senate are elected by an electoral college consisting of about 900 members from the county borough councils, county councils, the Dįil, and the senate. The elected members of the senate are chosen from candidates representing national culture, labor, agriculture and fisheries, public administration and social services, and commerce and industry. The senate may not veto legislation enacted by the Dįil and is otherwise restricted in authority. Judicial authority in Ireland is vested in a supreme court, a high court, a court of criminal appeal, and circuit and district courts. All of the judges of these courts are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the government. The system of proportional representation by which members are elected to the Dįil favors a multiplicity of political parties representing special interests. In recent years, however, four parties have emerged as the most powerful: Fianna Fįil, Fine Gael, the Progressive Democrats. and Labour. Local Government: County councils, county borough corporations, borough corporations, urban district councils, and town commissioners are charged with responsibility for most locally administered services , including health and sanitation, housing, water supply, and libraries. Members are elected to these local bodies by popular vote, generally for 5-year terms. Local executive organization is based on the manager system. A central appointments commission in Dublin chooses the executive manager of local authorities by examination. Local government generally is supervised by the department of local government.
Health and Welfare
Most health services are provided free of charge for low-income groups and at moderate charges for others, through local and national agencies. The department of health administers all official health services. A nonprofit, contributory voluntary health insurance scheme is administered by an independent statutory agency. The department of social welfare administers the official compulsory insurance and assistance programs, which include pensions for the aged, widows, and orphans; children's allowances; unemployment benefits; and other social security schemes. Defence: The total strength of the permanent Irish defence force, including all army, navy, and air corps personnel, is about 13,000. The reserve defence force numbers about 16,100. Enlistment for all services is voluntary.