Autor: Andreas Ringel

I r e l a n d

1. History

- ca. 8000 BC: according to local legends Ireland was inhabited first by various tribes
- these tribes came from Scotland
- before the 4th century AD little is known with certainty of Ireland′s inhabitants
- although Ireland is mentioned under the name of Ierne in a Greek poem of the 5th century BC and by the names of Hibernia and Juverna by different classical writers
- one reason, that there is almost nothing, which tells us sth. about the early Irish history, could be that the Ireland was not economical for the Roman
- in 500 BC the Celts subjugated the island
- they brought with them a higher developed culture
- King MacNeill reigned 428-63
- during this reign St. Patrick landed in Ireland
- he attempted to convert the natives
- although Christianity had been previously introduced in some parts of Ireland, Patrick encountered great obstacles
- home of St. Patrick: map
- founded cathedral in Armagh: card
- and the new faith was not fully established in the island until a century after his death (circa 461)
- in the 6th century extensive monasteries were founded in Ireland
- these foundations brought with them many missionaries
- many students of distinction from England and the Continent visited Ireland to further their education
- in the end of 8^th century there were many invasions of the Normans
- they destroyed monasteries e.g and so they ended the first climax of the Irish culture
- these Vikings established many settlements on the east coast of Ireland
- e.g. Dublin in 841
- and they conducted raids in the interior until they were defeated at the Battle of Clontarf, near Dublin, in 1014, by the Irish King Brian Boru
- 1171/72 Henry intervened in Ireland with a his army - he should prevent a growing Anglo-Norman State
- in 1300 ca. two third of Ireland was in the hand of England now
- in 1314 Edward Bruce, the younger brother of Robert Bruce, the King of Scotland, invaded in Ireland to defeat the English - without success
- though the invasion failed, it came to a general decrease of the English power in Ireland
- the descendants of the most powerful Anglo-Norman settlers in Ireland take over the Irish language, habits and laws
- therefore the Anglo-Irish Parliament passed, in 1366, the Statute of Kilkenny to counteract this development
- 1494 "Poyning Law" was passed (a bill has to be signed by the King) by Lord Edward Poyning, King
- 1536 Henry VII. became King of England
- he wanted to introduce a reformation into Ireland in 1537
- the dissolution of the monasteries was begun, later relics and images were destroyed and the dissolution was completed
- 1541 Henry became King of Ireland he began his direct reign over whole Ireland with the "Poyning Law"
- in the beginning of the 17^th century there were many battles: the Irish soldier Hugh O′Neill defeated an English army on the Blackwater
- in 1603 O′Neill was defeated by the English finally
- During the war the greatest cruelty and treachery were practiced on both sides
- in order to destroy Irish resistance, the English devastated villages, crops, and cattle, putting many people to death
- the greater part of Munster and Ulster was destroyed, and in this time more inhabitants died from hunger than from war
- 1641 there were rebellions against the English, therefore it came to bloody massacres in 1649
- 1690 Battle of the Boyne - catholic James II.(King of Eng) was defeated
- Penal Laws were passed, which directed mainly against the Roman Catholics
- in the 18^th century "Poyning Law" was retracted and other laws that disadvantage the Catholics
- 1782 the British acknowledge the Irish parliament, but it consists only of Protestants
- these Protestants did not want to give the Catholics the permission to vote
- it again came to rebellions that were smashed by the English
- January 1^st 1801 declaration of the "United Kingdom of England and Ireland" also called: "Act of Union"
- 1823 foundation of the "Catholic Association" by Daniel O′Connell
- he forced the equal rights for the Catholics
- 1832 reform of the British Parliament, that increased the number of Irish members from 100 to 105, it gave the middle class more power
- 1845-1850 disastrous famine in Ireland, with the result: 1 Mio. people died and 3 Mio. people were forced to emigrate
- the population of Ireland sank from 8 Mio. to 4 Mio. in this time
- in the last 35 years of the 19th century many ecclesiastical and agrarian reforms were effected in the country
- in 1886 a Home Rule Bill by Prime Minister William Gladstone should resolve the Irish question - the bill would have given the Irish Parliament the right to appoint the executive of Ireland - many criticisms from England and Ireland - but it did not passed the House of Commons, and another Home Rule Bill in 1893 failed to pass the House of Lords
- 1902 Arthur Griffith, the Irish political leader and journalist, founded the Sinn Fein, which became a political party in 1905, later in 1919: they set up the IRA
- 1916: Easter Rebellion: supporter of the Sinn Fein call for Ireland to become a republic independent of Great Britain
- 1919: Sinn Fein members proclaim Ireland′s Independence, but was not accepted by the British government
- 1919-1921 War of Ireland′s Independence against the English
- result of Indep. War: foundation of the free state Ireland, but 6 counties in the Protestant North (Northern Ireland) belonged to Great Britain, and the other 26 counties would become the Irish free state
- 1937: new constitution: abolished the Irish free state and they used the Gaelic name Eire from that moment on
- 1939: WWII: Ireland declared itself an independent and neutral state
- 1949: official declaration of the Republic of Ireland, Ireland left the Commonwealth
- 1955:Ireland became member of the UN; begin of a terror campaign of the IRA, with the aim: union of Ireland and Northern Ireland
- 1968: begin of the troubles in Northern Ireland: until the year 2000 this trouble will cost the life of 3500 people
- in NI: the Catholics were the minority, they started a Civil Rights Movement
- these protests led to military operations in NI (IRA, British Army involved, and the Loyalists from NI)
- 1972: the Parliament in NI was abolished and so NI was directly reigned by Great Britain
- but in the following years there had been more and more attacks by the IRA
- in 1973 Ireland became member of the EC
- in 1994 the IRA declared that they will stop their terror actions in favor of peace talks
- in the same year the talks between members of the British government and members of the Sinn Fein started
- 1996: IRA again started to commit attacks and they stopped it in 1997
- 1998: there was the Good Friday Agreement, it is a NI-peace agreement
- in the same year the Irish politicians David Trimble and John Hume got the Peace-Nobel-prize
- 1999: with the NI Assembly: NI got autonomy
- but in 2000: it was abolished, because the peace process got into stop
- Ireland takes part in the introduction of the EURO

2. General Facts and Figures: show the flag(green-white-orange)

- area of the island Ireland: 84.431 sq km

-

Republic of Ireland

: 70.283 sq km - republic

comprise

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 northeastern part of the island,

constitutes

Northern Ireland, a constituent part of Great Britain -

Northern Ireland

: 14.148 sq km -

integral

part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, situated in the northeastern portion of the island of Ireland - Northern Ireland is bounded on the north and northeast by the

North Channel

, on the southeast by the

Irish Sea

, and on the south and west by the Republic of Ireland - it includes

Rathlin Island

in the North Channel and several smaller offshore islands - Northern Ireland is also known as Ulster, because it comprises six of the nine counties that constituted the former province of Ulster

- land

-

NI:

important sight:North Coast:

Giant′s Causeway(map+Damm der Riesen)

- rivers:

Upper Bann, Lower Bann, Foyle

, lake:

Lough Neagh(map)

-

RI

: lake:

Lough Corrib, Lough Ree, Lough Derg

, river:

Shannon(map)

- Ireland: has also name: Green Island, because 90 per cent of the country is covered by grass -

Wicklow Mountains

(RI)

- population of the island: about 5.1 Mio. people AND language

-

Republic of Ireland

: about 3.5 Mio. people - the population of Ireland is predominantly of Celtic origin - no significant ethnic minorities exist - 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 -

Northern Ireland

: about 1.6 Mio. people - the majority of the people are of Scottish or English

ancestry

and are known

commonly

as the Scotch-Irish - the

remainder

of the population is Irish, principally native to Ulster - English is the sole official language - unlike the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland does not

encourage

the use of the Gaelic language

- Religion:

-

Republic of Ireland

: About 94% of the people of Ireland are Roman Catholics, and less than 4% are Protestants - freedom of

worship

is guaranteed by the constitution -

Northern Ireland

: The population of Northern Ireland is predominantly Protestant - the largest single denomination, however, is the Roman Catholic (about 28% of the country′s total population) - much conflict between Roman Catholics and Protestants

occurred

in the 1970s and ′80s

- Principal Cities:

-

Republic of Ireland

: The capital and largest city is

Dublin

, with a population (1986, greater city) of 920,956.

Cork

is the second largest city and a major port, with a population of 173,694

(map+sights)

- Dublin Castle:

- located in Dublin′s old section
- was first built in the early 1200s
- and then rebuilt later that century and in succeeding centuries
- the castle housed the offices of the British viceroy of Ireland until 1922, when it was handed over to the newly formed Irish Free State
- today Dublin Castle is used for ceremonial functions, including the inauguration of the country′s president

- other cities and towns, important primarily as trading centers for produce, with their population figures in the 1986 census, include

Limerick

(76,557), and

Waterford

(41,054) -

Northern Ireland

: The capital and largest city of Northern Ireland is

Belfast

(population, 1991 preliminary, 279,237), which is surrounded by such substantial industries as shipbuilding and textiles

- sights: Ulster Museum, City Hall (map+sights)

- the other major city in Northern Ireland is

Londonderry

(72,334)

(map)

- Politics

- since 1937 Ireland is an independent, democratic state and since 1949 it became a republic - Executive power is

vested

in a cabinet of 15 members

_ there is a Prime Minister (head of government, appointed by the president), prime min. selects members of government, appointed by the president
_ President of Ireland is the head of state and is elected by direct popular vote for a 7-year term

- Legislature: consists of a Lower House (directly elected and now has 166 members) and of the Upper House (60 members - 11 appointed by the Prime Minister, 6 elected by

university graduates

, 43 chosen by an electoral collage of 900 representatives from local governments and the national legislature) - Judicial authority in Ireland is

vested

in a supreme court, a high court, a court of criminal appeal, central criminal court, circuit courts and district courts - supreme court is the court of final

appeal

, plays a key role in constitutionality

determinations

, Judges are appointed by the president on the

recommendation

of the government

- the most powerful parties in recent years have been Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, the Progressive Democratic party, and Labour

- NI: NI is an integral part of Great Britain
- today there are 17 members in the British House of Commons from NI
- Judicial authority in Ireland is Supreme Court of Judicature of NI
- parties: Ulster Unionist Party (governed NI from 1921-1972), but this party has split into two groups: Official Unionists and Democratic Unionists
- other important parties: Social Democratic, Labour Party, Alliance Party, Sinn Fein
- today: David Trimble - UUP head of government, Protestant

Interesting things:

- Music and Dancing:

- the Irish traditionally dance mainly with their feet without much significant movement of the arms or hands - The Chieftains is a well-known Irish folk group - they became famous by playing traditional Irish songs and melodies using traditional instruments - the Irish have also become famous for modern music - tock rock group U2 and the singer Bob Geldof are well known around the world

- Horses:

- Irish race horses are famous around the world - Ireland is well known for breeding and training excellent racehorses - most Irish horses are ponies - they are noted for their strength and temperament - donkeys are also associated with Ireland because of their strength and their ability to survive on very little food

- Sport:

- Ireland is a wet country - Irish rivers are full of fish, trout and salmon in particular - traditional Irish sports are hurling and Gaelic football - Golf is a game which originated in Scotland but it has been played in Ireland for many years

St. Patrick′s Day

- national holiday in Ireland
- is celebrated each year on March, the 17^th
- celebrated with services and parades
- it is also celebrated e.g. in the USA, there, where are Irish settlements
- it is a holiday of Saint Patrick, he is the patron saint of Ireland
- this man had great influence on the inhabitants of Ireland
- Irish version of his name is Padraic: most frequent male name
- many towns or villages have their name from him
- penance-places of Patrick Pettigo and Holy Mountain Croagh are destinations for many pilgrim journeys
- cloverleaf is one of the attributes of Patrick, today it is national symbol of Ireland and called shamrock

Other important personalities of Ireland

1. Michael Collins

- legendary leader of the rebellion 1919-1921
- in 1919 he became one of the most wanted men
- if you had killed him in that time you would have got L 10.000
- he was leader of the intelligence service of the IRA
- he financial expert and a brilliant organizer and negotiator
- he signed the treaty in 1921, that made Ireland an independent country
- he was killed in 1922

2. Eamon de Valera

- Irish politician, for 21 years Prime Minister of Ireland and for 14 years President
- he pursued the final Independence for Ireland in the 1930s
- he was Prime Min. until 1948, but he was deposed after his economical policy was not successful
- but at the age of 78 he became President of Ireland in 1959 and retired in 1973 at the age of 90, he died two years later

3. Oscar Wilde

- born in Ireland
- but he had only success outside the country
- he was an author, wrote many novels ("Lady Windermere′s Fan" (1892) and "The Importance of Being Earnest")

other Irish personalities:

- Collins, Michael
- de Valera, Eamon
- Joyce, James
- O′Connell, Daniel
- Parnell, Charles
- Swift, Jonathan
- Shaw, G.B.
- St. Patrick
- Wilde, Oscar

James Joyce:

Daniel O′Connell: politician

Charles Parnell: radical politician

Jonathan Swift: author, wrote Gulliver′s Journeys

GB Shaw: Nobel prize for literature
William B. Yeats (1923), Samuel Beckett (1969) und Seamus Heany (1995) also NP for literature