IRELANDÉire

Republic of Ireland

Julie Hoová 4.B

BASIC INFORMATION

• Capital city - Dublin• Area - 70,273 km2

• Coastline - 2,797 km• Population - 4,581,269• Density - 65,2 inhabitants per km2

• Languages - Irish, English, Ulster Scots, Shelta• Currency - Euro (EUR)

• The third largest island in Europe and twentieth largest island in the world

SYMBOLS

FLAG• A vertical tricolour of green, white

and orange

• Also known as the Irish tricolour

• Green - Gaelic tradition of Ireland• Orange - the followers of William

of Orange in Ireland• White - peace or a truce

Coat of arms

• A gold harp with silver strings on blue background

• 4 earlier versions• The harp was adopted as the

emblem after the separation from the UK in 1922

Seal of the President

Arms of the four provinces• 4 traditional provinces of Ireland

displayed quartered as arms of Ireland

• Provinces are - 1 Leinster (Dublin)

2 Munster (Cork)

3 Connacht (Galway)

4 Ulster (Belfast)

There used to be 5 provinces,

the fifth one, Meath,

was between Leinster and Ulster.

Irish national anthem• "Amhrán na bhFiann" - "The Soldiers' Song" • Composed by Peader Kearney and Patrick Heeney in

1907• Adopted in 1926• The song has 3 verses but the national anthem consists

only of the chorus

• Amhrán na bhFiann

• Sinne Fianna Fáil, atá faoi gheall ag Éirinn,Buíon dár sluathar toinn do ráinig chughainn,Faoi mhóid bheith saorSeantír ár sinsear feasta,Ní fhágfar faoin tíorán ná faoin tráill.Anocht a théam sa bhearna baoil,Le gean ar Ghaeil, chun báis nó saoil, Le gunna scréach faoi lámhach na bpiléar,Seo libh canaig amhrán na bhfiann

• The Soldiers' Song

• Soldiers are we,whose lives are pledged to Ireland,Some have comefrom a land beyond the wave,Sworn to be free,no more our ancient sireland,Shall shelter the despot or the slave.Tonight we man the "bearna baoil",In Erin’s cause, come woe or weal,’Mid cannon’s roar and rifles’ peal,We’ll chant a soldier's song

MINORITIES

• In 2006: 89% Irish, followed by British (112,548), Polish (63,276), and Lithuanian (24,628)

• Others: Ulter-Scots, Welsch, Latvians, Germans, Americans, …

: 94.8% 'White' ethnic or cultural background, 1.1% 'Black or Black Irish' background, 1.3% 'Asian

or Asian Irish' background • Net migration rate: 14.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population

HISTORY

• 795: first invasions of Vikings• 1649 -1652: Oliver Cromwell came to stop a revolt against the UK, the

number of population dropped to a half• 1801 -1922: part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland• 1919: establishment of the Irish Republican Army • 1922: divided into the Irish Free State (26 counties, British dominion)

and Northern Ireland (6 counties, still part of the UK)• 27.12.1937: independence and neutrality in the British

Commonwealth, new name Éire• 1949: went out from Commonwealth and declared itself as a republic

PROBLEMS IN NORTHERN IRELAND

Irish Republican Army (January 1919-March 1922)• Was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation • Was descended from the Irish Volunteers• Took part in Irish war of Independence (a guerrilla war againts

British government, 1919-1921)• 1969: was split into lots of organisations, all called the IRA, which

included OIRA, RIRA, CIRA, PIRA• Despite the fact that the IRA was forbidden for its terrorist activities,

there are still conflicts in Northern Ireland caused by this organisation

• Home base in Northern Ireland• In 2005 the IRA announced that the conflict was over and their

weapons were to be put out of use. However, the terrorist activity by the Real IRA continues

NOTABLE ATTACKS• Bloody Friday (1972, Belfast)

: a bomb attack

: 130 injured people, 9 people were killed

• 1979

: made an assassination on Queen Elizabeth II's uncle

Lord Mountbatten and three others by blowing up his boat

• 1998

: bombs hidden in cars

: 29 people were killed

MAIN CITIES

• Dublin (Leinster) 1,024,027 inhabitants

• Cork (Munster) 190,384

• Dún Laoghaire (Leinster) 185,400

• Limerick (Munster) 90,054

• Galway (Connacht)• Tallaght (Leinster)• Waterford (Munster)• Drogheda (Leinster)• Dundalk (Leinster)• Bray (Leinster)

Dublin• The capital city and the most populous city of Ireland• Set up by Vikings in 9th century• Irish name Dubh Linn means ‘black pool‘• Situated near the midpoint of Ireland's east coast • Has many monuments, for example the oldest one: Dublin Castle,

and the newest one: Spire of Dublin• Has more green spaces per square kilometre than any other

European capital city

Cork

• It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork, which has earned the nickname of "the Rebel County" because of Corkonians, who consider Cork as the real capital city

• Built on the River Lee• Blarney Stone: when you kiss the stone, you can lie for 7 years

without guilt

GEOGRAPHY

• Bounded to the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean and to the northeast by the North Channel, to the east by the Irish Sea and to the southwest by the Celtic Sea

• The western landscape consists mostly of rocky cliffs, hills and mountains, lots of peninsulas, bays and headlands

• The central lowlands, several lakes and boglands are covered by clay and sand

• The highest point: Carrauntoohil (1,038 m) located in Macgillycuddy's Reeks mountain

• The longest river: the River Shannon• The largest lake: Lough Corrib• Moderate climate: influence of the Gulf Stream, temperature is

rarely lower than −3 °C in winter or higher than 22 °C in summer

NATURE

• Emblematic colour is green, you can see even 40 shades of green

• Only 26 native land mammals species, 400 bird species,

11,500 insect species, 375 fish species• Animals: bottlenose dolphin, killer whale, grey squirrel,

species of bats, red deer, Irish hare, viviparous lizard…• 3,815 plant species• Trees: oak, ash, hazel, gorse, strawberry tree, yew tree,

rowan, …

POLITICAL SYSTEM

• Constitutional Parliamentary republic• President - Mary McAleese (since November 1997)- presidental residence in Áras an Uachtaráin- Elected by citizens for a seven-year term and may be

re-elected once- Formally one of the three tiers of Oirechtas- Appoints the Goverment (Taoiseach) and the judges to

all Courts on the advice of Goverment• Taoiseach (prime minister) - Enda Kenny• Tánaiste (vice prime minister) - Eamon Gilmore

• Oirechtas (national parliament) consists of the President of Ireland and 2 chambers:

Dáil Éireann (the lower house): 166 members, elected for a term of up to five year

Seanad Éireann (the upper house): 60 members, elected only 49 members (6 members elected by graduates of 2 universities, 43 members elected from five Vocational Panels), 11 members are appointed by Taoiseach

• 2 dominating main parties: Fianna Fáil (The Republican Party, political position - centre) and Fine Gael (political position- centre-right, the leader is Enda Kenny)

• Other parties: Labour Party, Sinn Féin, Independents, Socialist Party,…

SPORT

• Popular: golf, cricket, rugby, horse races, …

Traditional sports

Gaelic football• Form of football played mainly in Ireland• Rules are similar to rugby• Outdoor game played by teams of 15 on a pitch with

H-shaped goals at each end• Played for the first time in 1887• The most popular sport in Ireland, more spectators than

any other sport

Hurling• Outdoor game played by teams of 15 on a pitch• Played with sticks (=hurleys) and a ball (=sliotar)• Has been played for at least 3000 years• Camogie - female variant• Sliotar can be hit, caught in the hand and carried for 4

steps at the most, struck in the air or on the ground with hurley, passed by hand

UNESCO SITES

Brú na Bóinne or Newgrange(Archaeological Ensemble of the Bend of the Boyne) • In County Meath• The largest and very important prehistoric megalithic site in Europe

• Complex of Neolithic chamber tombs, standing stones, hedges and prehistoric enclosures

• 780 haSkellig Michael• Also known as Great Skelling• Steep rocky island in Atlantic Ocean, about 14,5 km from

the coast of County Kerry • Larger one of the two Skelling Islands

• Brú na Bóinne

• Skellig Michael

RELIGION

• The most important religion is Christianity and the largest church is Roman Catholic Church

• In 2006: 86.8% Roman Catholic, 4.4% no religion• Other denominations: Protestant - Presbyterian Church,

Methodist Church

: Christian - Church of Ireland (Anglican)

: Islam, Orthodox Church

FAMOUS PEOPLE

LITERATURE

Jonathan Swift (1667-1745)• essayist, satirist, political

pamphleteer, poet, cleric• Became Dean of  St. Patrick's

Cathedral• Gulliver‘s Travel - novel published

in 1726

James Joyce (1882-1941)• Irish novelist and poet• Well-known for his famous novel

Ulysses (Odyssey), which was published in 1922

• Emigrated to continental Europe (died in Zurich)

Others: G.B. Shaw, Oscar Wilde

MUSIC

Enya - Eithne Ní Bhraonáin (1961)• Irish singer, instrumentalist and songwriter• Watermark - first solo album (1988)• Won 4 Grammy Awards• Became the world's best selling female artist of

2001

U2• Rock band from Dublin• Set up in 1976• Consists of Bono (vocals and guitar), The

Edge (guitar, keyboards and vocals), Adam Clayton (bass guitar), and Larry Mullen, Jr. (drums and percussion)

• Released 12 studio albums• Won 22 Grammy Awards

Glen Harsand (1970)• Irish songwriter, vocalist and

guitarist• His song "Falling Slowly"

from movie Once, co-written with Markéta Irglová, won the Academy Award (the Oscar) 

for Best Original Song in 2007

MOVIEPierce Brosnan (1953)• Irish actor, film producer and

environmentalist • In 1995 he became the fifth actor of

film series about James Bond• The most popular actor of James

Bond

SPECIALITY

Leprechaun• Irish fairy• A small old man with a beard who

wears a green coat, shoes and a hat• enjoys doing trouble to someone• Store all its coins in a hidden pot of

gold at the end of the rainbow• Has magical power• It can fulfil 3 wishes if it is caught by a

human• Used in Tv cartoons, advertisements,

movies

ST. PATRICK‘S DAY

• 151 days left until St. Patrick's Day on March 17th 2012• Religious holiday celebrated on 17th March • Commemorates Saint Patrick, who is the patron saints of

Ireland, and arrival of Christianity in Ireland• Saint Patrick's Day was made an official feast day in the

early 17th century • Characterised by attendance of church services,

attendance of parades, wearing of green clothes (especially shamrocks), drinking Irish beer and Irish whiskey

• Public holiday also in Northern Ireland, Newfoundland and Labrador, Great Britain, Canada, the USA, Australia, New Zealand, …

RELATIONS WITH THE CZECH REPUBLIC

• Member of European Union and UN as well as CzR

but not a member of NATO

• Irish people think as well as the Czechs that their beer is the best in the world

QUESTIONS FOR YOU

• Which part of Ireland (province) does not belong to the Republic of Ireland?

Ulster

• What is the symbol of 17th March?A shamrock

• Who was the first actor of James Bond?Sean Connery

• Do you know any novels written by Oscar Wilde?The Picture of Dorian Graye, The Importance of Being Earnest

• Do you know another (well-known) megalithic UNESCO site?Stonehendge