Difference between revisions of "Ireland"

Éire
Flag	Coat of Arms
Capital	Dublin
Government	Republic and Parliamentary Democracy
Language	Irish and English (official)
President	Mary McAleese
Area	27,133 sq mi
Population	4,239,848 (2007)
GDP per capita	$43,600 (2006)
Currency	euro

Revision as of 14:32, October 30, 2007

Ireland is an island off the north-western coast of Europe. Since 1922 it has been divided into two separate entities.

The Republic of Ireland (or Ireland, in Irish: Éire) is an independent state which consists of twenty-six traditional counties in the provinces of Munster, Leinster, Connacht, and three of the nine counties of Ulster. According to the last census the Republic of Ireland has a population of 4,234,925^[1]
The other is Northern Ireland a constituent country of the United Kingdom which comprises of six counties in the province of Ulster. Northern Ireland has a population of 1,685,267 (2002 est.)^[2]

History

Historically, Ireland's culture has been distinct from other regional cultures, as it was one of the only Celtic territories never conquered by the Roman Empire.

Its people had an Iron Age culture at the time of Roman rule in Britain. They had no proper towns, and mainly lived in 'raths' (small fortified farmsteads) though there were larger hillforts. They were heathens worshipping a number of Celtic deities, including the Dagda ('good god'). The Druids were their priests and law-speakers, and knew some science and medicine.

Saint Patrick (Latin 'Patricius') was a Romanised Briton captured by Irish raiders, who escaped from slavery in Ireland and felt called by God to return and evangelise the Irish, this being in the 5th century AD. He did not do this work alone, but he wrote a kind of autobiography (‘Confessio’) so we know a lot about his life and work.

Columba (Irish ‘Columcille’ = ‘dove of the church’) was a Northern Irish noble who went to Scotland and founded the monastery of Iona, going from there to the Scottish mainland as a missionary to the Picts.

Ireland suffered from regular Viking incursions from the late 8th century until 1014, when High King Brian Boru defeated the Vikings at the Battle of Clontarf (though some Vikings fought for Brian). Dublin, the Irish capital, was founded as a Viking trading port.

In the 12th century, the Pope granted Ireland to the English crown as a papal fief. This was Pope Adrian IV, the only Englishman to become bishop of Rome. The English however, were unable to bring the entire island under their control until the 17th century, after the defeat of the Irish in the Nine Years War. King James I of England (King James VI of Scotland) decided to plant Ulster, in the North of Ireland, with English and Scottish Protestant settlers, in an attempt to prevent future rebellions.^[3]

In 1690, the Catholic King James II and his Irish allies were defeated by the Protestant William of Orange at the Battle of the Boyne. This defeat ushered in an era of Protestant dominance in Ireland. A series of regulations limiting the status of the Catholic majority were passed between 1691 and 1760, known as the Penal Laws. These laws also discriminated against Presbyterians and other dissenting Protestants, who along with Catholics were forced to pay tithes to the Anglican Church.^[4] ^[5]

In 1798, a combined Protestant and Catholic Republican rebellion was defeated. This led to the Act of Union being passed in 1801, under which Ireland became a part of the United Kingdom. The Irish economy declined rapidly and the Great Famine An Gorta Mór broke out in 1845. The famine killed roughly one million, or one eighth of the entire population. It led to mass emigration to the United States, Canada and to Britain.

Pro-nationalist sentiment continued to rise and the Irish tried to secure their own parliament. Opposition to this arose in the predominantly Protestant and Unionist province of Ulster which allied with the British Conservative Party in an attempt to block "Home Rule". The outbreak of war in 1914 delayed the enaction of Home Rule and led to growing agitation amongst Irish Nationalists. The Easter Rising of 1916 was put down by the British, but their heavy-handed approach increased opposition to their rule. A war of independence broke out in 1919, the Irish using guerrilla tactics to undermine British rule in the country. The war with the British ended in 1921 with the British retaining control of six counties in the province of Ulster. The territory independent of the British became the Irish Free State, while the territory controlled by the British became Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland was granted a home rule parliament. Later, in 1937, the Free State adopted a new constitution, or Bunreacht (now the oldest written Constitution in Europe) changing its name to Éire and removing all references to the Free State's position within the British Commonwealth. ^[6] The Irish Free State finally left the Commonwealth and declared itself a Republic in 1949.

Republic of Ireland

The Republic of Ireland uses Proportional Representation meaning that there are a large number of political parties. The Republic of Ireland has a bicameral legislature, "the Oireachtas". It consists of the 166 seat lower house Dáil(parliament) and the 66 seat upper house, the Seanad(Senate), which both sit in Leinster House, Dublin. In recent times the country has been governed mostly by coalitions generally of either Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats or Fine Gael and Labour. The Republic of Ireland is also a member of the European Union and is represented by 13 MEPs. ^[7]

Fianna Fáil: (Pronounced Fee-Na Fall which is Irish for 'Soldiers of Destiny'). Ireland's main political party, they do not class themselves as either left or right wing but rather as pragmatic centrists and republicans (In the sense of opposing the notion of formal classes in society, in particular the monarchy. Typically republicans in Ireland seek to unite Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland into a single Republic separate from the United Kingdom.). The party was founded as a splinter from Official Sinn Féin by Eamon de Valera. Traditionally the party of small farmers and the urban working class community, and generally conservative on social issues. Currently the largest party in the ruling coalition. Led by Bertie Ahern, current Taoiseach(Prime Minister) of the Republic of Ireland. Fianna Fáil generally opposes any action that would be seen to erode Ireland's neutrality and independence in foreign policy, including joining NATO.^[8]

Fine Gael: (Pronounced Finna Gale, Irish for 'Family of the Irish'). Ireland's second largest party. Fine Gael is traditionally socially and fiscally conservative. Under the leadership of Garret FitzGerald in the 1980's, the party embraced social democracy. Today the party likes to characterize itself as a party of the "progressive centre". Led by Enda Kenny. Many of the parties elected members would like to see Ireland join NATO and at least one has called for Ireland to rejoin the British Commonwealth.^[9]

Labour Party: A social democratic left-wing party, similar to the British Labour Party under Tony Blair. Pat Rabitte is the leader of the Labour Party.^[10]

Progressive Democrats:It is very right wing on economic issues, favoring low-taxation, pro-business policies, but are very liberal on social issues. Mary Harney is the current interim leader after the previous leader lost his seat in the last Genreal Election.^[11]

Green Party: A left-wing party in favor of environmental protection, renewable energy and a stronger system of social security. Led by Trevor Sargent.^[12]

Sinn Féin: (Pronounced Shin Fane, Irish for 'Ourselves') Claims to be a remnant of Ireland's oldest political party, it is closely connected with the Provisional IRA, a terrorist movement that sought a United Irish Republic. They have recently embraced a more democratic approach. They are a party of left-wing socialist economics which espouses liberal social issues such as gay marriage. They organize in all 32 counties of Ireland. Led by Gerry Adams. ^[13]

Socialist Party: A left-wing Trotskyite party. They oppose capitalism and seek a United Socialist Ireland. Led by Joe Higgins. ^[14]

Premiers of the Republic of Ireland

President of the Executive Council

William Thomas Cosgrave (Cummann na nGaedheal): 1922-1932.
Éamon de Valera (Fianna Fáil): 1932-1937

An Taoiseach

Éamon de Valera (Fianna Fáil): 1937-1948, 1951-1954, 1957-1959.
John A.Costello (Fine Gael): 1948-1951, 1954-1957.
Seán Lemass (Fianna Fáil): 1959-1966.
Jack Lynch (Fianna Fáil): 1966-1973.
Liam Cosgrave (Fine Gael): 1973-1977.
Jack Lynch (Fianna Fáil): 1977-1979.
Charles Haughey (Fianna Fáil): 1979-1981, March 1982 - December 82 and March 1987 - February 1992.
Garret FitzGerald (Fine Gael): 30 June 1981- 9 March 1982 and 14 December 1982 - 10 March 1987.
Albert Reynolds (Fianna Fáil): February 1992-1994.
John Bruton (Fine Gael): 1994-1997.
Bertie Ahern (Fianna Fáil): 1997-Present. ^[15]

Northern Ireland

The political parties of Northern Ireland are mostly divided on the national question (whether to remain within the UK or become part of a United Ireland), rather than on a left-right basis. They contest elections for the British Parliament(where Northern Ireland is allocated 18 seats) and the 108 seat Northern Ireland Assembly. Northern Ireland has 3 MEPs. ^[16]

Westminster elections use the Plurality voting system, whereas the Assembly Elections use the Proportional Representation(PR) system. The major parties include:

Democratic Unionist Party(DUP): Currently the largest unionist party in Northern Ireland. The DUP is a right-wing, ultra-conservative, hardline unionist party currently led by its founder, the Reverend Ian RK Paisley. The party has strong links with Rev. Paisley's Free Presbyterian Church. ^[17]

Sinn Féin Currently the largest nationalist party in Northern Ireland, they sit in the Irish parliament and Northern Ireland Assembly, but refuse to take their seats in the British Parliament in Westminster.

Ulster Unionist Party(UUP): A moderate right-wing party, which had strong links with the British Conservative Party. Nobel Peace Prize laureate David Trimble is a former leader. Currently in decline, with voters turning to the DUP. Currently led by Sir Reg Empey. ^[18]

Social Democratic and Labour Party(SDLP): A left-wing nationalist party. Nobel Peace Prize laureate John Hume is a former leader. The SDLP were the largest nationalist party until recently, when they were overtaken by Sinn Féin. Unlike SF, the SDLP have always advocated a non-violent and constitutional approach to achieving a United Ireland. Current leader is Mark Durkan. ^[19]

Alliance Party: The Alliance party identifies as neither unionist or nationalist and thus receives support from both communities. The current leader is David Ford. ^[20]

Premiers of Northern Ireland

Prime Minster of Northern Ireland (1921-1972)

Government of Ireland Act
Sir James Craig (UUP): 1921-1940
John Miller Andrews (UUP): 1940-1943
Sir Basil Brooke (UUP): 1943-1963
Terence O'Neill (UUP): 1963-1969
Brian Faulkner (UUP): 1969-1972
Post abolished in 1972.

Chief Executive of Northern Ireland (1973–1974)

Sunningdale Agreement
Brian Faulkner (UUP) 1973–1974
Post abolished in 1972.

First Minister of Northern Ireland (1998-present)

Belfast Agreement
David Trimble (UUP) 1998-July 2001, November 2001-October 2002
Sir Reg Empey (UUP) (Acting): July 2001-October 2001
Executive abolished
St Andrews Agreement
Rev Dr Ian Paisley (DUP) 2007-present

^[21]

Religion

The Republic of Ireland is predominantly Roman Catholic in religion(88%). Membership of the Church of Ireland runs at about 3%, with most of the rest of the population belonging to other Protestant/Christian denominations. Southern Protestantism had been in decline since independence due to the ne temere decree(children in mixed Catholic/Protestant marriages had to be raised Catholic) ^[22] and emigration. However, it has experienced a revival of late due to immigrants and some converts from Catholicism. There is a small Jewish community in Ireland. The Muslim community has grown recently due to immigration. ^[23]

The Republic has maintained a nominally Catholic ethos since independence. Abortion remains controversially illegal (although information on obtaining abortions in other jurisdictions is a constitutional entitlement, and many thousands of women travel to the UK for treatment^[24] ). However, in line with a more general liberalization of Irish society since the early nineties, restrictions on the availability of contraception have been removed; the right to divorce has been enshrined in the constitution; homosexuality has been decriminalized and the rights of gay people have been enshrined in 'Equal Status' legislation.

Northern Ireland has a Protestant majority (53%), the main denominations being Presbyterian and Church of Ireland (Anglican/Episcopal). Roughly 44% of the population are Roman Catholic, with most of the remainder professing no religion. ^[25]

References

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[24] [24]

[25] [25]

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@@ Line 39: / Line 39: @@
 Its people had an [[Iron Age]] culture at the time of Roman rule in Britain.  They had no proper towns, and mainly lived in 'raths' (small fortified farmsteads) though there were larger hillforts.  They were [[heathens]] worshipping  a number of [[Celtic]] deities, including the Dagda ('good god').  The [[Druid]]s were their priests and law-speakers, and knew some science and medicine.
-Patrick (Latin 'Patricius') was a Romanised [[Briton]] captured by Irish raiders, who escaped from slavery in Ireland and felt called by God to return and evangelise the Irish, this being in the 5th century AD.  He did not do this work alone, but he wrote a kind of autobiography (‘Confessio’) so we know a lot about his life and work.
+[[Saint Patrick]] (Latin 'Patricius') was a Romanised [[Briton]] captured by Irish raiders, who escaped from slavery in Ireland and felt called by God to return and evangelise the Irish, this being in the 5th century AD.  He did not do this work alone, but he wrote a kind of autobiography (‘Confessio’) so we know a lot about his life and work.
 Columba (Irish ‘Columcille’ = ‘dove of the church’) was a Northern Irish noble who went to [[Scotland]] and founded the monastery of [[Iona]], going from there to the Scottish mainland as a missionary to the Picts.