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The Irish people are mainly of Celtic origin, with the country's only significant sized minority having descended from the [[Normans]]. English is the common language, but Irish (Gaelic/Gaeilge) is the first official language of the Republic of Ireland; Irish is taught in schools, appears on all official documents, and all road signs are also bilingual. In Northern Ireland, Irish has official recognition under the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. Schools teaching through the medium of Irish known as [[Gaelscoileanna]] have experienced considerable growth in the past two decades in both parts of Ireland. Although initially reluctant, both the British state in Northern Ireland and the Irish state in the Republic of Ireland have funded this development following protests and requests from parents.  

The Irish people are mainly of Celtic origin, with the country's only significant sized minority having descended from the [[Normans]]. English is the common language, but Irish (Gaelic/Gaeilge) is the first official language of the Republic of Ireland; Irish is taught in schools, appears on all official documents, and all road signs are also bilingual. In Northern Ireland, Irish has official recognition under the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. Schools teaching through the medium of Irish known as [[Gaelscoileanna]] have experienced considerable growth in the past two decades in both parts of Ireland. Although initially reluctant, both the British state in Northern Ireland and the Irish state in the Republic of Ireland have funded this development following protests and requests from parents.  

Anglo-Irish writers such as [[Jonathan Swift]], [[Richard Brinsley Sheridan]], [[Oliver Goldsmith]], [[Edmund Burke]], [[Oscar Wilde]], [[James Joyce]], [[William Butler Yeats]], [[George Bernard Shaw]], and [[Samuel Beckett]] have made a major contribution to world literature over the past 350 years.  

Irish writers such as [[Jonathan Swift]], [[Richard Brinsley Sheridan]], [[Oliver Goldsmith]], [[Edmund Burke]], [[Oscar Wilde]], [[James Joyce]], [[William Butler Yeats]], [[George Bernard Shaw]], [[C. S. Lewis]] and [[Samuel Beckett]] have made a major contribution to world literature over the past 350 years.  

===Religion===

===Religion===