Iirimaa (1)

Ireland
Ireland ( Irish : Éire, Irish pronunciation:) is a country in north - western Europe . The modern sovereign state occupies about five -sixths of the island of Ireland, which was first partitioned on 3 May 1921. It is bordered by Northern Ireland— part of the United Kingdom—to the north, by the Atlantic Ocean to the west , the Irish Sea to the east and the Celtic Sea and St George's Channel to the South and South-East. The legal name of the state is simply "Ireland", but its legal description the Republic of Ireland is sometimes used to differentiate the state from the island.
On 29 December 1937 Ireland became the successor-state to the Irish Free State, itself established on 6 December 1922. Ireland was one of the poorest countries in Western Europe and had high emigration. The protectionist economy was opened in the late 1950s and Ireland joined the European Communities (now the European Union) in 1973. An economic crisis led Ireland to start large-scale economic reforms in the late 1980s. Ireland reduced taxation and regulation dramatically compared to other EU countries.
Despite a forecast for reduced economic growth in 2008, Ireland today has the fifth highest gross domestic product per capita and the seventh gross domestic product per capita considering purchasing power parity , and has the fifth highest Human Development Index rank in the world. The country also boasts the highest quality of life in the world, ranking first in the Economist Intelligence Unit ’s Quality-of-life index. Ireland was ranked sixth on the Global Peace Index. Ireland also has high rankings for its education system, political freedom and civil rights, press freedom and economic freedom; it was also ranked fourth from the bottom on the Failed States Index, being one of the few " sustainable " states in the world. Ireland has emerged as an attractive destination for foreign immigrants who now make up approximately 10% of the population. Ireland's population is the fastest growing in Europe with an annual growth rate of 2.5%.
Ireland is a member of the EU, the OECD , and the UN. Ireland's policy of neutrality means it is not a member of NATO , although it does contribute to peacekeeping missions sanctioned by the UN.
History
Ireland is the successor-state to the Dominion called the Irish Free State. That Dominion came into being when all of the island of Ireland seceded from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland on 6 December 1922. However, the following day the Parliament of Northern Ireland exercised its right under the Anglo-Irish Treaty to opt back into the United Kingdom. This action , known as the Partition of Ireland, followed four attempts to introduce devolved autonomous government over the whole island of Ireland (in 1886 , 1893, 1914 and 1920). The Irish Free State was abolished when Ireland was formally established on 29 December 1937, the day the Constitution of Ireland came into force .
Irish independence in 1922 was preceded by the Easter Rising of 1916, when Irish volunteers and the Irish Citizen Army took over sites in Dublin and Galway under terms expressed in the Proclamation of the Irish Republic. The seven signatories of this proclamation, Patrick Pearse, Thomas MacDonagh, Thomas Clarke, Sean MacDiarmada, Joseph Plunkett, Eamonn Ceannt and James Connolly, were executed, along with nine others , and thousands were interned precipitating the Irish War of Independence.

Theatre

Following in the tradition of Shaw, Wilde and Samuel Beckett , playwrights such as Seán O' Casey , Brian Friel, Sebastian Barry , Conor McPherson and Billy Roche have gained popular success.

Music

Ireland is known for its traditional music and song , in origin going back hundreds of years but still played throughout the country. Among the best -known modern performers are groups such as The Chieftains, singers such as Christy Moore , ensembles such as Anúna and Celtic Woman and cross -over artists such as singers Enya and Sinéad O' Connor . Built upon this tradition is the dance company Riverdance .
Ireland has produced internationally influential artists in other musical genres such as rock, pop, jazz and blues including The Pogues, U2, Westlife, Chris de Burgh, Thin Lizzy, The Corrs, The Cranberries, Blues guitarist Rory Gallagher, jazz guitarist Louis Stewart and Academy Award winner Glen Hansard of The Frames .
In 2002 The Republic of Ireland introduced the single European currency , the euro. With 14 other EU member states it forms the Eurozone.
County numbers in the Republic of Ireland (shown in green)
Sport
By far the most popular sports in Ireland are the national sports of Gaelic football and hurling. Hurling, arguably the world's fastest field team sport in terms of game play is, along with Gaelic Football, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association ; as is Handball. Notable former Gaelic Athletic Association players include the now retired pair of DJ Carey and Peter Canavan. The former Taoiseach Jack Lynch was a noted hurler and All-Ireland winner before entering politics . Well-known current players include Henry Shefflin, Sean Cavanagh and Colm Cooper .
Ireland has produced a number of talented sportsmen and women . In association football, former players include Roy Keane, Johnny Giles , Liam Brady, Denis Irwin, Packie Bonner, Niall Quinn and Paul McGrath, while players whose careers are ongoing include Lee Carsley, Steve Finnan, Shay Given , Damien Duff, John O' Shea and Robbie Keane. In rugby, Ireland has produced Brian O'Driscoll, Ronan O'Gara, Paul O'Connell, David Wallace and Keith Wood.
In athletics, Sonia O' Sullivan , Eamonn Coghlan, Catherina McKiernan, Ronnie Delaney, John Treacy, David Gillick, Gillian O'Sullivan and Derval O'Rourke have won medals at international events .
Transport
The Republic of Ireland has three main international airports (Dublin, Shannon, and Cork ) that serve a wide variety of European and intercontinental routes with scheduled and chartered flights. The national airline is Aer Lingus , although low cost airline Ryanair is the largest airline. The route between London and Dublin is the busiest international air route in Europe, with 4.5 million people flying between the two cities in 2006.[76][77]
Railways services are provided by Iarnród Éireann. Dublin is the centre of the network , with two main stations (Heuston and Connolly) linking to the main towns and cities. The Enterprise service , run jointly with Northern Ireland Railways, connects Dublin with Belfast . Dublin has a steadily improving public transport network of varying quality including the DART , Luas, Bus service and an expanding rail network.
The motorways and major trunk roads are managed by the National Roads Authority . The rest of the road network is managed by the local authorities in each of their areas .
Regular ferry services operate between the Republic of Ireland and Great Britain, the Isle of Man and France .

Economy

The economy of Ireland has transformed in recent years from an agricultural focus to a modern knowledge economy, focusing on services and high-tech industries and dependent on trade, industry and investment. Economic growth in Ireland averaged a (relatively high) 10% from 1995–2000, and 7% from 2001–2004. Industry, which accounts for 46% of GDP, about 80% of exports, and 29% of the labour force, now takes the place of agriculture as the country's leading sector .
Exports play a fundamental role in Ireland's growth, but the economy also benefits from the accompanying rise in consumer spending, construction , and business investment. On paper , the country is the largest exporter of software-related goods and services in the world. In fact , a lot of foreign software, and sometimes music, is filtered through the country to avail of Ireland's non-taxing of royalties from copyrighted goods.
A key part of economic policy, since 1987, has been Social Partnership which is a neo-corporatist set of voluntary 'pay pacts' between the Government, employers and trades unions. These usually set agreed pay rises for three- year periods.
Ireland joined in launching the Euro currency system in January 1999 (leaving behind the Irish pound) along with eleven other EU nations. The 1995 to 2000 period of high economic growth led many to call the country the Celtic Tiger. The economy felt the impact of the global economic slowdown in 2001, particularly in the high-tech export sector — the growth rate in that area was cut by nearly half. GDP growth continued to be relatively robust, with a rate of about 6% in 2001 and 2002. Growth for 2004 was over 4%, and for 2005 was 4.7%.
President of Ireland, Mary McAleese.