51 Facts About Ireland

1.

Ireland is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe.

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2.

Ireland is the second-largest island of the British Isles, the third-largest in Europe, and the twentieth-largest on Earth.

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3.

Northern Ireland saw much civil unrest from the late 1960s until the 1990s.

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4.

In 1973, the Republic of Ireland joined the European Economic Community while the United Kingdom, and Northern Ireland, as part of it, did the same.

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5.

Names Ireland and derive from Old Irish Eriu, a goddess in Irish mythology first recorded in the ninth century.

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6.

Field systems were developed in different parts of Ireland, including at the, that has been preserved beneath a blanket of peat in present-day Tyrawley.

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7.

Ireland'storical linguists are skeptical that this method alone could account for the absorption of Celtic language, with some saying that an assumed processual view of Celtic linguistic formation is 'an especially hazardous exercise'.

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8.

Genetic lineage investigation into the area of Celtic migration to Ireland has led to findings that showed no significant differences in mitochondrial DNA between Ireland and large areas of continental Europe, in contrast to parts of the Y-chromosome pattern.

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9.

When taking both into account, a study concluded that modern Celtic speakers in Ireland could be thought of as European "Atlantic Celts" showing a shared ancestry throughout the Atlantic zone from northern Iberia to western Scandinavia rather than substantially central European.

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10.

Ireland continued as a patchwork of rival kingdoms; however, beginning in the 7th century, a concept of national kingship gradually became articulated through the concept of a High King of Ireland.

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11.

Ireland did have a culturally unifying rule of law: the early written judicial system, the Brehon Laws, administered by a professional class of jurists known as the brehons.

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12.

Ireland wanted to re-exert royal authority over the invasion which was expanding beyond his control.

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13.

Title of King of Ireland was re-created in 1542 by Henry VIII, the then King of England, of the Tudor dynasty.

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14.

Ireland was elected as Member of Parliament for Ennis in a surprise result and despite being unable to take his seat as a Roman Catholic.

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15.

Ireland'storian R F Foster argues the cause was a combination of a new sense of initiative and the entry of American corporations.

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16.

Ireland concludes the chief factors were low taxation, pro-business regulatory policies, and a young, tech-savvy workforce.

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17.

For many multinationals, the decision to do business in Ireland was made easier still by generous incentives from the Industrial Development Authority.

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18.

Northern Ireland resulted from the division of the United Kingdom by the Government of Ireland Act 1920, and until 1972 was a self-governing jurisdiction within the United Kingdom with its own parliament and prime minister.

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19.

The Protestant and Catholic communities in Northern Ireland voted largely along sectarian lines, meaning that the government of Northern Ireland was controlled by the Ulster Unionist Party.

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20.

The Northern Ireland government requested the British Army to aid the police and protect the Irish Nationalist population.

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21.

In 1969, the paramilitary Provisional IRA, which favoured the creation of a united Ireland, emerged from a split in the Irish Republican Army and began a campaign against what it called the "British occupation of the six counties".

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22.

Republic of Ireland is a member state of the European Union while the United Kingdom is a former member state, having both acceded to its precursor entity, the European Economic Community, in 1973 but the UK left the European Union in 2020 after a referendum on EU membership was held in 2016 which resulted in 51.

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23.

Republic of Ireland is a parliamentary democracy based on the Westminster system, with a written constitution and a popularly elected president whose role is mostly ceremonial.

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24.

Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom with a local executive and assembly which exercise devolved powers.

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25.

Ultimately political power is held by the UK government, from which Northern Ireland has gone through intermittent periods of direct rule during which devolved powers have been suspended.

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26.

The Northern Ireland Secretary is a cabinet-level post in the British government.

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27.

Ireland is located in the north-west of Europe, between latitudes 51° and 56° N, and longitudes 11° and 5° W It is separated from Great Britain by the Irish Sea and the North Channel, which has a width of 23 kilometres at its narrowest point.

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28.

Several different habitat types are found in Ireland, including farmland, open woodland, temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, conifer plantations, peat bogs and a variety of coastal habitats.

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29.

However, agriculture drives current land use patterns in Ireland, limiting natural habitat preserves, particularly for larger wild mammals with greater territorial needs.

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30.

Phytogeographically, Ireland belongs to the Atlantic European province of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom.

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31.

Traditionally, Ireland is subdivided into four provinces: Connacht, Leinster, Munster, and Ulster .

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32.

Counties in Northern Ireland are no longer used for local governmental purposes, but, as in the Republic, their traditional boundaries are still used for informal purposes such as sports leagues and in cultural or tourism contexts.

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33.

Population of Ireland collapsed dramatically during the second half of the 19th century.

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34.

In Northern Ireland, English is the de facto official language, but official recognition is afforded to Irish, including specific protective measures under Part III of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.

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35.

Also native to Ireland are Shelta, the language of the nomadic Irish Travellers, Irish Sign Language, and Northern Ireland Sign Language.

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36.

In broad terms, Ireland is regarded as one of the Celtic nations of Europe, alongside Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, Isle of Man and Brittany.

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37.

Ireland has made a substantial contribution to world literature in all its branches, both in Irish and English.

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38.

Outside religious establishments, musical genres in early Gaelic Ireland are referred to as a triad of weeping music, laughing music and sleeping music .

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39.

Yet, for political and financial reasons Ireland has been too small to provide a living to many musicians, so the names of the better-known Irish composers of this time belong to emigrants.

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40.

Ireland is largely regarded as one of the founders of modern chemistry and is best known for the formulation of Boyle's law.

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41.

Ireland had mathematician John Nash as one of his students.

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42.

Ireland was ranked 19th in the Global Innovation Index in 2021, down from 12th in 2019.

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43.

Across Ireland, there is significant interest in the English and, to a lesser extent, Scottish soccer leagues.

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44.

Ireland hosted games during the 1991 and the 1999 Rugby World Cups .

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45.

Amateur boxing on the island of Ireland is governed by the Irish Athletic Boxing Association.

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46.

Ireland has won more medals in boxing than in any other Olympic sport.

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47.

Ireland successfully defended his title in July 2008 before going on to win the PGA Championship in August.

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48.

Food and cuisine in Ireland take their influence from the crops grown and animals farmed in the island's temperate climate and from the social and political circumstances of Irish history.

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49.

Some most visited sites in Ireland include Bunratty Castle, the Rock of Cashel, the Cliffs of Moher, Holy Cross Abbey and Blarney Castle.

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50.

The situation in Northern Ireland is complicated by the issue of private companies not supplying Northern Ireland Electricity with enough power.

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51.

Ireland has an ancient industry based on peat as a source of energy for home fires.

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