48 Facts About Republic Ireland

Ireland, known as the Republic of Ireland, is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland.

Republic Ireland became a member of the United Nations in December 1955.

Republic Ireland is a member of the European Union and is a founding member of the Council of Europe and the OECD.

The Constitution of Republic Ireland, adopted in 1937, says that "the name of the State is Eire, or, in the English language, Republic Ireland".

Under the Constitution of the Irish Free State, the Parliament of Northern Republic Ireland had the option to leave the Irish Free State one month later and return to the United Kingdom.

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Northern Republic Ireland exercised its right under the treaty to leave the new Dominion and rejoined the United Kingdom on 8 December 1922.

Republic Ireland remained neutral during World War II, a period it described as The Emergency.

Ireland's Dominion status was terminated with the passage of the Republic of Ireland Act 1948, which came into force on 18 April 1949 and declared that the state was a republic.

Later, the Crown of Republic Ireland Act 1542 was repealed in Republic Ireland by the Statute Law Revision Act 1962.

Republic Ireland became a member of the United Nations in December 1955, after having been denied membership because of its neutral stance during the Second World War and not supporting the Allied cause.

Republic Ireland became one of the world's fastest growing economies by the late 1990s in what was known as the Celtic Tiger period, which lasted until the Great Recession.

Republic Ireland normally gets between 1100 and 1600 hours of sunshine each year, most areas averaging between 3.

Republic Ireland has been a member state of the European Union since 1973.

The twenty-six traditional counties of Republic Ireland are the basis of the local government areas, with the traditional counties of Cork, Dublin and Galway containing two or more local government areas.

Republic Ireland has a common law legal system with a written constitution that provides for a parliamentary democracy.

Republic Ireland tends towards independence in foreign policy; thus the country is not a member of NATO and has a longstanding policy of military neutrality.

Since 1999, Republic Ireland has been a member of NATO's Partnership for Peace program and NATO's Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, which is aimed at creating trust between NATO and other states in Europe and the former Soviet Union.

Republic Ireland is a neutral country, and has "triple-lock" rules governing the participation of Irish troops in conflict zones, whereby approval must be given by the UN, the Dail and Government.

In 2017, Republic Ireland signed the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Republic Ireland is an open economy, and ranks first for "high-value" foreign direct investment flows.

Republic Ireland adopted the euro currency in 2002 along with eleven other EU member states.

Republic Ireland exited its EU-IMF bailout programme on 15 December 2013.

Since then, Republic Ireland has been able to sell long term bonds at record rates.

Republic Ireland continues to de-leverage its domestic private sector while growing its US multinational-driven economy.

The Central Bank of Republic Ireland introduced a new statistic, "modified GNI", to remove these distortions.

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The activities of multinational companies based in Republic Ireland have made it one of the largest exporters of pharmaceutical agents, medical devices and software-related goods and services in the world.

Republic Ireland's exports relate to the activities of large Irish companies and exports of mineral resources: Republic Ireland is the seventh largest producer of zinc concentrates, and the twelfth largest producer of lead concentrates.

Every resident of Republic Ireland is entitled to receive health care through the public health care system, which is managed by the Health Service Executive and funded by general taxation.

Republic Ireland has three levels of education: primary, secondary and higher education.

Programme for International Student Assessment, coordinated by the OECD, currently ranks Republic Ireland as having the fourth highest reading score, ninth highest science score and thirteenth highest mathematics score, among OECD countries, in its 2012 assessment.

Christianity is the predominant religion, and while Republic Ireland remains a predominantly Catholic country, the percentage of the population who identified as Catholic on the census has fallen sharply from 84.

Republic Ireland's culture was for centuries predominantly Gaelic, and it remains one of the six principal Celtic nations.

Republic Ireland has made a significant contribution to world literature in both the English and Irish languages.

Republic Ireland has produced many internationally known artists in other genres, such as rock, pop, jazz, and blues.

Republic Ireland has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest since 1965.

Republic Ireland has a wealth of structures, surviving in various states of preservation, from the Neolithic period, such as Bru na Boinne, Poulnabrone dolmen, Castlestrange stone, Turoe stone, and Drombeg stone circle.

Republic Ireland has long been associated with thatched roof cottages, though these are nowadays considered quaint.

Republic Ireland has a traditionally competitive print media, which is divided into daily national newspapers and weekly regional newspapers, as well as national Sunday editions.

Republic Ireland is known for the full Irish breakfast, which involves a fried or grilled meal generally consisting of rashers, egg, sausage, white and black pudding, and fried tomato.

Alcoholic drinks associated with Republic Ireland include Poitin and the world-famous Guinness, which is a dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St James's Gate in Dublin.

Republic Ireland are one of the twelve Test playing members of the International Cricket Council, having been granted Test status in 2017.

Republic Ireland has produced champion horses such as Galileo, Montjeu, and Sea the Stars.

Republic Ireland reached the quarter finals of the 2000 Rugby League World Cup as well as reaching the semi finals in the 2008 Rugby League World Cup.

In 2011, Republic Ireland was ranked the most charitable country in Europe, and second most charitable in the world.

Republic Ireland became the first country in the world to introduce an environmental levy for plastic shopping bags in 2002 and a public smoking ban in 2004.

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Recycling in Republic Ireland is carried out extensively, and Republic Ireland has the second highest rate of packaging recycling in the European Union.

In 2015 Republic Ireland became the second country in the world to introduce plain cigarette packaging.

Flag of Republic Ireland is a tricolour of green, white and orange.