Ireland - Ierland

Ireland[1] (Irish: Éire) is a country Europe. The country consists of most of the island of Ireland, which is shared with Northern Ireland in the north East. Northern Ireland belongs to the United Kingdom; this article is only about the Republic of Ireland.

Info

History

After the suppression of the Easter Rising (April 1916), Irish volunteers grouped in the Irish Republican Army (IRA) started a guerrilla war against the British. The occupation of Ireland by Great Britain became untenable after the height of the violence at The Burning of Cork on the night of 11-12 December 1920: after a company of the Auxiliaries (division of English ex-army officers) was ambushed by the Irish freedom fighters had fallen, the occupying forces burned down large parts of Cork city and shot the Black and Tans residents without trial. After years of war, there was a ceasefire between the IRA and the British army, which led to negotiations. The southern part of Ireland gained virtually independence as an Irish Free State through the Anglo-Irish Treaty on December 6, 1921. Northern Ireland, home to many Protestant migrants originally from Scotland who remained loyal to Great Britain, remained British. This was not just because more Protestants lived here. Here were and still are the main ports of the island, Northern Ireland was also economically the strongest part of the country. The English thus retained most of the island's economic 'riches'.

However, the extremist wing of the IRA under Eamon de Valera refused to agree to the 'division' of Ireland into a Free State and a British Ulster. The result was a civil war between supporters and opponents of the Free State. Finally, Eamon de Valera gave in and resigned himself to the division. Talks between the Free State and Northern Ireland in 1925 about a border review came to nothing.

De Valera's party Fianna Fáil joined Prime Minister William Cosgrave's government in 1927. In 1932 De Valera himself became prime minister and in 1937 he declared Ireland independent, but he did not declare the republic. During the Second World War, Ireland remained neutral, but behind the scenes the Allies were helped. About 70,000 men volunteered to fight with the British army in Europe. A state of emergency was declared in Ireland itself. De Valera was defeated in elections in 1948 and the Republic of Ireland was proclaimed in 1949. De Valera became Prime Minister again in 1951 and President of the Republic in 1959. In 1972, the special role of the Roman Catholic Church was abolished by referendum. On May 30, 1973, Protestant Erskine Childers became president, followed by Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh (1974-1976) and Patrick Hillery (1976-1990).

Mary Robinson—an independent candidate—was elected president in 1990, with the support of the Social Democrats. In 1997, Mary McAleese became president, and in 2004 her term was extended for another 7 years. No opposing candidates had come forward for the election.

Ireland has been a member of the European Union since 1973, but is not a member of NATO.

Geography

Ireland has few neighboring countries. The only neighboring country bordering Ireland is Northern Ireland, an area that used to belong to Ireland itself but is now part of the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland is located in the northeast of the island of Ireland. England is a non-contiguous neighboring country to the east of Ireland, between which the Irish Sea forms the border.

Ireland is characterized by its mountains, lakes and rivers, but above all by its rolling green hills, from which it is nicknamed green island owes.

Economy

For a long time, Ireland was the poorest country in Western Europe, symbolizing the emigration for which Ireland was known. In the 1990s, however, Ireland experienced a period of strong economic growth (an average annual economic growth of 9.9% was achieved in the period 1995-2000), making Ireland the second richest country in 2006. the EU is (after Luxembourg) and the fourth richest country in the world (after Luxembourg, Norway and the United States). Ireland was known in the 1990s as the Celtic Tiger, a term referring to the Asian Tigers, who previously experienced similar spectacular growth.

The Irish economy has changed in the 1990s from an economy oriented towards agriculture to a dynamic export economy oriented to the export of high-tech products and services. Computers in particular are an important export product and many US companies, including Dell and Intel, have established their European offices in Ireland. These companies formed the basis of the high economic growth that began in the 1990s. The economy continued to grow strongly in 2005, with a growth of 5%. Services make up 49% of gross domestic product, industry 46% and agriculture 5%.

The secret of the economic revival, in addition to the low taxes for foreign companies (for example, there is no tax on royalties), the so-called "pay pacts", and the accessibility of Irish education. Agreements between government, trade unions and industry on working conditions, including regulated wage development for three years. This is strongly reminiscent of the Dutch polder model of the Kok cabinets and is a continuation of the corporatist ideology that emerged around the Second World War. The abolition of tuition fees in the early 1980s also meant that Ireland had a relatively large number of highly educated employees. Ireland's poor position in the 1980s also meant that the average wage was very low compared to other European countries. Ireland was therefore attractive to American companies because it was an Anglophone country within the European economic area that had a highly skilled and cheap labor force, along with the necessary tax benefits.

Regions

Northern Ireland, that under the United Kingdom falls, has its own article.

Towns

• Dublin - the capital of Ireland
• Cork - the second largest city on the River Lee
• Galway - a town on the River Corrib on the west coast
• Kilkenny - medieval city
• letterkenny - largest city in County Donegal
• Limerick - city on the River Shannon in the southwest of the country. Center of Irish Rugby
• sligo - the home port of W.B. Yeats
• Waterford - Ireland's oldest city

Other destinations

Arrive

By plane

Ireland has a limited number of international airports.

By train

Ireland is not easy to reach by train from abroad. In Ireland itself, the larger towns can be reached by rail.

By car

Ireland can be reached by car, although via the ferries that sail from abroad, especially England, where from certain places a crossing can be made by car to Ireland or vice versa.

By bus

see By car

By boat

From the UK there are four routes across the Irish Sea with Stena Line:

• from Stranraer (Scotland) to Belfast (Northern Ireland), several times a day. Duration 3 hours 15 minutes (ferry), 2 hours (HSS).
• from Holyhead to Dublin Port, several times a day. Duration 3 to 3.5 hours.
• from Holyhead to Dun Laoghaire. Duration 4 hours.
• from Fishguard to Rosslare. Duration 3.5 hours.

Travel around

There are several tours to take in Ireland.

Language

English is the language everyone speaks, although Gaelic (Irish) is still compulsory, taught in schools.

To look at

• 

  Dublin

• 

  Newgrange

• 

  Country

• 

  Kylemore Abbey

To do

To buy

Cost

Food

The Irish cuisine is not very extensive but still has its own delicacies and traditional dishes in a simple way. In recent years, the diversity of food has increased from abroad, which is why one can eat here like in many other countries.

In the larger cities and beyond, there is basically everything to get in terms of food, just like in other western prosperous countries.

Going out

stay overnight

You can stay here in abundance everywhere in Ireland, including in youth hostels, hostels, guesthouses, hotels and B&B's (B&B) or simply at people's homes for a small fee. The prices vary enormously, from very luxurious (5 stars) and expensive to relatively cheap for Dutch and Belgian standards, and then we are mainly talking about the smaller hotels, hostels, youth hostels and sometimes guesthouses, although the latter are not always cheap per night. , but this also varies by region.

To learn

Primary schools are numerous as well as higher schools and universities, Ireland has many students from all over the world from all over the world, who are there for short or longer periods of time.

To work

Safety

Health

Although one would think otherwise with the many hospitals in Ireland, the general health care in Ireland is just reasonable.

respect

Contact

This article is still completely under construction . It contains a template, but not yet enough information to be useful to a traveler. Dive in and expand it!

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