Location Western Europe, occupying five-sixths of the island of Ireland in the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Great Britain
Geographic coordinates 53 00 N, 8 00 W
Map references Europe
Area total:70,280 sq km
land:68,890 sq km
water:1,390 sq km
Area - comparative slightly larger than West Virginia
Land boundaries total:360 km
border countries:UK 360 km
Coastline 1,448 km
Maritime claims continental shelf:not specified
exclusive fishing zone:200 nm
territorial sea:12 nm
Climate temperate maritime; modified by North Atlantic Current; mild winters, cool summers; consistently humid; overcast about half the time
Terrain mostly level to rolling interior plain surrounded by rugged hills and low mountains; sea cliffs on west coast
Elevation extremes lowest point:Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point:Carrauntoohil 1,041 m
Natural resources zinc, lead, natural gas, barite, copper, gypsum, limestone, dolomite, peat, silver
Land use arable land:13%
permanent crops:0%
permanent pastures:68%
forests and woodland:5%
other:14% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land NA sq km
Natural hazards NA
Environment - current issues water pollution, especially of lakes, from agricultural runoff
Environment - international agreements
party to:Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified:Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Endangered Species, Marine Life Conservation, Tropical Timber 94
Geography - note strategic location on major air and sea routes between North America and northern Europe; over 40% of the population resides within 97 km of Dublin
Ireland (ïr´l_nd), Irish Eire, second largest island (32,598 sq mi\84,429 sq km) of the British Isles. It lies west of the island of GREAT BRITAIN, from which it is separated by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St. George's Channel. It is divided politically into Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland; physically, it is composed of a large, fertile central plain roughly enclosed by a highland rim. Heavy rains (over 80 in./203 cm annually in some areas) account for the brilliantly green grass that makes Ireland the “emerald isle.” The interior is dotted with lakes and wide stretches of river called loughs. The longest river is the Shannon.
Ireland, Northern, political division of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (1988 est. pop. 1,589,000), 5,642 sq mi (14,147 sq km), comprising six counties of Ulster in NE Ireland. The capital is BELFAST, one of Britain's chief ports. Farming is the principal occupation. Shipbuilding, food processing, and the manufacture of textiles are the leading industries; Northern Ireland's fine linens are famous. About three fifths of the population is Protestant and one third is Catholic.
History. Northern Ireland's relatively distinct history began in the 17th cent. when the British crown, after suppressing an Irish rebellion, populated much of Ulster with Scottish and English settlers, giving the area a Protestant character in contrast to the rest of Ireland. The question of political separation did not arise, however, until proposals for HOME RULE for Ireland, first broached in 1886 by British prime minister William GLADSTONE, aroused fears in largely Protestant Ulster of domination by the Catholic majority in the south. The situation continued to deteriorate, and by World War I civil war was imminent. The Government of Ireland Act (1920) attempted to solve the problem by enacting Home Rule separately for the two parts of Ireland. Ulster thus became the province of Northern Ireland, but the Irish Free State (now the Republic of Ireland), established in the remainder of Ireland in 1922, refused to recognize the finality of the partition. The situation remained relatively stable until the late 1960s, when protest by the Catholic minority against economic and political discrimination led to widespread violence by the “provisional” wing of the IRISH REPUBLICAN ARMY (IRA) on one side and the Ulster Defense Association, a Protestant terrorist group, on the other. In reply, the British government sent in British troops in 1969 and suspended the Ulster parliament in 1972 and assumed direct rule of the province (except for a period in 1973–74). Protestant and Catholic extremists rejected several efforts at power-sharing, and sectarian conflict marked by bloodshed continued. In 1982 an elective assembly was established with the aim of eventually ending direct rule, but a boycott sparked by the Anglo-Irish Agreement (1985), which granted the Irish republic a consultative role in certain Northern Irish affairs, led to its dissolution (1986). In 1992 the British, Irish, and Northern Irish began a new round of negotiations in an attempt to settle the conflict.
Ireland, Republic of, independent republic (1986 pop. 3,540,643), 27,136 sq mi (70,282 sq km), occupying all but the northeastern corner of the island of Ireland in the British Isles; formerly the Irish Free State (1922–37) and Eire (1937–49). DUBLIN is the capital. Agriculture, primarily the raising of livestock and poultry, is the primary economic activity; crops include flax, oats, wheat, turnips, potatoes, sugar beets, and barley. Tourism is the second largest source of income. Industry produces linen and laces (for which Ireland is famous), food products, and textiles, particularly wool. Gaelic and English are the official languages, but English is more widely spoken. About 95% of the population is Roman Catholic, but there is no established church.
History. The establishment by treaty with GREAT BRITAIN of the Irish Free State in 1922 completed the partition of Ireland into two states (Northern Ireland was created in 1920) and resulted in civil war between supporters of the treaty and opponents. The anti-treaty forces, embodied in the IRISH REPUBLICAN ARMY (IRA) and led by Eamon DE VALERA, were defeated, but the IRA continued as a secret terrorist organization. De Valera and his Fianna Fáil party finally entered the Dáil (parliament) in 1927 and de Valera became prime minister in 1932. Under his administration a new constitution was promulgated (1937), establishing the sovereign state of Ireland, or Eire, within the British Commonwealth. In World War II Eire, remaining neutral, denied the use of Irish ports to the British, although many Irish served voluntarily in the British armed forces. In 1948 Ireland demanded total independence from Great Britain; the Republic of Ireland was proclaimed in 1949 and the country withdrew from the Commonwealth. In the late 1960s problems flared up with Northern Ireland, aggravated by the terrorist activities in Northern Ireland of the IRA, which was headquartered in the republic. In 1973 the country joined the COMMON MARKET. The Fianna Fáil dominated the country's politics until a Fine Gael coalition came to power in 1973; the two parties have tended since to alternate in power. Since 1989 a Fianna Fáil-Progressive Democrat coalition government has been in office; it was led by Prime Min. Charles HAUGHEY until 1992, when a wiretapping scandal forced him to resign. Albert REYNOLDS succeeded Haughey as prime minister. In 1985 the republic began participating in Northern Irish affairs relating to legal, political, and security matters through an intergovernmental committee set up under a British-Irish agreement.
Ireland, republic comprising about five-sixths of the island of Ireland. The country consists of the provinces of Leinster, Munster, and Connacht and part of the province of Ulster. The rest of Ulster, which occupies the northeastern part of the island, constitutes Northern Ireland, a constituent part of the United Kingdom. The republic has an area of 70,273 sq km (27,133 sq mi).
For administrative purposes, the Irish Republic is divided into 26 counties and 5 county boroughs, which are coextensive with the cities of Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, and Waterford. The counties are Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois (Laoighis), Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath, Wexford, and Wicklow, in Leinster Province; Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary, and Waterford, in Munster Province; Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Roscommon, and Sligo, in Connacht Province; and Cavan, Donegal, and Monaghan, in Ulster Province. The county of Tipperary is divided and administered as two subsections, Tipperary North Riding and Tipperary South Riding.
The capital and largest city is Dublin, with a population (1996) of 953,000. Cork is the second largest city and a major port, with a population of 180,000. Other cities and towns include Limerick (79,000), Galway (57,000), and Waterford (44,000).
Ireland has diversified manufacturing, most of it developed since 1930. Among the food-processing industries, the most important are meat packing, brewing and distilling, grain milling, sugar refining, and the manufacture of dairy products, margarine, confections, and jam. Other important manufactured articles include office machinery and data-processing equipment; electrical machinery; tobacco products; woolen and worsted goods; clothing; cement; furniture; soap; candles; building materials; footwear; cotton, rayon, and linen textiles; hosiery; paper; leather; machinery; refined petroleum; and chemicals.
The monetary unit of Ireland is the single currency of the European Union (EU), the euro (1.07 euros equal U.S. $1; 1999 average). Ireland is among 12 EU member states to adopt the euro. The euro was introduced on January 1, 1999, for electronic transfers and accounting purposes only, and Ireland's national currency, the Irish pound, was used for other purposes. On January 1, 2002, euro-denominated coins and bills went into circulation, and the Irish pound ceased to be legal tender.
As a participant in the single currency, Ireland must follow economic policies established by the European Central Bank (ECB). The ECB is located in Frankfurt, Germany, and is responsible for all EU monetary policies, which include setting interest rates and regulating the money supply. On January 1, 1999, control over Irish monetary policy was transferred from the Central Bank of Ireland to the ECB. After the transfer, the Central Bank of Ireland joined the national banks of the other EU countries that adopted the euro as part of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB).
Dublin and Cork are the manufacturing, financial, and commercial centers of Ireland. Dublin is the most important seaport; Cork is the main port for transatlantic passenger travel. Other significant ports include Dún Laoghaire, Waterford, Rosslare, and Limerick. Ireland became a member of the European Community (now called the European Union) in 1973, thus expanding the market for the country's important agricultural exports. Imports in 1999 totaled $46 billion, and exports, including reexports, $70.3 billion. The major trading partners of Ireland include the United Kingdom, Germany, the United States, France, and Japan. The most important exports include electrical and electronic equipment, livestock, meat, dairy products, chemicals, and textiles and clothing; about two-thirds of all exports are to the countries of the European Union. Imports are primarily machinery, transport equipment, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, cereals and foodstuffs, textiles, and iron and steel.
Tourism has been effectively promoted and has increased steadily in importance. In 1999, some 6.5 million tourists spent $2.2 billion in Ireland.
Ireland has 1,945 km (1,209 mi) of railway track, all operated by the state-owned Irish Transport Company and linking all important points on the island. The road system totals about 92,500 km (about 57,477 mi), 94 percent of which is paved. Navigable inland waterways total about 435 km (about 270 mi). International airports are located at Shannon, Dublin, and Cork, and several international air-transport systems provide regular service between Ireland and major cities throughout the world.
All postal, telegraph, telephone, and broadcasting services are operated by government agencies or statutory bodies. In 1999 Ireland had 478 telephone mainlines for every 1,000 residents. Radio Telefís Éireann, the public broadcasting authority, operated three radio channels and two television channels. In 1997 there were 697 radio receivers and 402 television sets in use for every 1,000 inhabitants.
In 1999 the total labor force was 1.6 million. Some 9 percent of the workers were engaged in agriculture, forestry, and fishing; 29 percent in manufacturing, mining, and construction; and 62 percent in services. In the early 1990s some 667,000 workers in both the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland are members of unions affiliated with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.
Most health services are provided free of charge for low-income groups and at moderate charges for others, through local and national agencies, under the supervision of the department of health. A nonprofit, contributory voluntary health insurance scheme is administered by an independent statutory agency. Public insurance and assistance programs are administered by the department of social welfare and include pensions for the aged, widows, and orphans; children's allowances; unemployment benefits; and other social security items.
The five-year term of office of the Dáil expired in June 1937. In the subsequent election de Valera and Fianna Fáil were returned to power and, in a simultaneous plebiscite, the voters approved the new constitution. This document abolished the Irish Free State and established Eire as a “sovereign independent democratic state.” The constitution provided for an elected president as head of state; a prime minister as head of government; and a two-house legislature, with a new 60-member senate. Although it presumed to apply to all Ireland, its application in Northern Ireland was not to take effect prior to unification. It made no reference to the British monarch or to the Commonwealth of Nations, but de Valera indicated that Eire's relations with Britain would be governed by the External Relations Act of 1936. In 1938 the Irish writer and patriot Douglas Hyde became the first president of Eire, and de Valera became prime minister.
In 1938 a treaty ended the tariff war between Eire and Britain. It provided for the withdrawal of British forces from naval bases in Eire in exchange for a lump-sum payment to settle the annuities owed to Britain. The slight improvement in relations between the two nations was marred by a violent terrorist campaign in Britain conducted by the IRA.
Although Eire remained neutral in World War II (1939-1945), thereby demonstrating its independence, many of its citizens joined the Allied forces or worked in British war industries. In the immediate post-war period, the economic dislocations in Britain and Europe subjected the economy of Eire to severe strains, resulting in a period of rapid inflation and, indirectly, in the defeat of Fianna Fáil and de Valera in the elections of February 1948. John Aloysius Costello became prime minister, leading a coalition of six parties, the chief of which was Fine Gael. He called for lower prices and taxes, the expansion of industrial production, and closer commercial relations with Britain. In November 1948 Costello led the Dáil in passing the Republic of Ireland Bill.
On Easter Monday, April 18, 1949, the anniversary of the Easter Rebellion, Eire became the Republic of Ireland, formally free of allegiance to the British crown and no longer a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. In the following month, the British Parliament confirmed the status of Northern Ireland as part of the United Kingdom until its own parliament chose otherwise. It allowed Ireland to retain the economic benefits of Commonwealth membership, and it extended to Irish citizens resident in the United Kingdom the same rights as British citizens. Ireland granted British citizens residing in the republic similar benefits, not including political rights. The republic became a member of the United Nations on December 14, 1955. It declined to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), however, since this would have entailed entering into an alliance with the United Kingdom, which retained possession of Northern Ireland.
Although inflation and an unfavorable balance of trade continued to trouble the country's economy, Ireland made significant strides toward economic stability through the 1950s and 1960s. In 1964 the government completed a five-year plan of economic development, which exceeded its goals. A feature of the program was the offer of tax incentives to foreign investors.
Partly as a result of such programs, the rate of economic growth increased from about 1 percent per year in the 1950s to more than 4.5 percent in the late 1960s. It was officially reported in 1964 that more than 200 factories had begun production since 1955, most of them with foreign participation. A second plan had a goal of increasing the 1960 gross national product by 50 percent within ten years. The improving economic circumstances were regarded as the main cause of a decline in emigration, ending a population decline that had continued unabated for more than a century.
With economic recovery came a new measure of political stability and a decline in traditional anti-British feeling. As early as 1957 Prime Minister Costello, who regarded terrorist activities as damaging to relations with Britain and tending to prolong the partition of Ireland, had called for forceful action against the IRA. De Valera, who succeeded Costello following the 1957 elections, publicly agreed that unity could not be achieved by force. This plus a decline in active membership led the IRA in February 1962 to announce that it had abandoned violence. Still, Ireland continued to suffer occasional acts of terrorism.
In June 1959 de Valera, at the age of 77, was elected president, a position he would hold for 14 years, and Sean Lemass became prime minister. Lemass and John Mary Lynch, who succeeded him in 1966, both attempted to build up industry in order to reduce unemployment and increase exports. Ireland was being led away from its ideal of conservative self-sufficiency and into closer ties with Britain and Europe. In 1965 Britain abolished virtually all tariffs on Irish goods, and Ireland undertook to do the same for British goods over a period of 15 years.
An increase of violence between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland was followed by IRA terrorist activity both within and outside of the Irish Republic. In 1971 the Dáil banned the purchase or holding of arms for use outside Ireland. In 1972 the government required the surrender of all firearms.
Also in early 1972 Ireland signed a treaty joining the European Community (now called the European Union), effective January 1, 1973—a move favored by 83 percent of the voters; and, by referendum, ended the special constitutional status of the Roman Catholic Church.
A coalition of Fine Gael and the Labour Party gained a slim majority in the 1973 elections and Fine Gael leader Liam Cosgrave became prime minister. In 1977 Fianna Fáil returned to power in a government headed by Lynch; in 1979 he was replaced by Charles Haughey.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s the Irish government faced difficult problems: increased terrorism in the North by extremist Irish nationalists and a weak economy that produced massive government debt and rising unemployment. Elections were held in 1981, and a coalition government was led briefly by Garret FitzGerald, head of Fine Gael. Inconclusive elections in February 1982 returned Haughey to power, but another election, in late 1982, brought FitzGerald back. In 1985 FitzGerald signed a pact with Britain—the Anglo-Irish Agreement—which gave the Irish Republic a consultive role in governing Northern Ireland. FitzGerald remained prime minister until 1987, when he was replaced by Haughey with a single-vote majority in the Dáil.
In November 1990, without the endorsement of the major parties, Mary Robinson was elected president. A champion of women's rights and civil liberties, Robinson was the first woman to hold so high an office in the Republic of Ireland.
In December 1991 Ireland signed the Treaty on European Union at Maastricht, The Netherlands, after securing a special provision that guaranteed that Ireland's abortion laws would not be affected by future European Union policies.
The treaty was ratified by a national referendum in June 1992. Haughey resigned as prime minister and leader of Fianna Fáil in early 1992, amid allegations that he had known about illegal phone tapping ordered by one of his ministers in a previous administration; Haughey's former finance minister, Albert Reynolds, was chosen to replace him. Reynolds remained prime minister after the elections of November 1992, but at the head of a coalition government made up of Fianna Fáil and the Labour Party. In the elections, Irish voters also approved measures guaranteeing access to information about abortion and legalizing foreign travel to get an abortion, but rejected a constitutional amendment that would have broadened the availability of abortion within the republic. However, these measures were not supported by a July 1993 Irish Supreme Court decision, which upheld a ban on the distribution of overseas abortion information by a Dublin clinic.
In November 1994 the coalition government collapsed over disagreements regarding Reynolds's appointment of a controversial new attorney-general, a move that led the Labour Party to withdraw its support of Fianna Fáil. A new coalition government was formed, headed by Prime Minister John Bruton of the Fine Gael Party. This new coalition was made up of members of Fine Gael, the Labour Party, and the Democratic Left.
In February 1997 a law legalizing divorce under certain circumstances went into effect in the Republic of Ireland. Divorce had been banned in Ireland since the country gained independence from Britain, and the new law was vigorously opposed by the Roman Catholic Church.
Shortly thereafter, John Bruton called a national election for June. He was faced with a growing scandal involving large cash donations to members of parliament and criticism regarding his policies on Northern Ireland. In the elections, Bruton's three-party coalition government came away with only 75 seats in the 166-seat lower house of parliament, compared to 81 for the opposition coalition of Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats. Though neither group was able to secure the 84 seats needed for an overall majority, Fianna Fáil leader Bertie Ahern became the new prime minister.
In September 1997 President Mary Robinson resigned to become the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. The popular Robinson was widely credited with raising the profile and influence of the largely ceremonial presidential office during her seven-year term. In elections held in October, Robinson was replaced by Mary McAleese, a law professor from Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Ireland's economy grew dramatically in the 1990s, although Irish per capita income in 1997 was still below the average for members of the European Union. One cause of the growth was government encouragement of foreign investment, which led many large corporations—especially those in the computer and electronics industries—to open facilities in Ireland. Ireland's economy was expected to continue growing well into the 21st century.
In August 1994 the IRA stated its intentions to suspend military operations in favor of peace negotiations in Northern Ireland. In February 1995 John Bruton and British prime minister John Major established a framework for negotiating the status of Northern Ireland. The document recognized Northern Ireland's right to self-determination and proposed the creation of a Northern Ireland Assembly. It also called for the establishment of a cross-border body composed of members of that assembly and representatives of the Irish Parliament. However, the two sides failed to agree on disarming the IRA, which resumed its terrorist activities in February 1996. After a week of bombing, Major and Bruton met again, setting May 30 as the date for the election of a new parliament, which would be made up of members of pro-British and pro-Irish political parties and would debate the situation in Northern Ireland. Sinn Fein, the political arm of the IRA, won 15 percent of the vote in these elections, but was excluded from the talks because of the IRA's refusal to restore the cease-fire. The parliament met as scheduled in June 1996, though conflict over the issue of whether or not Sinn Fein and the IRA should be included in the negotiations limited progress.
The peace process was revitalized after Tony Blair and the Labour Party won a landslide victory over John Major's Conservatives in May 1997 British parliamentary elections. After taking office, Blair declared the talks a top priority, and in June he announced that new talks would begin in September 1997. The IRA renewed its cease-fire in July, and after the British government dropped its demands that the IRA completely disarm before allowing Sinn Fein to participate in the talks, Sinn Fein joined the negotiations. Initial progress was limited, but the talks gradually proceeded with the help of Blair and Irish prime minister Bertie Ahern and under the oversight of former United States senator George Mitchell, who moved Blair's original deadline up to April 9, 1998. Although many feared the process would fall apart once again, Mitchell kept the talks on track. After an all-night negotiating session, and slightly past the deadline, the talks culminated in an historic agreement on April 10.
The agreement called for the creation of a provincial assembly for Northern Ireland to replace the direct rule of the province by the British government. This body would be overseen by an executive cabinet. It also created a North-South Ministerial Council to coordinate policies between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, and a Council of the Isles to allow representatives from both parts of Ireland to meet with representatives from the British, Scottish, and Welsh legislative bodies. Additionally, the agreement called for the Republic of Ireland to amend its constitution to drop its territorial claim to Northern Ireland.
On May 22 the Northern Ireland peace agreement was put to a vote in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. In the Republic of Ireland the agreement was passed by an overwhelming 94 percent to 6 percent; in Northern Ireland the vote was passed by a margin of 71 percent to 29 percent.
Despite several false starts and many delays, the British Parliament formally transferred a wide range of powers to the Northern Ireland government in December 1999. The following day, the Irish government issued a statement relinquishing its territorial claim on Northern Ireland, and Irish and British officials signed an agreement setting up the North-South Ministerial Council. In the months ahead, however, the unresolved conflict over the pace of IRA disarmament triggered a series of crises that threatened to undermine the peace process. By September 2001 the British government had suspended the Northern Ireland Assembly three times. The IRA's historic decision to begin disarming in October averted the collapse of the power-sharing government.
