Irish History & Facts
The island is known as 'Ireland' and is divided into two countries:
The Republic of Ireland & Northern Ireland.
The Republic [officially known as 'Eire'] is comprised of 26 counties and is an independent country with its own government, administration, army, navy and air force. The country no longer has any political links with the UK - Irish citizens are not subjects of the Queen of England.
Neutrality: the Republic has long maintained neutrality. During the Second World War, the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, requested that allied forces be allowed to use the Irish western sea ports in the Battle of the Atlantic (war against German U boats). This was refused although Ireland covertly co-operated with the allies during the war (see Dublin by train, Glencree German war graves, for further details). To this day the Republic is not a member of NATO although its continued involvement within the EU may see neutrality eroded. It joined the EU/EEC in 1973.
Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom and consists of 6 counties. Up to 2002 it had its own administrative assembly (Stormont) but it is currently suspended. References to "32" by nationalists refer to the total number of counties in Ireland (north and south).
There are foud Irish provinces - Ulster, Leinster, Munster and Connaught. Ulster includes the six northern Irish counties and three now in the Republic - Cavan, Donegal and Monaghan. These provinces have little meaning in political or administrative terms nowadays. These divisions are quite ancient, dating from the period following the Norman invasion around the 13th century.
The principal local administrative authorities are the 27 counties, each of which has a county council (Tipperary is divided into north and south ridings). Each council has a chairman who usually doubles as the Lord mayor. The function os each council (sometimes borough) is to organize local services, particularly local authority housing, lilbraries, public assistance offices (such as helpdesks and helplines), waste disposal and fire brigades. Other important functions include financial planning, the making of bye-laws, collection of rent and tolls, the maintenance of parks, gardens and open spaces, street cleaning, and other services. Members of the local authority (councillors) are not normally paid for their services, although they have been kn own to claim the odd expense or ten!
Local authorities in Ireland do not control the police (Gardai) or military. This is done at national level; while there are reginal centres for the Gardai, they are administered on a national level.
Legal facts: The highest court in the land is the Supreme Court; the lowest are the District Courts. The District Courts are the and essence of the judicial system in Ireland; they perform essential services over local and criminal jurisdictions. A District judge must be a lawyer of at least ten years' standing. The District Courts may refer to the Circuit Courts (where the cases of apellants from the District Court are heard). Circuit Court judges must be Senior Counsels; the 'circuit' refers to the group of courts to which s/he must travel. The judge may appoint a jury if necessary, otherwise cases are judged by judge alone. The High Court normally site in Dublin and deals with cases beyond the Circuit Court (such a constitutional matters). The Supreme Court is the last recourse for legal appeals and includes the Chief Justice, the President of the High Court plus four other judges. They normally deal with constitutional matters; the president of Ireland can refer bills passed by the Dail (pairliament) and Seanad if s/he thinks they might affect the constitution.
Legal facts: The Attorney General (AG) is effectively the chief Irish lawyer, representing the government at the Supreme Court and advising on matters of technical constitutional law. The AG can also provide liaison between British and Irish legal officers amongst other things. The office fell into serious disrepute following a series of extraordinary events in 1982; the then AG, Patrick Connolly, unwittingly gave refuge to the murderer of an Irish nurse in giving Malcolm MacArthur the keys to his Dalkey apartment. The government, led by Charles Haughey, made an attempt to conceal the events; the Taoiseach later described the episode as "grotesque, unbelievable, bizarre and unprecedented". This gave rise to the popular Irish acronym GUBU, symbolizing Haughey's ability to escape thorough judgement with skillful argument and use of language.
Ireland was most recently ruled by the British and was previously invaded by the Normans (French) and Scandinavians (Vikings).
The Irish Free State was formed in 1921 leading to the withdrawal of [British] Crown forces in Ireland and civil war. The official truce was declared on 11 July 1921.
Did you know? The transition from 'free state' to republic was somewhat painful. In June 1932 the British penalized Ireland by imposing a 40% tax on Irish imports, a retaliation to Ireland's retention of the Irish Land Annuities. To this day there is still a proportion of Irish homeowners who owe yearly ground rent to British landlords.
Not only do schools get far more holidays that their UK counterparts, but a large number of schools close for the days whenever there are elections. Schools that host counting rather than voting do better - counting can take up to two days where voting is only for one day.
Water charges or rates are not paid by ordinary households, nor are water meters issued in the Republic. It is extremely likely that this situation will change in the large cities, due to ongoing development and lack of sustainable infrastructure. In the greater Dublin area, the dramatic increase in high density housing has placed much stress on water and sewerage services.
The Irish death rate has fallen dramatically since the 1960s. In the Republic of Ireland 1962 the death rate per 1000 of the population was a staggering 11.9, that is, 12 people in every 1000 died that year (the figures will include infant deaths - the average life expectancy for men was the age of 66.8 years and women died on average aged 68.6 years). In the 2005 census the number of deaths per 1000 of the population was quoted as 6.6, almost half that of the 1962 figure. Why the dramatic increase in life expectancy? The facts speak for themselves; part of the answer lies in better quality food, healthcare, employment and general well-being.
School summer holidays for secondary pupils begin around the beginning of June until the end of August - the best part of three months! Primary schools begin their holidays around the end of June and return at the same time.
A donation to the Blood Bank in Dublin results in a free pint. Guinness is recommended since it replaces iron lost during your donation!
It is a biological fact that there are no snakes in Ireland, not even the tiniest grass snake. St Patrick gets the credit for this - see my jokes page to find out how he got rid of them.
There is no additional sales tax added to goods items in the north or the Republic. Value-added tax will have already been added to many items (non-EC residents can claim VAT back).
Free travel is given to all Senior citizens in the Republic. This entitles travel on public buses and trains at off-peak times.
Alcohol can only be served to over-18s.
Voting begins at 18 although it is not compulsory.
The Irish Republic was declared on 18 April 1949.
There are two elected political houses, the Dail and the Seanad. Members of the Dail are voted using proportional representation while Senators are elected by commercial, political and educational forums.
The political leader of the Republic is known as the Taoiseach. The head of state is the President - also elected by the people but with virtually no political power.
There are several political parties in the Republic. The oldest date back to the civil war namely Fianna Fail (De Valera) and Fine Gael (Collins). While socialism played a part in the 1916 Rising, modern socialist Irish parties hold a small minority with Labour being the best represented.
The Republic is not a member of NATO but has been a member of the European Community since 1973.
Proportional representation is the voting system used in the Republic.
Provision is made to consult the people on matters of national importance; this is done through a referendum.
Irish law is founded in its constitution, first adopted in 1937.
Irish Culture, language, religion, geography, art, sport and entertainment.
All teachers in the Republic must pass an oral examination in Irish in order to be able to teach. The Ceard Teastas is a requirement for teachers in all subjects and not just those teaching Irish.
Children normally attend school from the age of four; it is compulsory between the ages of 6-14. The age of children attending second-level school [secondary] is usually 12-19. Vocational schools, where students with skills relating to the trades are taught, were quite popular from the mid-1960s but have since declined. Having had a stringent points system to attain university entry, the so-called "points race" ended in 2006 when supply for university places in the Republic had greatly exceeded demand. This is a price to be paid for a thriving economy where school leavers can obtain full-time employment with ease.
The principal religion of the Republic is Roman Catholicism which constitutes over 91% of the population. The remaining 9% are mainly Protestant and Jewish with an increasing representation of Islamic and other world religions [source: CSO].
The Church of Ireland is the Anglican church, a Protestant church. It was the official church during British rule and was disestablished in 1800.
Divorce is now available in the Republic. Abortion is illegal and there have been referenda on both subjects in the last 15 years.
Irish people love sport. Unfortunately, few international teams are comprised of cross-border members with the notable exceptions of rugby, hockey and swimming.
The official sports are run by the Gaelic Athletic Association - football, hurling and camogie. Association soccer is very popular also.
Irish (Gaelic) is the first language of the Republic and is compulsory in all schools up to secondary level (along with English and Maths). A few areas speak Irish fluently including parts of Galway, Cork and Waterford.
Signage in the Republic is bilingual. Much amusement can be had by seeing the historic attempts at converting the Irish names into English! Distances are mainly in kilometres, although miles survive in rural areas [a picture of an old sign in miles]
The Republic of ireland has no nuclear power. The country's electricity stations are mostly peat burning, turf (peat) being found in large quantities in the Irish midlands, and parts of the north-west. Dublin has one oil burning power station, using imported oil. While some peat-burning stations have recently been closed, it would appear that turf will continue to form the mainstay of the country's power.
There is no national identity card - driving licences are commonly used for identification.
Drivers must carry their driving licences when driving.
Criminal suspects are innocent until proven guilty.
The Euro is Ireland's currency although the Central Bank will still exchange Irish punts.
Smoking is officially prohibited in all public buildings and many private spaces, including government offices, trains, buses, pubs and restaurants.
The death penalty was abolished in the mid-twentieth century in the Republic. It was last used for the murder of a member of the Gardai.
Travel tax is levied on anyone leaving the republic by air. But did you know that groups leaving the country for education reasons may avoid this?
The population of the Republic is 3.6 million [source: ENFO] while there are about 1.6 million in the North [source: UK national statistics]. The population in Ireland before the potato famine in 1848 was about 8 million.
Landscape is incredibly diverse, despite being such a small island. The most spectacular areas are Co. Clare for its limestone and the Giant's Causeway, Co. Antrim for its weird basalt formations.
The River Shannon is the longest river in these islands. It traverses the city of Limerick before it enters the Atlantic ocean.
Most western counties face the Atlantic ocean - next landfall west is the USA.
There is very little mineral wealth in Ireland - small deposits of coal are found in Arigna, Co. Cavan and Castlecomer, Co. Kilkenny. Peat bogs are found throughout the midlands of Ireland as well as pockets in the north and Donegal and Mayo; most of these are harvested by the state under their agency Bord na Mona.
The Republic has never had conscription to its army. The Irish army has been an integral part of the United Nations, despite its small size. It has been instrumental in peace-keeping in many troubled parts of the world.