9781422278017

EUROPEAN COUNTRIES TODAY IRELAND

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EUROPEAN COUNTRIES TODAY IRELAND

Dominic J. Ainsley

MASON CREST

Mason Crest 450 Parkway Drive, Suite D Broomall, Pennsylvania PA 19008 (866) MCP-BOOK (toll free)

Copyright © 2019 by Mason Crest, an imprint of National Highlights, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

First printing 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ISBN: 978-1-4222-3986-5

Series ISBN: 978-1-4222-3977-3 ebook ISBN: 978-1-4222-7801-7 Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Ainsley, Dominic J., author. Title: United Kingdom / Dominic J. Ainsley. Description: Broomall, Pennsylvania : Mason Crest, 2019. | Series: European countries today | Includes index. Identifiers: LCCN 2018007586 (print) | LCCN 2018012743 (ebook) | ISBN 9781422278086 (eBook) | ISBN 9781422239933 (hardback) Subjects: LCSH: Great Britain--Juvenile literature. | Northern Ireland--Juvenile literature. | Scotland--Juvenile literature. | Wales--Juvenile literature. Classification: LCC DA27.5 (ebook) | LCC DA27.5 .A56 2019 (print) | DDC 941--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018007586 Cover images Main: Dunguaire Castle, County Galway. Left: Irish soda bread.

Center: The Cliffs of Moher, County Clare. Right: St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Dublin.

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CONTENTS Ireland at a Glance 6 Chapter 1: Ireland’s Geography & Landscape 11 Chapter 2: The Government & History of Ireland 31 Chapter 3: The Irish Economy 49 Chapter 4: Citizens of Ireland: People, Customs & Culture 59 Chapter 5: The Famous Cities of Ireland 75 Chapter 6: A Bright Future for Ireland 85

Chronology 90 Further Reading & Internet Resources 91 Index 92 Picture Credits & Author 96

KEY ICONS TO LOOK FOR:

Words to Understand: These words with their easy-to-understand definitions will increase the reader’s understanding of the text while building vocabulary skills.

Sidebars: This boxed material within the main text allows readers to build knowledge, gain insights, explore possibilities, and broaden their perspectives by weaving together additional information to provide realistic and holistic perspectives. Educational Videos: Readers can view videos by scanning our QR codes, providing them with additional content to supplement the text. Examples include news coverage, moments in history, speeches, iconic sports moments, and much more! Text-Dependent Questions: These questions send the reader back to the text for more careful attention to the evidence presented there.

Research Projects: Readers are pointed toward areas of further inquiry connected to each chapter. Suggestions are provided for projects that encourage deeper research and analysis.

IRELAND AT A GLANCE

MAP OF EUROPE

IRELAND

The Geography of Ireland

Location: western Europe, occupying five- sixths of the island of Ireland in the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Great Britain Area: slightly larger than West Virginia total: 27,131 square miles (70,273 sq. km) land: 26,595 square miles (68,883 sq. km) water: 536 square miles (1,390 sq. km) Borders: UK 275 miles (443 km) Climate: temperate maritime; modified by North Atlantic Current; mild winters, cool summers; consistently humid; overcast about half the time Terrain: mostly flat to rolling interior plain

surrounded by rugged hills and low mountains; sea cliffs on west coast

Elevation extremes:

lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 feet (0 m) highest point: Carrauntoohil 3,415 feet (1,041 meters) Natural Hazards: rare extreme weather events Source: www.cia.gov 2017

IRELAND AT A GLANCE

Flag of Ireland The Republic of Ireland occupies 80 percent of the island of Ireland, the remaining 20 percent being part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. In 1921, Ireland became an independent state, having been part of the United Kingdom for over one hundred years. The flag dates back to 1848 and was used by freedom fighters in their struggle against the British. This came in the wake of the revolutions that were sweeping Europe in 1848 against post-

Napoleonic conservatism. The flag was officially adopted after independence, the green representing the Roman Catholic Church, the orange the Protestants, with white symbolizing the desire for peace.

ABOVE: Temple Bar is an area on the south bank of the river Liffey in central Dublin. It is promoted as Dublin’s cultural quarter and has a lively nightlife that is popular with tourists.

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EUROPEAN COUNTRIES TODAY: IRELAND

The People of Ireland Population: 5,011,102

Ethnic groups: Irish 82.2%, Irish travelers 0.7%, other white 9.5%, Asian 2.1%, black 1.4%, other 1.5%, unspecified 2.6% Age structure:

0–14 years: 21.46% 15–24 years: 11.84% 25–54 years: 43.2% 55–64 years: 10.42% 65 years and over: 13.07%

Population grown rate: 1.15% Birth rate: 14.1 births/1,000 pop. Death rate: 6.6 deaths/1,000 pop. Migration rate: 4 migrants/1,000 pop. Infant mortality rate: 3.6 deaths/1,000 live births Life expectancy at birth: Total population : 80.9 years Male: 78.6 years Female: 83.4 years Total fertility rate: 1.97 children born/woman

Religions: Roman Catholic 78.3%, Church of Ireland 2.7%, other Christian 1.6%, Orthodox 1.3%, Muslim 1.3%, other 2.4%, none 9.8%, unspecified 2.6% Languages: English (official, the language generally used), Irish (Gaelic or Gaeilge official, spoken by approximately 39.8% of the population in 2016) Literacy rate: 99%

Source: www.cia.gov 2017

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Words to Understand bogs: Wet spongy areas of ground that are usually acid and found next to a body of water. estuaries: Areas where rivers flow into seas. provinces: Administrative districts or divisions of countries.

BELOW: Lough Tay is a small but picturesque lake in the Wicklow Mountains, County Wicklow.

Chapter One IRELAND’S GEOGRAPHY & LANDSCAPE

T he island of Ireland lies to the west of England and Wales and faces them across the Irish Sea. To the far west lies the Atlantic Ocean and to the

northeast the North Channel. To the southeast, the Irish Sea flows into the Atlantic via St. George’s Channel and the Celtic Sea. About 80 percent of the total area of the island is occupied by the Republic of Ireland (usually referred to simply as Ireland), which is divided into twenty-six counties. Ireland as a whole is divided into four provinces : Ulster (in which the British region of Northern Ireland occupies six counties in the northeast), Leinster, Munster, and Connaught. The territory as a whole consists of a central lowland area traversed by rivers, such as the Shannon, and with large areas of peat bog, an important source of fuel. The bogs are interspersed by areas of fertile limestone, where mostly dairy farming is carried out. The perimeter of the island has cliffs, hills, and low mountains, the coastline to the west and north being heavily indented with bays and estuaries , while there are many loughs where rivers widen into lakes.

ABOVE: Semi-wild Connemara ponies can still be seen peacefully grazing in their native terrain. 11

IRELAND’S GEOGRAPHY & LANDSCAPE

Educational Video Destination Ireland. A tour of Ireland’s geography and history.

ABOVE: The Great Sugar Loaf in County Wicklow is composed of Cambrian quartzite, in contrast to the rounded mountains to the west, which are made of Devonian granite. Popularly mistaken for a volcano, it is in fact an erosion-resistant, metamorphosed sedimentary deposit from the deep sea. 12

EUROPEAN COUNTRIES TODAY: IRELAND

ABOVE: The Anglo-Norman Trim Castle on the banks of the river Boyne, County Meath.

The Eastern Countries The eastern counties of the Republic of Ireland—Louth, Meath, Kildare, and Wicklow—enclose Dublin in a crescent encompassing the coast of the Irish Sea to north and south. They offer a splendid variety of scenery, from the quiet green pastures of Meath and Louth, touching the border with Northern Ireland in the north, to the rugged Wicklow Mountains in the south. Today, much of the region is fertile pastureland, the Bog of Allen in Kildare being the largest peatland area in Ireland, while the grassy plain of the Curragh, Ireland’s largest area of arable land, is the center of the country’s Thoroughbred racing industry. Louth, a border county, and Meath, both of them once within the Pale (which was the boundary within which the English Crown had established total authority by about 1500), are areas of quiet farmland these days, attracting

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IRELAND’S GEOGRAPHY & LANDSCAPE

Shamrock Perhaps the best-known legend of St. Patrick involves the shamrock, the little plant that is famous throughout the world as the national emblem of Ireland. After training as a priest, then becoming a bishop, Patrick arrived in Ireland in 432 CE and immediately set about trying to covert the pagan Celts who inhabited the island.

Having previously lived and worked there, during his period of slavery in Ireland, he would have been well aware that the number three held special significance in Celtic tradition (and, indeed, in many pagan beliefs), and he applied this knowledge in a clever way. He used the shamrock, a three-leaved clover that grows all over the island, to explain the Christian concept of the Holy Trinity; i.e., the doctrine that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are separate elements of a single entity.

fewer holidaymakers and tourists than Wicklow or Kildare (also once within the Pale), despite the fine stretch of coast and numerous pleasant seaside resorts like Black Rock on Dundalk Bay and Bettystown, south of Drogheda. The South and Southeast The original Gaelic name for Ireland’s southeastern corner is Cuan-na-groith , “haven of the sun,” and it is well deserved. This region of fine river valleys, fertile agricultural land—perhaps at its finest in the Golden Vale in Tipperary— 14