Ireland is an island off the northwestern coast of Europe. It is divided between the Republic of Ireland, which consists of twenty-six counties and the traditional provinces of Munster, Leinster, Connacht, and three of the nine counties of Ulster, and the six counties of Northern Ireland, which comprise the remainder of the province of Ulster and are part of the United Kingdom. According to the last census the Republic of Ireland has a population of 4,234,925[1] Northern Ireland has a population of 1,685,267 (2002 est.)[2]
The primary language is English, however, the official language of the Republic is Gaeilge, or Irish. In the Irish language the official name of Ireland (which appears on all coins, stamps, and government documents) is Éire. The flag is a tricolor, the green representing the native Catholic tradition of Ireland, the orange representing the settled Protestant/Dissenter population, and the white, the peace between them.
History
Historically, Ireland's culture has been distinct from other regional cultures, as it was the one of the only Celtic territories never conquered by the Roman Empire. Ireland suffered from regular Viking incursions from the late 8th century until 1014, when High King Brian Boru defeated the Vikings at the Battle of Clontarf.
In the 12th century, the Pope granted Ireland to the English crown as a papal fief. This was Pope Adrian IV, the only Englishman to become bishop of Rome. The English however, were unable to bring the entire island under their control until the 17th century, after the defeat of the Irish in the Nine Years War. King James I of England (King James VI of Scotland) decided to plant Ulster, in the North of Ireland, with English and Scottish Protestant settlers, in an attempt to prevent future rebellions.[3]
In 1690, the Catholic King James II and his Irish allies were defeated by the Protestant William of Orange at the Battle of the Boyne. This defeat ushered in an era of Protestant dominance in Ireland. A series of regulations limiting the status of the Catholic majority were passed between 1691 and 1760, known as the Penal Laws. These laws also discriminated against Presbyterians and other dissenting Protestants, who along with Catholics were forced to pay tithes to the Anglican Church.[4] [5]
In 1798, a combined Protestant and Catholic Republican rebellion was defeated. This led to the Act of Union being passed in 1801, under which Ireland became a part of the United Kingdom. The Irish economy declined rapidly and the Great Famine An Gorta Mór broke out in 1845. The famine killed roughly one million, or one eighth of the entire population. It led to mass emigration to the United States, Canada and to Britain.
Pro-nationalist sentiment continued to rise and the Irish tried to secure their own parliament. Opposition to this arose in the predominantly Protestant and Unionist province of Ulster which allied with the British Conservative Party in an attempt to block "Home Rule". The outbreak of war in 1914 delayed the enaction of Home Rule and led to growing agitation amongst Irish Nationalists. The Easter Rising of 1916 was put down by the British, but their heavy-handed approach increased opposition to their rule. A war of independence broke out in 1919, the Irish using guerrilla tactics to undermine British rule in the country. The war with the British ended in 1921 with the British retaining control of six counties in the province of Ulster. The territory independent of the British became the Irish Free State, while the territory controlled by the British became Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland was granted a home rule parliament. Later, in 1937, the Free State adopted a new constitution, or Bunreacht (now the oldest written Constitution in Europe) changing its name to Éire and removing all references to the Free State's position within the British Commonwealth. [6] The Irish Free State finally left the Commonwealth and declared itself a Republic in 1949.
Politics
Republic of Ireland
The Republic of Ireland uses Proportional Representation meaning that there are a large number of political parties. The Republic of Ireland has a bicameral legislature, "the Oireachtas". It consists of the 166 seat lower house Dáil(parliament) and the 66 seat upper house, the Seanad(Senate), which both sit in Leinster House, Dublin. In recent times the country has been governed mostly by coalitions generally of either Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats or Fine Gael and Labour. The Republic of Ireland is also a member of the European Union and is represented by 13 MEPs. [7]
Fianna Fail: (Pronounced Fee-Na Fall which is Irish for 'Soldiers of Destiny'). Ireland's main political party, they do not class themselves as either left or right wing but are generally considered centrist and traditionally the choice for republicans (in the Irish sense, meaning supporters of a United Ireland) due to its foundation by Eamon de Valera; considered by his supporters to be the greatest of all Irish nationalists. Traditionally the party of Big Business and the farming community, and generally conservative on social issues (though probably not by American standards). Currently the largest party in the ruling coalition. Led by Bertie Ahern, current Taoiseach(Prime Minister) of the Republic of Ireland.[8]
Fine Gael: (Pronounced Finna Gale, Irish for 'Family of the Irish'). Ireland's second largest party. Fine Gael is traditionally socially and fiscally conservative. Under the leadership of Garret FitzGerald in the 1980's, the party embraced social democracy. Today the party likes to characterize itself as a party of the "progressive centre". Led by Enda Kenny. [9]
Labour Party: A social democratic left-wing party, similar to the Labour Party of the British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Pat Rabitte is the leader of the Labour Party.[10]
Progressive Democrats: The second party in the ruling coalition, it is very right wing on economic issues, favoring low-taxation, pro-business policies, but are very liberal on social issues. Michael McDowell is the current leader and Tánaiste(deputy Prime Minister) of the Republic of Ireland.[11]
Green Party: A left-wing party in favor of environmental protection, renewable energy and a stronger system of social security. Led by Trevor Sargent.[12]
Sinn Féin: (Pronounced Shin Fane, Irish for 'Ourselves') Remnant of Ireland's oldest political party, it is closely connected with the Provisional IRA, a terrorist/guerrilla movement that sought a United Irish Republic. They have recently embraced a more democratic approach. They are a party of left-wing socialist economics which espouses liberal social issues such as gay marriage. They organize in all 32 counties of Ireland. Led by Gerry Adams. [13]
Socialist Party: A left-wing Trotskyite party. They oppose capitalism and seek a United Socialist Ireland. Led by Joe Higgins. [14]
Taoisigh(Prime Ministers) of the Republic of Ireland
From 1922 to 1937, the office was known as "President of the Executive Council".
William Thomas Cosgrave (Cummann na nGaedheal): 1922-1932.
Éamon de Valera (Fianna Fáil): 1932-1948, 1951-1954, 1957-1959.
John A.Costello (Fine Gael): 1948-1951, 1954-1957.
Seán Lemass (Fianna Fáil): 1959-1966.
Jack Lynch (Fianna Fáil): 1966-1973, 1977-1979.
Liam Cosgrave (Fine Gael): 1973-1977.
Charles Haughey (Fianna Fáil): 1979-1981, March 1982 - December 82 and March 1987 - February 1992.
Garret FitzGerald (Fine Gael): 30 June 1981- 9 March 1982 and 14 December 1982 - 10 March 1987.
Albert Reynolds (Fianna Fáil): February 1992-1994.
John Bruton (Fine Gael): 1994-1997.
Bertie Ahern (Fianna Fáil): 1997-Present. [15]
Northern Ireland
The political parties of Northern Ireland are mostly divided on the national question (whether to remain within the UK or become part of a United Ireland), rather than on a left-right basis. They contest elections for the British Parliament(where Northern Ireland is allocated 18 seats) and the 108 seat Northern Ireland Assembly. Northern Ireland has 3 MEPs. [16]
Westminster elections use the Plurality voting system, whereas the Assembly Elections use the Proportional Representation(PR) system.
The major parties are:
Democratic Unionist Party(DUP): Currently the largest unionist party in Northern Ireland. The DUP is a right-wing, ultra-conservative, hardline unionist party currently led by its founder, the Reverend Ian RK Paisley. The party has strong links with Rev. Paisley's Free Presbyterian Church. [17]
Sinn Féin Currently the largest nationalist party in Northern Ireland, they sit in the Irish parliament and Northern Ireland Assembly, but refuse to take their seats in the British Parliament in Westminster.
Ulster Unionist Party(UUP): A right-wing party, which had strong links with the British Conservative Party. Nobel Peace Prize laureate David Trimble is a former leader. Currently in decline, with voters turning to the DUP. Currently led by Sir Reg Empey. [18]
Social Democratic and Labour Party(SDLP): A left-wing nationalist party. Nobel Peace Prize laureate John Hume is a former leader. The SDLP were the largest nationalist party until recently, when they were overtaken by Sinn Féin. Unlike SF, the SDLP have always advocated a non-violent and constitutional approach to achieving a United Ireland. Current leader is Mark Durkan. [19]
Alliance Party: The Alliance party identifies as neither unionist or nationalist and thus receives support from both communities. The current leader is David Ford. [20]
Prime Ministers of Northern Ireland
House of Commons of Northern Ireland (1921-1972)
Sir James Craig (UUP): 1921-1940
John Miller Andrews (UUP): 1940-1943
Sir Basil Brooke (UUP): 1943-1963
Terence O'Neill (UUP): 1963-1969
Brian Faulkner (UUP): 1969-1972
Post abolished in 1972.
First Ministers: (NI Assembly from 1998 to Present)
David Trimble (UUP) 1998-July 2001, November 2001-October 2002
Sir Reg Empey (UUP) (Acting): July 2001-October 2001
Religion
The Republic of Ireland is predominantly Roman Catholic in religion(88%). Membership of the Church of Ireland runs at about 3%, with most of the rest of the population belonging to other Protestant/Christian denominations. Southern Protestantism had been in decline since independence due to the ne temere decree(children in mixed Catholic/Protestant marriages had to be raised Catholic) [22] and emigration. However, it has experienced a revival of late due to immigrants and some converts from Catholicism. There is a small Jewish community in Ireland. The Muslim community has grown recently due to immigration. [23]
The Republic has maintained a strong Catholic ethos since independence. Abortion remains illegal however in recent years other restrictions on divorce, homosexuality and contraception have been relaxed due to pressure from liberal groups.
Northern Ireland has a Protestant majority (53%), the main denominations being Presbyterian and Church of Ireland (Anglican/Episcopal). Roughly 44% of the population are Roman Catholic, with most of the remainder professing no religion. [24]