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TRIVIA
Culture, language, religion, geography, art, sport,
entertainment
(This information is from
this
wonderful site on Irish Trivia)
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.
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 Islamics
and other world religions
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.
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 while there are
about 1.6 million in the North. 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.
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.
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.
Political facts
The island is known as 'Ireland' and is divided into two countries:
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
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.
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)
Ireland is divided into four 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.
Ireland was most recently ruled by the British and was previously
invaded by the Normans (French) and Scandanavians (Vikings).
The Free State was formed in 1921 leading to the withdrawal of
[British] Crown forces in Ireland and civil war.
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.
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