The Republic of Ireland is the official descriptionof the sovereign state which covers approximately five-sixths of the island of Ireland, off the coast of north-west Europe. The state's constitutional name is Ireland (in the Irish language: Éire) and this is how international organisations and residents usually refer to the country. It is a member of the European Union, has a developed economy and a population of slightly more than 4.2 millionThe remaining sixth of the island of Ireland is known as Northern Ireland and is part of the United Kingdom.

History

The state known today as the Republic of Ireland came into being when 26 of the counties of Ireland seceded from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (UK) in 1922. The remaining six counties remained within the UK as Northern Ireland. This action, known as the Partition of Ireland, came about because of complex constitutional developments in the early twentieth century.
The Republic of Ireland joined the United Nations in 1955 and the European Community (now the European Union) in 1973. Irish governments have sought the peaceful reunification of Ireland and have usually cooperated with the British government in the violent conflict involving many paramilitaries and the British Army in Northern Ireland known as the "Troubles". A peace settlement for Northern Ireland, the Belfast Agreement, was approved in 1998 in referenda north

Politics

The state is a republic, with a parliamentary system of government. The President of Ireland, who serves as head of state, is elected for a seven-year term and can be re-elected only once. The president is largely a figurehead but can still carry out certain constitutional powers and functions, aided by the Council of State, an advisory body. The Taoiseach (prime minister), is appointed by the president on the nomination of parliament. The Taoiseach is normally the leader of the political party which wins the most seats in the national elections. It has become normal in the Republic for coalitions to form a government, and there has not been a single-party government since the period of 1987–1989.

Geography&climate

The island of Ireland extends over 84,421 km² or 32,556 mi² of which 83% (or five-sixths) belong to the Republic (at 70,280 km² or 27,103 mi²), with the remainder constituting Northern Ireland. It is bound to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the northeast by the North Channel. To the east is found the Irish Sea which reconnects to the ocean via the southwest with St George's Channel and the Celtic Sea. The west-coast of Ireland mostly consists of cliffs, hills and low mountains (the highest point being Carrauntoohil at 1,041 m or 3,414'). In from the perimeter of the country is mostly relatively flat farmland, traversed by rivers such as the River Shannon and several large lakes or loughs. The centre of the country is part of the River Shannon watershed, containing large areas of bogland, used for peat production.

The local temperate climate is modified by the North Atlantic Current and is relatively mild. Summers are rarely very hot (temperatures only exceed 30ºC usually once every decade, though commonly reach 29ºC or 84ºF most summers), but it freezes only occasionally in winter (temperatures below -5ºC are very rare). Precipitation is very common, with up to 275 days with rain in some parts of the country. Chief cities are the capital Dublin on the east coast, Cork in the south, Limerick, Galway on the west coast, and Waterford on the south east coast (see Cities in Ireland).

Economy

The economy of Ireland has transformed in recent years from an agricultural focus to one dependent on trade, industry and investment. Economic growth in Ireland averaged an exceptional 10% from 1995–2000, and 7% from 2001–2004. Industry, which accounts for 46% of GDP, about 80% of exports, and 29% of the labor force, now takes the place of agriculture as the country's leading sector.

Culture

The island of Ireland has produced the Book of Kells, and writers such as George Berkeley, Jonathan Swift, James Joyce, George Bernard Shaw, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Oliver Goldsmith, Oscar Wilde, W.B. Yeats, Patrick Kavanagh, Samuel Beckett, John Millington Synge, Seán O'Casey, Séamus Heaney, Bram Stoker and others. Shaw, Yeats, Beckett and Heaney are Nobel Literature laureates. Other prominent writers include John Banville, Roddy Doyle, Séamus Ó Grianna, Dermot Bolger, Maeve Binchy, Frank McCourt, Edna O'Brien, Joseph O'Connor, John McGahern and Colm Tóibín.

Ireland is known for its Irish traditional music, but has produced many other internationally influential artists in other musical genres; Blues guitarist Rory Gallagher, folk singer Christy Moore, the Wolfe Tones and singer Sinéad O'Connor.

In classical music, the Island of Ireland was also the birthplace of the notable composers Turlough O'Carolan, John Field (inventor of the Nocturne), Gerald Barry, Michael William Balfe, Sir Charles Villiers Stanford and Charles Wood.

Successful entertainment exports in the late twentieth century include acts such as Horslips, U2, Thin Lizzy, Boomtown Rats, The Corrs, Boyzone, Ronan Keating, The Cranberries, Gilbert O'Sullivan, Westlife and Enya, and the internationally acclaimed dance shows Riverdance and Lord of the Dance. In the early twenty-first century, Damien Rice rose to international fame. The Frames are a young band in Ireland who are on the rise world-wide.

Notable Hollywood actors from the Republic of Ireland include Barry Fitzgerald, Maureen O'Sullivan, Richard Harris, Peter O'Toole, Pierce Brosnan, Gabriel Byrne, Daniel Day Lewis (by citizenship), Colm Meaney, Colin Farrell and Cillian Murphy.

Ireland has produced a number of talented sportsmen and women. In soccer, former players include Roy Keane, Johnny Giles, Liam Brady, Denis Irwin, Packie Bonner, Niall Quinn and Paul McGrath, while footballers whose careers are ongoing include Shay Given and Robbie Keane. In rugby Ireland has produced Ronan O'Gara and Brian O'Driscoll while in athletics Sonia O'Sullivan and Derval O'Rourke have had success in international events. Notable Gaelic Athletic Association players include the now retired pair of DJ Carey and Peter Canavan. A famous bareknuckled boxer although he was not born in Ireland, John L. Sullivan, born 1858 from Irish immigrants was and is historically the first modern world heavyweight champion. Barry McGuigan was also a world champion boxer, while Bernard Dunne is a current European champion and is expecting a crack at a world title later in 2007.

Ernest Walton of Trinity College Dublin shared the 1951 Nobel Prize in Physics for "splitting the atom". William Rowan Hamilton was a significant mathematician.