Irish are Roman Catholics. About 40
percent of the people live in rural areas.
Beginning in the mid-1800s, large numbers
of people left Ireland because of
crop failures, a poor economy, and high
unemployment. Today more Irish
154 Ireland BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
people live outside Ireland than inside
the country.
Economy
Ireland’s people relied on farming for
their income for much of the 1900s.
During the 1990s, however, the country
enjoyed great economic growth. This
was due in part to the development of a
technology industry. Services, including
finance, transportation, and public
administration, are now Ireland’s main
economic activities. Tourism is one of
the country’s largest service industries.
Manufacturing, mining, and construction
are also very important to the
economy. Among Ireland’s products are
office equipment and computers, chemicals,
medicines, alcoholic beverages, and
clothing. Ireland has limited natural
resources, including zinc, lead, and silver,
as well as small reserves of natural
gas and coal.
Agriculture is now a small part of the
Irish economy. Crops include sugar
beets, barley, wheat, and potatoes. Farmers
raise cattle for meat and milk, sheep
for wool, and pigs for meat. Fishing is
another source of food.
History
The first people to live in Ireland were
hunters and fishers. They came from the
European mainland in about 6000 BC.
Later settlers brought knowledge of
farming in about 3000 BC and skills in
metalworking by about 2000 BC.
In about 300 BC invaders from Europe
known as Celts overran Ireland. The
Celts wiped out almost all the earlier
inhabitants. They set up a number of
kingdoms on the island.
In the AD 400s Saint Patrick helped to
spread Christianity among the population
of Ireland. Ireland remained peaceful
until the late 700s, when Vikings
invaded. The Irish finally defeated the
Vikings in 1014.
English Rule
In 1170–71 English armies conquered
large parts of Ireland. In the early 1600s
The Newgrange tomb in Ireland was built in
about 3200 BC. Ancient peoples buried
their dead inside the tomb.
Colorful houses line the street in the village
of Eyeries in southern Ireland.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Ireland 155
England sent English and Scottish Protestants
to settle in northern Ireland.
Irish Catholics revolted against those
settlers in 1641, but the English crushed
the revolts. They also imposed strict
anti-Catholic laws.
By the end of the 1600s England firmly
controlled the island. In 1801 the Act of
Union joined Great Britain (England,
Scotland, andWales) and Ireland
together to form the United Kingdom.
Independence
The Irish strongly opposed British rule.
Beginning in 1919 a group called the
Irish Republican Army (IRA) fought the
British Army for independence. In 1921
Britain agreed to make the southern part
of the island the Irish Free State. Six
counties in the north remained under
direct British control, however. Those
countries were renamed Northern Ireland.
In 1937 the Irish Free State took
the name Eire, or Ireland. Ireland
adopted a new constitution, though it
kept some ties to Britain.
In 1949 Ireland became a fully
independent republic. Britain and
Ireland struggled over control of
Northern Ireland until 1973. That year
the government of Ireland
acknowledged British rule in the north.
But the IRA, now separate from the
Irish government, continued to attack
the British in the hope of reuniting
Ireland. The Irish government helped
work out a peace agreement between
the two sides in 1998.
In 1993 Ireland became one of the original
members of the European Union. At
the start of the 21st century, Ireland
welcomed growing numbers of immigrants
for the first time in its modern
history.
..More to explore
Celt • Dublin • European Union
• Northern Ireland • United Kingdom
before
300 BC AD 795 1170 1641 1845 1921 1948
The Celts settle
in Ireland.
The Vikings
invade Ireland.
England begins
conquering
Ireland.
An Irish revolt
against English
rule fails.
The Irish potato
famine begins.
Southern
Ireland
becomes the
Irish Free State.
The Irish Free
State votes to
become an
independent
republic.
T I M E L I N E
Facts About
IRELAND
Population
(2008 estimate)
4,467,000
Area
27,133 sq mi
(70,273 sq km)
Capital
Dublin
Form of
government
Republic
Major cities
Dublin, Cork,
Galway, Limerick,
Waterford
156 Ireland BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
Ireland,
Northern
#see Northern Ireland.
Iris
Irises are popular garden flowers. They
are known for their wide variety of colors
and their unique petal shapes. There
are about 300 species, or types, of iris.
They grow mostly in mild northern
regions. Some of the most beautiful species
are from central Asia and the area
around the Mediterranean Sea.
Some irises grow from bulbs. Others
grow from the rhizomes of other iris
plants. Rhizomes are vinelike stems that
spread out just beneath the surface of
the soil. New plants grow from different
points on a rhizome.
Irises have six petals. The three inner
petals stand upright and are called standards.
The three outer petals droop
down and are called falls. The petals can
be white, yellow, pink, red, blue, purple,
brown, or even black.
