The Republic of Ireland has existed since 1922, but its inhabitants proudly claim their nation to be the only modern independent state to sprout from purely Celtic roots (sprinkled with a few Vikings and shipwrecked Spanish Armada sailors for good measure). The Romans never bothered to come over and organize the wild Irish. Through the persuasive and culturally enlightened approach of early missionaries such as St. Patrick, Ireland may also be the only country to have initially converted to Christianity without much bloodshed. The religious carnage came later, with the Reformation. Irish culture absorbed the influences of Viking raiders and Norman soldiers of fortune, eventually enduring the 750-year shadow of English domination.
Just a few decades ago, Ireland was an isolated agricultural economic backwater that had largely missed out on the Industrial Revolution. Things began to turn around when Ireland joined the European Community (precursor to the EU) in 1973. The Irish government instituted farsighted tax laws, including a corporate tax rate of only 12.5 percent (compared to 35 percent in the US) to entice foreign corporations to set up shop here. It proved so successful in attracting US business that America has now invested more in Ireland than in Brazil, India, Russia, and China combined.
Today, the Republic attracts expatriates returning to Ireland and new foreign investment. As the only officially English-speaking country to have adopted the euro currency, Ireland makes an efficient base from which to access the European marketplace. More than 35 percent of the Irish population is under 25 years old, leading many high-tech and pharmaceutical firms to locate here, taking advantage of this young, well-educated labor force. And for the first time, Ireland has become a destination for immigrants, who’ve come mostly from the Third World and the newer EU nations. Eastern Europeans (especially Poles) come in search of higher pay...a reversal from the days when many Irish fled to start new lives abroad.
As time passes, relations between Ireland and her former colonial master Britain are starting to heal. In May of 2011, Queen Elizabeth II became the first British monarch to visit the Republic of Ireland since its 1921 split from the United Kingdom, which was under her grandfather’s reign at the time. Her four-night visit (to Dublin, Cashel, and Cork) unexpectedly charmed the Irish people and did much to repair old wounds between the two countries, which are now, in the words of the Queen, “equal partners and good neighbors.”
Just a couple of days after the Queen’s visit, Barack Obama dropped in for a brief 12-hour stop, guided by former American ambassador to Ireland (and Pittsburgh Steelers owner) Dan Rooney. Being one-sixteenth Irish, O’Bama made sure to helicopter into his ancestral home village of Moneygall in County Offaly and have a pint with Henry, his cousin eight times removed, whom he nicknamed “Henry VIII.” Later that day, he delivered a speech to a huge crowd packed into Dublin’s College Green, drawing cheers when he dusted off his Irish Gaelic and proclaimed, “Is féidir linn.” (“Yes we can.”)
Don’t worry if your Irish Gaelic is rustier than the president’s—the vast majority of Irish people speak English, though you’ll still encounter Irish Gaelic if you venture to the western fringe of the country. The Irish love of conversation shines through wherever you go. All that conversation is helped along by the nebulous concept of Irish time, which never seems to be in short supply. Small shops post their hours as “9:00ish until 5:00ish.” The local bus usually makes a stop at “10:30ish.” A healthy disdain for being a slave to the clock seems to be part of being Ir-“ish.” And the warm welcome you’ll receive has its roots in ancient Celtic laws of hospitality toward stranded strangers.
Official Name: The Republic of Ireland (a.k.a. just “Ireland” or, in Irish, Éire).
Population: Ireland’s 4.5 million people (same as Kentucky) are of Celtic stock. They speak English, though Irish (Gaelic) is spoken in pockets along the country’s west coast. Nearly nine in 10 are nominally Catholic, though only one in three attends church.
Latitude and Longitude: 53°N and 8°W. The latitude is equivalent to Alberta, Canada.
Area: With 27,000 square miles—half the size of New York State—it occupies the southern 80 percent of the island of Ireland. The country is small enough that radio broadcasts manage to cover traffic snarls nationwide.
Geography: The isle is mostly flat, ringed by a hilly coastline. The climate is moderate, with cloudy skies about every other day.
Biggest Cities: The capital of Dublin (1.3 million) is the only big city; more than one in four Irish live in the greater Dublin area. Cork has 190,000 people, while Limerick has about 91,000 and Galway about 76,000.
Economy: The Gross Domestic Product is $182 billion, and the GDP per capita is $39,500—one of Europe’s highest and 10 percent more than Britain’s. Major moneymakers include tourism and exports (especially to the US and UK) of machines, medicine, Guinness, glassware, crystalware, and software. Traditional agriculture (potatoes and other root vegetables) is fading fast, but dairy still does well.
Government: The elected president, Michael Higgins, appoints the prime minister (Enda Kenny), who is nominated by Parliament. The Parliament consists of the 60-seat Senate, chosen by an electoral college, and the House of Representatives, with 166 seats apportioned after the people vote for a party. Major parties include Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, and Sinn Fein, the political arm of the (fading) Irish Republican Army. Ireland is divided into 26 administrative counties—including Kerry, Clare, Cork, Limerick, and so on.
Flag: The Republic of Ireland’s flag is made of three vertical bands of green, white, and orange.
The Average Irish: A typical Irish person is 5’6”, 35 years old, has 1.85 kids, and will live to be 80. Every day, he or she drinks four cups of tea and spends $5 on alcohol.
Still, aspects of modern life continue to make inroads in traditional Ireland. In 2003, shops began charging customers for plastic sacks for carrying goods (the surcharge is currently €0.22), which has cut down on litter. In 2004, smoking was banned in all Irish pubs. Some pubkeepers initially grumbled about lost business, but the air has cleared. And you can’t drive too far without running into road construction, as the recently affluent Irish (for a decade flush with Celtic Tiger money) try to cope with more cars crowding their streets. New motorways are making travel between bigger cities faster, but the country is still laced with plenty of humble country lanes perfect for getting scenically lost.
At first glance, Ireland’s landscape seems unspectacular, with few mountains higher than 3,000 feet and an interior consisting of grazing pastures and peat bogs. But its seductive beauty slowly grows on you. The gentle rainfall, called “soft weather” by the locals, really does create 40 shades of green—and quite a few rainbows as well. Ancient, moss-covered ring forts crouch in lush valleys, while stone-strewn monastic ruins and lone castle turrets brave the wind on nearby hilltops. Charming fishing villages dot the coast near rugged, wave-battered cliffs. Slow down to contemplate the checkerboard patterns created by the rock walls outlining the many fields. Examine the colorful small-town shop fronts that proudly state the name of the proprietor.
The resilient Irish character was born of dark humor, historical reverence, and a scrappy, “we’ll get ’em next time” rebel spirit. Though the influence of the Catholic Church is less apparent these days, it still plays a part in Irish life. The national radio and TV station, RTE, pauses for 30 seconds at noon and at 18:00 to broadcast the chimes of the Angelus bells. The Irish say that if you’re phoning heaven, it’s a long-distance call from the rest of the world, but a local call from Ireland.