The Irish Republic

As the third largest island in Eupore, Ireland is divided into two regions. The northern part belongs to the United Kingdom and the rest belongs to the Irish Republic. The island holds 6.2 million people where 4.5 million reside in the republic while 1.7 million reside in Northern Ireland.


Before 1973, the major economic activity in Ireland was agriculture but since joining the Europe Commumity in 1973, Ireland diverted its attention from agriculture to modern industry. In 1995-2007, the republic experienced tremendous improvement economically resulting from foreign investments. During this period, the name ‘Celtic Tiger’ was given to describe this drastic economy changes. Unfortunately a year later, due to the crisis faced by Irish banks, Ireland faced a massive economic downfall as lenders failed to repay their loans. Finally, in November 2010, Ireland sought help from EU for financial rescue.

Ireland provides a vast variety of transportation from travelling by air to by sea. For those who prefer traveling by air, Ireland has five major airports and they are the Dublin Airport, Belfast International Airport, Cork Airport, Shannon Air and Ireland West Airport. Among them, Dublin Airport is the busiet and most important airport in Ireland due to the fact that Dublin is the capital of Ireland, as well as one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. While on the sea, there are many engaging activities like the trading of heavy goods and transporting passangers to Great Britain from Ireland and vice versa.

Then comes the railway service. It is the most accessible transportation to people in Ireland. There are two unlimited ride passes offered by the railway company: the Eurail Pass and the Britrail Pass. Both passes offer unlimited train rides. The Eurail Pass takes travellers to nearly all the European railway. The Britrail Pass works only in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.

Due to the geographic location, the whole Ireland experiences maritime temperature climate that spares Ireland from experiencing extreme temperature. January, February, and March are the coldest months and May and June are the sunniest months while December is the wettest month.

Being one of the six Celtic nations in Europe, Ireland experiences a culture that derives from a combination of different cultures from ancient immigrant and influences, such as the Gaelic, Anglicisation, and Americanisation. This significant combination of cultures is made clear in the Celtic knotwork.

The national language in Ireland is Irish but it is English that is used in everyday life. English language was originally introduced in the 12th century by immigrants and under the Tudor dynasty. In the 16th century, English became the official language in all administration, business, trade and the landed genry. Since then, English has become the common language in Ireland.

Apart from all the modern industry and advancement, Ireland still practices agriculture industry. Since the arrival of potatoes in the 16th century, the main diet in Ireland revolves around potatoes specially during the economy downfall in 19th century. One family eats an average of 18 stone (242 pounds) a week. As the economy improved, people become more aware of practicing healthier diets and this led the emergence of a new cruisine called the ‘New Irish Cuisine’ which is based on fresh vegetable, seafood, traditional soda breads, and hand-made cheese. This eventually boosted the agriculture industry.