Wikijunior:Europe/Ireland
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Ireland is an island off the North West coast of mainland Europe and the second biggest island in the British Isles. It shares a border only with the United Kingdom (Northern Ireland). The capital city is Dublin. Other large cities are Cork and Galway.
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[edit] Ireland's History
The first people arrived in Ireland over 10,000 years ago and were a community of hunter-gatherers. Later, about 3000 years ago, the Celts began to arrive in Ireland. The present-day Irish are partly descended from the Celts.
Ireland was also invaded many times by the Vikings, or Norsemen as they were called. The Vikings later began to settle in many places. Some of their more famous towns were Dublin, Wicklow, Waterford, Wexford and Limerick.
In later times, Ireland was invaded by the Normans and then the English, who ruled until the 20th century. The Republic of Ireland became an independent country in December 1921. The country joined the European Union in 1973 (at the same time as the United Kingdom and Denmark). Ireland has an eventful history from prehistoric times until today, including the Irish Famine in 1846-1851 and the Easter Rising in 1916.
[edit] Ireland's Geography
The largest mountain in Ireland is Carrauntoohil at 1,041 meters. It is located in the MacGillicudy Reeks in Co. Kerry. Ireland is the only place in the world (apart from Scotland) where there are bogs. These are large plains where turf is extracted for fires. The EU have placed laws, preserving the bogs as it takes around 5,000 years for a bog to develop and they are extremely rare.
Ireland has been said to look like "a giant teddy bear" in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The Atlantic Ocean beats of the West coast, creating many islands and inlets by erosion. There are also a few interesting geographical sites, such as The Burren (Co. Clare) and the Giant's Causeway (Co. Antrim).
Ireland is divided into 4 Provinces; Munster- Southern Ireland, has the most fertile land and is famous for its Rugby team, Leinster- This is where the English had most control in the 18th and 19th centuries, Connaught- The least fertile land in the country, and the most rural, and finally Ulster- in the north of Ireland, most of it is still part of Great Britain.
These 4 Provinces are divided into counties, the counties are bigger in Munster and Connaught and smaller in Leinster and Ulster. There are 32 counties altogether, 6 of which are still joined to Great Britain.
[edit] Ireland's People
The population of The Republic of Ireland is 4.2 million (a further 1.5 million live in Northern Ireland). Most people in Ireland speak English but a large minority also speak Irish Gaelic.
[edit] Some Famous Irish People
- The film actor Liam Neeson played Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.
- John Philip Holland designed and built the first Submarine for the US Navy.
- Bram Stoker wrote the famous horror story, Dracula.
