Location and Geography
Ireland is an island located in the North Atlantic Ocean in Northwestern Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. The island is the second-largest in the British Isles, the third-largest in Europe, and the twentieth-largest in the world.
The geography of Ireland comprises relatively low-lying mountains surrounding a central plain, with several navigable rivers extending inland. Today, woodland makes up about 10% of the island, compared with a European average of over 33%, though much of it consists of non-native conifer plantations. The island's lush vegetation is a product of its mild climate, influenced by the Atlantic Ocean. Winters are milder than expected for such a northerly area, although summers are cooler than those in continental Europe. Rainfall and cloud cover are abundant.
Political Division and Population
Geopolitically, the island is divided between two separate jurisdictions: the Republic of Ireland (officially named Ireland), a sovereign state covering five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom and covers the remaining sixth. As of 2022, the population of the entire island is just over 7 million, with 5.1 million in the Republic of Ireland and 1.9 million in Northern Ireland. This makes Ireland the second-most populous island in Europe after Great Britain.
History
Evidence of human activity in Ireland dates back thousands of years. Until 2021, the earliest known evidence was from 12,500 years ago, but a reindeer bone with chop marks found in County Cork was subsequently dated to 33,000 years ago. By about 8,000 BC, sustained occupation of the island is demonstrated by evidence of Mesolithic communities.
Before 4,000 BC, Neolithic settlers introduced cereal cultivation, domesticated animals such as cattle and sheep, and built large timber buildings and stone monuments. The Bronze Age began around 2,500 BC, bringing innovations such as the wheel, metalworking, and the production of fine gold jewelry and decorative items.
Gaelic Ireland had emerged by the 1st century AD. The island was Christianised from the 5th century onwards, during which time it was divided amongst petty kings vying for dominance. Between the late 8th and early 11th centuries, Viking raids and settlement took place, culminating in the Battle of Clontarf on 23 April 1014, which resulted in the end of Viking power in Ireland.
Following the 12th-century Anglo-Norman invasion, England claimed sovereignty, though English rule did not extend over the whole island until the 16th–17th century Tudor conquest, which led to colonisation by British settlers. In the 1690s, a system of Protestant English rule was designed to materially disadvantage the Catholic majority and Protestant dissenters. With the Acts of Union in 1801, Ireland became part of the United Kingdom. The Great Famine of the 1840s caused the population to fall by over 20% through death and emigration.
A war of independence in the early 20th century was followed by the partition of the island, leading to the creation of the Irish Free State, which became increasingly sovereign until it declared a republic in 1948. Northern Ireland remained part of the United Kingdom and experienced civil unrest from the late 1960s until the 1990s, which subsided following the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.
In 1973, both the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom (including Northern Ireland) joined the European Economic Community. Following a 2016 referendum, the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland, left the European Union in 2020. Northern Ireland was subsequently granted limited special status allowing it to operate within the EU single market for goods without being in the European Union.
Name and Etymology
The names Ireland and Éire both derive from Old Irish Ériu, which comes from Proto-Celtic *ɸīweriyū meaning 'fertile soil'. The Classical Latin name for the island, Ivernia, comes from the same root and remains a popular poetic synonym for the island, typically respelt as Hibernia under the influence of the Latin word hibernum, meaning 'winter'.
Culture
Irish culture has had significant influence on other cultures, particularly in literature. Alongside mainstream Western culture, a strong indigenous culture exists, expressed through:
- Gaelic games
- Irish music
- Irish language
- Irish dance
The island's culture shares many features with that of Great Britain, including the English language and sports such as association football, rugby, horse racing, golf, and boxing.