EA 7th Grade Social Studies March 29, 2013

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Ireland

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Table of Contents Fast Facts Pg. 3 Country Map Pg. 4 Location and Geography Pg. 4-5 Climate Pg. 5-6 Currency and Government Pg. 6 Culture Pg. 6-8 History Pg. 8-9 Recipe Pg. 10 Facts about Irish Flag Pg. 11 Works Referenced Pg. 12-13

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Ireland Fast Facts

Date Founded 1921

Absolute Location (latitude/Longitude)

53°20′52″N 6°15′35″W

Major Languages (put a *next to any official)

*Irish and English

Major Religions (*official)

*Roman Catholicism and Protestantism

Currency Euro

Type of Government Unitary, Parliamentary system, Republic

Leader(s) of Government (position and current holder of position)

Michael D. Higgins (President), Enda Kenny (Taoiseach), and Eamon Gilmore (Tanaiste)

Size (Land Area) 84,421km2

Per Capita GDP $39,638

Population (as of what year?)

4,599,252 (as of 2011)

Life Expectancy 80.19 years

Birth-Rate 16.2 births per 1000 people

Death-Rate 6.34 deaths per 1000 people

% Urban Population 62.0%

% Population under 15 years old

21.3%

% of Population over 65 years old

11.7%

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World Atlas map of Ireland, Graphic Maps

Location and Landscape

Ireland’s absolute location is 53°20′52″N 6°15′35″W. Ireland is also located to the west

of the island, UK, southeast of the mainland Europe, and northeast of Norway and Sweden. The

country of Ireland contains low central plains that are encircled by coastal mountains. The

western coast of Ireland is very rugged and has many islands, peninsulas, headlands, and bays.

Ireland is mostly made up of the flat low-lying areas located in the midlands. These flat areas are

surrounded by mountain ranges such as the Macgillycuddy's Reeks, Comeragh Mountains,

Blackstairs Mountains, Wicklow Mountains, the Mournes, Glens of Antrim, Sperrin Mountains,

Bluestack Mountains, Derryveagh Mountains, Ox Mountains, Nephinbeg Mountains, and the

Twelve Bens/Maumturks group. However, some mountains are located closer inland of south

Ireland such as the Galtee Mountains, the highest inland mountain, Silvermine, and Slieve

Bloom Mountains.

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The longest river in Great Britain and Ireland is the River Shannon. It separates the boggy

midlands from the west of Ireland. The River Shannon, uniquely, separates into three other rivers

through its course, the Lough Allen, Lough Ree, and the Lough Derg. Of the three rivers Lough

Derg is the largest. Eventually the River Shannon enters into the Atlantic Ocean. Other major

rivers in Ireland include the River Liffey, River Lee, River Blackwater, River Nore, River Suir,

River Barrow, River Bann, River Foyle, River Erne, and River Boyne. And at last Ireland has the

famous lake located in Ulster, the Lough Neagh which is the largest lake of Ireland and the UK.

Ireland has a huge lack of trees. It is called the Emerald Isle because it’s only vegetation is grass

and moss which explains how Ireland is as green as it is.

Climate

The climate of Ireland is mild and moist with an abundant amount of rainfall and a lack

of temperature extremes. It can be best defined as a temperate oceanic climate. Because of the

country’s nearness to the Atlantic Ocean, Ireland experiences warm summers and mild winters,

this is different from the climate of other countries located on the same latitude.The average

temperature in the winter in January through February is 5oC. The coastline of Ireland remains

ice-free all through the winter because of the North Atlantic Current. In the spring and autumn

the temperature and weather can be very unpredictable because they have one sunny day and

then the next it’s cold and raining. In the summer the average temperature is between 15oC to -

18oC, with an occasional 30oC. May and June are the sunniest months in Ireland. The average of

the sunshine’s duration during these two months is between 5 and 6 1/2 hours every day around

most of the country. The southeast of Ireland gets the most sunshine with up to 7 hours per day.

December happens to be the month with the least amount of sunshine with only up to 1 hour in

the north and with up to 2 hours in the southeast of Ireland. With this information it is clear that

the southeast part of Ireland is the sunniest.

The most common form of precipitation is rainfall which happens very often in Ireland.

The rainfall in Ireland usually occurs because of the Atlantic frontal system, which travels over

Ireland in the northeast direction. In the eastern half of Ireland the rainfall is between 29.5 and

39.4 inches a year. In the west the average is between 39.4 and 49.2 inches a year. In the

mountainous areas rainfall can go up to 118.1 inches a year, which is an extreme increase from

the flat areas. December and January are the wettest months of the year for Ireland and April

tends to be the driest for some regions in Ireland, but in the southern parts the driest is June.

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Currency and Government

The currency of Ireland can be confusing to many travelers. This is because Northern

Ireland and the Republic of Ireland have two different currencies. Northern Ireland uses the

currency Pound Sterling, which is used in Great Britain. 1 U.S. dollar converts to .64 pounds. 1

pound converts to 1 dollar and 55 cents. Now in the Republic of Ireland the Euro is used as the

currency. 1 U.S. dollar is equivalent to .75 Euros. 1 Euro equals 1 dollar and 34 cents. Ireland

has a Republic government, which means that any particular matter of the country is public not

private. Ireland also has a Parliamentary system. Specifically, it has a parliamentary republic in

which the president is the head of the state while the prime minister, or Taoiseach, is the head of

the government. Also Ireland has a unitary system of government which means that the central

government is overall supreme while the administrative divisions only have powers that their

central government chooses to depute. Enda Kenny is the Taoiseach of Ireland, which means he

is the head of government or prime minister. He was appointed by the President, Michael D.

Higgins. Kenny’s has been Ireland’s Taoiseach since March 9th, 2011. During 1994 to 1997 he

was the Minister for Tourism and Trade and also was Vice President for the European People’s

Party for two terms. Ireland also has a Tanaiste, or a deputy prime minister, Eamon Gilmore.

Gilmore is an Irish Labour Party Politician. He is also Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. He

represents the Dun Laoghaire as a member of the Labour Party. Ireland’s President is Michael D.

Higgins. Michael Higgins is the ninth and present President of Ireland. He took the office on

November 11th, 2011 after winning the 2011 Irish election. Michael D. Higgins was part of the

Labour Party but because of his win in the presidential election he resigned.

Culture

Ireland’s traditional music has taken a higher interest in the people today. Celtic music is

one of the most popular forms of music in Ireland. Celtic music goes back to past centuries in

Ireland’s history. Ireland’s music is a freestyle form of music because the length, pace, and the

way that the musical composition can change during nights and throughout groups. Traditional

Irish musicians never play from written music because in the past the musicians couldn’t even

read. Even though Ireland has a freestyle form of music they have a specific sound that anyone

familiar to music can identify. The particular sound comes from instruments such as the harp,

bodhran drum, fiddle, flute, tin whistle, accordion, bagpipes, and pretty much anything that the

Irish can make a jam out of.

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Irish is the country’s national language, but English is a very popular language in Ireland.

Many road signs in Ireland are bilingual and most public notes and print medias are in English

only. There is actually a small amount of people that speak Irish as their first language and a

large amount of people that speak Irish as a second language. But the Irish language is one of the

most distinctive languages in Europe. Irish is also known as Irish Gaelic, a Goidelic language,

which is a part of the Indo-European language family. It is also the official language of the

European Union.

Christianity is the most common religion in the Republic of Ireland with the Roman

Catholic Church being the largest. There are only 4.6% of people who are Protestants and live in

the Republic of Ireland. In Northern Ireland the predominant religion is Protestantism. In the past

there have been many disputes over the religious differences. Today the Republic of Ireland

looks to once again combine the two parts of Ireland, but the Northern of Ireland disagrees to this

because of the many fights brought up because of the religions.

The agriculture of Ireland provides many foods such as meat, dairy products, and

vegetables that go to any local markets. The Irish population has stayed remarkably healthy with

all of the hearty foods. Ireland’s diet of meat, vegetables, and a lot of potatoes is thought to be

the blandest in Europe. Some of the famous dishes consist of Blaa (sausage rolls), Coddle (boiled

sausages and bacon with potatoes), Colcannon (a casserole of potatoes, onions, and cabbage),

Guinness stew (a stew made with mutton, potatoes, carrots, and Guinness beer), and Soda bread

(a thick brown bread, tasty when fried). The Irish population tends to eat very light lunches, so

breakfast to them is even more important. Irish breakfast usually contains ham, eggs, white

pudding (lighter sausage), sausages, fried tomatoes, bacon, toast and jelly, tea, and black pudding

(blood sausage).

The drinking age in Ireland is 18, but many children are allowed in local pubs. The most

famous stout beer is Guinness, but there are other famous Irish beers such as Murphy’s and

Beamish. The Irish use the Guinness beer to make mixed drinks such as Black and Tan

(Guinness and a lager or pale ale), Black Velvet (Guinness and champagne), Snakebite

(Guinness and cider), Purple Meany (Guinness and a bitter), and Drop of Diesel (a shot of

Guinness in a pint of Smithwicks ale). Alcohol, believe it or not, is very important in Irish life.

Irish beer and whiskey (different from Scotch whisky) provide jobs for many people, give money

to the economy, and create a great pub atmosphere that is important in Ireland. Unfortunately,

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there is a downside, alcoholism. You may think of Ireland as a country that is filled with people

that only drink and drink and drink. That isn’t 100% true, but it is a huge problem in Ireland.

Ireland has had the highest alcohol consumption consistently in Europe. The Republic of Ireland

has fought hard to bring down the alcoholism and the stereotype of a drunken Irish population

with it. Public education campaigns have helped reduced some alcoholism but the rate of it is

still very high. How the Irish will solve this problem remains a mystery.

History

The Protestant Reformation started in 1536 when religion created even more problems

for Ireland once the English Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy. When the Act of

Supremacy was passed Henry VIII was made head of the Church of England and brought up the

Protestant Reformation to the British Isles. England had currently been a Catholic country, but it

then officially became Protestant. The religion of England was not too different from

Catholicism in Ireland, but it was different enough to start fights. Henry VIII refused to look at

the pope as the leader of the Church. However, the Irish were Catholic and they planned to stay

that way. Ireland’s Parliament did recognize Henry as the head of the church in 1537. Most of

the Irish population kept allegiance to the pope and found that it was a good reason to take up

arms. This was the start of religious violence that would affect Ireland for more than 500 years.

Ireland had the famous War of Independence. When Prime Minister Asquith appointed

David Lloyd George to fix the Irish home rule question, Lloyd George made a compromise that

said that Ireland would get home rule but the six Protestant counties in the north of Ireland would

stay as part of the British Empire. Soon after, Sinn Fein, led by Eamon de Valera, started to cut

off any Parliament seats of the traditional home rule candidates. The goal for Sinn Fein was to

have an independent and unified Republic of Ireland. The British expanded army conscription to

Ireland and then the British arrested de Valera and Sinn Fein leaders on charges of a plan to carry

out harmful actions against the government. Soon after, a 27 year old man named Michael

Collins was working with IRB and the Irish Volunteers to begin a parliamentary force that would

put guns behind Sinn Fein and their claims of independence. The force was known as the Irish

Republican Army. Collins plan was to irritate the English into an aggressive response. And it

worked. The British created a police force called the Black and Tans to keep the peace and

shipped the thousands of soldiers to Ireland. When the British saw the cruelty of the Irish

Republican Army (IRA) they decided to create a campaign of reprisals that would duplicate the

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brutality of IRA. The police reprisals and guerrilla strikes soon came to be known as the Anglo-

Irish War. Seeing how the Black and Tans reacted so violently showed the Irish that Sinn Fein

was right and that Britain would attack Ireland anytime it felt forced out. Prime Minister Lloyd

George commanded that there be treaty negotiations. Sinn Fein and IRA leaders agreed to have

cease-fires and a group of ambassadors went to London. Both sides agreed that Ireland would be

independent but still part of the British Empire. The final Treaty of Peace between the two

countries stated that Irish citizens would not have to swear allegiance to the king, but said that

Ireland would be required to recognize his dominance over Ireland. The treaty created a six-

county partition of Ulster. This action created what we know today as Northern Ireland. Collins

signed the treaty and after the struggle it was passed by the Dail. Not everyone was content; de

Valera condemned the treaty and the IRA did as well. They said they had fought for a completely

united Ireland and that they would not take one that was cut into pieces. And with that the Irish

Civil War began.

Ireland had its own civil war that went with the organization of the Irish Free State as an

independent existence from the British Empire in the United Kingdom. There were two groups

of Irish Nationalists among the war. The Provisional Government that organized the Free State in

1992 and supported the Anglo-Irish Treaty, and the Republican opposition that thought the

Treaty was a sign of betrayal of the Irish Republic. The Irish Civil War took away more lives

than the War of Independence against Great Britain that left Ireland divided into two political

regions. Michael Collins had to make a military force that would go against the IRA that he

himself fought beside for years. Collins died in an ambush alongside hundreds of other people.

The forces that went against the treaty were not supported by the population; therefore, it was

clear they had no chance of winning. To end the war quickly, Eamon de Valera said it was time

for the people of Ireland to accept the treaty and move on. Ireland was now at peace and had its

independence it so badly wanted. However, it came with the cost of scars that left the politics of

Ireland haunted for decades. Over the last 50 years Ireland has pushed through and answered the

difficult questions about their relationship with Britain, the role of the Catholic Church, and

about Northern Ireland.

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Recipe

Irish Soda Bread

Soda Bread is a popular type of bread in Ireland. Most people in Ireland like Soda bread

when it is fried and light. The bread is eaten a lot in Ireland and is a rare thing to fine in the U.S.

It is easier to make than any homemade bread in America.

Ingredients

● 3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour ● 1/2 cup sugar ● 2 tablespoons caraway seeds ● 2 teaspoons baking powder ● 1 teaspoon salt ● 1/2 teaspoon baking soda ● 2 eggs ● 2 cups (16 ounces) sour cream ● 3/4 cup raisins

Directions ● In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, caraway seeds, baking powder, salt and baking

soda. In a small bowl, whisk eggs and sour cream. Stir into dry ingredients just until

moistened. Fold in raisins.

● Spoon into a greased 9-in. springform pan. Bake at 350° for 40-45 or until a toothpick

inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before

removing sides of pan. Cut into wedges; serve warm. Yield: 1 loaf (12 wedges)

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Creative Page

Facts about Ireland’s Flag

The flag of Ireland is commonly referred to as the Irish tricolour. It contains three colors;

green, white, and orange. The symbolism, stated by the Irish government, behind each color is

that green symbolizes the Gaelic tradition of Ireland, orange represents William of Orange’s

leaders, and white shows the lasting peace between them. In all, the flag is to symbolize hope for

the union of people, who are of different ethnic origin, religion, and political conviction that are

entitled to be a part of the independent Irish nation. Sometimes flags contain a shade of yellow

instead of orange. The Development of the Taoiseach says that this misrepresentation and should

be actively discouraged. They also say that if a flag is worn out it should immediately be

replaced. When yellow is purposely used, it is often done by people who are not happy with the

belief that the orange in the flag is a symbol of the supporters of the Orange order. However, the

Irish government discourages this because the Good Friday Agreement was signed in 1998 with

the intention to keep peace and unity.

In 1848 the Irish flag was given as a gift from French women, who had sympathy for the

Irish cause, to Thomas Francis Meagher. In 1916 on the Easter Rising the flag was finally raised

above the General Post Office in Dublin. In 1919 the Irish Republic took the flag during the war

of independence. On both sides of the nationalists, it’s been the flag for the whole island since

1916. Therefore, Northern Ireland’s nationalists have the Irish flag flown as well as the Gaelic

Athletic Association.

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Works Referenced Albertson, Liz. Ireland for Dummies. 6th. Indianapolis, IN: Wiley Publishing, Inc., 2011. Print.

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.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_Republic_of_Ireland#Geographic_Population_Distribution>.

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<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eamon_Gilmore>.

"Easy Irish Soda Bread Recipe." Taste of Home Recipes. N.p., Feb. 2008. Web. 12 Mar. 2013.

<http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Easy-Irish-Soda-Bread>.

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<http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/countries/ireland-photos/#/killiney-beach-

dublin_6786_600x450.jpg>.

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"Michael D. Higgins." Wikipedia. N.p., 2013. Web. 18 Feb. 2013.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_D._Higgins>.

O'Brien's Tower. National Geographic. Web. 26 Mar. 2013.

<http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/countries/ireland-photos/#>.

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<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unitary_state>.