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Ireland (Gaelic Éire), republic comprising about five-sixths of the island of Ireland. The country consists of the provinces of Leinster, Munster, and Connacht and part of the province of Ulster. The rest of Ulster, which occupies the northeastern part of the island, constitutes Northern Ireland, a constituent part of the United Kingdom. The republic has an area of 70,273 sq km (27,133 sq mi).

The eastern coast of Ireland is fairly regular with few deep indentations; the western coast is fringed by drowned or submerged valleys, steep cliffs, and hundreds of small islands torn from the mainland mass by the powerful forces of the Atlantic. The chief physiographic features are a region of lowlands, occupying the central and east central sections, and a complex system of low mountain ranges, lying between the lowlands and the periphery of the island. Among the principal ranges are the Nephin Beg Range in the west, containing Mount Nephin, 719 m (2,359 ft); the Caha Mountains in the southwest, containing Mount Knockboy, about 707 m (about 2,321 ft); the Boggeragh Mountains in the south, rising to 640 m (2,100 ft); and the Wicklow Mountains in the east, rising to more than 915 m (3,000 ft). Carrauntoohil, located in the southwestern section of the island, is the highest point in Ireland (1,041 m/3,415 ft above sea level). Numerous bogs and lakes are found in the lowlands region. The principal rivers of Ireland are the Erne and the Shannon, which are actually chains of lakes joined by stretches of river. The middle section of the central plain is drained by the Shannon, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean through a wide, lengthy estuary. Nearly half of the Shannon, above the estuary, comprises the Allen, Ree, and Derg lakes. All of Ireland�s principal rivers flow from the plain, and an interior canal system facilitates transportation.

The climate of Ireland is like that of other islands. Because of the moderating influence of prevailing warm, moist winds from the Atlantic Ocean, the mean winter temperature ranges from 4� to 7�C (40� to 45�F), approximately 14 Celsius degrees (25 Fahrenheit degrees) higher than that of any other places in the same latitude in the interior of Europe or on the eastern coast of North America. The oceanic influence is also pronounced in the summer; the mean summer temperature of Ireland ranges from 15� to 17�C (59� to 62�F), about 4 Celsius degrees (7 Fahrenheit degrees) lower than that of other places in the same latitudes. Rainfall averages 1,000 mm (40 in) annually.

Ireland�s fauna does not differ markedly from that of England or France. The great Irish deer and the great auk, or garefowl, were exterminated in prehistoric times. Since the island became developed, species such as the bear, wolf, wildcat, beaver, and native cattle have disappeared. Small rodents living in the woods and fields remain, as do small shore birds and field birds. No serpents are found in Ireland, and the only reptile is the lizard. Sedges, rushes, ferns, and grass are the principal flora.

The population of Ireland is predominantly of Celtic origin (see Celtic Languages; Celts). No significant ethnic minorities exist.

The population of the Irish Republic in 2001 was estimated at 3,840,838, giving the country an overall population density of 55 persons per sq km (142 per sq mi). The population decreased from the 1840s, when about 6.5 million people lived in the area included in the republic, until about 1970, largely because of a high emigration rate. During the 1980s the population increased at an annual rate of only about 0.5 percent. In 2001 the rate was 1.12 percent. Some 58 percent of the population lived in urban areas in 1999.

For administrative purposes, the Irish Republic is divided into 26 counties and 5 county boroughs, which are coextensive with the cities of Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, and Waterford. The counties are Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois (Laoighis), Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath, Wexford, and Wicklow, in Leinster Province; Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary, and Waterford, in Munster Province; Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Roscommon, and Sligo, in Connacht Province; and Cavan, Donegal, and Monaghan, in Ulster Province. The county of Tipperary is divided and administered as two subsections, Tipperary North Riding and Tipperary South Riding.

The capital and largest city is Dublin, with a population (1996) of 953,000. Cork is the second largest city and a major port, with a population of 180,000. Other cities and towns include Limerick (79,000), Galway (57,000), and Waterford (44,000).

Roman Catholics are 93 percent of the people of Ireland, and 4 percent of the people are Protestants. Protestant groups include the Church of Ireland (Anglican) and the Presbyterian and Methodist denominations. Freedom of worship is guaranteed by the constitution.

Almost all the people speak English, and about one-fourth also speak Irish, a Gaelic language that is the traditional tongue of Ireland. Irish is spoken as the vernacular by a relatively small number of people, however, mostly in areas of the west. The constitution provides for both Irish and English as official languages.

Irish influence on Western education began 14 centuries ago. From the 6th to the 8th century, when western Europe was largely illiterate, nearly 1,000 Irish missionaries traveled to England and the Continent to teach Christianity. During the early Middle Ages, Irish missionaries founded monasteries that achieved extensive cultural influence; the monastery at Sankt Gallen (Saint Gall), Switzerland, is especially well known for its contributions to education and literature.

Classical studies flowered in ancient Ireland. Distinctive also at the time were the bardic schools of writers and other learned men who traveled from town to town, teaching their arts to students. The bardic schools, an important part of Irish education, were suppressed in the 16th century by Henry VIII, king of England.

University education in Ireland began with the founding of the University of Dublin, or Trinity College, in 1592. The National University of Ireland, established in 1908 in Dublin, has constituent university colleges in Cork, Dublin, and Galway. Other leading colleges are Saint Patrick�s College (1795), in Maynooth, affiliated with the National University; Dublin City University, founded in 1975; and the University of Limerick, founded in 1970.

The Irish language has been taught in all government-subsidized schools since 1922, but fewer than 10,000 pupils speak it as their first language.

Ireland has a free public school system, with attendance compulsory for all children between 6 and 15 years of age. In the 1995 school year 367,700 pupils were enrolled in 3,391 elementary schools. Secondary schools, primarily operated by religious orders and largely subsidized by the state, enrolled 389,400. Enrollment at universities and colleges totaled 134,600. Ireland also has several state-subsidized training colleges, various technical colleges in the larger communities, and a network of winter classes that provide agricultural instruction for rural inhabitants.

Ireland was first inhabited around 7500 bc by Mesolithic hunter-fishers, probably from Scotland. They were followed by Neolithic people, who used flint tools, and then by people from the Mediterranean, known in legend as the Firbolgs, who used bronze implements. Later came the Picts, also an immigrant people of the Bronze Age. Extensive traces of the culture of this early period survive in the form of stone monuments (menhirs, dolmens, and cromlechs) and stone forts, dating from 2000 to 1000 bc. During the Iron Age, the Celtic invasion (about 350 bc) introduced a new cultural strain into Ireland, one that was to predominate. The oldest relics of the Celtic (Gaelic) language can be seen in the 5th-century Ogham stone inscriptions in County Kerry. Ireland was Christianized by Saint Patrick in the 5th century. The churches and monasteries founded by him and his successors became the fountainhead from which Christian art and refinement permeated the crude and warlike Celtic way of life.

Ireland is famous for its contributions to world literature (see Gaelic Literature; Irish Literature). Two great mythological cycles in Gaelic�the Ulster (Red Branch) and the Fenian (Ossianic)�tell the stories of legendary heroes such as Cú Chulainn (Cuchulain), Maeve (Medb), Fionn mac Cumhaill (Finn MacCool), and Deirdre. After a long and bitter colonization by England, Ireland gave the world some of the greatest writers in the English language, including Jonathan Swift, Oliver Goldsmith, and George Bernard Shaw. Associated with the struggle for independence in the 20th century is the Irish literary revival, which produced the works of William Butler Yeats and Sean O�Casey. James Joyce was a formative influence on much of later 20th-century European literature.

Saint Patrick�s Day, March 17, is the most important national holiday in Ireland. The national sports are hurling, a strenuous game similar to field hockey, and Gaelic football, which resembles soccer. Horse racing is a highly popular spectator sport throughout the republic.

From the 5th to the 9th century the Irish monasteries produced artworks of world renown, primarily in the form of illuminated manuscripts. The greatest such work is the Book of Kells, which has some of the most beautiful calligraphy of the Middle Ages (see Celts: Art). Native art seems to have disappeared during the period of English domination, but after the 17th century a number of Irish painters and sculptors achieved fame. Irish painters George Barret, James Barry, and Nathaniel Hone were cofounders, with Sir Joshua Reynolds, of the Royal Academy in 1768. James Arthur O�Connor was a noted landscape artist of his period, and Daniel Maclise painted the magnificent frescoes in the Royal Gallery of the House of Lords. Notable among Irish painters of the 19th century were Nathaniel Hone, Jr., and Walter F. Osborne. More recently, expressionist painter Jack B. Yeats, cubist painter Mainie Jellett, and stained-glass artist Evie Hone have achieved widespread recognition and acclaim for their work.

Irish harpers were known throughout Europe as early as the 12th century. The most celebrated of these was the blind harper Torlogh O�Carolan, or Carolan, who composed about 200 songs on varied themes, many of which were published in Dublin in 1720. About the same time, an annual folk festival called the feis was instituted, devoted to the preservation and encouragement of harping. Irish folk music ranges from lullabies to drinking songs, and many variations and nuances of tempo, rhythm, and tonality are used. At the Belfast Harpers� Festival in 1792, Edward Bunting made a collection of traditional Irish songs and melodies, which he published in 1796. Thomas Moore, the great Irish poet, made extensive use of Bunting�s work in his well-known Irish Melodies, first published in 1807. Classical forms of music were not widely known in Ireland until the 18th century. Pianist John Field was the first Irish composer to win international renown, with his nocturnes. Michael William Balfe is well known for his opera The Bohemian Girl. Among the most prominent of Irish performing artists was concert and operatic tenor John McCormack.

The most important Irish libraries and museums are in Dublin. The National Library of Ireland, with more than 500,000 volumes, is the largest public library in the country. Trinity College Library, founded in 1601, contains about 2.8 million volumes, including the Book of Kells. Together with exhibits in the fields of art, industry, and natural history, and representative collections of Irish silver, glass, textiles and lace, the National Museum houses outstanding specimens of the remarkable metal craftsmanship of the early Christian period in Ireland, including the Tara Brooch, the Ardagh Chalice, and the Moylough Bell Shrine (all dating from the 8th century), as well as the Lismore Crozier and the Cross of Cong (both 12th century). The National Gallery in Dublin has an admirable collection of paintings of all schools. Most cities have public libraries and small museums.

Interest in the theater is strong in Ireland. The famed Abbey Theatre and the Gale Theatre, both in Dublin, receive government grants. The Arts Council, a body appointed by the prime minister, gives grants to arts organizations and publishers; the Gael-Linn promotes the Irish language and culture.

The economy of Ireland has been traditionally agricultural. Since the mid-1950s, however, the country�s industrial base has expanded, and now mining, manufacturing, construction, and public utilities account for approximately 36 percent of the gross domestic product, while agriculture accounts for only about 10 percent. Private enterprise operates in most sectors of the economy. The gross domestic product in 1999 was $93.4 billion.

Some 20 percent of the total area of Ireland is cultivated, and much of the rest is devoted to pasture. The agricultural enterprise producing the most income is animal husbandry. In 2000 livestock included 6.7 million cattle, 5.4 million sheep, 1.8 million hogs, and 50,000 horses. Poultry production is also important. The principal field crops are wheat, barley, oats, and potatoes. Among other important crops are hay, turnips, and sugar beets. The best farmlands are found in the east and southeast.

The government of Ireland has undertaken extensive schemes of reforestation in an effort to reduce the country�s dependence on timber imports and to provide raw material for new paper mills and related industries. In 2000 forests occupied 10 percent of Ireland�s total land area; the output of timber was 2.5 million cubic meters (89 million cubic feet).

The fishing industry, which has traditionally been underdeveloped, is expanding; the catch in 1997 was 329,496 metric tons. Deep-sea catches include herring, cod, mackerel, whiting, and plaice. Crustaceans, particularly lobsters, crawfish, and prawns, and mollusks such as oysters and periwinkles, are plentiful in coastal waters and form the bulk of the country�s seafood exports. The inland rivers and lakes provide excellent fishing for salmon, trout, eel, and several varieties of coarse fish.

Although mining plays a relatively minor role in the Irish economy, discoveries of new deposits in recent decades have led to a considerable expansion of mineral production. Mineral output in 1999 included 226,000 metric tons of zinc and 45,000 metric tons of lead. Ireland is one of the leading exporters of lead and zinc in Europe. Natural gas is extracted off the southwestern coast; yearly output in 1999 was 1.4 billion cubic meters (50 billion cubic feet). Peat is dug in large quantities for domestic and industrial fuel and also for horticultural purposes; output in 1996 was 6.7 million metric tons.

Ireland has diversified manufacturing, most of it developed since 1930. Among the food-processing industries, the most important are meat packing, brewing and distilling, grain milling, sugar refining, and the manufacture of dairy products, margarine, confections, and jam. Other important manufactured articles include office machinery and data-processing equipment; electrical machinery; tobacco products; woolen and worsted goods; clothing; cement; furniture; soap; candles; building materials; footwear; cotton, rayon, and linen textiles; hosiery; paper; leather; machinery; refined petroleum; and chemicals.

The monetary unit of Ireland is the single currency of the European Union (EU), the euro (1.07 euros equal U.S. $1; 1999 average). Ireland is among 12 EU member states to adopt the euro. The euro was introduced on January 1, 1999, for electronic transfers and accounting purposes only, and Ireland�s national currency, the Irish pound, was used for other purposes. On January 1, 2002, euro-denominated coins and bills went into circulation, and the Irish pound ceased to be legal tender.

As a participant in the single currency, Ireland must follow economic policies established by the European Central Bank (ECB). The ECB is located in Frankfurt, Germany, and is responsible for all EU monetary policies, which include setting interest rates and regulating the money supply. On January 1, 1999, control over Irish monetary policy was transferred from the Central Bank of Ireland to the ECB. After the transfer, the Central Bank of Ireland joined the national banks of the other EU countries that adopted the euro as part of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB).

Dublin and Cork are the manufacturing, financial, and commercial centers of Ireland. Dublin is the most important seaport; Cork is the main port for transatlantic passenger travel. Other significant ports include Dún Laoghaire, Waterford, Rosslare, and Limerick. Ireland became a member of the European Community (now called the European Union) in 1973, thus expanding the market for the country�s important agricultural exports. Imports in 1999 totaled $46 billion, and exports, including reexports, $70.3 billion. The major trading partners of Ireland include the United Kingdom, Germany, the United States, France, and Japan. The most important exports include electrical and electronic equipment, livestock, meat, dairy products, chemicals, and textiles and clothing; about two-thirds of all exports are to the countries of the European Union. Imports are primarily machinery, transport equipment, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, cereals and foodstuffs, textiles, and iron and steel.

Tourism has been effectively promoted and has increased steadily in importance. In 1999, some 6.5 million tourists spent $2.2 billion in Ireland.

Ireland has 1,945 km (1,209 mi) of railway track, all operated by the state-owned Irish Transport Company and linking all important points on the island. The road system totals about 92,500 km (about 57,477 mi), 94 percent of which is paved. Navigable inland waterways total about 435 km (about 270 mi). International airports are located at Shannon, Dublin, and Cork, and several international air-transport systems provide regular service between Ireland and major cities throughout the world.

All postal, telegraph, telephone, and broadcasting services are operated by government agencies or statutory bodies. In 1999 Ireland had 478 telephone mainlines for every 1,000 residents. Radio Telefís Éireann, the public broadcasting authority, operated three radio channels and two television channels. In 1997 there were 697 radio receivers and 402 television sets in use for every 1,000 inhabitants.

In 1999 the total labor force was 1.6 million. Some 9 percent of the workers were engaged in agriculture, forestry, and fishing; 29 percent in manufacturing, mining, and construction; and 62 percent in services. In the early 1990s some 667,000 workers in both the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland are members of unions affiliated with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.

Under the constitution of 1937, Ireland is a sovereign, independent, democratic state. It became a republic in 1949 when Commonwealth ties with Britain were severed.

Executive power under the Irish constitution is vested in a cabinet, which forms a government of some 15 members. The government is responsible to the lower house of the national legislature. A prime minister serves as head of government and is appointed by the president after nomination by the lower house. Members of the government head the administrative departments, or ministries. They are selected by the prime minister, approved by the lower house, and appointed by the president. The president of Ireland is the head of state and is elected by direct popular vote for a seven-year term.

Ireland has a bicameral legislature known as the Oireachtas. The lower house, or Dáil Éireann, is directly elected and now has 166 members. The upper house, or Seanad Éireann, has 60 members�11 appointed by the prime minister, 6 elected by university graduates, and 43 chosen by an electoral college of some 900 representatives from local governments and the national legislature. The slate of candidates represents labor, agriculture and fisheries, public administration and social services, commerce and industry, and national culture. The upper house is limited in authority, while the lower house has the power to support or bring down governments in the parliamentary tradition.

Judicial authority in Ireland is vested in a supreme court, a high court, a court of criminal appeal, a central criminal court, circuit courts, and district courts. The supreme court is the court of final appeal and plays a key role in constitutionality determinations. Judges are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the government.

County councils, county borough corporations, borough corporations, urban district councils, and town commissioners administer local services, including health and sanitation, housing, water supply, and libraries. Local officials are popularly elected, usually for five-year terms. The local executives, who function as managers of local authorities, are selected by the central ministry after examinations.

The system of proportional representation by which members are elected to the Dáil complicates elections. Ireland has a history of party mergers, splinter groups, and coalitions. Among the most powerful parties in recent years have been Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, the Progressive Democratic Party, and Labour. Over the years, the prime minister has formed a number of governments without a clear-cut working majority.

Most health services are provided free of charge for low-income groups and at moderate charges for others, through local and national agencies, under the supervision of the department of health. A nonprofit, contributory voluntary health insurance scheme is administered by an independent statutory agency. Public insurance and assistance programs are administered by the department of social welfare and include pensions for the aged, widows, and orphans; children�s allowances; unemployment benefits; and other social security items.

The active military forces of Ireland�army, navy, and air force�totaled 11,460 members in 1999. The forces are all volunteers.

For the history of Ireland prior to 1916, see Ireland (island): History.

Irish liberation from British rule was achieved as the result of a struggle extending over several centuries and marked by numerous rebellions. That �England�s difficulty is Ireland�s opportunity� was the oldest principle of Ireland�s long resistance to the British.

Growing tension and resentment in Ireland over British rule and the question of Irish independence set in motion a chain of events that came to be known as the Irish Revolution. Conflicts between nationalists, who wanted a completely independent Irish republic, and unionists, who wished to remain under British control, led to the establishment of armed paramilitary groups in both areas of the island. The threat of civil war between the factions over the question of Irish independence was imminent. This crisis was temporarily averted, however, by the outbreak of World War I (1914-1918), and representatives of both groups supported the British war effort against Germany. However, one splinter group of the nationalist faction refused to join the war effort. Instead, they initiated the Easter Rebellion of 1916, capturing the city of Dublin and declaring the independence of Ireland. The rebellion was unsuccessful, primarily due to limited support from the Irish people. However, Britain�s severe reaction, including the execution of 15 Irish nationalist leaders, outraged the Irish population and set the stage for the nationalist group Sinn Fein to become the dominant political party in Ireland. Sinn Fein had been organized several years before the uprising by Arthur Griffith, a Dublin journalist. Sinn Fein now called for Ireland, including the northern areas, to become a republic independent of the United Kingdom. In the 1918 election, Sinn Fein candidates won 73 of the 106 seats allotted to Ireland in the British Parliament.

In January 1919 the Sinn Fein members of Parliament met in Dublin as the Dáil Éireann, or national assembly. They proclaimed Ireland�s independence and formed a government with Eamon de Valera as president. There followed guerrilla attacks by Irish insurgents, later called the Irish Republican Army (IRA), on British forces, particularly the Black and Tans, an auxiliary British police force. These attacks and British reprisals became an ugly war in which hundreds of people were killed.

In December 1920 the British Parliament enacted the Government of Ireland Bill, providing one parliament for the 6 counties of the Protestant north (Northern Ireland) and another for the remaining 26 counties. The people of Northern Ireland accepted this limited home rule and elected a separate parliament in May 1921. Efforts to implement the new government in the other 26 counties served only to solidify Sinn Fein�s position. The guerrilla war ended with a truce on July 11. Negotiations between representatives of the Dáil and the British government of Prime Minister David Lloyd George produced a treaty signed on December 6, 1921, whereby the 26 counties would become the Irish Free State within the Commonwealth of Nations, with a status equal to that of Canada and a modified oath of allegiance to the British monarch. The Dáil ratified the treaty on January 15, 1922, by a vote of 64 to 57, thus ending the Irish Revolution. Sinn Fein split over the issue of ratification into pro- and anti-Treaty factions. Those in opposition to the treaty were led by de Valera, who resigned as president of the Dáil and was replaced by Griffith. Michael Collins, a pro-Treaty Sinn Fein leader, became chairman of the provisional government.

Under the leadership of de Valera, anti-Treaty Sinn Fein called for a resumption of the struggle against Britain and initiated the Irish Civil War against the provisional government. With the question of the treaty the chief issue, an election for a provisional Dáil was held in June 1922. Candidates supporting the treaty won a majority of the seats. Anti-Treaty Sinn Fein, refusing to recognize the authority of the new Dáil, proclaimed a rival government and intensified their attacks on the Irish Free State. In the ensuing struggle, hundreds were killed on both sides, including Michael Collins. Meanwhile, the Dáil, headed now by William Thomas Cosgrave, drafted a constitution providing for a bicameral legislature (Dáil and Seanad, or senate), which was adopted on October 11, 1922. Following approval by the British Parliament, it became operative on December 6. The official government of the Irish Free State was instituted at once, with Cosgrave assuming office as president of the executive council. In April 1923 the anti-Treaty group ended its guerrilla campaign in time to participate in the national elections, and public order was gradually restored. Neither party secured a majority in the August elections. Cosgrave retained power, however, and de Valera led his followers in a boycott of the Dáil. Cosgrave put together a viable government, which reached an agreement with Britain on some mutual problems and strengthened the economy by a series of measures, including a hydroelectric project on the Shannon River.

The Irish Free State had joined the League of Nations in 1923, and the following year it set a precedent for members of the Commonwealth of Nations by sending its own ambassador to Washington, D.C. At the Imperial Conference of 1926, the Free State joined with other dominions to obtain the Balfour Report, which stated that the British government would not legislate for the dominions or nullify acts passed by their own legislatures. Once this was confirmed by the Statute of Westminster in 1931, Ireland had the power to legislate away its relationship with Britain.

De Valera and anti-Treaty Sinn Fein ended their boycott following the elections in August 1927 and entered the Dáil as the Fianna Fáil Party. In part as a result of the government�s failure to cope with domestic difficulties brought on by the world economic crisis of the early 1930s, Cosgrave�s party lost several seats to Fianna Fáil in the elections of February 1932. De Valera thereupon became head of the government, beginning a stay in office that would last 16 years. Legislation that he sponsored in April included provisions for revoking the oath of allegiance to the British crown. This bill, which also would have virtually ended the political ties between Britain and the Free State, was approved by the Dáil, but was rejected by the Seanad. Next, de Valera withheld payment of certain land purchase annuities that the British claimed were legally due them. This led to a protracted tariff war between the two countries, which seriously damaged the economy of the Free State. In another significant move, de Valera secured the repeal of a law restricting the activities of the IRA. The electorate registered approval of his program in the January 1933 elections, in which a majority of Fianna Fáil members were returned to the Dáil.

With this mandate from the people, de Valera systematically developed his program for the gradual elimination of British influence in Irish affairs, obtaining abrogation of the oath of allegiance, restrictions on the role of the governor-general who represented the British crown, and other measures. Simultaneously, the government initiated measures designed to give the country a self-sufficient economy. Steps taken included high income taxes on the rich, high protective tariffs, and control of foreign capital invested in Irish industry. In June 1935 de Valera severed his political ties with the IRA, which had been extremely critical of many of his policies, and imprisoned some of its leaders. Meanwhile, a draft of a new constitution was in progress. In 1936 de Valera, in coalition with other groups in the Dáil, finally secured passage of legislation abolishing the Seanad, long inimical to his policies. The Dáil functioned as a single-house legislature for the remainder of its term. In connection with the events surrounding the abdication of King Edward VIII of Britain, the Dáil enacted in 1936 a bill that deleted all references to the king from the constitution of the Free State and abolished the office of governor-general. The External Relations Act of 1936, passed at the same time, restricted the association of the Free State with the Commonwealth of Nations to joint action on certain questions involving external policy, specifically the approval of its trade treaties of the Free State and the appointment of its foreign envoys.

The five-year term of office of the Dáil expired in June 1937. In the subsequent election de Valera and Fianna Fáil were returned to power and, in a simultaneous plebiscite, the voters approved the new constitution. This document abolished the Irish Free State and established Eire as a �sovereign independent democratic state.� The constitution provided for an elected president as head of state; a prime minister as head of government; and a two-house legislature, with a new 60-member senate. Although it presumed to apply to all Ireland, its application in Northern Ireland was not to take effect prior to unification. It made no reference to the British monarch or to the Commonwealth of Nations, but de Valera indicated that Eire�s relations with Britain would be governed by the External Relations Act of 1936. In 1938 the Irish writer and patriot Douglas Hyde became the first president of Eire, and de Valera became prime minister.

In 1938 a treaty ended the tariff war between Eire and Britain. It provided for the withdrawal of British forces from naval bases in Eire in exchange for a lump-sum payment to settle the annuities owed to Britain. The slight improvement in relations between the two nations was marred by a violent terrorist campaign in Britain conducted by the IRA.

Although Eire remained neutral in World War II (1939-1945), thereby demonstrating its independence, many of its citizens joined the Allied forces or worked in British war industries. In the immediate post-war period, the economic dislocations in Britain and Europe subjected the economy of Eire to severe strains, resulting in a period of rapid inflation and, indirectly, in the defeat of Fianna Fáil and de Valera in the elections of February 1948. John Aloysius Costello became prime minister, leading a coalition of six parties, the chief of which was Fine Gael. He called for lower prices and taxes, the expansion of industrial production, and closer commercial relations with Britain. In November 1948 Costello led the Dáil in passing the Republic of Ireland Bill.

On Easter Monday, April 18, 1949, the anniversary of the Easter Rebellion, Eire became the Republic of Ireland, formally free of allegiance to the British crown and no longer a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. In the following month, the British Parliament confirmed the status of Northern Ireland as part of the United Kingdom until its own parliament chose otherwise. It allowed Ireland to retain the economic benefits of Commonwealth membership, and it extended to Irish citizens resident in the United Kingdom the same rights as British citizens. Ireland granted British citizens residing in the republic similar benefits, not including political rights. The republic became a member of the United Nations on December 14, 1955. It declined to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), however, since this would have entailed entering into an alliance with the United Kingdom, which retained possession of Northern Ireland.

Although inflation and an unfavorable balance of trade continued to trouble the country�s economy, Ireland made significant strides toward economic stability through the 1950s and 1960s. In 1964 the government completed a five-year plan of economic development, which exceeded its goals. A feature of the program was the offer of tax incentives to foreign investors.

Partly as a result of such programs, the rate of economic growth increased from about 1 percent per year in the 1950s to more than 4.5 percent in the late 1960s. It was officially reported in 1964 that more than 200 factories had begun production since 1955, most of them with foreign participation. A second plan had a goal of increasing the 1960 gross national product by 50 percent within ten years. The improving economic circumstances were regarded as the main cause of a decline in emigration, ending a population decline that had continued unabated for more than a century.

With economic recovery came a new measure of political stability and a decline in traditional anti-British feeling. As early as 1957 Prime Minister Costello, who regarded terrorist activities as damaging to relations with Britain and tending to prolong the partition of Ireland, had called for forceful action against the IRA. De Valera, who succeeded Costello following the 1957 elections, publicly agreed that unity could not be achieved by force. This plus a decline in active membership led the IRA in February 1962 to announce that it had abandoned violence. Still, Ireland continued to suffer occasional acts of terrorism.

In June 1959 de Valera, at the age of 77, was elected president, a position he would hold for 14 years, and Sean Lemass became prime minister. Lemass and John Mary Lynch, who succeeded him in 1966, both attempted to build up industry in order to reduce unemployment and increase exports. Ireland was being led away from its ideal of conservative self-sufficiency and into closer ties with Britain and Europe. In 1965 Britain abolished virtually all tariffs on Irish goods, and Ireland undertook to do the same for British goods over a period of 15 years.

An increase of violence between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland was followed by IRA terrorist activity both within and outside of the Irish Republic. In 1971 the Dáil banned the purchase or holding of arms for use outside Ireland. In 1972 the government required the surrender of all firearms.

Also in early 1972 Ireland signed a treaty joining the European Community (now called the European Union), effective January 1, 1973�a move favored by 83 percent of the voters; and, by referendum, ended the special constitutional status of the Roman Catholic Church.

A coalition of Fine Gael and the Labour Party gained a slim majority in the 1973 elections and Fine Gael leader Liam Cosgrave became prime minister. In 1977 Fianna Fáil returned to power in a government headed by Lynch; in 1979 he was replaced by Charles Haughey.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s the Irish government faced difficult problems: increased terrorism in the North by extremist Irish nationalists and a weak economy that produced massive government debt and rising unemployment. Elections were held in 1981, and a coalition government was led briefly by Garret FitzGerald, head of Fine Gael. Inconclusive elections in February 1982 returned Haughey to power, but another election, in late 1982, brought FitzGerald back. In 1985 FitzGerald signed a pact with Britain�the Anglo-Irish Agreement�which gave the Irish Republic a consultive role in governing Northern Ireland. FitzGerald remained prime minister until 1987, when he was replaced by Haughey with a single-vote majority in the Dáil.

In November 1990, without the endorsement of the major parties, Mary Robinson was elected president. A champion of women�s rights and civil liberties, Robinson was the first woman to hold so high an office in the Republic of Ireland.

In December 1991 Ireland signed the Treaty on European Union at Maastricht, The Netherlands, after securing a special provision that guaranteed that Ireland�s abortion laws would not be affected by future European Union policies. The treaty was ratified by a national referendum in June 1992. Haughey resigned as prime minister and leader of Fianna Fáil in early 1992, amid allegations that he had known about illegal phone tapping ordered by one of his ministers in a previous administration; Haughey�s former finance minister, Albert Reynolds, was chosen to replace him. Reynolds remained prime minister after the elections of November 1992, but at the head of a coalition government made up of Fianna Fáil and the Labour Party. In the elections, Irish voters also approved measures guaranteeing access to information about abortion and legalizing foreign travel to get an abortion, but rejected a constitutional amendment that would have broadened the availability of abortion within the republic. However, these measures were not supported by a July 1993 Irish Supreme Court decision, which upheld a ban on the distribution of overseas abortion information by a Dublin clinic.

In November 1994 the coalition government collapsed over disagreements regarding Reynolds�s appointment of a controversial new attorney-general, a move that led the Labour Party to withdraw its support of Fianna Fáil. A new coalition government was formed, headed by Prime Minister John Bruton of the Fine Gael Party. This new coalition was made up of members of Fine Gael, the Labour Party, and the Democratic Left.

In February 1997 a law legalizing divorce under certain circumstances went into effect in the Republic of Ireland. Divorce had been banned in Ireland since the country gained independence from Britain, and the new law was vigorously opposed by the Roman Catholic Church.

Shortly thereafter, John Bruton called a national election for June. He was faced with a growing scandal involving large cash donations to members of parliament and criticism regarding his policies on Northern Ireland. In the elections, Bruton�s three-party coalition government came away with only 75 seats in the 166-seat lower house of parliament, compared to 81 for the opposition coalition of Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats. Though neither group was able to secure the 84 seats needed for an overall majority, Fianna Fáil leader Bertie Ahern became the new prime minister.

In September 1997 President Mary Robinson resigned to become the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. The popular Robinson was widely credited with raising the profile and influence of the largely ceremonial presidential office during her seven-year term. In elections held in October, Robinson was replaced by Mary McAleese, a law professor from Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Ireland�s economy grew dramatically in the 1990s, although Irish per capita income in 1997 was still below the average for members of the European Union. One cause of the growth was government encouragement of foreign investment, which led many large corporations�especially those in the computer and electronics industries�to open facilities in Ireland. Ireland�s economy was expected to continue growing well into the 21st century.

In August 1994 the IRA stated its intentions to suspend military operations in favor of peace negotiations in Northern Ireland. In February 1995 John Bruton and British prime minister John Major established a framework for negotiating the status of Northern Ireland. The document recognized Northern Ireland�s right to self-determination and proposed the creation of a Northern Ireland Assembly. It also called for the establishment of a cross-border body composed of members of that assembly and representatives of the Irish Parliament. However, the two sides failed to agree on disarming the IRA, which resumed its terrorist activities in February 1996. After a week of bombing, Major and Bruton met again, setting May 30 as the date for the election of a new parliament, which would be made up of members of pro-British and pro-Irish political parties and would debate the situation in Northern Ireland. Sinn Fein, the political arm of the IRA, won 15 percent of the vote in these elections, but was excluded from the talks because of the IRA�s refusal to restore the cease-fire. The parliament met as scheduled in June 1996, though conflict over the issue of whether or not Sinn Fein and the IRA should be included in the negotiations limited progress.

The peace process was revitalized after Tony Blair and the Labour Party won a landslide victory over John Major�s Conservatives in May 1997 British parliamentary elections. After taking office, Blair declared the talks a top priority, and in June he announced that new talks would begin in September 1997. The IRA renewed its cease-fire in July, and after the British government dropped its demands that the IRA completely disarm before allowing Sinn Fein to participate in the talks, Sinn Fein joined the negotiations. Initial progress was limited, but the talks gradually proceeded with the help of Blair and Irish prime minister Bertie Ahern and under the oversight of former United States senator George Mitchell, who moved Blair�s original deadline up to April 9, 1998. Although many feared the process would fall apart once again, Mitchell kept the talks on track. After an all-night negotiating session, and slightly past the deadline, the talks culminated in an historic agreement on April 10.

The agreement called for the creation of a provincial assembly for Northern Ireland to replace the direct rule of the province by the British government. This body would be overseen by an executive cabinet. It also created a North-South Ministerial Council to coordinate policies between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, and a Council of the Isles to allow representatives from both parts of Ireland to meet with representatives from the British, Scottish, and Welsh legislative bodies. Additionally, the agreement called for the Republic of Ireland to amend its constitution to drop its territorial claim to Northern Ireland.

On May 22 the Northern Ireland peace agreement was put to a vote in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. In the Republic of Ireland the agreement was passed by an overwhelming 94 percent to 6 percent; in Northern Ireland the vote was passed by a margin of 71 percent to 29 percent.