Ireland



Ireland is an island in the North Atlantic to the west of Great Britain. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth.

Description and Climate.
The island's geography comprises relatively low-lying mountains surrounding a central plain, with several navigable rivers extending inland. The highest mountain is Carrauntoohil, which rises to 1,038 m above sea level. The River Shannon is the island's longest river at 386 km. Annual mean temperatures range from 9.3 °C to 10.9 °C. The warmest areas are found along the southwest coast. The coldest areas are found inland. The island has lush vegetation, a product of its mild oceanic climate, which avoids extremes in temperature. Ireland has a total area of 84,421 km2.

History
Ireland saw the arrival of humans after 8000 BCE. Gaelic Ireland had emerged by the 1st century and lasted until the early 17th century. The island was Christianized from the 5th century onward. Following the Norman invasion in the 12th century, England claimed sovereignty over Ireland. However, English rule did not extend over the whole island until the 16th–17th century Tudor conquest. This led to colonization of Ireland by settlers from Britain. In 1801, Ireland became a part of the United Kingdom. A war of independence in the early 20th century was followed by the partition of the island, creating the Irish Free State, which became increasingly sovereign over the following decades, and Northern Ireland which remained a part of the United Kingdom. The Irish Free State became the Republic of Ireland in 1949. Northern Ireland saw much civil unrest from the late 1960s until the 1990s. This subsided following a political agreement in 1998.Politically, Ireland was divided between the Republic of Ireland, covering five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, a part of the United Kingdom, which covers the remaining area and is located in the north-east of the island.

Irish culture has had a significant influence on other cultures, especially in the fields of literature and, to a lesser degree, science and education. Alongside mainstream Western culture, a strong indigenous culture exists, as expressed for example through Gaelic games, Irish music, and the Irish language.

Modern Ireland
See: United Kingdom.