Ireland

Ireland symbols

• Book of Kells (medieval Irish art and literature)

• Guinness, irish whiskeys

• Irish stew

• Potato

• Shamrock, St. PAtrick

Ireland legends

Leprechaun (small, mischievous fairy from Irish folklore, often depicted as an old man in green who hides a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow)

Giant’s Causeway (the legend of Fionn mac Cumhaill (Finn McCool)

Irish music

Traditional: fiddle, flute, harp, the Dubliners

Pop music: The Cranberries, the Corrs, U2

Irish History overview

• Early settlement by Celtic peoples

• Christianity introduced in the 5th century

• Viking raids and settlements from the 9th century

• Norman invasion began in the 12th century

• English and later British rule expanded over centuries

• Great Famine (1845–1849) caused mass death and emigration

• Irish independence struggle in the early 20th century

• Partition in 1921 created Northern Ireland

• Republic of Ireland became fully independent in 1949

Uneasy Peace” Agreement of 1985

refers to the Anglo-Irish Agreement, in which Britain and Ireland agreed to cooperate on Northern Ireland, giving the Irish government an advisory role while acknowledging that Northern Ireland would remain part of the UK unless a majority decided otherwise, helping reduce violence during the Troubles

Good Friday Agreement, 1998

• Signifying an end to the war in Ireland against British Rule and British presence in the country

• The agreement was between the British, the Loyalists and the Republicans

• Ceasefire, disarmament of IRA

to have a bit of a gas

to have some fun

If you kiss the Blarney Stone

you get a gift of telling stories