An Introduction to Republic of Ireland
The island of Ireland has a long and complex history - inhabited since around 8,000 BC, Christian from around 600 AD and entangled with Norman, English and British settlers and conquerors from the twelfth century. The modern Republic of Ireland was essentially formed in 1922 on the conclusion of a War of Independence, but the island is split, with six counties in the north remaining part of the UK, a consequence mainly of the influx of thousands of English and Scottish protestant settlers in the 16th and 17th centuries. See full country profile.Latest Research News from Ireland
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GOVERNMENT: Parliamentary democracy
AREA: 70,273 sq km
POPULATION: 4,588,252 (2011 est.)
MAJOR LANGUAGE: Official Languages: Irish, English
Some business and general info
The Market Research Industry
Trade and Industry in Republic of Ireland
The dry stout known as Guinness originated in the Dublin brewery of Arthur Guinness (1725-1803) and is now brewed in almost 50 countries and available in over 100, with 1.5 billion pints sold each year. In the 1930s Guinness was apparently the seventh largest company in the world. Before 1939, if a Guinness brewer wished to marry a Catholic, his resignation was required. According to the company, the perfect pint of draught Guinness should take 119.53 seconds to pour and should be served at 42.8F, or 6 degrees centigrade.
Gaelic football and hurling are Ireland's two most popular spectator sports, although association football enjoys the highest level of participation. The national team for the latter has occasionally punched above its weight, notably under English manager Jack Charlton. Ireland has also produced world-beaters in rugby (combined team with N Ireland), boxing and golf.
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The island of Ireland has a long and complex history - inhabited since around 8,000 BC, Christian from around 600 AD and entangled with Norman, English and British settlers and conquerors from the twelfth century. The modern Republic of Ireland was essentially formed in 1922 on the conclusion of a War of Independence, but the island is split, with six counties in the north remaining part of the UK, a consequence mainly of the influx of thousands of English and Scottish protestant settlers in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Having survived invasion, slaughter and famine in the previous few hundred years, Ireland in the late twentieth century saw rapid growth and attained a high rank'ng for GDP and various quality of life indices - it also enjoys a reputation in the world for friendly, easy-going people, green landscapes, and for respecting its ancient culture. Only in 2008 did cracks in its recent prosperity begin to appear with the financial crisis and problems with the Euro - it remains heavily in debt and its economy shrank by around 10% between 2008 and 2011.Ireland guarantees freedom of religion but it staunchly Roman Catholic with 87% of the population defining themselves as such and one of the highest rates of regular Mass attendance in the Western World.
GDP: $181.6 bn (2011 est.); $39,638 per capita
Religions 86.8% Roman Catholic; non-religious 6.2%; protestant 4.8% (2006)
Currency: Euro
Telephone Code: +353
Ireland saw rapid economic growth from 1995 to 2007 - referred to as its 'Celtic Tiger' period. Focused on high technology industries and services, it provides European bases and headquarters for a number of multnational firms with its highly educated workforce and low taxes. The bursting of a property bubble in 2007, in an economy over-dependent on construction, began a deep downturn requiring financial bail-out, and which rumbles on now.
However, positives remain - Ireland is one of the world's largest exporters of pharmaceuticals, and has the EU's highest trade surplus relative to GDP in 2010, with EUR 89.4bn in exports and just EUR 45.5bn of imports. The EU accounts for 57.9% of exports and 60.7% of imports, with the UK alone taking 15.4% of exports and providing 32.1% of imports. The US took more - 23.2% of exports - and provided 14.1% of imports.
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