The Beyond News

Ireland is an island in the North Atlantic. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the second-largest island of the British Isles, the third-largest in Europe, and the twentieth-largest on Earth.Geopolitically, Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially named Ireland), which covers five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. In 2011, the population of Ireland was about 6.6 million, ranking it the second-most populous island in Europe after Great Britain. As of 2016, 4.8 million lived in the Republic of Ireland, and 1.8 million in Northern Ireland.The geography of Ireland comprises relatively low-lying mountains surrounding a central plain, with several navigable rivers extending inland. Its lush vegetation is a product of its mild but changeable climate which is free of extremes in temperature. Much of Ireland was woodland until the end of the Middle Ages. Today, woodland makes up about 10% of the island, compared with a European average of over 33%, and most of it is non-native conifer plantations.There are twenty-six extant land mammal species native to Ireland. The Irish climate is influenced by the Atlantic Ocean and thus very moderate, and winters are milder than expected for such a northerly area, although summers are cooler than those in continental Europe. Rainfall and cloud cover are abundant.Gaelic Ireland had emerged by the 1st century AD. The island was Christianised from the 5th century onward. Following the 12th century Anglo-Norman invasion, England claimed sovereignty. However, English rule did not extend over the whole island until the 16th–17th century Tudor conquest, which led to colonisation by settlers from Britain. In the 1690s, a system of Protestant English rule was designed to materially disadvantage the Catholic majority and Protestant dissenters, and was extended during the 18th century. With the Acts of Union 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. Northern Ireland saw much civil unrest from the late 1960s until the 1990s. This subsided following a political agreement in 1998. In 1973 the Republic of Ireland joined the European Economic Community while the United Kingdom, and Northern Ireland, as part of it, did the same.Irish culture has had a significant influence on other cultures, especially in the field of literature. Alongside mainstream Western culture, a strong indigenous culture exists, as expressed through Gaelic games, Irish music, Irish language and Irish dance. The island's culture shares many features with that of Great Britain, including the English language, and sports such as association football, rugby, horse racing, golf, and boxing.

Foods in Ireland  :
(1) Boxty : 

This traditional Irish food is best described as a hearty potato pancake. It’s commonly made with flour, baking soda, eggs, and grated and mashed potatoes, and it finds its way onto menus in restaurants alongside other Irish favorites.It often shows up for breakfast, but with its resurgence in popularity, chefs are finding fun new ways of using boxty. Gallagher’s in Temple Bar in Dublin is a great example.

(2) Irish Butter : 

Butter may be a guilty pleasure, but if you’re going to indulge in it, then Irish butter is the way to go. In Ireland, the dairy cows are grass-fed. The cream takes on a sweeter flavor that infuses the butter. Irish butter also has more butterfat, making it extra creamy, and the bright yellow color comes from the high beta-carotene levels provided by grass-fed cows.

(3) Soda Bread : 

If you’re going to have some delicious Irish butter, you’ll want something tasty to spread it on. Irish soda bread is a traditional Irish food that has made its way to tables around the world. In Ireland, it became popular out of necessity during a time of great poverty and hunger. It required few ingredients and used baking soda for leavening to create consistent results.Today, Irish soda bread is often eaten with breakfast or tea. It can be found plain, with dried fruit, or with herbs. Some take the tradition so seriously that there is a Society for the Preservation of Soda Bread.

(4) Irish Stew : 

Traditional Irish food does include stew. In its classic form, Irish stew incorporates onions, potatoes, and lamb. If you head to the southern part of the country, you’ll probably find carrots or different root vegetables included. Other places use goat’s meat, and though it wasn’t common back in the day, beef is sometimes used now. Though less than traditional, we found the beef and Guinness stew at the Guinness Storehouse absolutely delectable.

(5) Colcannon And Champ : 

Yes, it’s true — Irish food features lots of potatoes. And no two items are more traditional than these related mashed-potato dishes. Colcannon blends mashed potatoes with kale or cabbage, while champ blends mashed potatoes with scallions or green onions. These dishes are both readily available all year long, but cabbage is more common for colcannon in fall and winter.If you’d like, you can learn to make these and other traditional Irish foods at the famed Ballymaloe Cookery School or at Howth Castle Cookery School.

(6) Dublin Coddle : 

Ever thrifty, the Irish made use of all they had in their kitchens, and sometimes leftovers would result in a dish called coddle. Associated closely with Dublin, coddle involves braised sliced or chunked pork sausages, rashers, potatoes, and onions plus herbs in a large pot of water or stock.This hearty dish warms you up in the winter, and it’s still quite popular. Author Jonathan Swift, who wrote Gulliver’s Travels, considered this one of his favorite dishes, and James Joyce referred to coddle in Dubliners. This dish is often made at home, but The Hairy Lemon and some other cozy spots do serve it.

Weather & geography in  Ireland :

The climate in Ireland does not experience extreme weather, with tornadoes and similar weather features being rare. However, Ireland is prone to eastward moving cyclones which come in from the North Atlantic. The prevailing wind comes from the southwest, breaking on the high mountains of the west coast.Ireland is an island in Northwestern Europe in the north Atlantic Ocean. The island lies on the European continental shelf, part of the Eurasian Plate. The island's main geographical features include low central plains surrounded by coastal mountains. The highest peak is Carrauntoohil (Irish: Corrán Tuathail), which is 1,041 meters (3,415 ft) above sea level. The western coastline is rugged, with many islands, peninsulas, headlands and bays. The island is bisected by the River Shannon, which at 360.5 km (224 mi) with a 102.1 km (63 mi) estuary is the longest river in Ireland and flows south from County Cavan in Ulster to meet the Atlantic just south of Limerick. There are a number of sizeable lakes along Ireland's rivers, of which Lough Neagh is the largest.Politically, the island consists of the Republic of Ireland, with jurisdiction over about five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, a constituent country of the United Kingdom, with jurisdiction over the remaining sixth. Located west of the island of Great Britain, it is located at approximately 53°N 8°WCoordinates: 53°N 8°W. It has a total area of 84,421 km2 (32,595 sq mi). It is separated from Great Britain by the Irish Sea and from mainland Europe by the Celtic Sea. Ireland forms the second largest landmass in the North-Western European Archipalegeo, together with nearby islands including Great Britain and the Isle of Man, previously known as the British Isles.

Per day Cost in Ireland :

You should plan to spend around €109 ($130) per day on your vacation in Ireland, which is the average daily price based on the expenses of other visitors. Past travelers have spent, on average, €32 ($38) on meals for one day and €18 ($21) on local transportation.

History of Ireland :

The first evidence of human presence in Ireland dates to around 33,000 years ago, further findings have been found dating to around 10,500 to 8,000 BC. The receding of the ice after the Younger Dryas cold phase of the Quaternary around 9700 BC, heralds the beginning of Prehistoric Ireland, which includes the archaeological periods known as the Mesolithic, the Neolithic from about 4000 BC, the Copper and Bronze Age from about 2300 BC and Iron Age beginning about 600 BC. Ireland's bronze age begins with the emergence of "protohistoric" Gaelic Ireland in the 2nd Millennium BC and ends with arrival of Celtic la Tène culture by central Europe.

By the late 4th century AD Christianity had begun to gradually subsume or replace the earlier Celtic polytheism. By the end of the 6th century it had introduced writing along with a predominantly monastic Celtic Christian church, profoundly altering Irish society. Viking raids and settlement from the late 8th century AD resulted in extensive cultural interchange, as well as innovation in military and transport technology. Many of Ireland's towns were founded at this time as Viking trading posts and coinage made its first appearance.Viking penetration was limited and concentrated along coasts and rivers, and ceased to be a major threat to Gaelic culture after the Battle of Clontarf in 1014. The Norman invasion in 1169 resulted again in a partial conquest of the island and marked the beginning of more than 800 years of English political and military involvement in Ireland. Initially successful, Norman gains were rolled back over succeeding centuries as a Gaelic resurgence[3] reestablished Gaelic cultural preeminence over most of the country, apart from the walled towns and the area around Dublin known as The Pale.

Reduced to the control of small pockets, the English Crown did not make another attempt to conquer the island until after the end of the Wars of the Roses (1488). This released resources and manpower for overseas expansion, beginning in the early 16th century. However, the nature of Ireland's decentralised political organisation into small territories (known as túatha), martial traditions, difficult terrain and climate and lack of urban infrastructure, meant that attempts to assert Crown authority were slow and expensive. Attempts to impose the new Protestant faith were also successfully resisted by both the Gaelic and Norman-Irish. The new policy fomented the rebellion of the Hiberno-Norman Earl of Kildare Silken Thomas in 1534, keen to defend his traditional autonomy and Catholicism, and marked the beginning of the prolonged Tudor conquest of Ireland lasting from 1534 to 1603. Henry VIII proclaimed himself King of Ireland in 1541 to facilitate the project. Ireland became a potential battleground in the wars between Catholic Counter-Reformation and Protestant Reformation Europe.

England's attempts to either conquer or assimilate both the Hiberno-Norman lordships and the Gaelic territories into the Kingdom of Ireland provided the impetus for ongoing warfare, notable examples being the 1st Desmond Rebellion, the 2nd Desmond Rebellion and the Nine Years War. This period was marked by the Crown policies of, at first, surrender and regrant, and later, plantation, involving the arrival of thousands of English and Scottish Protestant settlers, and the displacement of both the Hiberno-Normans (or Old English as they were known by then) and the native Catholic landholders. British colonies in Ireland go back to the 1550s Ireland was arguably the first English and then British colony colonised by a group known as the West Country Men. Gaelic Ireland was finally defeated at the battle of Kinsale in 1601 which marked the collapse of the Gaelic system and the beginning of Ireland's history as fully part of the English and later British Empire.During the 17th century, this division between a Protestant landholding minority and a dispossessed Catholic majority was intensified and conflict between them was to become a recurrent theme in Irish history. Domination of Ireland by the Protestant Ascendancy was reinforced after two periods of religious war, the Irish Confederate Wars in 1641-52 and the Williamite war in 1689-91. Political power thereafter rested almost exclusively in the hands of a minority Protestant Ascendancy, while Catholics and members of dissenting Protestant denominations suffered severe political and economic privations under the Penal Laws.

On 1 January 1801, in the wake of the republican United Irishmen Rebellion, the Irish Parliament was abolished and Ireland became part of a new United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland formed by the Acts of Union 1800. Catholics were not granted full rights until Catholic Emancipation in 1829, achieved by Daniel O’Connell. The catastrophe of the Great Famine struck Ireland in 1845 resulting in over a million deaths from starvation and disease and a million refugees fleeing the country, mainly to America. Irish attempts to break away continued with Parnell's Irish Parliamentary Party which strove from the 1880s to attain Home Rule through the parliamentary constitutional movement, eventually winning the Home Rule Act 1914, although this Act was suspended at the outbreak of World War I.

In 1916 the Easter Rising succeeded in turning public opinion against the British establishment after the execution of the leaders by British authorities. It also eclipsed the home rule movement. In 1922, after the Irish War of Independence most of Ireland seceded from the United Kingdom to become the independent Irish Free State but under the Anglo-Irish Treaty the six northeastern counties, known as Northern Ireland, remained within the United Kingdom, creating the partition of Ireland. The treaty was opposed by many; their opposition led to the outbreak of the Irish Civil War, in which Irish Free State, or "pro-treaty", forces proved victorious. The history of Northern Ireland has since been dominated by the division of society along sectarian faultlines and conflict between (mainly Catholic) Irish nationalists and (mainly Protestant) British unionists. These divisions erupted into the Troubles in the late 1960s, after civil rights marchers were met with opposition by authorities. The violence escalated after the deployment of the British Army to maintain authority led to clashes with nationalist communities. The violence continued for 28 years until an uneasy, but largely successful peace was finally achieved with the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.