...Education in Ireland Ireland has a long and prestigious tradition in education, dating back to the middle ages when it held the position of the principal education providers to the western world (International Education Board - Ireland, 1997). Ireland requires that all children from six until sixteen years of age, or until the child has completed 3 years of secondary education, attend school by law. Due to Ireland’s emphasis on education and literacy, 99 percent of the population aged 15 and over can read and write, according to the Central Intelligence Agency World Fact Book. The Department of Education and Science direct the educational system; however overall responsibility for education in Ireland lies with the Minister for Education, who is a member of the Irish Government and responsible to the National Parliament (International Education Board - Ireland, 1997). Ireland’s education system is technically classified by three levels of education: Primary, Secondary and Tertiary. As stated earlier, although children aren’t required to attend school until the age of 6, many enroll into the Early Start Programme at the age of 4 with almost all children enrolled but the age of 5. The pre-primary education is not State funded, with the exception of the Early Start Programme and the Rutland Street Project. These programs are specifically designed for children who live in areas of urban disadvantage and have the risk of not succeeding in education. Throughout Ireland, there are approximately...
Words: 3059 - Pages: 13
...Socio-evolutionary identity plays a fundamental role in the building of the character of any nation, with Northern Ireland being no different. The constellation of discursive issues that demarcate Irelands conflicted history, are complex and multifarious. The conflict is steeped in the historical context of religious conviction, monarchical dispossession of territory and rights, a distrust of government and the impact of socio-economics on its people. Scholars, politicians and men of the cloth, from all sides of the political floor and religious faiths have assessed and reviewed the Irish ‘troubles’ and all remain convinced that they have the answer, the defining commitment or the epiphany that will or would have restored the island to peace and unity. However like all protracted conflicts the original catalyst is often lost or manifests into a raft of idiosyncratic reasons to fight. When we dissect the conflict down to base elements, there remains two strategic themes, the first being the alignment of faith between the Protestant minority and the Catholic majority and the second base element is the alignment of allegiance of country. The Catholic Nationalist desire for a unified Irish nation and the Unionist commitment to a fractured island with a northern annex, controlled by the United Kingdom is at the essence of the conflict. Whilst this might seem a myopic view of the struggle, it is difficult to reframe the conflict beyond its ethno-nationalist agenda and “Irishness...
Words: 1608 - Pages: 7
...Sinn Fein Sinn Fein (/ʃɪn ˈfeɪn/ shin-FAYN) is an Irish republican political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves",although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone:Originating in the Sinn Fein organization founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970 after a split within the party (the other party is the Workers' Party of Ireland), and has been associated with the Provisional Irish Republican Army Gerry Adams has been party president since 1983. Sinn Fein is currently the second-largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly, where it has four ministerial posts in the power-sharing Northern Ireland Executive, and the fourth-largest party in the Oireachtas, the parliament of the Republic. Sinn Fein also received a plurality of Northern Ireland votes in the 2010 United Kingdom general election, although the Democratic Unionist Party won more seats. Police Service of Northern Ireland The Police Service of Northern Ireland (Irish: Seirbhís Póilíneachta Thuaisceart Éireann, Ulster Scots: Polis Servis o Norlin Airlan) is the police force that serves Northern Ireland. It is the successor of the defunct Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) which, in turn, was the successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) in Northern Ireland. Although the majority of PSNI officers are still from the Protestant community, this dominance is not as pronounced as it was in the RUC because...
Words: 1268 - Pages: 6
...History of Ireland From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search History of Ireland Wenzel Hollar's historical map of Ireland This article is part of a series Chronology Prehistory Protohistory 400–800 800–1169 1169–1536 1536–1691 1691–1801 1801–1923 Timeline of Irish history Peoples and polities Gaelic Ireland Lordship of Ireland Kingdom of Ireland United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Republic of Ireland · Northern Ireland Topics Battles · Clans · Kingdoms · States Gaelic monarchs · British monarchs Economic history · History of the Irish language Ireland Portal v · d · e The first known settlement in Ireland began around 8000 BC, when hunter-gatherers arrived from continental Europe, probably via a land bridge.[1] Few archaeological traces remain of this group, but their descendants and later Neolithic arrivals, particularly from the Iberian Peninsula, were responsible for major Neolithic sites such as Newgrange.[2][3] On the arrival of Saint Patrick and other Christian missionaries in the early to mid-5th century AD, Christianity began to subsume the indigenous Celtic religion, a process that was completed by the year 600. From around AD 800, more than a century of Viking invasions brought havoc upon the monastic culture and on the island's various regional dynasties, yet both of these institutions proved strong enough to survive and assimilate the invaders. The coming of Cambro-Norman mercenaries under Richard de...
Words: 11293 - Pages: 46
...1973 Northern Ireland Referendum The Northern Ireland sovereignty referendum of 1973 (also known as the Border Poll) was a referendum held in Northern Ireland on 8 March 1973. The referendum was on whether Northern Ireland should remain part of the United Kingdom or join with the Republic of Ireland to form a ‘United Ireland’. It was the first major referendum to be held in a region of the United Kingdom. The referendum was held On 23 January 1973, the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) called on its members "to ignore completely the referendum and reject this extremely irresponsible decision by the British Government". Gerry Fitt, leader of the SDLP, said he “had organised a boycott to stop an escalation in violence”. The question “Do you want Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom?” won by a land slide 98.9% over the 1.1% of voters voting against. The electorate were asked to indicate: Choice | Vote | Percentage[5] | Do you want Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom? | 591,820 | 98.9% | Do you want Northern Ireland to be joined with the Republic of Ireland outside the United Kingdom? | 6,463 | 1.1% | The vote was not legitimate because the SDLP members did not vote. They could have opposed staying in the United Kingdom. Votes breakdown: * Electorate: 1,030,084 (in 1973 * Total votes: 604,256 (58.66% of Electorate) * Valid votes: 598,283 (99.01% of Total votes) * Spoiled votes: 5,973 (0.99% of Total votes) * Non-voters:...
Words: 348 - Pages: 2
...Casey Irish life and cultures November 23, 2013 Discuss "The Troubles", compare it to other similar conflicts around the world and analyze how aspects of the The Peace process can help these other conflicts. - Saeed Faghihi "The Troubles" refers to a point of conflict in Irish history from late 60's to the late 90's. It was characterized by military violence particularly in Northern Ireland but also to a less prominent extent in England, Scotland, and The Republic of Ireland. The violence was rooted in the different ethnicity of the Northern Irish people. The Unionist Protestant majority wanted to remain as part of The United kingdom while the Nationalist republican minority wished to cede ties with The United Kingdom and join The Republic of Ireland. Catholics and Protestants were largely segregated in Northern Ireland. Catholics were generally discriminated against and not given high power jobs. In 1969 a predominantly catholic civil rights protest marched against these issues. The protest was attacked by The Royal Ulster Constabulary. This sparked the beginning of the period in Northern Irish history known as The Troubles. After the protest a new paramilitary origination, the provisional IRA, was formed. They called themselves the Provisional IRA to differentiate themselves from the old IRA which had become somewhat inactive. Thereafter, Clashes between Catholics and Protestants became commonplace. Throughout this period the majority of the violence was perpetuated...
Words: 2164 - Pages: 9
...PART I A Brief History of Ireland – Gaining Perspective Bloody Sunday, also known as the Bogside Massacre, occurred on January 30, 1972 in Derry, North Ireland. It could be argued that the causes were many, but what really triggered the tragic event, was the North Ireland and British governments, and the British military troops, instituting Operation Demetrius and internment, in response to increasing civil rights marches influenced by the equal rights movement of African Americans in the United States, and their outcry for equality and fair treatment. In 1969, when British troops were told to suppress nationalist activity by both the Irish Republican Army (IRA), and local citizens participating in marches or protests, they did so by internment,...
Words: 3116 - Pages: 13
...reasons for the conflict in Northern Ireland and to what extent have these been resolved by the agreement brokered by the government of the UK and Ireland in 1998? "No person knows better than you do that the domination of England is the sole and blighting curse of this country. It is the incubus that sits on our energies, stops the pulsation of the nation’s heart and leaves to Ireland not gay vitality but horrid the convulsions of a troubled dream."Daniel O'Connell in an 1831 letter to Bishop Doyle The conflict in Northern Ireland started in the late 1960’s, and officially ended with the “Good Friday” Agreement, signed in Belfast in 1998. If this duration is not questioned, what remains at the root of the conflict generally is. Spreading over almost thirty years, “The Troubles” have been divided down many lines: ethnically, geographically, and religiously. Therefore, in order to understand the complexity of Irish nationalism, as well as the role played by the various actors (political parties, paramilitaries, security forces of the UK and Ireland etc…), it is necessary to go back in time, in search of the very core of “the Irish Question”. Ireland was England’s first colony in the late 12th century, and after it had been brought under the ascendancy of the English Crown in 1534, the Irish Parliament appointed Henri VIII “King of Ireland” in 1541[1]. At this stage of history, the first religious disagreement came to light. Whereas Ireland pledged allegiance to...
Words: 3345 - Pages: 14
...- History/Origin Northern Ireland came into existence with the British Government of Ireland Act (1920) which divided Ireland into two areas: the Irish Free State, made up of the 26 southern counties, and Northern Ireland - comprising of the counties of Antrim, Down, Armagh, Londonderry, Tyrone and Fermanagh. Roman Catholics, who made up around one-third of the population of Northern Ireland, were largely opposed to the partition. Irish Republican Army (IRA), nationalist organization devoted to the integration of Ireland as a complete and independent unit. Organized by Michael Collins from remnants of rebel units dispersed after the Easter Rebellion in 1916 (see Ireland), it was composed of the more militant members of the Irish Volunteers, and it became the military wing of the Sinn Féin party. With the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922, the IRA became the stronghold of intransigent opposition to Ireland's dominion status and to the separation of Northern Ireland. During the troubled early years of the Free State, the IRA was responsible for numerous bombings, raids, and street battles on both sides of the Irish border. Popular and effective at first, its fortunes turned after Eamon De Valera, a former IRA supporter, took over the Free State government in 1932. Weakened by internal dissensions, by a loss of popular support because of its violence and pro-German agitation during World War II, by the attainment of republican objectives in 1949, and by government...
Words: 2523 - Pages: 11
...the 1916 rising Michael Collins IRB and by far any Irish person except Northern Ireland because there on British but all republicans understand why IRA was created and did what they did and IRA are not cowards they were set up to fight and only reason they fought with bombs is because there things British couldn't figure out to make by them selves :P well and because the majority of British to people in IRA was far unfair even our own Irish people fought against the people trying to free our country well that didn't matter cause we still got Britain to give us our republic and only reason IRA took it is because Michael Collins made the short choice and there was nothing else he could do at that time he could have fought back for the rest but was shot by the IRA his own people because they wanted all of Ireland but other than that IRA is a very powerful and smart organisation and fights for freedom and I'm glad IRA exist proud to be Irish thumbs upthumbs down +10 The IRA are by far the greatest and most intelligent terrorist group in the 20th century who started off fighting against the evil British army who treated the people of Ireland cruelly. In later years the IRA fought on behalf of the poor Roman Catholics of Belfast who were being treated like animals by the loyalists and also fought to make Ireland once again a united nation by reigning terror on the loyalist streets of northern ireland. thumbs upthumbs down +4 Typical Irish never heard of a peaceful...
Words: 1102 - Pages: 5
...In 1969, violence erupted in Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland Riots of August 1969 was quickly described as a civil disturbance, and was at first regarded as a nuisance more so than a significant problem. Not long after however, the situation had escalated into a full blown conflict, which forced the Northern Irish government Stormont to ask the British government in Westminster to deploy troops to the conflict area. By the end, thirty years later, the “civil disturbance” had amounted to almost 50,000 casualties. The conflict can be broken down into fighting between the Protestant Unionists and the Catholic Nationalists. The Troubles did have other parties fighting, such as communists and anarchists, however, their input...
Words: 1475 - Pages: 6
...The U.K., made up of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, is an island nation in northwestern Europe. Geography, The United Kingdom, consisting of Great Britain (England, Wales, and Scotland and Northern Ireland , is twice the size of New York State. The history of the United Kingdom as a unified sovereign state began in 1707 with the political union of the kingdoms of England and Scotland, into a united kingdom called Great Britain. Sports and literature are among the United Kingdom's cultural claims to fame. Soccer, rugby, cricket, boxing, and golf were all invented in Britain. And the U.K. has produced many great writers, including William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, and Robert Burns. J.K. Rowling, the writer of the Harry Potter...
Words: 709 - Pages: 3
...Country Cultural Practice Project of the Republic of Ireland MGT 604 Administrations, Globalization, & Multiculturalism Submitted by: Johnny D. Clark Project Instructor: Dr. Scott 14 Aug 2015 Executive Summary The Republic of Ireland consists of twenty-six counties and is located on the island of Ireland, along with Northern Ireland. Ireland is a parliamentary democracy, made up of three branches of government: the executive branch, the legislative branch and the judicial branch. The executive branch consists of the President, who is mostly there for ceremonial purposes, the Prime Minister, who is the head of the government, and the Deputy Prime Minister. The legislative branch consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate and the Judicial Branch consists of the Chief Justice and seven other judges. This paper goes over a brief look into the Republic of Ireland’s history, economy, their culture, and their business culture. In regards to their business culture, it offers advice into how to appropriately conduct business with Irish men and women. Country Analysis of the Republic of Ireland History Located to the west of Great Britain, sits the island of Ireland. The island is about 32,000 sq. mi. and is comprised of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom (Holwell, 2001, para.2). The Republic of Ireland, which “occupies almost 85% of the total land-mass,” consists of twenty-six counties (Holwell...
Words: 2888 - Pages: 12
...Christopher Deion Smith 900751868 History 1112K Keywords Report #2 Irish Republican Army (IRA) The Irish Republican Army (IRA), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army was a paramilitary organization. It was created in 1919 with the purpose of using an armed force to remove British rule in order to create an independent republic and the unification of Ireland. During its time of operation it acted independently of political control and in some instances gained the advantage in the independence movement. During the Irish War of Independence (1919-1921) under the leadership of Michal Collins the IRA made used of guerrilla tactics in order to force the British government to negotiate the Anglo-Irish Treaty which resulted in the...
Words: 517 - Pages: 3
...1. Make short notes on the role of history: ethnicity and religion, colonization and conquest that relate to the Irish controversy. 2. List the factors that came together to support the Good Friday Agreement. What were the 'sticking points'? 1. Ulster/Ireland: Identity Blur Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth. To its east is the larger island of Great Britain, from which it is separated by the Irish Sea. Politically, Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland, which covers just under five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, a part of the United Kingdom, which covers the remainder and is located in the northeast of the island. The population of Ireland is approximately 6.4 million. Just under 4.6 million live in the Republic of Ireland and just under 1.8 million live in Northern Ireland. (Wikepedia) In 1171, following permission from the Pope Adrian IV; Henry II landed in Ireland on an expansionist expedition. For the church, the ‘bull’ (papal order) encouraged Henry to take control in Ireland in order to oversee the financial and administrative reorganization of the Irish Church and its integration into the Roman Church system. For Britain, this represented an expansion of the empire and their European influence. In the subsequent centuries, Irish and English cultures were deeply intertwined, under the canopy of the Catholic Church. During these...
Words: 1408 - Pages: 6
