Ireland

Table of Contents

Introduction & Quick Facts
Land
- Relief
- Drainage
- Soils
- Climate
- Plant and animal life
People
- Ethnic groups, language, and religion
- Settlement patterns
- Demographic trends
Economy
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
  - Agriculture
  - Forestry and fishing
- Resources and power
- Manufacturing
- Finance
- Trade
- Services
- Labour and taxation
- Transportation and telecommunications
  - Roads and railways
  - Waterborne traffic
  - Air facilities
  - Telecommunications
Government and society
- Constitutional framework
- Local government
- Justice
- Political process
- Security
- Health and welfare
- Housing
- Education
Cultural life
- Daily life and social customs
- The arts
  - Literature: Prose and poetry
  - Theatre
  - Music and dance
  - Visual arts
- Cultural institutions
- Sports and recreation
- Media and publishing
History
- Early Ireland
  - Neolithic Period
  - Bronze Age
  - Iron Age
  - Early Celtic Ireland
    - Political and social organization
    - Rural economy and living conditions
    - Early political history
    - Irish raids and migrations
  - Early Christianity
    - Conversion
    - Irish monasticism
    - Learning and art
  - The Norse invasions and their aftermath
- First centuries of English rule (c. 1166–c. 1600)
  - The Anglo-Norman invasion
  - The 14th and 15th centuries
  - The Kildare ascendancy
  - The Reformation period
  - Ireland under Elizabeth I
    - The Shane O’Neill rebellion
    - The Desmond rebellion
    - The Tyrone rebellion
- Modern Ireland under British rule
  - The 17th century
    - James I (1603–25)
    - Charles I (1625–49) and the Commonwealth (1649–60)
    - The Restoration period and the Jacobite war
  - The 18th century
  - Social, economic, and cultural life in the 17th and 18th centuries
  - The 19th and early 20th centuries
    - Political discontent
    - The rise of Fenianism
    - The Home Rule movement and the Land League
    - The 20th-century crisis
- Independent Ireland to 1959
  - The Irish Free State, 1922–32
  - De Valera’s governments (1932–48) and the quest for sovereignty
  - The Republic of Ireland
- Developments since 1959
  - Economic and political developments
    - Integration in Europe
    - The rough road to prosperity
    - The debt crisis and beyond
  - Social and religious changes
  - Relations with Northern Ireland
Leaders of Ireland since 1922

References & Edit History Facts & Stats

Images, Videos & Interactives

Cliffs of Moher, County Clare, Ireland

How many Americans have Irish ancestry?

River Liffey, Dublin

Ireland's coastline

St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin

Ireland: Religious affiliation

For Students

Ireland summary

Read Next

Rainbow flag hangs from building. Sign of diversity, inclusiveness, hope, yearning. Gay pride flag popularized by San Francisco artist Gilbert Baker in 1978. Inspired by Judy Garland singing Over the Rainbow. gay rights, homosexual, gays, LGBT community

Ireland’s Same-Sex Marriage Referendum

Rural Irish landscape, Sligo, Ireland.

Why Is Ireland Two Countries?

Skellig Michael, UNESCO World Heritage Site, County Kerry, Munster, Ireland.

Ireland Has It All, Including These 12 Incredible Feats of Architecture

A potato showing the effects of Phytophthora infestans, or late blight. Potato blight, Irish Potato Famine.

The Mold that Wrecked Ireland

American troops at the front in Italy. American soldiers on the Piave (river) front hurling a shower of hand grenades into the Austrian trenches, Varage, Italy; September 16, 1918. (World War I)

Leaders of World War I

Discover

African Americans demonstrating for voting rights in front of the White House as police and others watch, March 12, 1965. One sign reads, "We demand the right to vote everywhere." Voting Rights Act, civil rights.

Timeline of the American Civil Rights Movement

Black widow spider

9 of the World’s Deadliest Spiders

earthquake. Heavily damaged school in the town of Yingxiu after a major earthquake struck China's Sichuan Province on May 12, 2008.

The 6 Deadliest Earthquakes Since 1950

Vietnam War. U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson awards the Distinguished Service Cross to First Lieutenant Marty A. Hammer, during a visit to military personnel, Cam Ranh Bay, South Vietnam, October 26, 1966. President Johnson

Vietnam War Timeline

Person paying with a credit card using a credit card terminal. Cashless payment, credit card reader

What Is a Cashless Society and How Does It Work?

In this aerial photo, structures are damaged and destroyed October 15, 2005 in Balakot, Pakistan. It is estimated that 90% of the city of Balakot was leveled by the earthquake. The death toll in the 7.6 magnitude earthquake that struck northern Pakistan on October 8, 2005 is believed to be 38,000 with at least 1,300 more dead in Indian Kashmir. SEE CONTENT NOTES.

6 of the World’s Deadliest Natural Disasters

VAN, TURKEY - OCTOBER 25: A building and car ruined during the earthquake of Van-Ercis on October 25, 2011 in Van, Turkey. It is 604 killed and 4152 injured in Van-Ercis Earthquake.

What Is an Aftershock?

Leaders of Ireland since 1922

The table provides a chronological list of the leaders of Ireland since 1922.

Leaders of Ireland since 1922
name	term
William Thomas Cosgrave	1922–32
Eamon de Valera	1932–48
John Costello	1948–51
Eamon de Valera	1951–54
John Costello	1954–57
Eamon de Valera	1957–59
Sean F. Lemass	1959–66
Jack Lynch	1966–73
Liam Cosgrave	1973–77
Jack Lynch	1977–79
Charles Haughey	1979–81
Garret FitzGerald	1981–82
Charles Haughey	1982
Garret FitzGerald	1982–87
Charles Haughey	1987–92
Albert Reynolds	1992–94
John Bruton	1994–97
Bertie Ahern	1997–2008
Brian Cowen	2008–11
Enda Kenny	2011–17
Leo Varadkar	2017–20
Micheál Martin	2020–22
Leo Varadkar	2022–