Ireland, Republic of

I

Introduction

Ireland, Republic of (in Irish, Éire), republic comprising about five sixths of the land area of the island of Ireland, lying in the Atlantic Ocean, about 80 km (50 mi) west of the island of Great Britain, and separated from it by the Irish Sea. The country consists of the provinces of Leinster, Munster, and Connaught (Connacht), and part of the province of Ulster, comprising 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The remaining six counties of Ulster, in the north-eastern part of the island, form Northern Ireland, a constituent part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The republic has a total area of 70,273 sq km (27,133 sq mi). The capital of the Republic of Ireland is Dublin.

Often called the “Emerald Isle” because of the vivid greenness of the countryside, Ireland is a land of mountains, lakes, and rolling farmland, as well as a country with an ancient history and rich literary, oral, and theatrical traditions. The island of Ireland was ruled by England and then Great Britain for more than 600 years and was an integral part of the United Kingdom after 1801. The republic formally gained its independence in 1922, after a long, and at times violent, struggle. Since then, the country has overcome centuries of economic neglect, building new industries, modernizing agriculture, and creating a modern economy.

II

Land and Resources

Ireland comprises a broad, central limestone plain, ringed by coastal highlands, which vary considerably in their geology. The flatness of the central lowlands, which are given over primarily to farming, is broken in places by low hills and lakes (or loughs). The peat bogs, which cover about 10 per cent of Ireland and which provide the country’s traditional fuel, are located mainly in the centre and the west. In the west, in County Clare, bordering Galway Bay, is the Burren, an extensive limestone pavement with poor soils and sparse vegetation, but also rich remains of Ireland’s prehistoric civilizations in the form of menhirs, megaliths, and grave mounds. The main mountain ranges are the Donegal Mountains in the north-west, the Wicklow Mountains, the Macgillicuddy’s Reeks in County Kerry, the Knockmealdown and Comeragh mountains in Waterford, and the Twelve Pins in the Connemara region of Galway. Carrantouhill (1,041 m/3,414 ft), Ireland’s highest peak, is located in the Macgillycuddy’s Reeks.

In the west and south-west, the wild and beautiful coast is heavily indented with inlets and bays where the mountains thrust out into the Atlantic. The bays provide safe anchorage and many have developed into harbours, including the Shannon estuary, Galway Bay, Waterford Harbour, and Cork Harbour. Some of the bays, including Bantry and Dingle bays in the south-west, are drowned river estuaries. Bantry Bay is one of western Europe’s principal deep-sea anchorages. An oil terminal, capable of taking the largest super tankers, operated from Whiddy Island in the bay until 1979, when a tanker exploded. The terminal was subsequently shut down. There are many islands off the western coast, notably the Aran Islands and Achill Island.

A

Rivers and Lakes

The Shannon (354 km/220 mi) is the longest river in Ireland and in the British Isles. It rises in the north in County Cavan at the foot of Cuilcagh Mountain and flows slowly southward to reach the sea at Limerick. Other important rivers are the Liffey, the Barrow, the Nore, the Boyne, the Blackwater, the Moy, and the Suir. Ireland has many loughs, which are primarily a result of glaciation, like the drowned river valleys and much else that typifies the Irish landscape. Many are in the west; a number are in the centre, such as loughs Allen, Ree, and Derg, formed by overdeepening of parts of the River Shannon’s bed during glaciation.

B

Climate

Ireland has a mild, equable, wet climate that is heavily influenced by the warm Gulf Stream, and by westerly winds in winter, which keep average temperatures up. Temperatures are relatively uniform throughout the country. The average January temperature is 4° to 7° C (39° to 45° F); the average July temperature is 14° to 16° C (57° to 61° F). Rainfall is lowest on the east coast and highest on the west coast, where precipitation in the wettest areas can reach 2,500 mm (98 in); the average is about 1,500 mm (60 in). In the central lowlands the average precipitation is 750 to 1,125 mm (30 to 44 in). Rainfall is spread throughout the year, enabling very long growing seasons in the west of the country.