n.
Irish Éire
Republic, occupying the greater part of an island west of Great Britain.
Area: 27,133 sq mi (70,273 sq km). Population (2002 est.): 3,926,000. Capital: Dublin . The republic's only neighbour is Northern Ireland , which occupies the northeastern portion of the island. Although it has been invaded and colonized by Celts, Norsemen, Normans, English, and Scots, ethnic distinctions are nonexistent. Languages: Irish, English (both official). Religions: Roman Catholicism (95%), Church of Ireland Episcopalianism, Presbyterianism, Methodism, Judaism. Currency: euro. Ireland's topography consists largely of broad lowlands drained by rivers that include the Shannon ; its coasts are fringed with mountains. Nearly three-fifths of the population is urban, and agriculture employs only a small percentage of the workforce. Mining, manufacturing, construction, public utilities, high technology, and tourism are important industries. Ireland is a republic with two legislative houses; its chief of state is the president, and the head of government is the prime minister. Human settlement in Ireland began 0441; 6000 BC, and Celtic migration dates from 0441; 300 BC. St. Patrick is credited with Christianizing the country in the 5th century. Norse domination began in 795 and ended in 1014, when the Norse were defeated by Brian Boru . Gaelic Ireland's independence ended in 1171 when the English king Henry II proclaimed himself overlord of the island. Beginning in the 16th century, Irish Catholic landowners fled religious persecution by the English and were replaced by English and Scottish Protestant migrants. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was established in 1801. The Great Famine of the 1840s led more than two million people to emigrate and built momentum for Irish Home Rule . The Easter Rising (1916) was followed by civil war (191921) between the Catholic majority in southern Ireland, who favoured complete independence, and the Protestant majority in the north, who preferred continued union with Britain. Southern Ireland was granted dominion status and became the Irish Free State in 1921, and in 1937 it adopted the name Éire and became a sovereign independent country. It remained neutral during World War II. Britain recognized the status of Ireland in 1949 but declared that cession of the northern six counties (Northern Ireland) could not occur without the consent of the Parliament of Northern Ireland. In 1973 Ireland joined the European Economic Community (later the European Community ); it is now a member of the European Union . The last decades of the 20th century were dominated by sectarian hostilities between the island's Catholics and Protestants. The Irish government played a pivotal role in negotiating and winning public support for the Belfast Agreement (1998), which gave the country a consultative role in the affairs of Northern Ireland and modified Ireland's constitution to remove its claim to the territory of the entire island.