IRELAND, JOHN (NICHOLSON)

born August 13, 1879, Bowdon, Cheshire, Eng. died June 12, 1962, Washington, Sussex English composer known for his songs and his programmatic orchestral works. Ireland studied at the Royal College of Music in London, where he later taught composition. He was much drawn to the mysticism and fantasy in the writings of Arthur Machen; some of his compositions, such as The Forgotten Rite (1913; for orchestra), were inspired by Machen. His songs, which include settings of poems of Shakespeare, A.E. Housman, and Rupert Brooke, are noted for their subtle evocation of mood. His works include A London Overture, the piano suite Sarnia (194041), a piano concerto, and the London Pieces (191720), for piano. The economy Farmers look over penned sheep in Ballina, County Mayo, Ireland. The republic has a mixed economy. The constitution provides that the state shall favour private initiative in industry and commerce, but, when the necessary private initiative is not forthcoming, the state itself undertakes essential services and promotes development projects. Thus, state-sponsored (semi-state) bodies operate the country's rail and road transport, its television and radio stations, its electricity generation and distribution system, its peat industry, and other major national undertakings. State companies also are active in the fields of air transport and health insurance. The advent of a single European market since the 1980s has encouraged many of these enterprises to privatize and become more competitive. When Ireland joined the European Economic Community (now the European Community in the EU) in 1973, more than half of its trade was with the United Kingdom. Although this proportion has declined, economic relations between the two countries have remained close. Tourism and business are facilitated by the absence of customs and passport barriers between them. The Irish pound (or punt), which had been linked to the British pound sterling, was replaced by a separate currency in 1979 when the republic joined the European Monetary System. Ireland is also a member of the European Investment Bank. Almost all Irish trade unions are affiliated with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU). There are also several employers' unions (industrial organizations), some organized on a craft, and others on a regional, basis. The employers' central negotiating organization is the Irish Business and Employers Confederation. Wages and conditions of employment are normally matters for free collective bargaining, although industrial disputes may be referred to the Labour Relations Commission (created in 1990) or to the Labour Court (set up in 1946). In the late 1980s, when the economy faced serious problems, the government, the employers, and the unions agreed on a recovery program; similar agreements were made in 1991 and 1994. Resources Ireland is not rich in mineral resources. Discoveries of silver, lead, zinc, and gypsum have been successfully developed, but the country's dependence on imports for its energy requirements is high. In the early 1980s, offshore natural gas wells began production in the Celtic Sea south of County Cork. The offshore reserves were limited, however, and a pipeline from Britain was built in the 1990s to provide eventual replacement supplies. For centuries hand-cut peat, or turf, was the rural population's principalif not its onlydomestic fuel. Virtually all rural households are now connected to the national electricity network, which relies partly on hydroelectric plants and on small and medium-sized peat-burning thermal power stations. Although peat production was mechanized and industrialized in the 20th century, peat was largely supplanted as an energy source by natural gas and by coal and oil imports. The land Relief A farm on the Bloody Foreland, northwest coast of County Donegal, Ireland. The territory of the republic consists of a broad and undulating central plain underlain by limestone. This plain is ringed almost completely by coastal highlands, which vary considerably in geologic structure. The flatness of the central lowlandwhich lies for the most part between 200 and 400 feet (60 and 120 metres) above sea levelis relieved in many places by low hills between 600 and 1,000 feet high, while a multiplicity of lakes, large bog areas, and low ridges lends it considerable scenic attractions. The principal mountain ranges are the Blue Stack Mountains in the North, the Wicklow Mountains in the east (topped by Lugnaquillia, at 3,039 feet), the Knockmealdown and Comeragh mountains in the south, the Macgillycuddy's Reeks in the southwest, and The Twelve Pins in the west. Carrantouhill in the Macgillycuddy's Reeks, at 3,414 feet (1,041 metres), is the highest point in the republic. In the west and southwest the wild and beautiful coast is heavily indented where the mountains of Donegal, Mayo, Galway, and Kerry thrust out into the Atlantic, separated by deep, wide-mouthed bays, some of whichBantry Bay and Dingle Bay, for exampleare, in fact, drowned river valleys. The east coast, on the other hand, is little indented, but most of the country's trade passes through its ports because of their proximity to British and continental markets. The coastal mountain fringe illustrates the country's complex geologic history. In the west and northwest and in the east, the mountains are composed mainly of granite. Old Red Sandstone predominates in the south, where the parallel, folded mountain ridges trend east-west, separated by limestone river valleys. Ireland experienced at least two general glaciationsone covering most of the country and the other extending as far south as a line linking Limerick, Cashel, and Dublinand the characteristic diversity of Irish scenery owes much to this glacial influence. The large areas of peat bog to be found throughout the country are a notable feature of the landscape. Drainage The rivers that rise on the seaward side of the coastal mountain fringe are naturally short and rapid. The inland streams, however, flow slowly, often through marshes and lakes, and enter the seausually by way of waterfalls and rapidslong distances from their sources. The famed River Shannon, for example, rises in the plateau country near Sligo Bay and flows sluggishly south-southwestward for 161 miles, reaching tidewater level at Limerick and draining a wide area of the central lowland on its way. Other major inland streamssome of them renowned for their salmon fisheriesare the Slaney, Liffey, and Boyne in the east; the Nore, Barrow, and Suir in the southeast; the Blackwater, Lee, and Bandon in the south; and the Clare and the Moy in the west. Because of the porosity of the underlying Carboniferous limestones, an underground drainage system has developed, feeding the interlacing surface network of rivers and lakes. The state has implemented major arterial drainage projects, preventing floodingand making more land available for cultivationby improving the flow of water in the rivers and thereby lowering the levels of lakes. There are also state-aided farm drainage schemes designed to bring wasteland and marginal land into production. The people Horse owners gather at a fair in Killorgin, County Kerry, Ireland. Although Ireland has been invaded and colonized within historic times by Celts, Norsemen, Normans, English, and Scots, no ethnic distinctions exist in the republic today. Some nine-tenths of the republic's population is Roman Catholic, with other religious groups (including Church of Ireland Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Methodists, Muslims, and Jews) very much in a minority. There is no established church in Ireland; freedom of conscience and the free practice of religion are guaranteed by the constitution. The constitution provides that Irish, as the national language, is the first official language; it recognizes English as the second official language. All official documents are published in both Irish and English. The modern Irish language, which is very similar to Scottish Gaelic, was widely spoken up to the time of the Great Potato Famine of the 1840s and the subsequent emigrations. From then on, its use declined until 1922, when the teaching of Irish was introduced into all schools. Although its use as a vernacular has decreased and is mainly concentrated in small Gaeltacht (i.e., Irish-speaking) areas, it is certainly more widely read, spoken, and understood today than at any previous time in the 20th century. English is also taught in all the schools and is universally spoken. The republic's marriage, birth, and death rates are broadly comparable with those of nearby countries, but the rate of emigration historically has been greatly in excess of the next highest rate in Europe. As a result of emigration, hundreds of thousands of Irish-born people now live outside their native land, and millions of citizens of other countries are mainly of Irish extraction.