Ireland. Information.
IRELAND (Eire, Saorstat Eireann), independent state which covers approximately five-sixths of the island of Ireland, off the coast of north-west Europe. Square - 70,273 sq km. Population - 3,917,336 (2002 estimate). Сapital - Dublin. Ireland has been inhabited since neolithic times (6000 BC). Celts invaded about the 4th century BC. Since English invasions started in the 12th century AD, the Anglo-Irish struggle has continued. From 1800 to 1921, Ireland was part of the United Kingdom. The Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 established the Irish Free State which, after World War II, left the British Commonwealth and became a republic. Six northern counties on the island of Ireland--Northern Ireland--remain part of the United Kingdom. The Republic of Ireland joined the United Nations in 1955 and the European Economic Community (now the European Union) in 1973. Irish governments have sought the peaceful unification of Ireland and have usually cooperated with the British government in containing the violent conflict in Northern Ireland known as the 'Troubles'. A peace settlement for Northern Ireland, the Belfast Agreement, was approved in 1998 in referenda north and south of the border, and is currently being implemented, albeit more slowly than many would like. Currency system: Prior to 1999 - Irish pound = 100 pences. From 2000 - Euro = 100 cents.
