Ireland, also known popularly as the Emerald Isle, is an island in north-western Europe which has been divided politically since 1920. The Republic of Ireland , the primary focus of this article, is a nation state in the British Isles. It constitutes the main portion of the island and is bounded to the northeast by Northern Ireland which is part of the United Kingdom.
The island of Ireland historically consists of 32 counties, of which six, collectively known as Northern Ireland, have remained as part of the United Kingdom since the rest of Ireland gained independence in 1922. The name "Ireland" applies to the island as a whole, but is also the official name in English of the independent state (i.e., the 26 counties which are not part of the United Kingdom), since 1937. The name Republic of Ireland is commonly used to distinguish the Republic from the North. In the United Kingdom, 'Southern Ireland' is the commonly used term for the Republic, despite the fact that Northern Ireland occupies only a small portion of the island's landmass; 'Southern Ireland' thus occupies about 70 % of the area of Ireland.
Celtic tribes settled on the island in the 4th century B.C. Invasions by Norsemen that began in the late 8th century were finally ended when King Brian Boru defeated the Danes in 1014. Norman invasions began in the early 12th century and set in place Ireland's uneasy position within England's sphere of influence. The Act of Union of 1800 - in which Catholics, 90% of the Irish population, were excluded from Parliament - saw Ireland joining the United Kingdom. In the latter half of the 19th century and early 20th century the subject of Irish home rule was a major debate within the British parliament. After several failed attempts, a Home Rule bill finally passed through parliament in 1914 though the start of the first world war saw its indefinite postponement. A failed rebellion on Easter Monday in 1916 showed a hint of things to come with years of civil war to follow beginning with the Irish war of independence (1919-1921) and continuing with the Irish civil war (1922-1923).
Eventually a somewhat stable situation emerged with the independence of 26 of Ireland's counties; the remaining six, located in the north of the country comprising two-thirds of the ancient province of Ulster, remained part of the United Kingdom — a status that has continued to the present day. In 1949 the Republic of Ireland withdrew from the British Commonwealth.
HOW TO REACH
By plane - The Republic of Ireland is served by 4 international airports, Dublin (IATA: DUB), Shannon (IATA: SNN) in County Clare, Cork (IATA: ORK) and Ireland West, Knock (IATA: NOC) in County Mayo. Dublin is connected to several cities in the US, Canada, the UK and continental Europe and the Middle East. Shannon, close to the cities of Ennis and Limerick, also has flights to the US, Canada,Middle East the UK and Europe. Cork has flights to most UK destinations and a wide variety of European cities. It is easily accessed from any of the major European hubs, including all of the London airports. Knock Airport has daily scheduled flights to several UK cities as well as to Boston and New York in USA, as well as various chartered flights to (mostly) holiday destinations in Europe.
By train - The only cross-border train is the Enterprise service jointly run by Irish Rail and Northern Ireland Railways from Belfast Central to Dublin Connolly. A Rail-Sail Scheme is also available, linking Stena Line or Irish Ferries Ferry companies with Train Companies in Great Britain and Ireland. They mainly operate from UK cities across the various Irish and British Rail Network via the Dublin-Holyhead routes.
By bus - Cross border services are operated by Ulsterbus and Bus Éireann.
Eurolines operate services to Great Britain and beyond in conjunction with Bus Eireann and National Express (Great Britain). Bus Éireann also operates frequent services to and from Eastern Europe, in particular Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
STAY SAFE
The police force is known as An Garda Síochána (or just "Garda"), and police officers as Garda (singular) and Gardaí (plural, pronounced Gar-dee), though informally the English term Guard(s) is usual. The term Police is rarely used, but is of course understood. Regardless of what you call them, they are courteous and approachable. Uniformed members of the Garda Síochána do not, unlike the Police force in Northern Ireland, carry guns. It is a proud tradition of the service that standard policing is carried out in both rural and urban areas by uniformed officers equipped only with a modest wooden truncheon. Firearms are, however, carried by detectives.
Crime is relatively low by most European standards but not very different. Late night streets in larger towns and cities can be dangerous, as anywhere. If you need Gardaí, ambulance, fire service, coast guard or mountain rescue dial 999 or 112 as the emergency number; both work from landlines and cell phones.
RESPECT
Often, in smaller towns and villages and especially on a country road, if you walk past somebody it is customary to say hello. They may also ask you "how are you?", or another similar variation. It is polite to respond to this greeting but it is not expected that you would give any detail on how you really are, if the person is a stranger - a simple hello or "how are you?" or a simple comment on the weather will suffice! In this regard, try something like "Grand day!" - if it isn't raining, of course. To which the response will generally be "It is indeed, thank God".
When driving on rural roads, particularly where a driver has to pull in to allow you to pass, it is customary to wave a thanks to the other driver, by raising your hand from the steering wheel. This is particularly prevalant in rural areas of the West of Ireland where many drivers will automatically wave at everyone who drives past them. A polite hand wave (or even with just the index finger raised from the steering wheel) is customary and will be appreciated.
When accepting gifts, a polite refusal (such as, "no really you shouldn't") is common after the first offer of the item. Usually, this is followed with an insistence that the gift or offer is accepted, at which point your answer is likely to become more recognized. However, some people can be very persuasive - this isn't meant to be over-bearing, just courteous.
One thing which some visitors may find disconcerting is the response an Irish person may give to a "thank you". Most Irish people will respond with something along the lines of "It was nothing" or "not at all". This does not mean that they didn't try hard to please, but rather it is meant to suggest "I was happy to do it for you, so it was not any great difficulty" (even though it may have been!).
The Republic of Ireland and Britain undoubtedly have notable similarities, but Irish people generally take pride in the cultural differences that exist between Ireland and Britain, and can be quite offended by tourists who do not acknowledge or show respect to these differences. Indeed it is not uncommon for foreigners (both before and after arrival into the country) to foolishly assume that Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom like Scotland or Wales; this incorrect assumption will generally cause strong offence to locals in the Republic of Ireland who take pride in Ireland's status as a state independent of the United Kingdom.
CITIES
