Ireland lies in the Atlantic Ocean, just west of the United Kingdom. It is a lushes island filled with miles of green rolling hills. It was conquered by the Celts, the dominate ethnic group in Ireland, in approximately 600 BC. Later, in 432 AD, St. Patrick arrived on the island and began converting the kings to Christianity. Long after, Ireland suffered from the great potato famine in the 1840's. The great potato famine led to millions of emigrants and huge rebellion. A war for independence began in 1919 ending in 1921 with the anglo-irish treaty. The angloirish treaty freed Ireland from Great Britain and divided it into The Republic of Ireland, and Northern Ireland, which is still under British control. Ireland wasn't fully independent until 1949 when it withdrew from commonwealth. The island is a parliamentary republic currently led by President Mary McAleese. She was elected by popular vote and serves for a seven-year term.
English: Margaret Thatcher, former UK PM. Françai...![[St. Stephen's Green Park, Dublin. County Dublin, Ireland] (LOC)](/uploads/1/13399/st-stephen-s-green-park-dublin-county-dublin-ireland-loc.jpg)
[St. Stephen's Green Park, Dublin. County Dublin, ...
English: At the (IRA) Milltown Cemetery (1983). Ph...Ireland supplies the world with computer equipment, chemicals, meat, dairy products, and machinery. The majority of the Irish population is Irish; there is an English minority.
Ever since Ireland was divided into two separate nations, there has been an ongoing war between Catholics and the Protestants. Great Britain split Ireland in 1921 after the uprising in 1916 led by Michael Collins, which created guerrilla war for years. The Catholics, also known as nationalists, mainly occupied the freed Irish Republic, while the Protestants, also knows as the loyalists, occupied Northern Ireland, still owned by Great Britain. The Catholics living in Northern Ireland were treated like second class citizens, and several fights broke our. These disputes caused a long future of terrorism in Ireland. The FBI defines terrorism as, the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the...