]! ^! Celtic tribes arrived on the island between 600-150 B.C. Invasions by Norsemen that began in the late 8th century were finally ended when King Brian BORU defeated the Danes in 1014. English invasions began in the 12th century and set off more than seven centuries of Anglo-Irish struggle marked by fierce rebellions and harsh repressions. A failed 1916 Easter Monday Rebellion touched off several years of guerrilla warfare that in 1921 resulted in independence from the UK for 26 southern counties; six northern (Ulster) counties remained part of the United Kingdom. In 1948 Ireland withdrew from the British Commonwealth; it joined the European Community in 1973. Irish governments have sought the peaceful unification of Ireland and have cooperated with Britain against terrorist groups. A peace settlement for Northern Ireland, known as the Good Friday Agreement and approved in 1998, is being implemented with some difficulties. 
]" ^" Western Europe, occupying five-sixths of the island of Ireland in the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Great Britain ^# 53 00 N, 8 00 W ^$ Europe ^% `! 70,280 sq km `" 68,890 sq km `# 1,390 sq km ^& slightly larger than West Virginia ^' `! 360 km `U UK 360 km ^( 1,448 km ^) `$ 12 nm `a 200 nm ^* temperate maritime; modified by North Atlantic Current; mild winters, cool summers; consistently humid; overcast about half the time ^+ mostly level to rolling interior plain surrounded by rugged hills and low mountains; sea cliffs on west coast ^, `% Atlantic Ocean 0 m `& Carrauntoohil 1,041 m ^- natural gas, peat, copper, lead, zinc, silver, barite, gypsum, limestone, dolomite ^. `' 15.2% `( 0.03% `) 84.77% (2001) ^/ NA sq km ^0 NA ^1 water pollution, especially of lakes, from agricultural runoff _J `K Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling `L Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Marine Life Conservation ^2 strategic location on major air and sea routes between North America and northern Europe; over 40% of the population resides within 100 km of Dublin 
]# ^3 4,015,676 (July 2005 est.) ^4 `* 20.9% (male 434,225/female 406,730) `+ 67.5% (male 1,358,086/female 1,354,148) `, 11.5% (male 203,614/female 258,873) (2005 est.) ^5 `! 33.7 years `- 32.9 years `. 34.49 years (2005 est.) ^6 1.16% (2005 est.) ^7 14.47 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^8 7.85 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^9 4.93 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^: `/ 1.07 male(s)/female `0 1.07 male(s)/female `+ 1 male(s)/female `, 0.79 male(s)/female `1 0.99 male(s)/female (2005 est.) ^; `! 5.39 deaths/1,000 live births `- 5.91 deaths/1,000 live births `. 4.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) ^< `1 77.56 years `- 74.95 years `. 80.34 years (2005 est.) ^= 1.87 children born/woman (2005 est.) ^> 0.1% (2001 est.) ^? 2,800 (2001 est.) ^@ less than 100 (2003 est.) ^A `2 Irishman(men), Irishwoman(women), Irish (collective plural) `3 Irish ^B Celtic, English ^C Roman Catholic 88.4%, Church of Ireland 3%, other Christian 1.6%, other 1.5%, unspecified 2%, none 3.5% (2002 census) ^D English (official) is the language generally used, Irish (official) (Gaelic or Gaeilge) spoken mainly in areas located along the western seaboard ^E `M age 15 and over can read and write `1 98% (1981 est.) `- NA% `. NA% 
]$ ^F `4 none `5 Ireland `V none `W Eire ^H republic ^I Dublin ^J 26 counties; Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Cork, Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim, Limerick, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, Tipperary, Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford, Wicklow note: Cavan, Donegal, and Monaghan are part of Ulster Province ^K 6 December 1921 (from UK by treaty) ^L Saint Patrick's Day, 17 March ^M adopted 1 July 1937 by plebiscite; effective 29 December 1937 ^N based on English common law, substantially modified by indigenous concepts; judicial review of legislative acts in Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `6 President Mary MCALEESE (since 11 November 1997) `7 Prime Minister Bertie AHERN (since 26 June 1997) `8 Cabinet appointed by the president with previous nomination by the prime minister and approval of the House of Representatives `9 president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 31 October 1997 (next scheduled for October 2011); note - Mary MCALEESE appointed to a second term when no other candidate qualified for the 2004 presidential election; prime minister nominated by the House of Representatives and appointed by the president `: Mary MCALEESE elected president; percent of vote - Mary MCALEESE 44.8%, Mary BANOTTI 29.6% note: government coalition - Fianna Fail and the Progressive Democrats ^Q bicameral Parliament or Oireachtas consists of the Senate or Seanad Eireann (60 seats - 49 elected by the universities and from candidates put forward by five vocational panels, 11 are nominated by the prime minister; members serve five-year terms) and the House of Representatives or Dail Eireann (166 seats; members are elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve five-year terms) `9 Senate - last held 16 and 17 July 2002 (next to be held by July 2007); House of Representatives - last held 17 May 2002 (next to be held by May 2007) `: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Fianna Fail 30, Fine Gael 15, Labor Party 5, Progressive Democrats 4, independents and others 6; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - Fianna Fail 41.5%, Fine Gael 22.5%, Labor Party 10.8%, Sinn Fein 6.5%, Progressive Democrats 4.0%, Green Party 3.8%, others 10.9%; seats by party - Fianna Fail 81, Fine Gael 31, Labor Party 21, Progressive Democrats 8, Green Party 6, Sinn Fein 5, others 14 ^R Supreme Court (judges appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister and cabinet) ^S Fianna Fail [Bertie AHERN]; Fine Gael [Enda KENNY]; Green Party [Trevor SARGENT]; Labor Party [Pat RABITTE]; Progressive Democrats [Mary HARNEY]; Sinn Fein [Gerry ADAMS]; Socialist Party [Joe HIGGINS]; The Workers' Party [Sean GARLAND] ^T NA ^U Australia Group, BIS, CE, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNOCI, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WEU (observer), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC ^V `N Ambassador Noel FAHEY `O 2234 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 `P [1] (202) 462-3939 `Q [1] (202) 232-5993 `R Boston, Chicago, New York, and San Francisco ^W `N Ambassador James C. KENNY `Z 42 Elgin Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 `[ use embassy street address `P [353] (1) 668-8777 `Q [353] (1) 668-9946 ^X three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and orange; similar to the flag of Cote d'Ivoire, which is shorter and has the colors reversed - orange (hoist side), white, and green; also similar to the flag of Italy, which is shorter and has colors of green (hoist side), white, and red 
]% ^Y Ireland is a small, modern, trade-dependent economy with growth averaging a robust 7% in 1995-2004. Agriculture, once the most important sector, is now dwarfed by industry and services. Industry accounts for 46% of GDP, about 80% of exports, and 29% of the labor force. Although exports remain the primary engine for Ireland's growth, the economy has also benefited from a rise in consumer spending, construction, and business investment. Per capita GDP is 10% above that of the four big European economies and the second highest in the EU behind Luxembourg. Over the past decade, the Irish Government has implemented a series of national economic programs designed to curb price and wage inflation, reduce government spending, increase labor force skills, and promote foreign investment. Ireland joined in circulating the euro on 1 January 2002 along with 11 other EU nations. ^Z $126.4 billion (2004 est.) ^[ 5.1% (2004 est.) ^\ purchasing power parity - $31,900 (2004 est.) ^] `; 5% `< 46% `= 49% (2002 est.) ^^ 1.92 million (2004 est.) ^_ agriculture 8%, industry 29%, services 63% (2002 est.) ^` 4.3% (2004 est.) ^a 10% (1997 est.) _! `> 2% `? 27.3% (1997) _d 35.9 (1987) _" 2.2% (2004 est.) _P 23.8% of GDP (2004 est.) _# `@ $62.51 billion `A $63.52 billion, including capital expenditures of $5.5 billion (2004 est.) _Q 31.2% of GDP (2004 est.) _$ turnips, barley, potatoes, sugar beets, wheat; beef, dairy products _% steel, lead, zinc, silver, aluminum, barite, and gypsum mining processing; food products, brewing, textiles, clothing; chemicals, pharmaceuticals; machinery, rail transportation equipment, passenger and commercial vehicles, ship construction and refurbishment; glass and crystal; software, tourism _& 7% (2004 est.) _' 22.88 billion kWh (2002) _( 21.78 billion kWh (2002) _) 100 million kWh (2002) _* 600 million kWh (2002) _+ 0 bbl/day (2001 est.) _, 174,400 bbl/day (2001 est.) _- 27,450 bbl/day (2001) _. 178,600 bbl/day (2001) _R 0 bbl (1 January 2002) _S 815 million cu m (2001 est.) _T 4.199 billion cu m (2001 est.) _U 0 cu m (2001 est.) _V 3.384 billion cu m (2001 est.) _W 9.911 billion cu m (1 January 2002) _X $-2.881 billion (2004 est.) _/ $103.8 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) _0 machinery and equipment, computers, chemicals, pharmaceuticals; live animals, animal products _1 US 19.7%, UK 17.7%, Belgium 14.7%, Germany 7.7%, France 6%, Netherlands 4.6%, Italy 4.5% (2004) _2 $60.65 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) _3 data processing equipment, other machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum and petroleum products, textiles, clothing _4 UK 35.6%, US 13.8%, Germany 8.9%, Netherlands 4.3%, France 4.2% (2004) _Y $4.152 billion (2003) _5 $11 billion (1998) _Z ODA, $283 million (2001) _7 euro (EUR) note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member countries _8 euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000) _9 calendar year 
]& _: 1.955 million (2003) _; 3.4 million (2003) _< `B modern digital system using cable and microwave radio relay `C microwave radio relay `D country code - 353; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) _= AM 9, FM 106, shortwave 0 (1998) _> 4 (many low-power repeaters) (2001) _? .ie _@ 162,228 (2004) _A 1.26 million (2003) 
]' _e `! 3,312 km `e 1,947 km 1.600-m gauge (46 km electrified) `c 1,365 km 0.914-m gauge (operated by the Irish Peat Board to transport peat to power stations and briquetting plants) (2004) _B `! 95,736 km `E 95,736 km (including 125 km of expressways) `F 0 km (2002) _b 753 km (pleasure craft only) (2004) _[ gas 1,795 km (2004) _C Cork, Dublin, New Ross, Shannon Foynes, Waterford _K `! 39 by type: bulk carrier 4, cargo 27, chemical tanker 1, container 1, passenger/cargo 4, roll on/roll off 2 `S 11 (Germany 3, Italy 3, Norway 1, Switzerland 1, United Kingdom 3) `\ 18 (2005) _D 36 (2004 est.) _E `! 15 `] 1 `G 1 `^ 4 `_ 3 `T 6 (2004 est.) _L `! 21 `_ 4 `T 17 (2004 est.) 
]( _F Army (includes Naval Service and Air Corps) _M 17 years of age for voluntary military service; enlistees under the age of 17 can be recruited for specialist positions (2001) _] males age 17-49: 977,092 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 17-49: 814,768 (2005 est.) _^ `` 29,327 (2005 est.) _N $700 million (FY00/01) _O 0.9% (FY00/01) 
]) _H Ireland, Iceland, and the UK dispute Denmark's claim that the Faroe Islands' continental shelf extends beyond 200 nm _I transshipment point for and consumer of hashish from North Africa to the UK and Netherlands and of European-produced synthetic drugs; minor transshipment point for heroin and cocaine destined for Western Europe; despite recent legislation, narcotics-related money laundering using bureaux de change, trusts, and shell companies involving the offshore financial community remains a concern 