Chapter 15 section 3 The Two Irelands

The Two Irelands
Section 3
Chapter 15
Ireland
Ireland is divided politically into two parts
Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland
Protestants and Catholics
Culturally between the descendants of native Celtic and descendants of English and Scottish immigrants
Physical Characteristics
Island shaped like bowl
Hills ring coast line
Center is a plain –drains to the river Shannon
Marine west coast climate
Emerald Isle – because it stays green most of the year
1/6 island is peat- spongy material containing waterlogged mosses and plants
Use as fuel for cooking and heating
Use to power plants that produce ¼ of nation’s electricity
Cooperation and Conflict
Celtic tribes from Europe settled in Ireland in about 300 B.C.
Viking raids lasted from 800 to 1014
Norman invaded from France in 1066
They seized land and built castles
Forbade marriages between Normans and Celts
Banned the Celtic language – Gaelic
Outlawed Celtic harp
Henry II of England declared himself Lord of Ireland in 1171
Norman lords of Ireland world not obey him
Religious Conflicts
The Reformation in the 1500’s tried to change the Roman Catholic Church
The reformers called Protestants broke with the roman Catholic Church
Most English became Protestants
Irish remained Catholics
The division to conflicts between Irish Catholics and English landlords
The Protestant minority controlled much of the wealth
The Catholics were poor
This led to cultural divergence between the Protestants and Catholics
In the 1840’s a Potato Famine hit Ireland
A Blight destroyed the potato crop for many years
The potatoes were the major source on\f nutrition
About one million Irish died of starvation
Many Irish Catholics blamed England for not providing enough aid
Push pull migration
2 million Irish emigrated in seven years
Pushed from the island by famine
Pulled by the lure of jobs most migrated to the United States
Government and Citizenship
Many Irish continued to press for independence form England through out the nineteenth century
1916-1921 rebellions
Led United Kingdom and Ireland divided the island into tow parts
Northern Ireland remand part of the United Kingdom
The rest of Ireland became a free sate under British supervision
Became totally independent in 1949 as the Republic of Ireland
Political turmoil continued
About ½ of Northern Ireland’s people are Protestant
Most Catholics support the reunification of Ireland and most Protestants oppose it
Protestant and Catholic extremist have use violence to win control of Northern Ireland
In 1944 Peace talks began
In 1999 the violence stopped with an agreement from the British Prime Minister Tony Blair
Economic Activities
1990’s government of the Republic of Ireland invested in education and modern telecommunications
Offered tax incentives that persuaded foreign high-tech companies to relocate administrative offices in Ireland
Plan was successful and economic growth was highest in Europe between 1994 and 2000
Per capita income increased and unemployment fell to 3.8 %
Pulled immigrants to Ireland
1999 Ireland adopted the euro
Inflation rose triple the European average
Housing cost skyrocketed