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Annals Of Ulster

Annals of Ulster

The Annals of Ulster are a chronicle of medieval Ireland. The entries span the years between AD 431 and AD 1540. The entries up to AD 1489 were compiled in the late 15th century by the scribe Ruaidhri Ó Luinín, under his patron Cathal Óg Mac Maghnusa on the island of Belle Isle on Lough Erne in the province of Ulster. Later entries (up to AD 1540) were added by others. Previous annals dating as far back as the 7th century were used as a source for the earlier entries, and later entries were based on recollection and oral history. A century later, the annals were themselves in turn to become an important source for the authors of the Annals of the Four Masters. The language used was Irish, with some entries in Latin. Because the earlier annals are copied verbatim, the annals are useful not just for historians, but also for linguists studying the evolution of the Irish language. The library of Trinity College Dublin possesses the original manuscript, although the Bodleian Library in Oxford has a contemporary copy which fills some of the gaps in the original. There are two main modern English translations of the annals — Mac Airt and Mac Niocaill (1983) and MacCarthy (1893).

External links

- [http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100001A/ The Annals of Ulster] — English translation of the Annals Category:Irish chronicles Category:Medieval Scotland Category:History of Ireland Category:History of Scotland

Chronicle

Generally a chronicle (Latin chronica) is historical account of facts and events in chronological order. Typically equal weight is given for important events and less important events, the purpose being the recording of events that occurred. This is in contrast to a narrative or history, which focuses on important events and excludes those the author does not see as important. chronological, British Museum, London]] Scholars categorize the genre of chronicle into two subgroups: live chronicles, and dead chronicles. A dead chronicle is one where the author gathers his list of events up to the time of his writing, but does not record further events as they occur. A live chronicle is where one or more authors add to a chronicle in a regular fashion, recording contemporary events shortly after they occur. Because of the immediacy of the information, historians tend to value live chronicles over dead ones. The term often refers to a book written by a chronicler in the Middle Ages describing historical events in a country, or the lives of a nobleman or a clergyman, although it is also applied to a record of public events. Various contemporary newspapers or other periodicals have adopted "chronicle" as part of their name.

List of notable chronicles

- Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
- Annals of Inisfallen
- Annals of the Four Masters
- Annals of Spring and Autumn
- Croyland Chronicle
- Dioclean Priest's Chronicle
- Froissart's Chronicles
- Galician-Volhynian Chronicle
- Henry of Livona Chronicle
- Jermone Chronical
- Kano Chronicle
- Lethrense Chronicle
- Maha Wamsa or Mahavamsa
- Paschale Chronicle
- Russian Primary Chronicle
- Sanguo Zhi
- Slavorum Chronicle
- Swiss illustrated chronicles

Ireland

:This page is about the island of Ireland. For the state also called Ireland, see Republic of Ireland. :For an explanation of terms like Ulster, Northern Ireland, (Great) Britain and United Kingdom see British Isles (terminology) . British Isles (terminology)] Ireland (Irish: Éire) is the third-largest island in Europe. It lies in the Atlantic Ocean and it is composed of the Republic of Ireland (officially, Ireland), which covers five sixths of the island (south, east, west and north-west), and Northern Ireland; part of the United Kingdom, which covers the northeastern sixth of the island. The population of the island is approximately 5.8 million people; 4.1 million in the Republic of Ireland (1.6 million in Greater Dublin) and 1.7 million in Northern Ireland (0.6 million in Greater Belfast). Belfast 2003. Scotland, the Isle of Man and Wales are visible to the east]]
Geography
Wales with more details).]] A ring of coastal mountains surrounds low central plains. The highest peak is Carrauntuohill (Irish: Corrán Tuathail), which is 1041 m (3414 feet). The island is bisected by the River Shannon, at 259 km (161 mi) the longest river in Ireland or Britain. The island's lush vegetation, a product of its mild climate and frequent but soft rainfall, earns it the sobriquet "Emerald Isle". The island's area is 84,079 km² (32,477 mile²). Ireland is divided into four provinces: Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster. In Irish these are referred to as Cúige's ( Cúige - meaning fifths). Previously there were five provinces - Connacht, Munster, Ulster, Leinster and Meath, comprising the counties of Meath, Westmeath and Longford. These were further divided into 32 counties for administrative purposes. Six of the Ulster counties remain under British sovereignty as Northern Ireland following Ireland's partition in 1922 (the remaining 26 forming present-day Republic of Ireland); since the UK's 1974 reshuffle these county boundaries no longer exist in Northern Ireland for administrative purposes, although Fermanagh District Council is almost identical to the county. In the Republic, the county boundaries are still adhered to for local government, albeit with Tipperary and Dublin subdivided (some cities also have their own administrative regions). For election constituencies, some counties are merged or divided, but constitutionally the boundaries have to be observed. Across Ireland, the 32 counties are still used in sports and in some other cultural areas and retain a strong sense of local identity. Ireland's least arable land lies in the south-western and western counties. These areas are largely spectacularly mountainous and rocky, with beautiful green vistas.

Politics
Dublin Politically, Ireland is divided into:
- The Republic of Ireland, with its capital in Dublin. This state is often simply referred to internally and internationally as "Ireland" in English or "Éire" in Irish. Technically Ireland and Éire are the official names of the state while the "Republic of Ireland" is its official description.
- Northern Ireland is unofficially known as 'the North', and 'Ulster' (the province of Ulster also includes Donegal, Cavan, and Monaghan which are in the Republic). Northern Ireland is a region of the United Kingdom. Prior to the Government of Ireland Act 1920 the island had been a unified political entity within the United Kingdom (see United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland) from 1801. From 1541 the Kingdom of Ireland was established by the King of England, though this realm did not cover the whole island till the early 17th century. Up to then, Ireland had been politically divided into a number of different Irish kingdoms (Leinster, Munster, Connacht, Mide, Ulster, and others). Contrary to some assertions, at no time did a national kingdom headed by an Ard Ri exist. In a number of respects, the island operates officially as a single entity, for example, in most kinds of sports. The major religions, the Roman Catholic Church, the Church of Ireland and the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, are organised on an all-island basis. Some 92% of the population of the Republic of Ireland and about 44% of Northern Ireland is Roman Catholic. Some trade unions are also organised on an all-Irish basis and associated with the Irish Congress of Trades Unions (ICTU) in Dublin, while others in Northern Ireland are affiliated with the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in the United Kingdom - though such unions may organise in both parts of the island as well as in Britain. The island also has a shared culture across the divide in many other ways. Traditional Irish music, for example, though showing some variance in all geographical areas, is, broadly speaking, the same on both sides of the border. Irish and Scottish traditional music have many similarities. The Ireland Funds, an international fund-raising organisation, tries to help people on both sides find peace and reconciliation through community development, education, arts and culture. The island is often referred to as being part of the British Isles. However, some people, especially in Ireland, take exception to this name, which seems to suggest that both islands belong to Britain. For this reason, "Britain and Ireland" is commonly used as a more neutral alternative. Another suggestion, although much less used, is the Islands of the North Atlantic (IONA).
Flag of Ireland
There is no universally agreed flag that represents the island of Ireland. Historically a number of flags were used, including St. Patrick's cross, the flag sometimes used for the Kingdom of Ireland and which represented Ireland on the Union Jack after the Act of Union, a green flag with a harp (used by some radical nationalists in the 19th century and which is also the flag of Leinster), a blue flag with a harp used from the 18th century onwards by many nationalists (now the standard of the President of Ireland), and the Irish tricolour. However as the tricolour is the flag of the Republic of Ireland it is not used to represent the island of Ireland, given that the island also includes Northern Ireland. The Royal Standard also shows a version of an ancient Irish flag in one of its four quadrants. St Patrick's Saltire is used to represent the island of Ireland by the all-island Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU). In contrast the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) uses the tricolour to represent the whole island.
History
Gaelic Athletic Association]] Ireland was mostly ice-covered and joined by land to Britain and Europe during the last ice age, has been inhabited for about 9,000 years. Stone age inhabitants arrived sometime after 8000 BC, with the culture progressing from Mesolithic to high Neolithic over the course of three or four millennia. The Bronze Age, which began around 2500 BC, saw the production of elaborate gold and bronze ornaments and weapons. The Iron Age in Ireland is associated with people now known as Celts. They are traditionally thought to have colonised Ireland in a series of waves between the 8th and 1st centuries BC, with the Gael, the last wave of Celts, conquering the island and dividing it into five or more kingdoms. Many scholars, however, now favour a view that emphasises cultural diffusion from overseas over significant colonisation.The Romans referred to Ireland as Hibernia. Ptolemy in AD 100 records Ireland's geography and tribes. Native accounts are confined to Irish poetry, myth, and archaeology. The exact relationship between Rome and the tribes of Hibernia is unclear; the only references are a few Roman writings. Tradition maintains that in AD 432, St. Patrick arrived on the island and, in the years that followed, worked to convert the Irish to Christianity. The druid tradition collapsed in the face of the spread of the new faith. Irish Christian scholars excelled in the study of Latin learning and Christian theology in the monasteries that flourished, preserving Latin learning during the Early Middle Ages. The arts of manuscript illumination, metalworking, and sculpture flourished and produced such treasures as the Book of Kells, ornate jewellery, and the many carved stone crosses that dot the island. This era was interrupted in the 9th century by 200 years of intermittent warfare with waves of Viking raiders who plundered monasteries and towns. Eventually they settled in Ireland, and established many towns, including the modern day cities of Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Waterford. In 1172, King Henry II of England gained Irish lands by the granting of the 1155 Bull Laudibiliter to him by then English Pope Adrian IV, and from the 13th century, English law began to be introduced. English rule was largely limited to the area around Dublin, known as the Pale, and Waterford, but this began to expand in the 16th century with the final collapse of the Gaelic social and political superstructure at the end of the 17th century, as a result of the Tudor re-conquest of Ireland and English and Scottish Protestant colonisation in the Plantations of Ireland, which established English control over the whole island. After the the Irish Rebellion of 1641, Irish Catholics were barred from voting or attending the Irish Parliament. The new English Protestant ruling class was known as the Protestant Ascendancy In 1800 the Irish Parliament passed the Act of Union which, in 1801, merged the Kingdom of Ireland and the Kingdom of Great Britain to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The whole island of Ireland would remain within the United Kingdom, ruled directly by the UK Parliament in London. The 19th century saw the Great Famine of the 1840s in which at least 1 million Irish people died and over a million were forced to emigrate. The late 19th and early 20th century saw a vigorous but unsuccessful campaign for Irish home rule, followed by the eclipse of moderate nationalism by militant separatism. In 1922, following the Anglo-Irish War, twenty-six counties of Ireland seceded from the United Kingdom as the Irish Free State. The remaining six, in the north-east, remained within the Union as Northern Ireland. Secession for the rest of Ireland led directly to the Civil War, as militant nationalists split into two factions and turned against one another.
History since partition

Irish Independence: The Irish Free State, Éire, Ireland
The Anglo-Irish Treaty was narrowly ratified by the Dáil in December 1921 but was rejected by a large minority, resulting in the Irish Civil War which lasted until 1923. In 1922, in the middle of this civil war, the Irish Free State came into being. For its first years the new state was governed by the victors of the Civil War. However in the 1930s Fianna Fáil, the party of the opponents of the treaty, were elected into government. The party introduced a new constitution in 1937 which renamed the state to simply "Éire or in the English language, Ireland" (preface to the Constitution). The state was neutral during World War II but offered some assistance to the Allies. In 1949 the state declared itself to be a republic and that henceforth it should be described as the Republic of Ireland. The state was plagued by poverty and emigration until the 1990s. That decade saw the beginning of unprecedented economic success, in a phenomenon known as the "Celtic Tiger". By the early 2000s, it had become one of the richest countries (in terms of GDP per capita) in the European Union, moving from being a net recipient to a net contributor and from a population with net emigration to one with net immigration.
Northern Ireland
From its creation in 1921 until 1972 Northern Ireland enjoyed limited self-government within the United Kingdom, with its own parliament and prime minister. However the Protestant and Catholic communities in Northern Ireland each voted almost entirely along sectarian lines, meaning that the government of Northern Ireland (elected by "first past the post") was always controlled by the Ulster Unionist Party. Consequently, Catholics could not participate in the government, which at times openly encouraged discrimination in housing and employment. Nationalist grievances at unionist discrimination within the state eventually led to large civil rights protests in 1960s, which the government suppressed heavy-handedly, most notably on "Bloody Sunday". It was during this period of civil unrest that the paramilitary Provisional IRA, who favoured the creation of a united Ireland, began its campaign against Unionist rule. Other groups, legal and illegal on the unionist side, and illegal on the nationalist side, began to participate in the violence and the period known as the "Troubles" began. Owing to the civil unrest the British government suspended home rule in 1972 and imposed direct rule. In 1998, following a Provisional IRA cease-fire, the Good Friday Agreement was concluded and attempts began to be made to restore self-government to Northern Ireland on the basis of power sharing between the two communities. Violence has greatly decreased since the signing of the accord. In 2001 the armed police force in the north (which operated much like an army with armoured cars etc.), The Royal Ulster Constabulary (or RUC for short), was removed in place of the PSNI (Police Service of Northern Ireland) as a result of easing tensions. On July 28 2005, the Provisional IRA (PIRA) announced the end of its armed campaign and on September 25 2005 international weapons inspectors supervised the full disarmament of the PIRA.
Sport
Gaelic football and hurling are the most popular sports in Ireland. Along with Camogie, Ladies' Gaelic football, handball and rounders, they make up the national sports of Ireland, collectively known as Gaelic Games. All Gaelic games are governed by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), with the exception of Ladies' Gaelic Football, which is governed by a separate organisation. The GAA is organised on an all-Ireland basis with all 32 counties competing; traditionally, counties first compete within their province, in the provincial championships, and the winners then compete in the All-Ireland senior hurling or football championships. The headquarters of the GAA (and the main stadium) is located at the 83,000 capacity Croke Park in north Dublin. All major GAA games are played here, including the semi-finals and finals of the All-Ireland championships. All GAA players, even at the highest level, are amateurs and receive no wages. The Irish rugby team includes players from north and south, and the Irish Rugby Football Union governs the sport on both sides of the border. Consequently in international rugby, the Ireland team represents the whole island. The same is true of cricket. However, when Ireland was partitioned, organisation of football (soccer) in the Republic was transferred from the Belfast-based Irish Football Association (IFA) to the new Football Association of Ireland (FAI). The IFA remained in charge of the game in the six counties. (Consequently in International Association Football, the island has two teams: the Republic of Ireland, and Northern Ireland.) Northern Ireland qualified for the World Cup Soccer finals in 1958 (where they made it to the quarter finals), 1982 and 1986. The Republic of Ireland made it to the World Cup in 1990 (where they made it to the quarter finals), 1994 and 2002. Greyhound racing and horse racing are both popular in Ireland: greyhound stadiums are well attended and there are frequent horse race meetings. The Republic is noted for the breeding and training of race horses and is also a large exporter of racing dogs. The horse racing sector is largely concentrated in the central east of the Republic. Boxing is also an all-island sport governed by the Irish Amateur Boxing Association. Golf is an extremely popular sport in Ireland and Golfing Tourism is a major industry. The 2006 Ryder Cup will be held in the K Club in Co. Kildare, which is just outside Dublin. Prominent Irish sporting stars are: Sean Kelly (cycling), Stephen Roche (cycling), Brian O'Driscoll (rugby), Roy Keane (soccer), Damien Duff (soccer), D.J. Carey (hurling), Peter Canavan (GAA), Aidan O'Brien (racehorse trainer), Kieren Fallon (jockey), Eddie Jordan (F1), Padraig Harrington (golf), Sonia O'Sullivan (athlethics), Steve Collins (boxing) and Ken Doherty (snooker).
Culture

Literature and the arts
For a comparatively small country, Ireland has made a disproportionately large contribution to world literature in all its branches, mainly in English. Poetry in Irish represents the oldest vernacular poetry in Europe with the earliest examples dating from the 6th century; Jonathan Swift, still often called the foremost satirist in the English language, was wildly popular in his day (Gulliver's Travels, A Modest Proposal, etc.) and remains so in modern times amongst both children and adults. In more recent times, Ireland has produced four winners of the Nobel Prize for Literature: George Bernard Shaw, William Butler Yeats, Samuel Beckett and Seamus Heaney. Although not a Nobel Prize winner, James Joyce is widely considered one of the most significant writers of the 20th century. His 1922 novel Ulysses is sometimes cited as the greatest English-language novel of the 20th century and his life is celebrated annually on June 16th in Dublin as the Bloomsday celebrations. The early history of Irish visual art is generally considered to begin with early carvings found at sites such as Newgrange and is traced through Bronze age artifacts, particularly ornamental gold objects, and the religious carvings and illuminated manuscripts of the mediæval period. During the course of the 19th and 20th centuries, a strong indigenous tradition of painting emerged, including such figures as John Butler Yeats, William Orpen, Jack Yeats and Louis le Brocquy.
Music and dance
The Irish tradition of folk music and dance is also widely known. In the middle years of the 20th century, as Irish society was attempting to modernise, traditional music tended to fall out of favour, especially in urban areas. During the 1960s, and inspired by the American folk music movement, there was a revival of interest in the Irish tradition. This revival was led by such groups as The Dubliners, The Chieftains, the Clancy Brothers and Sweeney's Men and individuals like Sean Ó Riada and Danny O'Flaherty. Irish and Scottish traditional music are similar. Before long, groups and musicians including Horslips, Van Morrison and even Thin Lizzy were incorporating elements of traditional music into a rock idiom to form a unique new sound. During the 1970s and 1980s, the distinction between traditional and rock musicians became blurred, with many individuals regularly crossing over between these styles of playing as a matter of course. This trend can be seen more recently in the work of bands and individuals like U2, Clannad, The Cranberries, Van Morrison, Rory Gallagher, and The Pogues. Nevertheless, Irish music has shown an immense inflation of popularity with many attempting to return to their roots. There are also contemporary music groups that stick closer to a "traditional" sound, including Altan, Gaelic Storm, Lúnasa, and Solas. Others incorporate multiple cultures in a fusion of style, such as Afro Celt Sound System and Canadian Loreena McKennitt. Ireland has done well in the Eurovision Song Contest, being the most successful country in the competition with seven wins. This achievement evokes mixed feelings in many Irish people.
Demographics
Ireland has been inhabited for at least 9000 years, although little is known about the neolithic inhabitants of the island. Early historical and genealogical records note the existance of dozens of different peoples (Attacotti, Conmaicne, Éoganacht, Érainn, Soghain, to name but a few). Over the last 1000 years, there have been influences by the Vikings, who founded several ports, including Dublin, and Normans, with significant admixture to the gene pool. However the greater part of the Irish population descends from the original inhabitants of the island who came after the end of the Ice Age. Although for many years the Irish were believed to be of Celtic origin, recent genetic evidence shows that both the Irish and the Welsh (and to a lesser degree England and Scotland) have many genetic traits in common with the people of the Basque region. Some theorize that although Basque is certainly not a Celtic language, there may have been a Celto-Basque link while others postulate that the pre-Celtic population of the island may have had Basque origins. Both positions are difficult to prove, as the information is relatively new. Culturally however, Ireland is undeniably Celtic. Mingling of native Irish inhabitants with the latinate peoples of Spain, France and Rome during the height of the Roman Empire (and later following the expulsion of many Protestants from the predominantly Catholic Southern France, many of whom subsequently migrated to Ireland) gave rise to what some refer to as Franco-celts or Latin-celts. These people are charecterised particularly by very dark, black hair color, a trait that does not occur in "pure" Anglo-Saxon, and other significant genetic similarities to Southern Europeans. Franco-celts (or Latin-celts) are responsible in part, but not wholey, for the moderately high occurrence of black hair and other Southern European characteristics amongst the Irish population. Ireland's largest religious denomination is Roman Catholicism (about 70%), and most of the rest of the population adhere to one of the various Protestant denominations. The largest is the Church of Ireland. The Irish Muslim community is growing, mostly through increased immigration (see Islam in Ireland). The island also has a small Jewish community (See History of the Jews in Ireland), although this has declined somewhat in recent years. Since joining the EU in 2004, Polish people have been the largest source of immigrants from Eastern Europe, followed by other migrants from Lithuania, the Czech Republic and Latvia. Ireland has also had large numbers of Romanians entering the country since the 1990s. A high standard of living, high wages and EU citizenship attract many of the migrants from the newest of the European Union countries. Nigerians, Chinese and people from other African countries also make up a large proportion of migrants to Ireland.
Infrastructure

Transport

Air
Africa The three most important international airports in the Republic are Dublin Airport, Cork Airport and Shannon Airport. All provide extensive services to the UK, continental Europe and North America. The Irish national airline Aer Lingus and low-cost operator Ryanair are based at Dublin. Shannon is an important stopover on trans-Atlantic route for refuelling operations. There are several smaller regional airports in the Republic (Galway Airport, Kerry Airport, Knock International Airport, Sligo Airport, Waterford Airport) that mostly limit their services to Ireland and the United Kingdom. In Northern Ireland there are three main airports. Belfast International (Aldergrove) provides routes to Ireland and Great Britain, as well as many international services to Europe and recently Belfast-New York (Newark). Belfast City and City of Derry Airport mainly provide flights to Great Britain.
Rail
Great Britain The rail network in Ireland was developed by various private companies with the help of British Government funding throughout the late 19th century, reaching its greatest extent around the 1920s. The broad gauge of 1600 mm (5 ft 3 in) was eventually settled upon throughout the island, although there were narrow gauge (3 ft) railways also. Ireland also has one of the largest freight railways in Europe, operated by Bord na Móna. This company has a narrow gauge railway of 1200 miles. In Dublin a new Light Rail System, named Luas opened in 2004. Two lines serve the south and west suburbs as well as the north city centre. More lines are planned as well as an eventual upgrade to Metro. The scheme is being run by the RPA.
Road
RPA] As with Britain, motorists must drive on the left in Ireland, unfortunately tourists driving on the wrong side of the road cause serious [http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1145.html accidents] every year. The island of Ireland has an extensive road network, despite the low quality of many of these until recently. Northern Ireland has historically had better main roads, while the Republic of Ireland has an increasing motorway network, focused on Dublin and the east coast. Historically land owners developed most roads and later Turnpike Trusts collecting tolls so that as early as 1800 Ireland had a 10,000 mile [http://www.cie.ie/about_us/schools_and_enthusiasts.asp road network]. 1815 marked the inauguration of the first horsecar service from Clonmel to Thurles and Limerick. Nowadays the main bus companies are Bus Éireann in the South and Ulsterbus in the North, with Dublin Bus serving the needs of greater Dublin.
Energy
Dublin Bus For much of their existence electricity networks in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland were entirely separate. Both networks were designed and constructed independently, but are now connected with three interlinks and also connected by Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) through Great Britain to mainland Europe. The Electricity Supply Board (ESB) in the Republic drove a rural electrification programme in the 1940s until the 1970s. The natural gas network is also now all-island, with a connection from Antrim to Scotland. Most of Ireland's gas comes from the Kinsale field. The Corrib Gas Field in Mayo has yet to come online, and is facing some localised opposition over the controversial decision to refine the gas onshore. Ireland, north and south has faced difficulties in providing continuous power at peak load. The situation in Northern Ireland is complicated by the issue of private companies not supplying NIE with enough power, while in the Republic, the ESB has failed to modernise its power stations. In the latter case, availability of power plants has averaged 66% recently, one of the worst such figures in Western Europe. There have been recent efforts in Ireland to use renewable energy such as wind energy with large wind farms being constructed in coastal counties such as Donegal, Mayo and Antrim. Recently what will be the world's largest offshore wind farm is being developed at Arklow Bank off the coast of Wicklow. It is estimated to generate 10% of Irelands energy needs when it is complete. These constructions have in some cases been delayed by opposition from locals, most recently on Achill Island, some of whom consider the wind turbines to be unsightly. Another issue in the Republic of Ireland is the failure of the ageing network to cope with the varying availability of power from such installations. Turlough Hill is the only energy storage mechanism in Ireland.
See also

- List of Ireland-related topics
- Republic of Ireland
- Northern Ireland
- Kingdom of Ireland
- The Ireland Funds
- Irish people
External links

- [http://wikitravel.org/en/Republic_of_Ireland Wikitravel guide to the Republic of Ireland]
- [http://wikitravel.org/en/Northern_Ireland Wikitravel guide to Northern Ireland]
- [http://www.ireland-map.co.uk/ Map of Ireland]
- [http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/heaven/dnairish.pdf.pdf#search='Ychromosome%20variation%20and%20Irish%20origins' Y-chromosome variation and Irish origin]
- [http://pdphoto.org/PictureHome.php?cid=23&mat=pdef&md=cid Public domain photos of Ireland] Category:Islands in the British Isles Category:Ireland ko:아일랜드 섬 ja:アイルランド島 simple:Ireland th:ไอร์แลนด์

Anno Domini

Anno Domini Nostri Iesu Christi ("In the Year of Our Lord Jesus Christ"), commonly shortened to Anno Domini ("In the Year of the Lord"), abbreviated as AD or A.D., is the designation used to number years in the dominant Christian Era in the world today. This is the conventional designation now used with the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It defines an epoch based on the traditionally-reckoned year of the birth of Jesus. Years before the epoch were denoted a.C.n. (for Ante Christum Natum, "before the birth of Christ"), although BC (Before Christ) is now usually used in English. The Christian Era is the only system in everyday use in the Western World, and the main system for commercial and scientific use in the rest of the world. Because this numbering system uses ordinal rather than cardinal numbers, it lacks a year zero--that is to say, there is no "zeroeth" year. The first year after Christ is just that--the first year, and not "year zero." This is a problem with some calculations; so in astronomical year numbering (which for the current era is based on the Christian numbering) a zero is added, and the 'AD' and 'BC' are dropped. In keeping with 'standard decimal numbering', a negative sign '-' is added below 0, so counting down from year 2 would give 2, 1, 0, -1, -2, etc. This results in a one-year shift between the two systems (eg -1 equals 2 BC), but this is only a problem where a precision of one year is required or possible. This article, however, is about the common usage without a year zero. In academic, historical, and archaeological use, particularly in the United States, the same epoch is sometimes referred to as the Common Era (CE) and the BC period as Before the Common Era (BCE). It is often preferred in interfaith dialogue. While it is increasingly common to place AD after a date, by analogy to the use of BC, formal English usage adheres to the traditional practice of placing the abbreviation before the year, as in Latin (e.g., 100 BC, but AD 100). AD 100.]]

Earlier calendar epochs

Anno Domini dating was not the initial choice of Christians in the Mediterranean world; it was not adopted in Western Europe until after the end of the Western Roman Empire, which ended on the traditional date of September 4, 476. Like the other inhabitants of the Roman Empire, early Christians used one of several methods to indicate a specific year — and it was not uncommon for more than one to be used in the same document. This redundancy allows historians to construct parallel regnal lists for many kingdoms and polities by comparing chronicles from different regions, which include the same rulers.

Consular dating

The earliest and most common practice was Roman 'consular' dating. This involved naming both consulares ordinares who had been appointed to this office on January 1 of the civil year. Sometimes one or both consuls might not be appointed until November or December of the previous year, and news of the appointment may not have reached parts of the Roman empire for several months into the current year; thus we find the occasional inscription where the year is defined as "after the consulate" of a pair of consuls.

Dating from the founding of Rome

One common method of dating — which was not as common as thought by moderns — was to indicate the year ab urbe condita, or "from the foundation of the City" (abbreviated AUC), where "the City" meant Rome. This style was not in common use because of long standing disagreements over the exact year Rome was founded. However, with the Millennial Games celebrated by the emperor Philip, the year 753 BC came to be widely accepted. This style became more common in order to reinforce the ideology of the Eternal City in times when the political order appeared insecure.

Regnal years of Roman emperors

Another system that is less commonly found than thought was to use the regnal year of the Roman emperor. At first, Augustus would indicate the year of his rule by counting how many times he had held the office of consul, and how many times the Roman Senate had granted him Tribunican powers, carefully observing the fiction that his powers came from these offices granted to him, rather than from his own person or the many legions under his control. His successors followed his practice until the memory of the Roman Republic faded (late in the 2nd century or early in the 3rd century), when they openly began to use their regnal year.

Indiction cycles

Another common system was to use the indiction cycle (15 indictions made up an agricultural tax cycle, an indiction being a year in duration). Documents and events began to be dated by the year of the cycle (e.g., "fifth indiction", "tenth indiction") in the 4th century, and was used long after the tax was no longer collected. This system was used in Gaul, in Egypt until the Islamic conquest, and in the Eastern Roman Empire until its conquest in 1453.

Other dating systems

A great many local systems or eras were also important, for example the year from the foundation of one particular city, the regnal year of the neighboring Persian emperor, and eventually even the year of the reigning Caliph. The beginning of the notational year also varied from place to place, and was not largely standardized in Europe (except England) as January 1 until the 16th century. The most important of these include the Seleucid era (in use until the 8th century), and the Spanish era (in use in official documents in Aragon, Valencia, and in Castile, into the 14th century. In 1422, Portugal became the last country of western Europe to adopt the Anno Domini era).

History of Anno Domini

As the Roman Empire declined, imperial regnal year dating became sloppy, but remained the norm for 400 years in Christian Church circles. Use of consular dating ended when the emperor Justinian I discontinued appointing consuls in the mid-6th century. The last consul nominated was Anicius Faustus Albinus Basilius in 541. The Papacy was in regular contact throughout the Middle Ages with envoys of the Byzantine world, and had a clear idea — sudden deaths and deposals notwithstanding — of who was the Byzantine emperor at any one time. The Anno Domini system was developed by a monk named Dionysius Exiguus (a Scythian) in Rome in 525, as an outcome of his work on calculating the date of Easter. Byzantine chroniclers like Theophanes continued to date each year in their world chronicles on a different and much more popular Judaeo-Christian basis — from the notional creation of the World as calculated by Christian scholars in the first five centuries of the Christian era. These eras, sometimes called Anno Mundi, "year of the world" (abbreviated AM), by modern scholars, had their own disagreements. The most popular formulation was that established by Eusebius of Caesarea, a historian at the time of Constantine I. The Latin translator Jerome had made a comparison of Eusebius with certain dates deduced from the Old Testament which helped popularize Eusebius's AM count in the West.

Accuracy

Almost all Biblical scholars believe that Dionysius was incorrect in his calculation, and that the date claimed for Jesus' birth was between 8 BC and 4 BC. The latest bound for the birth of Christ is the death of Herod the Great which occurred in 4 BC.

Popularization

The first historian or chronicler to use Anno Domini as his primary dating mechanism was Victor of Tonnenna, an African chronicler of the 7th century. A few generations later, the Anglo-Saxon monk Bede, who was familiar with the work of Dionysius, also used Anno Domini dating in his Ecclesiastical History of the English People, finished in 731. Bede was different from historians working in more important places in two ways: First, he was in Northumbria, outside the bounds of the later Roman Empire. Unlike the Mediterranean-focused countries of Italy, France, and Spain, his people had little knowledge of or interest in who the Roman Emperor was in any particular year. Second, he was confronted with the problem of seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and their overlapping regnal years. He had also previously written a chronicle going back to Creation, so he had the numbers at his fingertips. He adopted Anno Domini dating as a way of keeping track of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and trying to bring their dates into line with the fragmentary evidence he had for imperial regnal years. In this same history, he was the first to use BC and established the standard for historians of no year zero, even though he used zero in his computus. On the continent of Europe, Anno Domini was introduced as the epoch of choice of the Carolingian Renaissance by Alcuin. This endorsement by Charlemagne and his successors popularizing the usage of the epoch and spreading it throughout the Carolingian Empire ultimately lies at the core of the system's prevalence until present times. Carolingian use of AD may well have had twin ideological reasons of breaking away from using the Byzantine era and defusing certain strains of apocalyptic thought. Outside the Carolingian Empire, Spain continued to date by the Era of the Caesars, or Spanish Era, well into the middle ages, which counted beginning with 38 BC. The Era of Martyrs, which numbered years from the accession of Diocletian in 284, who launched the last yet most severe persecution of Christians, prevailed in the east and is still used officially by the Coptic and Ethiopian churches. Another system was to date from the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, which as early as Hippolytus and Tertullian was believed to have occurred in the consulate of the Gemini (AD 29), which appears in the occasional medieval manuscript.

Alternative methods in the modern era

The French Revolution and the Italian Fascists each seriously attempted to displace the Anno Domini system by instead dating from their own foundings — a non-royal regnal year system (see French Revolutionary Calendar). The Italian Fascists actually used the standard system along with Roman numerals denoting the number of years since the establishment of the Fascist government in 1922. Therefore, 1934, for example, was Year XII. Both attempts ultimately failed to replace the standard calendar. North Korea uses a system that starts in 1911, the year before the birth of their founder Kim Il-Sung, the year 2004 is "Juche 93" in this system because it is the 92nd year after the Juche leader's birth. It is still very common in Taiwan to date events via the Republic of China era, whose first year is 1912. The official Japanese system numbers years from the accession of the current emperor, regarding the calendar year during which the accession occurred as the first year. In the Islamic world, traditional Islamic dating according to the Anno Hegiræ (in the year of the hijra) era remains in use to a varying extent, especially for religious purposes. In Israel, the traditional Hebrew calendar, using an era dating from Creation, is in official use.

References

- Declercq, Georges. Anno Domini: The origins of the Christian era. Turnhout: Brepols, 2000. ISBN 2503510507 (despite beginning with 2, it is English)
- ———. "Dionysius Exiguus and the Introduction of the Christian Era". Sacris Erudiri 41 (2002): 165–246. An annotated version of part of Anno Domini.
- Richards, E. G. Mapping Time. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. ISBN 0192862057

External links

- [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03738a.htm The Catholic Encyclopedia, s.v. "General Chronology"]
- [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03738a.htm#christian The Catholic Encyclopedia, s.v. "Christian Era"]
- [http://www.languagemonitor.com/wst_page12.html Global Language Monitor: C.E. vs. A.D.] (second article) Category:Calendars Category:Christian history Category:Chronology Category:Latin religious phrases ja:西暦 th:คริสต์ศักราช

Lough Erne

Lough Erne (Irish: Loch Éirne) refers to two lakes in Ireland, situated along the River Erne. This waterway is found in the northwest, with the lakes located in County Fermanagh and County Cavan. The river flows in a north-westly direction, beginning by flowing north, and then curving west into the Atlantic. The southern-most lake is further up the river and so is named Upper Lough Erne. The northern lake is Lower Lough Erne. A canal exists between the upper end of the River Shannon and the River Erne, allowing boat movements from the Shannon estuary in southwest Ireland, all the way through the midlands of the country, and across to the northwest and out to the Atlantic again. Lough Erne is a particularly scenic waterway in Ireland, it is renowned for the beautiful setting. The area is also popular for fishing. The town of Enniskillen in Northern Ireland is situated between the lakes. The Annals of Ulster were written in the late 15th century on Belle Isle on Lough Erne.

Islands

The lakes contain many small islands, and peninsulas called "islands" because of the highly convoluted shoreline. Those in the lower lake include Boa Island, Cleenishmeen Island, Crevinishaughy Island, Cruninish Island, Devenish Island, Ely Island, Horse Island, Inish Doney, Inish Fovar, Inish Lougher, Inish More, Inishmacsaint, Inishmakill, Lusty Beg Island, Lusty More Island, White Island. Those in the upper lake include Bleanish Island, Dernish Island, Inishcorkish, Inishcrevan, Inishfendra, Inishleague, Inishlught, Inishturk, Killygowan Island, Naan Island, Trannish. Erne

Ulster

:For other places and things named Ulster, see Ulster (disambiguation). :For an explanation of often confusing terms like Ulster, (Republic of) Ireland, (Great) Britain and United Kingdom see British Isles (terminology) . Ulster (Irish: Cúige Uladh, ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland.

Geography & demographics

Ulster has a population of just under 2 million people and an area of 24,481 square kilometres (8,952 square miles). Its biggest city is Belfast (Béal Feirste). Six of Ulster's nine counties, Antrim (Aontroim), Armagh (Ard Mhacha), Down (An Dún), Fermanagh (Fear Manach), Londonderry (Doire) and Tyrone (Tír Eoghain), form Northern Ireland, one of the constituent parts of the United Kingdom. Unionists sometimes refer to Northern Ireland as "Ulster", but that usage is controversial and disputed by many, especially geographers and historians who use the term exclusively to apply to the nine-county province of Ulster. Three counties in the province of Ulster, Cavan (An Cabhán), Donegal (Dún na nGall) and Monaghan (Muineachán) are part of the Republic of Ireland. About half of Ulster's population live in Antrim and Down. English is spoken by virtually everyone in Ulster, with the exception of the Donegal Gaeltacht community who speak Irish as their native lanuguage (though all can also speak English from primary school age onwards), and immigrants living in the province. Irish is the second most widely-spoken language. Cantonese is the third most common mostly due to the considerable Chinese community of Belfast, the province's largest city. Belfast has more Chinese restaurants per capita than any other European city. The biggest lake in Ireland (and the British Isles), Lough Neagh, is in eastern Ulster. The province's highest point is Slieve Donard, in Down (848 metres). The most northerly point of Ireland, Malin Head, and the second highest sea cliffs in Europe, at Slieve League, are also in Donegal. The longest river in the British Isles, the Shannon, rises in Cavan. Volcanic activity in eastern Ulster led to the formation of the Antrim Plateau and the Giant's Causeway, one of the island of Ireland's three UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The geographical centre of Ulster is near the village of Pomeroy, in Tyrone.

History & politics

Early History

Ulster (Cúige Uladh) is one of the four historic Irish provinces. Its early history extends further back than written records and is known only by legends such as the Ulster Cycle. In early medieval Ireland, Ulster was dominated by the Uí Néill dynasty who were based in Tír Eoghan (Eoghan's Country) - modern Tyrone. After the Norman invasion of the twelfth century, the east of the province was conquered by Norman barons, first De Courcy, then De Lacy, who founded the Earldom of Ulster - based around the modern counties of Antrim and Down. However, by the end of the 15th century, the Earldom had collapsed and Ulster was the only Irish province to be completely outside of English control. In the 1600s Ulster functioned as the last redoubt of the traditional Gaelic way of life, and following the defeat of the Irish forces in the Nine Years War at the battle of Kinsale (1601), Elizabeth I succeeded in subjugating Ulster and all of Ireland. The Gaelic leaders of Ulster, the O'Neills, and O'Donnells decamped en masse in 1607 to Catholic Europe, finding their power under English suzerainty limited. This allowed the Crown to settle Ulster with more loyal English and Scottish planters, which began in earnest in 1610.

Plantations and Civil Wars

The Plantation of Ulster, which was government run, settled only the counties confiscated from those Irish clans that were involved in the Nine Years War. This involved dispossessing thousands of the native Irish, who were forced by the Crown to take up poorer land. Counties Donegal, Tyrone, Armagh, Cavan, Londonderry and Fermanagh were included in the official plantation. However, the most extensive settlement in Ulster of English and Scots occurred in Antrim and Down, which were not officially planted, but had been de-populated during the war and were attractive to settlers from nearby Scotland. This unofficial settlement continued well into the 18th century, interrupted only by the Catholic uprising of 1641. This rebellion, initially led by Phelim O'Neill, was intended to be a quick siezure of power, but quickly degenerated into attacks on Protestant settlers. Thousands of Protestants were slaughtered by dispossessed Catholics, an event which remains strong in Ulster Protestant folk memory. In the ensuing wars (fought against the background of civil war in England, Scotland and Ireland), Ulster became a battleground between the Protestant settlers and the native Irish Catholics. In 1646, the Irish Catholic army under Owen Roe O'Neill inflicted a bloody defeat on a Scottish Covenanter army at Benburb in county Tyrone, but failed to follow up their victory and the war lapsed into stalemate. The war in Ulster ended with the defeat of the Irish Catholic army at the battle of Scarrifholis in 1650 and the occupation of the province by the Cromwellian New Model Army. The atrocities committed by all sides in the war poisoned the relationship between Ulster's ethno-religious communities for generations afterwards. Forty years later, in 1689, the conflict was re-fought in the Williamite war in Ireland, when Irish Catholics supported James II in the Glorious Revolution and Ulster Protestants backed William of Orange. The war provided Protestant loyalists with the iconic victories of the Siege of Derry, the Battle of the Boyne and the Battle of Aughrim, which are still commemorated today. The Williamite's victory in this war ensured British and Protestant supremecy in Ireland for over 100 years. Under the subsequent Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland, most of Ulster's population was excluded from power on religious grounds. Roman Catholics, descended from the indigenous Irish, and Presbyterians, mainly descended from Scottish planters, were both discriminated against by the Penal Laws, which gave full political rights only to Anglican Protestants, who were mostly descended from English settlers. Also in the 1690s, Scottish Presbyterians became a majority in Ulster, tens of thousands of them haveing emigrated there to escape a famine in Scotland.

Republicanism, Rebellion and communal Strife

Most of the eighteenth century saw a calming of sectarian tensions in Ulster. The economy of the province improved, as small producers exported linen and other goods. Belfast developed from a village into a bustling provincial town. However, this did not stop many thousands of Ulster people from emigrating to America in this period, where they became known as the "Scotch Irish." Political tensions resurfaced, albeit in a new form, towards the end of the century. In the 1790s, many Catholics and Presbyterians, in opposition to Anglican domination and inspired by the American and French revolutions joined together in the United Irishmen movement. This group (which was founded in Belfast) was dedicated to found a non-sectarian independent Irish republic. The United Irishmen were particularly strong in Belfast, Antrim and Down. However, paradixically, this period also saw much sectarian violence between Catholics and Protestants (principally members of the Church of Ireland (or Anglicans, who practised the state religion and had rights denied to both Presbyterians and Catholics), notably the "battle of the Diamond" in 1795, a faction fight between the rival "Defenders" (Catholic) and "Peep of Day Boys" (Anglican), which led to over 100 deaths and to the founding of the Orange Order. This event, and many others like it, came about as the Penal Laws were relaxed and Catholics began to purchase land and involve themselves in the linen trade, activities which previously had involved many onerous restrictions. Protestants, including Presbyterians, who in some parts of the province had come to identify with the Catholic community, used violence to intimidate Catholics who tried to enter the linen trade. It has been estimated that up to 7000 Catholics were expelled from Ulster during this violence. Many of them settled in northern Connacht. These refugees' influence can still be heard in the dialects of Irish spoken in Mayo, which have many similarities to Ulster Irish not found elsewhere in Connacht. Loyalist militias, primarily Anglicans, also used violence against the United Irishmen and Catholic and Protestant republicans throughout the province. In 1798, the United Irishmen led by Henry Joy McCracken launched a rebellion in Ulster, mostly supported by Presbyterians, but were swiftly put down by the British authorities, who employed severe repression after the fighting had ended. In the wake of the failure of this rebellion, and the gradual abolition of official religious discrimination after the Act of Union in 1800, Presbyterians came to identify more with the state and their Anglican neighbours, who perceived them as the lesser of two evils.

Industrialisation, Home Rule and Partition

In the 19th century, Ulster became the most prosperous province in Ireland, with the only large-scale industrialisation in the country. In the latter part of the century, Belfast overtook Dublin as the largest city on the island. Belfast became famous in this period for its huge dockyards and shipbuilding - notably of the RMS Titanic. In the 19th century sectarian divisions in Ulster became hardened into the policial categories of unionist (supporters of the Union with Britain, mostly Protestant) and nationalist (advocates of Irish independence, usually, though not only, Catholic). The origins of Northern Ireland's current politics lie in these late 19th century disputes over Home Rule for Ireland, which Ulster Protestants usually opposed - fearing for their status in an autonomous Catholic-dominated Ireland and also not trusting politicians from the agrarian south and west with supporting the more industrial economy of Ulster. To resist Home Rule, thousands of unionists, led by Edward Carson and James Craig signed the "Ulster Covenant" of 1912 pledging to resist Irish independence. This movement also saw the creation of the Ulster Volunteer Force, the first Irish paramilitary group, in order to resist British attempts to enforce Home Rule. In response, Irish nationalists created the Irish Volunteers - forerunners of the IRA to ensure the passing of the Home Rule Act 1914. This armed stand-off was interupted by the outbreak of World War I, in which thousands of Ulstermen of all religions were killed. In particlar, the heavy casualties of the 36th Ulster Division - largely composed of Volunteers from the UVF became both a source of mourning and pride for the loyalist community, down to the present day. In the aftermath of the War, Ireland saw several years of political violence, with Irish nationalists launching a guerrilla campaign against British rule (see Anglo-Irish War). In Ulster, the fighting generally took the form of street battles between Protestants and Catholics in the city of Belfast.It has been estimated that 2-3000 civilians were killed in this communal violence, the majority of victims being Catholics. The IRA was relatively quiet in Ulster, with the exception of the south Armagh area, where it was led by Frank Aiken. The formal end to hostilities were ended by the enactment of the Government of Ireland Act, 1920 followed by the Anglo-Irish Treaty which ended in the partition of Ireland between the Irish Free State (now Republic of Ireland) and Northern Ireland. However, low-level violence, often involving the B-Specials, continued in Ulster, causing Michael Collins to order a boycott on northern produce, in protest at the attacks on the Catholic/Nationalist community. In 1922 six out of Ulster's nine counties became Northern Ireland and remained in the United Kingdom, whilst the rest became part of the Irish Free State. For the subsequent history of Ulster see History of Northern Ireland and History of the Republic of Ireland.

Current Politics

Although many of the Catholics of Northern Ireland have long opposed its existence, the Ulster Protestants of the three Republic of Ireland counties have assimilated well (although there was a good deal of migration into the other six counties following partition). Few sectarian tensions remain. The Orange Order freely organises in Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan, with a large 12 July march taking place in Donegal annually with the full co-operation of the Garda Siochána and the local Catholic population. Electorally, while many of the Unionist parties were organised on religious lines, (the Democratic Unionist Party has no Catholics in elected office, while the Ulster Unionist Party has a relatively small number) no such religious demarcation exists in the three Ulster counties in the Republic of Ireland. All parties are open to all persuasions, with one Church of Ireland TD who had represented Monaghan, Erskine Hamilton Childers, being elected President of Ireland, having served as a longterm minister under Fianna Fáil Taoisigh Éamon de Valera, Sean Lemass and Jack Lynch. Eight of the eighteen MPs elected from the six counties of Northern Ireland are Catholics, reflecting the block voting of nationalists (who are mainly but not exclusively Catholic) in many cases. One of the ten TDs elected from the three counties in the Republic is a Protestant. The southern parties have long ceased to base their selection of candidates purely on any religious criteria. For most of the twentieth century they chose at least one candidate from a Protestant background to attract the protestant vote but the disappearance of a block Protestant vote voting exclusively for a candidate on the basis of religion, with Protestant voters instead voting primarily for local candidates irrespective of religion, means that selection is now based largely on considerations of geography when electing TDs to Dáil Éireann. There remains one occasional exception. Where the parties find that two candidates from a local area are seeking a nomination, and one is Protestant in an area of with a large Protestant electorate, the national party sometimes gives preference to that candidate, with sometimes the Protestant candidate being added to the ticket by the national headquarters. But it not automatic and is only used in those circumstances where a party can gain no competitive advantage from geography alone and where a candidate's ability to pick up one or two per cent extra in a part of a constituency because of their religion, could prove decisive in winning a seat. Unlike in Northern Ireland, there is no evidence of the corrollary being the case, namely that a Protestant candidate, because of their Protestantism, might lose the support of some Catholic voters. Indeed some of the most successful Protestant candidates won seats in situations where the majority of their votes can from Catholics. Though few Protestants have of late sought party nominations to run for Dáil Éireann, a larger number continues to seek nominations, and get elected, to local councils in the Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan areas. A nationwide prohibition introduced in the early 2000s that banned TDs from also being councillors, so as to separate local and national government more clearly, may discourage councillors who wish to remain on the council from seeking Dáil seats. It is unclear as of 2005 whether this may have an impact in discouraging the disproporionately high number of Protesant councillors, many of whom have long-held council seats passed on through the generations, which they may wish to hold but which they would have to give up if elected, from seeking to run from the Dáil. The flag of Ulster was the basis for the official flag of Northern Ireland until the Stormont parliament was prorogued in 1973.

Sport

In Rugby union, the Ulster branch of the Irish Rugby Football Union plays as a professional club in the Celtic League, along with clubs from Wales, Scotland and the professional clubs from the other Irish Provinces (Leinster, Munster and Connacht). Association football (soccer) is divided by the border since 1921: there is a Northern Ireland (international) team, but not an Ulster team; there are separate football championships (Irish League in Northern Ireland, League of Ireland in the rest of Ulster). Anomalously, Derry City F.C. has played in the League of Ireland since 1985. In Gaelic games, Ulster counties compete with the other Irish counties in the All-Ireland Championships and National Leagues, as well as the All-Ireland inter-club championships. The whole province fields a team to play the other provinces in the Railway Cup. Gaelic football is by far the most popular of the Gaelic games in Ulster, with counties Derry, Antrim, and Down existing as 'isolated' Hurling counties.

External links

- [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/state/nations/ BBC Nations] History of Ireland
- [http://www.macs.hw.ac.uk/britishisles/ The British Isles] Independent view of Ireland and the UK
- [http://www.psa.ac.uk/cps/1996/payt.pdf Inconvenient Peripheries Ethnic Identity and the United Kingdom Estate] The cases of “Protestant Ulster” and Cornwall’ by prof Philip Payton
- [http://www.walkingtree.com/mapsireland.html Mercator Atlas of Europe] Map of Ireland ("Irlandia") circa 1564 Category:Provinces of Ireland
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Irish language

Irish (Gaeilge), a Goidelic language spoken in the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States, is constitutionally recognized as the first official language of the Republic of Ireland. On 13 June, 2005, EU foreign ministers unanimously decided to make Irish an official working language of the European Union. The new arrangements will come into effect on January 1, 2007. According to statistics released by the Government of Ireland in 2004, there are 1,570,894 speakers of Irish in the Republic. Of these, 339,541 use Irish every day, 155,039 weekly, 585,300 less often, 459,657 never, and 31,357 didn't state how often. However, these statistics are often disputed by Irish language activists and their opponents. 65,000 people has been quoted as the amount of people in the Gaeltacht who use the language as their first, daily language¹. Other data states that 167,487 can speak Irish in Northern Ireland and 25,870 in the United States. For Irish English, see Hiberno-English.

Names of the language

In English

The language is sometimes referred to in English as Gaelic (IPA: ), or Irish Gaelic. This has generally been the common name for the language in the Irish diaspora. Within Ireland proper, it has inevitably acquired political significance. Referring to the language as "Gaelic" suggests that the language is as distant and unrelated to modern Irish life as the civilization of the ancient Gaels. Calling it Irish, on the other hand, indicates that it is and should be the proper national language of the Irish people, and this is the generally accepted term among scholars and in the Irish Constitution. Use of the term Irish also avoids confusion with Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig), the closely related language spoken in Scotland and often referred to in English as simply Gaelic (IPA: or ). The archaic term Erse, originally a Scots form of the word Irish, is no longer used and in most contexts is also considered derogatory.

In Irish

In the Caighdeán Oifigiúil (the official written standard) the name of the language is Gaeilge, which reflects the southern Connacht pronunciation . Before the spelling reform of 1948, this form was spelled Gaedhilge; originally this was the genitive of Gaedhealg, the form used in classical Modern Irish. Older spellings of this include Gaoidhealg in Middle Irish and Goídelc in Old Irish. Other forms of the name found in the various modern Irish dialects, in addition to south Connacht Gaeilge mentioned above, include Gaedhilic/Gaeilic/Gaeilig (pronounced ) in County Donegal and parts of County Mayo, Gaedhealaing/Gaoluinn/Gaelainn (pronounced ) in Munster, and Gaedhlag (pronounced ) in Omeath, County Louth.

Official status

Irish is given recognition by the Constitution of Ireland as the first official language of the Republic of Ireland (with English being a second official language), despite the limited distribution of fluency among the population of that country. Since the State was founded in the 1920s as the Irish Free State (see also History of the Republic of Ireland), the Irish Government required a degree of proficiency in Irish for all civil service positions (including postal workers, tax officials, agricultural inspectors, etc.), as well as for employees of state companies (e.g. Aer Lingus, RTE, ESB, etc). Proficiency in Irish for entrance to the public service ceased to be a compulsory requirement in 1974, in part through the actions of protest organizations like the Language Freedom Movement. While the requirement was also dropped for wider public service jobs, such as teaching, Irish remains a required subject of study in all schools within the Republic which receive public money (see also Education in the Republic of Ireland). The need for a pass in Leaving Certificate Irish for entry to the Gardaí (police) was dropped in September 2005, although applicants are given lessons in the language during the two years of training. Most official documents of the Irish Government are published in both Irish and English. The National University of Ireland, Galway is required to appoint a person who is competent in the Irish language, as long as they meet all other respects of the vacancy they are appointed to. This requirement is laid down by the [http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/ZZA35Y1929S3.html University College Galway Act, 1929 (Section 3)] and recently was subject of a High Court case on the matter[http://www.galwayindependent.com/news/3905.html] - it is expected that the requirement may be repealed in due course[http://www.education.ie/home/home.jsp?maincat=10861&pcategory=10861&ecategory=10876§ionpage=13637&language=EN&link=link001&page=1&doc=29800]. As a treaty language of the European Union, the highest-level documents of the EU are translated into Irish; in addition, the language has also recently received a degree of formal recognition in Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom, under the Good Friday Agreement. Furthermore, Irish will become an official working language of the European Union beginning January 1, 2007.

The Gaeltacht

There are pockets of Ireland where Irish is spoken as a traditional, native language. These regions are known as the Gaeltacht. These are in County Galway (Contae na Gaillimhe), including Connemara (Conamara) and the Aran Islands (na hOileáin Árann); on the west coast of County Donegal (Contae Dhún na nGall; in the part which is known as Tyrconnell/Tír Chonaill); and Corca Dhuibhne on the Dingle peninsula in County Kerry (Contae Chiarraí). Smaller ones also exist in Mayo (Contae Mhaigh Eo), Meath (Contae na Mí), Waterford (Contae Phort Láirge), and Cork (Contae Chorcaí). However, even within the Gaeltacht areas, the Irish-speaking populations have declined since the Gaeltacht boundaries were drawn up. The numerically and socially strongest Gaeltacht areas are those of Conamara and Tír Chonaill, in which a significant proportion of residents use Irish as a community language and in which children often speak the language among each other. The highest concentrations of Irish speakers are found in Ros Muc, Connemara, and around Bloody Foreland (Cnoc na Fola) in Tír Chonaill.

Dialects

See main article Irish dialects. There are a number of distinct dialects of Irish. Roughly speaking, the three major dialect areas coincide with the provinces of Munster (Cúige Mumhan), Connacht (Cúige Chonnacht) and Ulster (Cúige Uladh).

Munster dialects

Munster Irish is spoken in the Gaeltachtaí of Kerry (Contae Chiarraí), Muskerry (Múscraí), Cape Clear (Oileán Cléire) in the western part of County Cork (Contae Chorcaí), and the tiny pocket of Irish-speakers in An Rinn near Dungarvan (Dún Garbháin) in County Waterford (Contae Phort Láirge). The most important subdivision in Munster is that between Decies Irish (spoken in Waterford) and the rest of Munster Irish. Some typical features of Munster Irish are: # The use of personal endings instead of pronouns with verbs, thus "I must" is in Munster caithfead, while other dialects prefer caithfidh mé (mé means "I"). "I was and you were" is Bhíos agus bhís in Munster but Bhí mé agus bhí tú in other dialects. # In front of nasals and "ll" some short vowels are lengthened while other are diphthongised. # A copula-construction involving is ea is frequently used.

Connacht dialects

The strongest dialect of Connacht Irish is to be found in Connemara and the Aran Islands. In some regards this dialect is quite different from general Connacht Irish but since most Connacht dialects have died out during the last century Connemara Irish is sometimes seen as Connacht Irish. Much closer to the traditional Connacht Irish is the very threatened dialect spoken in the region on the border between Galway (Gaillimh) and Mayo (Maigh Eo). The Irish of Tourmakeady (Tuar Mhic Éadaigh) in southern Mayo (Maigh Eo Theas) and Joyce Country (Dúthaigh Sheoige) are considered the living Irish dialects closest to Middle Irish. Also, the northern Mayo dialect of Erris (Iorras) and Achill (Acaill) is in grammar and word-building essentially a Connacht dialect; but shows an affinity in vocabulary with Ulster Irish, due to large-scale immigration of dispossessed people following the Plantation of Ulster. Connemara Irish is very popular with learners, thanks to Mícheál Ó Siadhail's self-teaching textbook Learning Irish. However, there are features in Connemara Irish outside the official standard—notably the preference for verbal nouns ending in -achan, such as lagachan instead of lagú, "weakening". The non-standard pronunciation with lengthened vowels and heavily reduced endings give Connemara Irish its distinct sound.

Ulster dialects

The most important of the Ulster dialects today is that of the Rosses (na Rosa), which has been used extensively in literature by such authors as the brothers Séamus Ó Grianna and Seosamh Mac Grianna, locally known as Jimí Fheilimí and Joe Fheilimí. This dialect is essentially the same as that in Gweedore (Gaoth Dobhair= Inlet of Streaming Water), the same dialect used by native speaker Enya (Eithne) and her siblings in Clannad (Clann as Dobhar = Family from the Water). Ulster Irish sounds very different and shares several unusual features with Scottish Gaelic, as well as having lots of characteristic words and shades of meanings. However, since the demise of those Irish dialects spoken natively in what is today Northern Ireland, it is probably an exaggeration to see Ulster Irish as an intermediary form between Scottish Gaelic and the southern and western dialects of Irish. Indeed, Scottish Gaelic does have lots of non-Ulster features in common with Munster Irish, too. One noticeable trait of Ulster Irish is the use of the negative participle cha(n), in place of the Munster and Connaught version ní. Even in Ulster, cha(n), most typical of Scottish Gaelic, has ousted the more common ní only in easternmost dialects (including the now defunct ones once spoken in what is now Northern Ireland). The practice seems to be that cha(n) is most usually used when answering to a statement, either confirming a negative statement (Níl aon mhaith ann - Chan fhuil, leoga = "It is no good" - "Indeed it isn't") or contesting an affirmative one (Tá sé go maith - Chan fhuil! = "It is good" - "No, it isn't!"), while ní is preferred in answering a question (An bhfuil aon mhaith ann? - Níl = "Is it any good?" - "No").

Other regions

The extant dialects of Irish native to Leinster, the fourth province of Ireland, became extinct during the 20th century, but records of some of these were made by the Irish Folklore Commission among other bodies prior to this. The present-day Irish of Meath (in Leinster) is a special case. It belongs to the Connemara dialect, as the Irish-speaking community in Meath is simply a group of mostly Connemara speakers who moved there in the 1930s, after a land reform campaign spearheaded by Máirtín Ó Cadhain (subsequently one of the greatest modernist writers in the language). In areas outside the traditional Gaeltacht, where standard Irish was learnt in schools, this has become the "dialect" of leaners of the language. What has been called "Dublin Irish" or "Gaelscoil Irish" has also arisen, that is Irish poorly learnt and heavily influenced by English. English idioms are translated directly, e.g. "Tabhair suas" for Give up when the verb "Lig" should be used. English grammar is sometimes used straight when not applicaple to Irish. Often, when the speaker doesn't know a word, the English will be substituted, sometimes with "áil" affixed. "áil" is generally an ending for the verbal noun of a verb, but when added to an english word, this becomes the stem, e.g. vótáil. Many "Béarlachas"(false Irish based on English) words and phrases are used, e.g. pioc, sórt, saghas, féar plé etc. Also, typical interjection words often used in English and especially English influenced by America are used, e.g. like, man, so, etc. are used un-translated in Irish.

Comparisons

The differences between dialects are considerable, and have led to recurrent difficulties in defining standard Irish. Even everyday phrases can show startling dialectal variation: the standard example is "How are you?":
- Ulster: cad é mar atá tú? ("what is it as you are?" Note: caidé or goidé and sometimes dé are alternative renderings of cad é)
- Connacht: cén chaoi a bhfuil tú? ("what way [is it] that you are?")
- Munster: conas