Ireland (island)

The earliest evidence of human presence in Ireland goes back to 10,500 BCE. During the Iron Age (beginning c. 800 BCE) a Celtic language and culture emerged in Ireland. The island was Christianised from the 5th century onward. The Normans invaded in the early 12th century CE and set in place Ireland's uneasy position within England's sphere of influence. However, English rule did not extend over the whole island until the end of the Elizabethan period.

Irish society and culture were most severely disrupted during the Cromwellian period in the 17^th century. With the Acts of Union in 1801, Ireland became a part of the Kingdom of Great Britain, which was renamed to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

A war of independence in the early 20th century was followed by the independence of 26 of Ireland's counties known as the Irish Free State; the remaining six counties remained part of the United Kingdom as Northern Ireland. In 1949 the Irish Free State became "Ireland", also known as the Republic of Ireland.

Ireland's history post-partition has been marked to some extent by violence. A period known as "The Troubles", generally regarded as beginning in the late 1960s, saw large scale confrontation between opposing paramilitary groups seeking to either keep Northern Ireland as part of the United Kingdom or bring it into the Republic. A peace settlement known as the Good Friday Agreement was finally approved in 1998 and is being implemented.

See also: Flying in Europe

The island of Ireland has five major international airports: Dublin (DUB ^IATA), Shannon (SNN ^IATA) in County Clare, Cork (ORK ^IATA), Belfast City (BHD ^IATA) and Belfast International (BFS ^IATA).

Ireland's two major airlines are Aer Lingus and Ryanair.

Britain and Ireland are linked by a number of ferry routes, with the busiest and quickest crossing being Holyhead to Dublin, operated by Irish Ferries and Stena Line in competition. Ferries ply to Ireland from France and Spain as well.

The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland maintain a common travel area, somewhat akin to the Schengen Area on continental Europe. Broadly speaking, crossing the borders is very simple compared with most other international borders.

Ireland and the United Kingdom have been separate countries for almost a century, but for the most part both have found it beneficial to maintain relatively open borders. However, because of the way it has developed over the years, the Common Travel Area arrangement is not as formalised as other similar arrangements (such as the Schengen Area), and so the exact rules can be quite complex for some third country nationals.

See also: Rail travel in Ireland

The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland have nationalised systems, with just one company operating services in each and cross border services jointly operated.

Trains in Northern Ireland are operated by "Translink" who run all buses and trains in Northern Ireland including the cross border train service between Northern Ireland and Ireland the enterprise jointly with their counterparts in Ireland Irish rail

Bus is the predominant form of public transport across Ireland. Buses ply hourly between Belfast, Dublin Airport and Dublin Busáras the main bus station, taking about 3 hours. Other cross-border routes are between Dublin and Derry, Belfast and Monaghan, and Belfast and Enniskillen with connections to Sligo and Galway.

Apart from changes to the road surface and road signs, you probably won't notice much of a difference when actually crossing the convoluted and often obscure international boundary between the six counties of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. One key difference, though, is that road signs in Northern Ireland are in miles and mph, while those in the Republic are in kilometres and km/h.

Road signs in Northern Ireland are written in English only. Road signs in the Republic of Ireland are bilingual in Irish and English, except for the Gaeltachtaí, where signs are exclusively in Irish. You can drive your hire car from any Common Travel Area (see above) country to any other, although many hire companies charge an extra fee for doing so.

A handful of internal flights operates within the Republic, but there are no cross-border routes.

The currency in the Republic of Ireland is the euro and the currency in Northern Ireland, as part of the UK, is the pound sterling. So be sure to exchange your euro into pounds (or vice versa) before crossing the border.

There's a lot of cross-border trading in Ireland, and therefore many outlets in border areas and urban centres accept the euro. Most retailers will display whether they accept euros or not.

• Barmbrack—a kind of currant cake which contains a golden ring. Traditionally eaten around Halloween.
• Blaa—a doughy, white bread bun
• Goody—a dessert
• Oatcake
• Potato bread
• Soda bread—a yeast-free bread
• Soda farl—a traditional food in Ulster, especially in East Donegal, Inishowen and Northern Ireland
• Veda bread (popular in Ulster)
• Wheaten bread

• Bacon and cabbage
• Black pudding—a traditional dish made from pig's blood, barley and seasoning
• Coddle—main ingredients: pork sausage, back bacon and potato
• Crubeens—pig's trotters
• Skirts and kidneys—a kind of pork stew
• White pudding—suet, oatmeal or barley, pork meat or liver

• Boxty—a potato pancake
• Champ—main ingredients: mashed potato, scallions, butter and milk
• Colcannon—main ingredients: mashed potato, kale or cabbage, and butter

The consumption of seafood, despite Ireland's enormous coastline, is not as common as in other maritime countries. Irish people eat seafood well below the European average. It may have been more common in the past but declined markedly in the last few centuries.

Irish-owned shipping was severely restricted under English governance from the late 16th century on. Ireland was traditionally a cattle-based economy and fish was associated with religious fasting. It was the traditional food of fast on Fridays, in common with other Catholic countries. Also, seafood—particularly shellfish—became associated with the poor and the shame of colonisation. However, seafood has remained an important part of the diet in coastal communities, and the consumption of fresh fish and seafood is now undergoing a resurgence all over Ireland.

In Dublin, the fish seller is celebrated in the traditional folk song Molly Malone, and in Galway the international Galway Oyster Festival is held every September. An example of a modern Irish shellfish dish is Dublin Lawyer (lobster cooked in whiskey and cream). Salmon and cod are perhaps the two most common types of fish eaten. Carrageen moss and dulse (both types of red algae) are commonly used in Irish seafood dishes.

Seaweed, by contrast, has always been an important part of the Irish diet and remains popular today. Two popular forms are dillisk (known in Ulster as dulse; Palmaria palmata) and Irish moss (carageen moss, Chondrus crispus, Mastocarpus stellatus).

• Breakfast roll
• Chicken fillet roll
• Drisheen—a kind of black pudding
• Irish breakfast
• Irish stew—lamb and mutton stew
• Porridge
• Spice bag

• Brown lemonade (usually only found in Ulster)
• Red lemonade
• Cavan Cola
• McDaid's Football Special (usually only found in the west of Ulster)
• Irish breakfast tea
• Cidona
• Tanora
• Club

• Whiskey (particularly pure pot still whiskey) such as Jameson Irish Whiskey, Paddy Whiskey, and Bushmills
• Porter or stout such as Guinness, Murphy's Irish Stout, and Beamish stout
• Irish red ale such as Smithwick's
• Lager
• Irish coffee, made with strong black coffee, whiskey, sugar, and whipped cream
• Irish cream such as Baileys
• Irish Mist
• Mead
• Poitín, a very strong (often homemade) spirit made from potatoes or barley
• Cider, such as Magners / Bulmers