![](https://web.archive.org/web/20151129035453im_/https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c4/RepublicofIrelandOMC.png/220px-RepublicofIrelandOMC.png)
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Ireland:
Ireland (Irish language: Éire) is a sovereign island nation located in Northern Europe.[1] The modern Irish state occupies five-sixths of the island of Ireland, which was partitioned in 1921. It is bordered by Northern Ireland (part of the United Kingdom) to the north, by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and by the Irish Sea to the east. According to the Constitution of Ireland, "Ireland" is the official English language name of the state.[2] In 1948, the Oireachtas adopted the term "Republic of Ireland" as an English language description of the State.[3]
Ireland is one of the richest, most developed and peaceful countries on earth, having the fifth highest gross domestic product per capita, second highest gross domestic product (purchasing power parity) per capita and having the fifth highest Human Development Index rank. The country also has the highest quality of life in the world, ranking first in the Economist Intelligence Unit's Quality-of-life index. Ireland was ranked fourth on the Global Peace Index. Ireland also has high rankings for its education system, political freedom and civil rights, press freedom and economic freedom; it was also ranked fourth from the bottom on the Failed States Index, being one of the few "sustainable" states in the world.
Ireland is a member of the EU, the OECD and the UN. Ireland's policy of neutrality means it is not a member of NATO. Ireland's population is the fastest growing in Europe, with an annual growth rate of 2.5%.
Contents
- 1 General reference
- 2 Geography of Ireland
- 3 Government and politics of Ireland
- 4 History of Ireland
- 5 Culture of Ireland
- 6 Economy and infrastructure of Ireland
- 7 Education in Ireland
- 8 See also
- 9 References
- 10 External links
Note that many geographic and cultural articles on Ireland consider the island of Ireland as a whole, including Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. Where no distinct article for the Irish state is available, this outline gives the relevant article for the entire island.
General reference[edit]
- Pronunciation: /ˈaɪərlənd/
- Common English country name: Ireland
- Official English country name: Ireland[2]
- Common endonym(s): Éire, Ireland
- Official endonym(s): Éire, Ireland
- Adjectival(s): Irish
- Demonym(s): Irish
- Etymology: Name of Ireland
- International rankings of Ireland
- ISO country codes: IE, IRL, 372
- ISO region codes: See ISO 3166-2:IE
- Internet country code top-level domain: .ie
Geography of Ireland[edit]
- Ireland is: a country, on an island
- Location:
- Northern Hemisphere and Western Hemisphere
- Atlantic Ocean
- Eurasia
- Europe
- Northern Europe
- Western Europe
- British Isles
- Ireland (the island)
- Ireland (the sovereign state)
- Northern Ireland
- Ireland (the island)
- British Isles
- Europe
- Time zone: Western European Time (UTC+00), Irish Standard Time = Western European Summer Time (UTC+01)
- Extreme points of Ireland
- High: Carrauntoohil 1,038 m (3,406 ft)
- Low: North Atlantic Ocean 0 m
- Land boundaries:
United Kingdom 360 km
- Coastline: 1,448 km
- Population: 4,581,269 people (2011 census) – 119th most populous country
- Area: 70,273 km2 (27,133 sq mi) – 120th largest country
- Atlas of Ireland
Environment of Ireland[edit]
- Climate of Ireland
- Environmental issues in Ireland
- Renewable energy in Ireland
- Geology of Ireland
- Protected areas of Ireland
- Biosphere reserves in Ireland: None
- National parks of Ireland
- Fauna of Ireland
Natural geographic features of Ireland[edit]
- Glaciers of Ireland
- Islands of Ireland
- Lakes of Ireland
- Mountains of Ireland
- Rivers of Ireland
- Valleys of Ireland
- World Heritage Sites in Ireland
Regions of Ireland[edit]
- Main article: List of regions of the Republic of Ireland
- Regional Assemblies in Ireland
- Provinces of Ireland (including Northern Ireland)
Ecoregions of Ireland[edit]
- Main article: Ecoregions of the Republic of Ireland
Administrative divisions of Ireland[edit]
- Main article: Local government in the Republic of Ireland
Counties of Ireland[edit]
The counties of the Republic of Ireland:
- County Carlow
- County Cavan
- County Clare
- County Cork
- County Donegal
- County Dublin
- County Galway
- County Kerry
- County Kildare
- County Kilkenny
- County Laois
- County Leitrim
- County Limerick
- County Longford
- County Louth
- County Mayo
- County Meath
- County Monaghan
- County Offaly
- County Roscommon
- County Sligo
- County Tipperary
- County Waterford
- County Westmeath
- County Wexford
- County Wicklow
The counties arranged in other ways:
Municipalities of Ireland[edit]
- Cities of Ireland
- Capital of Ireland: Dublin
Demography of Ireland[edit]
- Main article: Demographics of the Republic of Ireland
Government and politics of Ireland[edit]
- Main article: Government of Ireland and Politics of Ireland
- Form of government: parliamentary representative democratic republic
- Capital of Ireland: Dublin
- Elections in the Republic of Ireland
- Political parties in Ireland
- Political scandals of Ireland
- Taxation in Ireland
Branches of the government of Ireland[edit]
Executive branch of the government of Ireland[edit]
- Head of state: President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins
- Head of government: Taoiseach (Prime Minister), Enda Kenny
- Tánaiste (Deputy Prime Minister), Joan Burton
- Government of Ireland
- Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine
- Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht
- Minister for Children and Youth Affairs
- Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources
- Minister for Defence
- Minister for Education and Skills
- Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government
- Minister for Finance
- Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade
- Minister for Health
- Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation
- Minister for Justice and Equality
- Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
- Minister for Social Protection
- Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport
- State-sponsored bodies of the Republic of Ireland
- Civil service of the Republic of Ireland
Legislative branch of the government of Ireland[edit]
- Oireachtas (bicameral parliament)
- The President of Ireland
- The two Houses of the Oireachtas (Irish: Tithe an Oireachtais):
Judicial branch of the government of Ireland[edit]
- Supreme Court of Ireland
- Court of Appeal
- High Court of Ireland
- Special Criminal Court
- District Court
- Circuit Court
Foreign relations of Ireland[edit]
International organisation membership[edit]
Ireland is a member of:[1]
Law and order in Ireland[edit]
- Main article: Law of Ireland
- Capital punishment in Ireland
- Constitution of Ireland
- Crime in Ireland
- Human rights in Ireland
- Law enforcement in Ireland
- National law enforcement agencies
- Airport Police
- Garda Síochána (National police force)
- Garda Síochána Reserve
- Local law enforcement agencies
- National law enforcement agencies
Military of Ireland[edit]
- Main article: Irish Defence Forces
- Command
- Forces
- Permanent Defence Forces[4]
- Reserve Defence Forces[5]
- Army Reserve (formerly An Fórsa Cosanta Áitiúil)
- Naval Service Reserve (formerly An Slua Muirí)
- Military Police
- Military history of Ireland
- Military ranks of Ireland
Local government in Ireland[edit]
History of Ireland[edit]
- History of Ireland (including Northern Ireland)
- History of the Republic of Ireland
- Timeline of the history of Ireland
- Current events of Ireland
- Military history of Ireland
Culture of Ireland[edit]
- Main article: Culture of Ireland
- Architecture of Ireland
- Cuisine of Ireland
- Festivals in Ireland
- Languages of Ireland
- Media of the Republic of Ireland
-
- Coat of arms of Ireland
- Flag of Ireland
- Coat of arms of Ireland
- National anthem of Ireland: Amhrán na bhFiann
- People of Ireland
- Prostitution in Ireland
- Public holidays in Ireland
- Records of Ireland
- Religion in the Republic of Ireland
- World Heritage Sites in Ireland
Art in Ireland[edit]
- Art in Ireland
- Cinema of Ireland
- Literature of Ireland
- Music of Ireland
- Television in Ireland
- Theatre in Ireland
Sports in Ireland[edit]
- Main article: Sports in Ireland
- Association football in the Republic of Ireland
- Gaelic football
- Rugby league in Ireland
- Rugby union in Ireland
- Hurling
Economy and infrastructure of Ireland[edit]
- Main article: Economy of the Republic of Ireland
- Economic rank, by nominal GDP (2007): 32nd (thirty-second)
- Currency of Ireland: Euro (see also: Euro topics)
- ISO 4217: EUR
- Economic history of Ireland
- Energy in Ireland
- Health care in Ireland
- Mining in Ireland
- Irish Stock Exchange
- Tourism in Ireland
- Transport in Ireland
- Startups and Entrepreneurship in Ireland
- Water supply and sanitation in the Republic of Ireland
Education in Ireland[edit]
- Main article: Education in the Republic of Ireland
- List of schools in the Republic of Ireland
- List of higher education institutions in the Republic of Ireland
See also[edit]
- Index of Ireland-related articles
- Island of Ireland
- List of international rankings
- List of Ireland-related topics
- Member state of the European Union
- Member state of the United Nations
- Outline of Europe
- Outline of geography
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Ireland". The World Factbook. United States Central Intelligence Agency. 6 July 2009. Retrieved 23 July 2009.
- ^ a b Constitution of Ireland, Article 4: The name of the State is Éire, or, in the English language, Ireland.
- ^ Section 2 of the Republic of Ireland Act 1948
- ^ The Permanent Defence Forces (of Ireland) are the standing branches of the Irish Defence Forces, and are sometimes referred to as the PDF, the P.D.F. and the Permanent Forces.
- ^ The Reserve Defence Forces (of Ireland) are sometimes referred to as the RDF, the R.D.F., the Reserve Forces and the Reserves.
External links[edit]
- Áras an Uachtaráin – Official presidential site
- Information on the Irish State – Governmental portal
- Ireland Story – History, geography and current affairs
- Chief Herald of Ireland – Flags, Seals, Titles
- Myths of British ancestry
- Taoiseach – Official prime ministerial site
- Tithe an Oireachtais – Houses of Parliament, official parliamentary site
- 2004 Presidency of the Council of the European Union