Ireland by Emma Hanf

Welcome to Ireland! This place is a beautiful European country that is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean. It is apart from Great Britain but is the second-largest island in the British Isles. Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom, and the rest of the country is part of the Republic of Ireland. The population of Northern Ireland as of 2016, is 1.8 million and the rest of the island consists of 4.8 million civilians. The island is 32,595 sq mi and the largest city in the country is Dublin. Ireland's landscape consists of low-lying mountains surrounding a central plain with several navigable rivers running through it. Its rich greenery is a result of the warm yet fluctuating climate that is free of temperature extremes. As of 2016, the population of Ireland was 6,572,728 people. English, Irish, ISL, Ulster-Scots, NISL, and Shelta are the native languages. 96.4 percent of the population is White, 1.7 percent Asian, 1.1 percent Black, and 0.8 percent Other.

           Here are some photos of Ireland (Infographic is in the link)! These photos consist of Dublin Ireland, the countryside, and a map of the country!

The Republic of Ireland's economy has a highly developed knowledge economy, with high-tech, life sciences, financial services, and agriculture, particularly agri-food, as its main sectors. Ireland has an open economy and is the leading recipient of high-value foreign direct investment. Ireland is ranked fourth out of 186 countries in the IMF table and fourth out of 187 countries in the World Bank table in terms of GDP per capita. Apple's restructuring of their joint Irish subsidiary, ASI, in January 2015 was revealed to be responsible for an incredibly significant surge in Ireland's 2015 GDP (from 1% in 2013 to 8% in 2014, to 25% in 2015). A follow-up EU Commission inquiry into Ireland's national accounts revealed that transnational net royalty payments accounted for 23 percent of Ireland's GDP even before this, meaning that Irish GDP was inflated to 130 percent of "real" GDP. To better portray the actual Irish economy, the Central Bank of Ireland proposed a new replacement metric, modified gross national income. Regarding inequality in Ireland, there is no shortage of public policy emergencies heading into 2022, with ongoing housing crises, health crises, inadequate childcare, and climate change inaction. They are all connected to inequality, and how economic disparity translates into uneven political power, to varying degrees. A report on income distribution has just been released by TASC, which will be followed by the more comprehensive Cherishing All Equally report in late February. Ireland seems to have inequality in income and housing. I would say that I did not have any lens when researching Ireland. I try to be as unbiased as possible when researching.

Ireland, as we know it today, is a colonized society. Military invasion and the planting of foreign settlers affected the demographic makeup of the people, as well as the language, culture, religion, and social and political organization, twice, in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries and again in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Irish resistance to English domination is reflected in the country's long history of violence and fighting. Since the Norman conquest, the Irish have refused to accept English authority and have battled to reclaim their independence. Britain's hold on Ireland grew stronger as the country got more powerful and advanced. Following the English revolution, which brought Cromwell and his parliamentary forces to power, he dispatched armies to Ireland to suppress resistance with ruthlessness. The Irish people was slaughtered or forced to flee entire districts, and Scottish or English protestant colonies were created in their place. Despite the British rulers' overwhelming power and ferocity, the Irish continued to resist.

Overall, Ireland is a beautiful place and acquires much history within the country. This country seems to be getting more progressive with time and there are thousands of progressives that are fighting the inequality within the country to be equal with the other European countries surrounding them. Ireland is special and will never lose its forte.

What is happening in the news climate now?

Northern Ireland's governments have been dominated by unionist politicians who identify as British since the province was created as a Protestant-majority state a century ago. However, if opinion surveys are correct, Sinn Fein, an Irish nationalist party seeking unification with Ireland, will win the most seats in the 90-seat Northern Ireland Assembly in Thursday's election. For the first time, Sinn Fein would have the position of the first minister in the Belfast government. It would be a watershed moment for a party long associated with the Irish Republican Army, a paramilitary group that used bombs and bullets to try to wrest Northern Ireland from British rule during decades of violence in which the British Army, Royal Ulster Constabulary, and Protestant Loyalist paramilitaries were all heavily involved. It would also get Sinn Fein closer to their ultimate aim of a united Ireland. But it's not what the party or voters want to speak about in a campaign driven by more immediate concerns like long medical waitlists and rising food and fuel prices. The war in Ukraine, the COVID-19 epidemic, and Britain's withdrawal from the European Union are all dominating electoral debates elsewhere in the United Kingdom. The election of local councils in England, Scotland, and Wales on Thursday will be a litmus test for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whose reputation has been shattered by scandals about breaching lockdown rules. Sinn Fein has downplayed ideas of a united Ireland in Northern Ireland in order to focus on everyday challenges.

MLA Works Cited

“Inequality in Ireland Today.” Progressive Economy, 14 Apr. 2020, www.tasc.ie/blog/2019/01/16/inequality-in-ireland-today/.

“History of Ireland.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 2 Apr. 2022, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History\_of\_Ireland.

“Economy of the Republic of Ireland.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 26 Mar. 2022, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy\_of\_the\_Republic\_of\_Ireland.

RogadorHi, Christine. “Facts about Ireland - 25 Interesting Things about Ireland.” Ireland Travel Guides, 16 Jan. 2022, irelandtravelguides.com/facts-about-Ireland/.