Ireland

Ireland is a welcoming country, with happy and benevolent people, interested in what is happening
to others. Both the old and the young, they smile when you ask them for information and they help
you with great pleasure. I was surprised by their way of telling stories, that they talk a lot and have
the ability to make a small thing an impressive story. Probably this quality made them have a past
sprinkled with funny stories.
Molly Malone: The unofficial anthem of the city is dedicated to a woman who was a fishmonger
during the day and a prostitute during the night. It seems that it remained in the hearts of the Irish
that they also made a statue for him.
While throughout Europe, distillation was used to produce perfume, Irish monks used it to make
whiskey. From here and the famous Irish whiskey: Jameson. Listen to this song and you will feel
the party spirit of the Irish. So is this.

Where does the name of the famous Temple Bar, the Dublin bar area, come from? I would have said
that there was once a temple. But no, the Irish took their name from the Temple family who in the
17th century had their home and gardens in the area.
Dublin is the birthplace of Guinness black beer. Over time, beer has been offered to people who
have just donated blood and has been recommended for pregnant women due to its iron content. All
these were the consequences of the marketing campaign that used the slogan "Guinness is good for
you".
Recent studies from the University of Wisconsin show that indeed one pint of Guinness a day is
equivalent to one aspirin a day, helping to prevent heart attacks.

Dracula: The Irishman Bram Stoker wrote the novel Dracula without having traveled to
Transylvania at least once.
Ireland is the only European country where there are no snakes. Legend has it that Saint Patrick, the
one who brought Christianity to Ireland, drove the snakes off the island.
 
The symbol of Ireland is the 3-leaf clover (Shamrock). Saint Patrick used a clover, a living example,
to explain to people the concept of the Holy Trinity - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The
simple beauty of this explanation convinced the skeptics, and from that day the clover was revered
throughout Ireland.
A four-leaf clover has always been considered a symbol of luck in Irish culture. According to
legend, the leaves of a four-leaf clover represent hope, faith, love, and God has added another leaf
of luck.
Even though it is a small country, the Irish people are one of the most widespread in the world. Due
to the famine between 1845 and 1852, 1 million people died and another 1 million emigrated to
America, Canada, England, Australia - thus spreading around the world. The main cause of the
famine was potato disease.
 

ABOUT IRELAND

Etymologically, the name of Ireland (Ireland) comes from the name of the Celtic goddess Eriu (Eire
in modern Irish) to which is added the Germanic noun land - earth.
Ireland is an island in N-W Europe with a total area of 84,421 km2, of which Northern Ireland,
which belongs to Great Britain, occupies 14,139 km2. The Republic of Ireland is the westernmost
member of the European Union and has a well-developed economy. The population exceeds by just
4.5 million (cf. statistical data from 2012). The capital is in Dublin and has an urban population of
about 1,050,000 and a metropolitan population of about. 1.66 million. The city is located on the
banks of the River Liffey. The national currency is the Euro.

The island of Ireland is completely surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, but the portion of the water
between the island and the United Kingdom is known as the Irish Sea. The west coast of the
Republic of Ireland is composed of hills and mountains with low altitude, the highest peak being
Carrauntoohil of 1041 m.

The central area is crossed by rivers, the most important being Shannon and also here we meet a
whole chain of lakes. Here are also the most important peat coal deposits, which is among the most
important natural resources of Ireland.

The English name of the capital, Dublin, has given rise to controversy among those who say it
derives from the Irish name Dubh Linn, which means black puddle, on both sides, many historians
say that the contemporary Irish name of the city is Baile Átha Cliath, in Dubh Linn.

Ireland has 2 official languages: Irish, Celtic, and English. Irish is compulsory in the education
system and is the first official language, although English is the language spoken by the majority of
the population. Public signs and indicators are generally bilingual. Communities that speak Irish as
their first language live mainly in the Gaeltacht areas in western Ireland, but they account for a
small percentage of the total population.

The flag of Ireland with the 3 vertical stripes (green, white and orange) was first used by Irish
nationalists in 1848, and the colors had a certain meaning. Green represents the Irish nationalist
majority (Catholics), orange represents the unionist minority (Protestant majority), and white
symbolizes the much desired peace between the two camps.
In the Republic of Ireland we have a parliamentary democracy. Independence was declared on
December 6, 1921. The constitution was promulgated on December 29, 1937 and can only be
amended by referendum. Voting is universal and all Irish citizens over the age of 18 have the right
to vote.

The powers of the rule of law are:

Executive branch: Ministers, Prime Minister (Taoiseach) - Head of Government, Deputy Prime
Minister (Tánaiste). The latter, together with the Minister of Finance, must be members of Dáil.
The other ministers of the government must be members, either in the House of Representatives or
in the Senate, but they cannot be more than 2 senators.

Legislative Power: National Bicameral Parliament (Oireachtas): House of Representatives (Dáil)

and Senate (Seanad). The supreme legislative power is centered on the 166 members of the Dáil.

Legal Power: Supreme Court of Justice.

From an administrative point of view, the country includes 26 counties and 34 local authorities.
The head of state, the president (uachtarán), is directly elected by the people for a term of seven
years and is eligible for re-election for a second term. The President normally acts on the
recommendation of the government, but also consults an adviser to the Council of State in the
exercise of certain functions.
The President signs and promulgates the laws passed by the Oireachtas (Parliament), but may, at the
recommendation of the Prime Minister (Taoiseach), cite and dissolve the Parliament.

The Republic of Ireland is the only nation in the world whose national symbol is a musical
instrument, the harp. It appears on all official documents issued by the Irish Government.
Housing
Compared with much of western Europe, Ireland has very high rates of home ownership. Whereas
fewer than one-tenth of units were owned by their occupants when the country became independent
in 1922, by the beginning of the 21st century, roughly four-fifths of units were owner-occupied. The
housing stock in the country is relatively modern, with many units built since the 1970s. However,
there have been housing shortages, and the waiting list for public housingunits nearly doubled
during the 1990s. Meanwhile, prices for homes rose dramatically as home ownership became a
largely unfunded property bubble that played an important role in the Irish financial crisis of 2008.
In the wake of that crisis, housing prices fell precipitously.
 Bibliography

http://www.romaniancommunity.net/rci/ghidul-noului-venit-irlanda/despre-irlanda/

http://calatorinspirat.ro/irlanda/curiozitati-si-lucruri-amuzante-despre-
irlanda/

https://www.britannica.com/place/Ireland/Daily-life-and-social-customs