Ireland

Ireland is situated in the North West of Europe, shares its borders with Northern Ireland and has access to the Atlantic sea. It has been a member of the European Union since 1973. Ireland is not a very well-known Countryhumans character yet.

Not to be confused with Northern Ireland, a region of the United Kingdom. The republic is independent of the United Kingdom.

Appearance
Usually seen wearing a plain green shirt, darker green overcoat, brown jeans, a grey scarf, and grey cap.

Personality
Ireland is a young country, by international standards, as he only gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1921, making him just under a century old. Although he is often stereotyped as being constantly drunk, this idea comes from "paddywhackery", the English portrayal of the Irish in plays. Ireland, until recently, was actually a quite conservative country. He was often swayed and controlled by the Catholic Church. He is still easily influenced by "stronger" countries. He finds his own language (Gaelige) difficult sometimes, and he enjoys sport. He finds it difficult to learn from mistakes.

Interests
Cow farming (beef, milk), complaining about the weather, alcohol, Irish dancing, Gaelic football, and hurling. He is also partial to rugby, but has no talent for football.

Flag meaning
Its three equal stripes illustrate the Irish political landscape as accurately today as in 1848, the year the flag was first unfurled. orange — standing for Irish Protestants. green — signifying Irish Catholics and the republican cause. white — representing the hope for peace between them.

Others symbols
 "Amhrán na bhFiann", shamrocks, the harp, the colour green and St. Patrick.

Nicknames
drinking buddy - Scotland The Emerald Isle - Rest of the World

Etymology
Ireland come from the name of the ancient matron godess of the country: Eriu (from the Proto-Celtic area) with the the germanic word "land".

First People
Ireland has been home to people since 8000BC. The first settlement was at Mountsandel. These people crossed over in boats from Scotland.

Celts
The Celts arrived in Ireland between 800 and 400BC- this arrival is viewed by the majority of historians as an invasion.

According to historian T.F. O'Rahilly, they invaded in 4 waves. The Celts brought new culture, myths, and language (Gaelige, or Irish). They also brought Brehon Law, the system of law the Irish used up until the invasion of the British. The Celts were pagans, and are accredited with the invention of Samhain, or Halloween.
 * The Cruithne or Priteni arrived between 700 – 500 BC
 * The Builg or Érainn arrived around 500 BC
 * The Laigin, the Domnainn and the Gálioin arrived around 300 BC
 * The Goidels or Gael arrived around 100 BC

The Arrival of Christianity
Christianity is believed to have arrived in Ireland between 400 and 500AD. This is usually credited to Saint Patrick, whose feast is celebrated on the 17th of March. Saint Patrick converted an Irish chieftain, and the religion spread outwards from him. Many monasteries were set up in Ireland, and as a result, many Christian artifacts were created on the island, such as the Book of Kells.

Viking Invasions
The Viking Invasions lasted in Ireland for 200 years, from 800AD. The Vikings seized anything of monetary value they could get their hands on from Ireland, such as his people, and wealth. The Vikings most notable settlement was Dyflinn, or Dublin, which is still the biggest city in Ireland. In 999AD, the Vikings were defeated and cast out of Ireland by Brian Boru.

Plantations
The English monarchs King Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, Mary I, and James I, wanted more control over Ireland. At the time of King Henry VIII, an area surrounding Dublin, the Pale, was already owned by England. Henry introduced the "surrender and re-grant" scheme, which urged Irish clan leaders to adopt English titles. This wasn't a very effective method of invasion. His daughter, Mary I (known as Bloody Mary), became annoyed with the Irish due to their constant attacks and raids on the Pale. She sent soldiers to seize land from the Irish, and then "planted" English settlers on the land. This was the Laois and Offaly plantation. Elizabeth I feared that Ireland would be used as a backdoor for an invasion from Spain, so she used the same strategy as her sister and sent soldiers to Munster, taking the land and moving in English replacements for the Irish. A group of Irish Lords rebelled, resulting in a 9 Years War. They were defeated by the English at the Battle of Kinsale, and fled to Europe, leaving Ireland largely unprotected. James I saw this as an opportunity and planted the Lords' land in Ulster. Scottish and English settlers were sent over, bringing Protestantism with them. This lead to conflict between the Irish and the new settlers. Eventually, there was a buildup of resentment within the native Irish, and they killed multiple settlers (roughly 4,000) in 1641. The new English leader, Oliver Cromwell was furious, and in 1652 he slaughtered the native Irish throughout the island, and planted the entire area. From this point onwards, Ireland was under English control completely.

1798 Rebellion
A group of rebels called the United Irishmen, lead by Wolfe Tone, looked for Independence from Britain. They were influenced by the French and American Revolutions. Up until this point, Ireland had it's own parliament in Dublin. After the rebellion, this was revoked and the power was taken away from the Irish.

The Irish Famine
The Irish Famine occurred between 1845 and 1849, due to a blight in the potato crop. This made all of the potatoes unsuitable for consumption. The potato was the staple crop for roughly 4 million people, meaning that starvation became common. Most of the land at this time was controlled by English landlords, and due to starvation, a large amount of the Irish laborers were unable to work. People were evicted from their homes in the thousands. 1 million people died, and a further 1 million emigrated from Ireland on coffin ships. Some historians regard this as a genocide due to the lack of help provided by the United Kingdom. Many landlords went bankrupt, and Irish nationalism and dislike for the English grew dramatically.

The Easter Rising
The Easter Rising was an Irish rebellion during the Easter Week of 1916. The Irish Republican Brotherhood, along with other Irish militias, stormed the General Post Office and other key locations throughout Dublin, and declared Ireland a republic. This didn't work, and the leaders were arrested and some were killed. Ireland was put under Martial Law.

The Irish War Of Independence
The Easter Rising brought more support to the Irish Republican Army, and after Sinn Féin won many seats in the English Parliament during the December 1918 elections, fighting broke out after Sinn Féin declared Ireland's independence. After 3 years of bloody conflict, Ireland was recognized as a republic by the "Government of Ireland Act" which split Ireland into a Republic, and Northern Ireland.

The Troubles
From the late 60's to 1998, a pseudo-civil war broke out in Ireland and Northern Ireland. The Provisional IRA fought the Ulster paramilitaries and the British Army forces. The IRA hoped for a United Ireland. Many civilians were caught in the crossfire, and both sides ordered terror attacks (most famously car bombs). It was a horrible time for the people of Ireland, and it tainted the reputation of the Irish people in the UK. This conflict ended in 1998 with the Good Friday Agreement, but both sides are still on edge.

Ireland Today
Ireland is a Neutral country which doesn't fight in wars. Ireland is slowly trying to reintroduce Irish culture to his people. Irish popular culture is similar to that of most Western countries, but it has its own flairs (joking about the president, GAA, and mocking the Examination Commission, to name a few). As of 2019, Ireland's taoiseach (equivalent to the USA's president, or the UK's Prime Minister) is Leo Varadkar, and his president (diplomatic figurehead) is Michael D. Higgins.

Geography
The island's main geographical features include low central plains surrounded by coastal mountains. The highest peak is Carrauntoohil (Irish: Corrán Tuathail), which is 1,041 meters (3,415 ft) above sea level. The western coastline is rugged, with many islands, peninsulas, headlands and bays- these natural features generate tourism for the island. Ireland has many rivers, the largest of which being the River Shannon, which is 360.5km long. Ireland is split into 4 provinces; Leinster, Munster, Ulster and Connacht.

Family
Ireland's family depends on people view:
 * Scotland (brother/sister) - They both traditionally dislike the English. However, their relationship may be considered slightly strained by Scotland's role in the Ulster Plantation.
 * Wales (brother/sister)
 * Brazil (son/daughter)
 * Portugal (stepbrother/stepsister or husband)
 * Spain (stepbrother/stepsister or sister-in-law) - Aided Ireland in the Battle of Kinsale.
 * France (stepbrother/stepsister or sister-in-law)
 * Romania (stepbrother/stepsister or brother-in-law)
 * Italy (stepbrother/stepsister or father-in-law)
 * Greece (stepbrother/stepsister or mother-in-law)
 * Denmark (cousin-sister/brother)
 * Finland (cousin-sister/brother)
 * Iceland (cousin-sister/brother)
 * Norway (cousin-sister/brother)
 * Sweden (cousin-sister/brother)
 * United Kingdom (ex-husband)
 * United States of America (son/daughter)

Friends

 * Poland - Poland and Ireland have strong relations. Polish is the most spoken foreign language in Ireland.
 * Argentina
 * United States of America

Neutral

 * United Kingdom (sometimes strained) - Ordered the Plantations on Ireland, and tried to suppress the Irish population. Occasionally considered responsible for the Irish Famine.
 * England
 * Russia - Russia and Ireland often co-operate on trade deals.

Enemies

 * Northern Ireland (previously) - Northern Ireland is mostly Protestant, and Ireland is mostly Catholic. This, along with UK relations has lead to some conflict between the two.

Scotland
Scotland and Ireland are usually depicted as good friends, but their friendship is not as easy as people often assume it is. Scotland is part of the United Kingdom, an entity which oppressed and enslaved Ireland for centuries. This, along with differences in religion can make things tense between the two countries. Ireland recognises that Scotland is being treated poorly by the Union, and hopes he can leave or solve his problems soon.

United Kingdom
Although relations are much better than how they were even a few decades ago. Ireland remembers what Britain  did, even though the kingdom would rather forget what he did entirely. Brexit, and other missteps in negociations have made things volatile again, and Ireland does not like the way the UK is treating Scotland.

Poland
Ireland and Poland have had similar experiences. Both have been suppressed by other nations. They have very good relations, with Polish being the most commonly spoken foreign language in Ireland (after English). However, their relations have become slightly strained due to Poland's right-wing leanings as of 2019.

Spain
Spain has aided Ireland multiple times in attempting to break free from the United Kingdom. Ireland provides plenty of tourism to Spain as well. Spanish students often come to Ireland to learn English.

Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland have odd relations. Some Irish and Northern Irish people want a United Ireland, whilst many others don't.

Trivia

 * Sometimes they can be seen with Scotland. They can be "drinking buddies" but also enemies at the same time.
 * They may be friends more often as they both wanted independence from the United Kingdom at some point.
 * Ireland has not forgotten Scotland's role in his oppression however, which can make their friendship difficult.


 * Ireland is sometimes depicted similar to the popular Irish YouTuber, Jacksepticeye, which is slightly inaccurate, considering that Jacksepticeye's stage personality is an exaggeration of the American stereotype of the Irish people.
 * Ireland runs his own sports association, the GAA.
 * Ireland has the most native English speakers in the world.
 * Ireland has two national anthems- "Amhrán na bhFiann", and "Ireland's Call" (which is used at Rugby matches).