Ireland

Although the history of Ireland has seen troubled times, its people have always been associated with a love of music, storytelling and a bit of craic, as a good time with friends is known.

Often referred to as the land of saints and scholars, the country is the birthplace of many famous English-language writers, among them Yeats, Joyce, Beckett, Wilde and Shaw.

For centuries British dominion in Ireland gave rise to unrest which erupted into violence with the Easter Rising of 1916 when independence was proclaimed. The rising was crushed and many of its leaders executed but the campaign carried on.

In the early 1920s, 26 counties of Ireland gained independence from London following negotiations which led to partition. The island's other six counties, part of the province of Ulster, remained in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Partition brought a year of civil war between those who accepted it and those who felt that the whole island should be independent.

Relations between Dublin and London remained strained for many years afterwards. Northern Ireland saw decades of violent conflict between those campaigning for a united Ireland and those wishing to stay in the United Kingdom.

In an unprecedented and concerted effort to resolve the situation, the Irish and UK governments worked closely together in negotiations which led to the Good Friday Agreement on the future of Northern Ireland in 1998.

Since joining the European Community in 1973, the Republic of Ireland has accelerated its growth from a largely agricultural society into a modern, technologically-advanced Celtic Tiger economy.

The country has also seen the traditionally strong influence of the Roman Catholic Church wane and the modernising values of those who believe in freedom of choice for the individual gain greater sway. Divorce and contraception have been legalised, although abortion remains illegal except in the most extreme circumstances.