Language: English is the language generally used in Ireland, however, Irish (Gaelic or Gaeilge) is spoken in areas along the western coast.
Attitudes: Given the troubled nature of its recent past, combined with all of the usual problems thrown up by any modern society, Ireland is no laid-back Utopia. But the fact remains that the Irish warmth and welcome is the real deal, and millions of visitors testify to the sheer ease with which they made friends here. Someone will stop and help you find your way when you’re standing on a corner gawking at a map; you will strike up a conversation if you’re sitting alone in a pub; and there is a very good chance that if you’re stuck somewhere a local will volunteer a lift to wherever you need to go. The Irish love complaining about their country – about the crappy weather, the horrible traffic, the unplanned construction, the venal corruption – and will swear to you that you’re the luckiest person on earth because you don’t have to live here, but they only do it because this is the greatest country on the planet.
Beliefs: The Celtic Religion had a major influence on Ireland long before the adoption of Christianity in the 5th century. Its precise rituals and beliefs remain somewhat obscure, but the names of hundreds of Celtic gods have survived, and elements of the religion—particularly the cults of Mary (an echo of Danu, the Earth Mother goddess whom the Celts worshiped) and St. Brigit (one of Ireland’s patron saints) and several seasonal festivals—carried into the Christian period.Since the conversion to Christianity, Roman Catholicism, with its ecclesiastical seat at Armagh in Northern Ireland, has been the island’s principal religion. After the Reformation, Catholicism became closely associated with Irish nationalism and resistance to British rule. However, church support for nationalism—both then and now—has been ambivalent. After the devastating Irish Potato Famine in the 1840s, there was a remarkable surge in devotional support of the Catholic church, and over the next century the number of Irish priests, nuns, and missionaries grew dramatically.
Values: Irish culture is best known through its literature, drama, and songs; above all, the Irish are renowned as masters of the art of conversation. The Irish pub serves as a focal point for many small villages and urban neighbourhoods, a place where the great Irish passion for conversation, stories, and jokes can be indulged. Traditional Irish music—using locally made instruments such as the fiddle, the tin whistle, and the uilleann pipes (Irish bagpipes)—is performed at many pubs, and traditional songs are often sung there in the Gaelic language, at times accompanied by the Celtic harp (an emblem of Ireland).
Business: Trade : The United Kingdom remains Ireland’s chief trading partner. Other major partners include the other countries of the EU (notably Germany, France, and The Netherlands), the United States, Japan, and Singapore. A wide range of manufactured products is exported, including electrical machinery and apparatus, processed foods, chemical products, clothing and textiles, and beverages. Ireland is among the world’s leading exporters of computer software. The principal imports include machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum and petroleum products, food products, and textiles.
