About Ireland

Description of Ireland's geographical location, the capital and the symbolism of the state's population. Introduction to the Irish language, literature and music. The situation of the country abroad. The reasons for departure from the Irish government.
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About Ireland



Plan

1. Short information about Ireland

2. Dublin is the Capital of Ireland

3. The Irish Language and Literature

4. The Irish Music

5. Spirits in Ireland

6. The Irish Abroad

7. Короткі відомості про Ірландію

8. Дублін - столиця Ірландії

9. Ірландська мова та література

10. Ірландська музика

11. Алкогольні напої в Ірландії

12. Ірландці за кордоном

Vocabulary

Questions to the text

Books



1. Short information about Ireland

Ireland is an island in the west side of Europe. The capital of Ireland is Dublin. There are about 5 million people in the Republic of Ireland. It is a small country but a lot of people know about it. In many countries there are Irish priests and nuns.

People left Ireland to find work in those countries and they stayed there, All over the world there are people with Irish blood.

The country is in two parts. The larger part, the Republic of Ireland, is in the south. The smaller part of Ireland, Northern Ireland, is a part of the United Kingdom and its big city is Belfast. Like a lot of other countries, Ireland had sad and difficult times, but it had good times too. The Irish are kind and polite people, they welcome strangers. The Irish love to talk. Ireland is a beautiful country with fine lakes, tall mountain's and attractive beaches. It has two great rivers. It is a very green country. It is green partly because it rains too much. Ireland is a country of good butter, good beer and good horses. People come from all over the world to buy Irish horses, from Europe, from America, from Arab countries and from the Far East. Ireland also has its manufacturing industry.

2. Dublin is the Capital of Ireland

Dublin is a fine city, with beautiful grey stone houses. It is situated on the east coast of Ireland. If you go to Dublin you must visit its parks. They have beautiful gardens with deer, and there are markets there on Sundays.

Dublin has always been a city of music. A lot of rock and pop groups come to Ireland, because the Irish like music very much. The Irish people like an old song about a Dublin girl, Mollie Malone. She sold shellfish in the streets of Dublin, her father and mother did the same thing before her. When she was still young she became ill and died, but her ghost lived after her. The writer of the song doesn't use the word «love», but he calls her «sweet Mollie Malone», so probably he loved her.

Because Dublin is near the sea and you can sometimes feel the wind on your face in the middle of the city. But if you want to be warm you can drink coffee in one of the many cafes. Dublin has lots of bridges. Many people know about O'Connell Bridge. It's unusual because it is almost square (47 metres wide and 49 metres across). People know about the Dublin Post Office too. In 1916 there was fighting there between Irishmen and British soldiers.

3. The Irish Language and Literature

The Irish have their own language. It comes from their Celtic history. But today nearly all Irish people speak English.

The Irish speak English in their own special way. Foreigners don't easily understand an Irish accent, but it is strong and musical, and many people think that it is very attractive. Many fine writers have come from Ireland. Some, like James Joyce, have helped the world to know Ireland better. This writer was writing at the beginning of 19th century, when Ireland was on the road to independence. James Joyce was the first of ten children. He went to school and college in Dublin, but when he was still a young man he went to live in Paris. For many years of his life he was in Paris, Italy and Switzerland. In his first book he wrote short stories about his time as a boy in Dublin.

But there are some famous Irish writers like Oscar Wilde and G. B. Shaw who didn't write about Ireland. G. B. Shaw was also born in Dublin and also wrote palys. Shaw was a very witty man, but he was above all a thinker. He wanted to change the things that were wrong in the world. He disliked the things that were false. At one time people thought that Shaw was a second William Shakespeare. Today not many people think that but a lot of people go to see his plays.

Oscar Wilde was born in Dublin. He went to Trinity College and later to Oxford University. Wilde wrote novels and poetry but people remember his plays. Most of his plays are comedies.

4. The Irish Music

Ireland is strong and rich in music. The Irish people love to sing, to dance and to make music of all kinds. The harp has always been a very important musical instrument in Ireland. In the wars between the Irish and the English, it was like a national flag for the Irish. In the seventeenth century it became more than that. One very famous harper was O'Carloan. He was born in Westmeath in about 1670. When O'Carloan was about six-teen years old his eyes failed and he became blind. With the help of a kind, rich lady he learned to play the harp. He also wrote poetry and music for the harp. People have saved a lot of his music and harpers still play O'Carloan's beautiful songs.

When they hear the word «nocturne», people usually think of Chopin. Chopin's nocturnes are famous but the first nocturnes came from an Irishman. He was John Field. In London he was a pupil of the great piano player, composer and teacher Clementi. He was one of the really great pianists. We can't hear him today because there were no record of music in his time.

Ireland also has its great pop and rock musicians. A very successful group is U2. It started in Dublin in 1979. U2 is a rock group. It knows the young people of Ireland and the things that they feel and want. They speak for young Irish people but they are famous all over the world.

Today there are many Irish musicians. A lot of them are internationally famous, and that is wonderful for a country with only five million people.

5. Spirits in Ireland

The most popular spirits in Ireland are Guinness and Whiskey. Ireland has its own whiskey. The Irish learned to make whiskey from monks. They came to Ireland from the continent of Europe in the fifth and sixth centuries. They knew a lot about the way to make spirits. Irish whiskey is made differently from Scotch whisky. It is also usually spelled differently -- Scotch whisky has no «e». Irish whiskey tastes lighter and smoother than Scotch whisky. Just now more people in the world drink Scotch whiskey. But some people like Scotch whisky and some like Irish whiskey. In the American Civil War someone said to President Lincoln that General Grant was drinking too much Irish whiskey. Lincoln knew that Grant was a good general, and he knew that Irish whiskey was a good drink. So Lincoln's answer was: «Find out the make of General Grant's whiskey. Then give it to the other generals».

Another popular spirit is Guinness. It's a kind of beer. Guinness is made from barley, hops, yeast and water. Everything in it is quite natural; there are no chemicals. The Irish have made or «brewed» it in Dublin since 1759. The Guinness brewery in Dublin is bigger than any other brewery in Europe. Today there are also Guinness breweries in Britain, Nigeria, Malaysia. People drink more than seven million glasses of Guinness every day around the world.

Irish coffee is another interesting drink. This is how to make it. First you put very hot coffee in a glass, with some sugar. Then you add whiskey. Then very carefully you add some cream, which stays on top of the whiskey and coffee. It is a very good way to drink whiskey!

6. The Irish Abroad

People have left Ireland for lots of different reasons. After Ireland became Christian in the fifth century, Irish monks left the country to teach the word of God. They went particularly to the cities of Europe -- to Russia, to Italy, Scotland. .Since then Ireland has continued to send missionaries round the world. Very many people have left Ireland to look for work. Often there are not enough jobs for everyone.

From the beginning of the 17th century the English Protestants made life very difficult for the Irish Catholics. They could not do any of the public jobs. They could not become soldiers. They went to start a new life in some other country. Today over forty million people in the USA say that they have some Irish blood. The families of President Kennedy, President Richard Nixon and President Ronald Reagan were once Irish. President Kennedy was the first Catholic President of the USA. The first prime minister of New Zealand, John Edward Fitzgerald, was born in Ireland. Today 15 per cent of New Zealanders have some Irish blood.

Nearly 30 per cent of Australians have Irish blood. Between 1929 and .1949 six of the seven Australian prime ministers were from Irish families. The people who leave Ireland do not forget it. Their children and...