Released & Good to Go

This week, I met with my Orthopedic Surgeon to evaluate my progress after having 5 disks fused together 6 months ago...  L2 - L3 - L4 - L5 - S1...  which is considered major surgery and since I am 75 years old...  returning to normal takes longer.

My surgeon told me I was good to go...  I can do any damn thing I want to do as long as I do so with a little bit of common sense.

While this is obviously good to hear, it is still not dealing with the reality of my life right now.

1. My disks have not totally fused together so that is still going on.
2. My walking is still awkward in that it is being forced and not natural.
3. I cannot walk up steps without using the rail to pull me up.
4. I cannot bend over completely without holding onto to a table.
5. When I walk, I still have a slight limp.

My surgeon had previously informed me that it could be 12-18 months before I get back to normal, so if that is accurate for me, then I have another 6-12 months to go.

When I first started walking with a walking stick, it took me 58 minutes to walk a mile.  Today, I no longer use a walking stick and when I walk a mile, it takes me about 22/23 minutes...  so, there is an incredible amount of movement.

The surgeon told me that my core strength had to be rebuilt and it was the core strength not the surgery that was preventing me from doing what I thought I was doing before the surgery...  that memory before surgery may or may not be accurate as it was not being measured.

That may be true because you don't think about what you have until it is lost or gone or taken away.

I have no choice but to continue walking a mile a day for as long as I can to reduce the physical aging process as long as possible.  It is not to keep me feeling young...  it is to keep me doing what I want to do a few years longer.

When I turn 80 (5 years from now), I want to be able to go outside and walk a mile like I am doing now.  I want to be able to rake the leaves outside, spread mulch, cut the grass, and weedeat.   It would be nice to be able to do that when I am 85 and 90 as well.

The last thing that I want to do is sit on the porch and watch the traffic for several hours and then need help to stand up...   I want to be able to stand up and play checkers rather than having to sit down.  I want to be able to climb the stairs of a cruise ship without having to wait for the elevator.

My walking today will help me do all of that...

A Declining US Population Impacts Higher Education

The population of college-age Americans 

is about to crash and itt will change 

higher education forever.

In 2021, Shippensburg University won the NCAA Division II Field Hockey championship, completing an undefeated season with a 3-0 victory over archrival West Chester. The “Ship” Raiders also won it all in 2018, 2017, 2016, and 2013, which I know because I saw it written in big letters on a banner festooning the fieldhouse on Ship’s campus in south-central Pennsylvania when I visited last month.

Ship was in fine form. Young men and women wearing logoed Champion sweatshirts bustled between buildings. There was a line at the coffee shop in the student union. It was the kind of bright-blue autumn day that you would see on a brochure.

There was no way to tell, from the outside, that Ship was a shrinking institution. Or that the problem is about to get a lot worse — not just here, but at colleges and universities nationwide.


In four years, the number of students graduating from high schools across the country will begin a sudden and precipitous decline, due to a rolling demographic aftershock of the Great Recession. Traumatized by uncertainty and unemployment, people decided to stop having kids during that period. 

But even as we climbed out of the recession, the birth rate kept dropping, and we are now starting to see the consequences on campuses everywhere. Classes will shrink, year after year, for most of the next two decades. People in the higher education industry call it “the enrollment cliff.”

Among the small number of elite colleges and research universities — think the Princetons and the Penn States — the cliff will be no big deal. These institutions have their pick of applicants and can easily keep classes full.

For everyone else, the consequences could be dire. In some places, the crisis has already begun. College enrollment began slowly receding after the millennial enrollment wave peaked in 2010, particularly in regions that were already experiencing below-average birth rates while simultaneously losing population to out-migration. 

Starved of students and the tuition revenue they bring, small private colleges in New England have begun to blink off the map. Regional public universities like Ship are enduring painful layoffs and consolidation.

The timing is terrible. Trade policy, de-unionization, corporate consolidation, and substance abuse have already ravaged countless communities, particularly in the post-industrial Northeast and Midwest. 

In many cases, colleges have been one of the only places that provide good jobs in their communities, offer educational opportunities for locals, and have strong enough roots to stay planted. The enrollment cliff means they might soon dry up and blow away.

This trend will accelerate the winner-take-all dynamic of geographic consolidation that is already upending American politics. College-educated Democrats will increasingly congregate in cities and coastal areas, leaving people without degrees in rural areas and towns. 

For students who attend less-selective colleges and universities near where they grew up — that is, most college students — the enrollment cliff means fewer options for going to college in person, or none at all.  READ MORE...

Dog Bath

 

Global People

 

Strictly Political

 

My Visit to Italy 1962/63

 

Sometime around 1962/1963, my family relocated to Cairo, Egypt and on our way there we took a cruise ship from New York to the Italian port of Genoa.

From Genoa we traveled to Pisa, Livorno, Florence, Rome, and Naples before visiting other countries in Europe.

I was 15/16 years old and while I was old enough to understand the importance of where I was, I was not old enough to appreciate the significance of what I saw...  which looking back, is a damn shame.

Rome was probably the most exciting city that we visited with all its ancient structures... but what stuck in my mind more than anything else was the Pieta sculpture by Michelangelo in St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City, Rome, Italy.

The guide told us that the dress of Mary had been cut so thin that light would shine through it from behind if a light source was put there.  The artistic skill to be able to do that was incredible and I doubt has ever been duplicated by another sculpture.

But more impressive than that was the fact that in 1962/63, visitors could walk up to the Pieta and get close to the sculpture that if you wanted to you could reach out and touch it.

However, asshole vandals ruined that and when I returned to St. Peter's Basilica in 2012 with my wife, we could only stand at the end of a hallway, behind bullet proof glass if we wanted to look at the Pieta.

Italy is a place that I would never get tired of visiting.

Italy: The Holy See

Vatican City, in full State of the Vatican City, Italian Stato della Città del Vaticano, ecclesiastical state, seat of the Roman Catholic Church, and an enclave in Rome, situated on the west bank of the Tiber River. Vatican City is the world’s smallest fully independent nation-state. Its medieval and Renaissance walls form its boundaries except on the southeast at St. Peter’s Square (Piazza San Pietro). 

Of the six entrances, only three—the piazza, the Arco delle Campane (Arch of the Bells) in the facade of St. Peter’s Basilica, and the entrance to the Vatican Museums and Galleries in the north wall—are open to the public. The most imposing building is St. Peter’s Basilica, built during the 4th century and rebuilt during the 16th century. Erected over the tomb of St. Peter the Apostle, it is the second largest religious building (after Yamoussoukro Basilica) in Christendom.

Vatican City: St. Peter's Basilica

The Vatican palace is the residence of the pope within the city walls. The Holy See is the name given to the government of the Roman Catholic Church, which is led by the pope as the bishop of Rome. As such, the Holy See’s authority extends over Catholics throughout the world. Since 1929 it has resided in Vatican City, which was established as an independent state to enable the pope to exercise his universal authority.

Vatican City has its own telephone system, post office, gardens, astronomical observatory, radio station, banking system, and pharmacy, as well as a contingent of Swiss Guards responsible for the personal safety of the pope since 1506. Almost all supplies—including food, water, electricity, and gas—must be imported. 

There is no income tax and no restriction on the import or export of funds. As the Holy See, it derives its income from the voluntary contributions of more than one billion Roman Catholics worldwide, as well as interest on investments and the sale of stamps, coins, and publications. Banking operations and expenditures have been reported publicly since the early 1980s.  READ MORE...

Italy: Most Famous Artists

Italy has been the epicentre of European art for centuries, with Italian artists contributing a massive amount of work to our cultural history. If you were to ask someone to name a famous artist or a famous painting, it’s highly likely that one of the names on this list would be the first to spring to mind!

From the time of the Roman Empire we are left with sculptures and relics that have great historical significance, through to the cultural explosion of the Renaissance and to the modern day – Italy’s impact on art has been incredibly substantial!

Read on to find out more about the top 10 famous Italian artists, 

many of whom you already know and love!

1. Leonardo da Vinci



Considered one of the greatest painters of all time, Leonardo da Vinci was also a polymath, an engineer, a scientist, a sculptor, and much more – a true Renaissance man! Despite fewer than 25 of his works surviving, his paintings are some of the most famous in the world – with the Mona Lisa being the most famous portrait ever, and The Last Supper is the most reproduced religious painting.

A little known fact about da Vinci is that – despite being known worldwide as a genius – he never received any formal schooling, as he was completely homeschooled!

2. Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio



The leading Italian painter of the late 16th and early 17th centuries, Caravaggio is best known for the intense, and sometimes uncomfortable, realism of his large religious works. Orphaned at a young age after his entire family contracted the bubonic plague, Caravaggio was taken on as an apprentice in an art studio at the tender age of 12.

His work had a great influence on the development of Baroque painting techniques, especially his dramatic use of lighting.

This has gained Caravaggio the status of a Baroque master, and he is still admired today – not least by Pope Francis!

3. Titian



Known as Tiziano Vecelli in Italian, Titian was an Italian painter during the Renaissance era and is considered the greatest member of the 16th century Venetian school of painting. He was an incredibly versatile painter, adept with portraits, landscapes, and mythological and religious subjects. He was incredibly popular during his lifetime, with his art sought after by Italian princes, the royal house of the Habsburgs, and the papacy.

Around 300 of his works still exist today, housed around the world in art galleries and museums.

4. Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino



Better known simply as Raphael, Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino was another great Italian painter of the High Renaissance. His work was influenced by Leonardo da Vinci, as he incorporated the use of dynamic movement and chiaroscuro (intense contrast between light and dark) in his pieces.

Considered one of the great masters of the Renaissance, Raphael’s work is most admired for its clarity of form and composition, as well as his depiction of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur.

5. Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni



Considered the archetypal Renaissance man, Michelangelo’s artistic versatility has resulted in his work being known worldwide and made him one of the most famous Italian artists.

A sculptor, painter, architect and poet, Michelangelo’s greatest works are also considered some of the greatest artistic works to have ever been created – think the David sculpture, housed in the Galleria dell’Accademia, or his depiction of Genesis on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

What you might not know, however, is that Pope Julius II actually selected Raphael (the two were rivals at the time) to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel originally, but Raphael convinced the Pope to commission Michelangelo instead – hoping to prove that Michelangelo was not as great a painter as he was!

TO READ ABOUT THE OTHER FIVE, CLICK HERE...

Italy: What to See

The Colosseum, in Rome

The 20 Best Things to Do in Italy

You’re planning to visit Italy for your next trip and you’re looking for the best places to visit?

Great choice, there are many beautiful things to see in the country, you will love it!

With many beautiful cities, a rich history, stunning landscapes, some of the most beautiful Mediterranean islands and of course delicious food, I can say without a doubt that Italy is one of my favourite destination in Europe.

In order to help you plan your stay, I have prepared this list of the 20 best things to do in Italy, with all the highlights and must-see attractions. It will for sure give you an idea of your next travel destination.

So, what are the best points of interest in Italy? 

Discover Rome, 

the Amalfi Coast, 

Capri,

Sicily 

and much more now!

Summary

The 20 Best Things to Do in Italy (Bucket List)Visit Italy: The 20 Best Places to Visit and Must-See Attractions

1. Rome : the capital
2. Florence: the art city
3. Pisa
4. Venice: the romantic city
5. The Cinque Terre
6. Lecce: the baroque city
7. Verona: the Shakespearean city
8. Genoa: port city
9. Naples : historic city
10. Capri: magnificent island
11. Turin: the city of cinematography and chocolate
12. Milan: the capital of fashion
13. Lake Maggiore and the Borromean Islands
14. Lake Como
15. Garda lake
16. The Dolomites
17. The Amalfi Coast
18. Gargano National Park
19. Sicily
20. Sardinia
Flight prices to Italy
You’re traveling in Italy? These articles will help you!

Italy: Facts & Culture

What is Italy famous for?
Food and Recipes: When eating with guests, Italians do not usually hurry; a meal may last one to four hours. Compliments on the... More
Family: Strong, traditional ties bind the Italian family together. Family association is of great importance. A faster pace of life is... More
Fashion: Italy is a major center of the European fashion industry and Italians believe it is important to dress well at... More
Visiting: Italians enjoy visiting friends, family, and neighbors, especially on holidays and Sundays. Guests invited to dinner often take a bottle... More
Recreation: Italy is a nation of soccer enthusiasts. The game is called calcio in Italy. Sunday afternoon league games are televised... More
Cultural Attributes: Italians living in the warmer south enjoy a leisurely life and take their time to accomplish business. In contrast, those... More
Dating: Dating is much the same as in other Western countries and is done either in groups or as couples. Marriage... More
Diet: An Italian breakfast is very light, consisting of a cup of coffee, and a roll. Lunch, the main meal, is... More

Facts
What is the capital of Italy?   Capital Rome
Government Type Parliamentary republic   

Currency Euros (EUR)
Total Area 116,347 Square Miles
301,340 Square Kilometers
Location Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia
Language Italian (official), German (parts of Trentino-Alto Adige region are predominantly German-speaking), French (small French-speaking minority in Valle d'Aosta region), Slovene (Slovene-speaking minority in the Trieste-Gorizia area)
GDP - real growth rate 0.8%
GDP - per capita (PPP) $35,800.00 (USD)


Demographics
What is the population of Italy?
Ethnic Groups Italian (includes small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians and Greek-Italians in the south)
Languages Italian is the official language. There are significant French and German-speaking minorities, and Slovene is spoken by some. Many Italians are bilingual.
Nationality Adjective Italian
Nationality Noun Italian(s)
Population 62,402,659
Population Growth Rate 0.34%
Population in Major Urban Areas ROME (capital) 3.298 million; Milan 2.909 million; Naples 2.373 million; Turin 1.613 million; Palermo 915,000; Bergamo 784,000
Predominant Language Italian (official), German (parts of Trentino-Alto Adige region are predominantly German-speaking), French (small French-speaking minority in Valle d'Aosta region), Slovene (Slovene-speaking minority in the Trieste-Gorizia area)
Urban Population 68.4%

READ MORE...

Just About Italy

Italy, country of south-central Europe, occupying a peninsula that juts deep into the Mediterranean Sea. Italy comprises some of the most varied and scenic landscapes on Earth and is often described as a country shaped like a boot. At its broad top stand the Alps, which are among the world’s most rugged mountains. Italy’s highest points are along Monte Rosa, which peaks in Switzerland, and along Mont Blanc, which peaks in France. 

The western Alps overlook a landscape of Alpine lakes and glacier-carved valleys that stretch down to the Po River and the Piedmont. Tuscany, to the south of the cisalpine region, is perhaps the country’s best-known region. From the central Alps, running down the length of the country, radiates the tall Apennine Range, which widens near Rome to cover nearly the entire width of the Italian peninsula. South of Rome the Apennines narrow and are flanked by two wide coastal plains, one facing the Tyrrhenian Sea and the other the Adriatic Sea. 

Much of the lower Apennine chain is near-wilderness, hosting a wide range of species rarely seen elsewhere in western Europe, such as wild boars, wolves, asps, and bears. The southern Apennines are also tectonically unstable, with several active volcanoes, including Vesuvius, which from time to time belches ash and steam into the air above Naples and its island-strewn bay. At the bottom of the country, in the Mediterranean Sea, lie the islands of Sicily and Sardinia.

Italy
Italy’s political geography has been conditioned by this rugged landscape. With few direct roads between them, and with passage from one point to another traditionally difficult, Italy’s towns and cities have a history of self-sufficiency, independence, and mutual mistrust. Visitors today remark on how unlike one town is from the next, on the marked differences in cuisine and dialect, and on the many subtle divergences that make Italy seem less a single nation than a collection of culturally related points in an uncommonly pleasing setting.

Across a span of more than 3,000 years, Italian history has been marked by episodes of temporary unification and long separation, of intercommunal strife and failed empires. At peace for more than half a century now, Italy’s inhabitants enjoy a high standard of living and a highly developed culture.  READ MORE...

Pond Bath

 

Creative Art

 

Strictly Political

 

RIA Seminar: Ireland on the UN Security Council

Statement of Minister Coveney

Firstly, allow me to express my thanks to the Royal Irish Academy for organising this event and inviting me to be here.

Through its promotion of studies in the sciences, humanities and social sciences, and its long-standing contribution to public debate, the RIA has played an invaluable role in the development of modern Ireland.

I am delighted to be speaking today about the UN Security Council and Ireland’s term as an elected member from 2021 to 2022; a term which has coincided with the centenary of our independence, allowing us to reflect proudly the principles and ideals articulated 100 years ago when we were the newest member of the League of Nations.

Ladies and Gentlemen.

We have just over a month left on the Security Council.

There is a lot of important work over the next five weeks, and Ireland will continue to be an active and vocal member until the very end of our term.

Today’s event however provides a good opportunity to reflect on what Security Council membership has meant for Ireland, and to explore some of our work and achievements to date.

In January of last year, shortly after we took up our seat, I spoke at an event like this, setting out the principles that would guide our work on the Council.

Those principles, agreed by the government following our election by the UN General Assembly, were clear:

- to build peace, and to support and improve UN peacekeeping;

- to strengthen conflict prevention, by addressing the factors that cause and drive conflict;

- and to ensure accountability, because those responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law cannot be allowed to enjoy impunity.

Above all, we wanted to help the Security Council fulfil its critically important mandate, as laid out in the UN Charter: the maintenance of international peace and security.

We believed that Ireland, as a small, independent country with a deep and longstanding commitment to the UN, could make a difference.

The members of the General Assembly agreed; and, at the elections in June 2020, they placed their trust in us.

Looking back over the past two years, while I feel frustrated that the Security Council has been unable to do more on certain issues, including Ukraine, I feel a great sense of pride at what Ireland has achieved as an elected member.

On joining the Council, for example, we took on the role of co-penholder for the Syria Humanitarian file, working in partnership with Norway.

We volunteered for this role because we recognised the critical importance of the Security Council-mandated cross-border mechanism, which provides lifesaving aid to over four million people in the North West of the country. Our role as co-penholder required us to make sure that this critical mechanism could continue.

We knew that this would not be easy. For over a decade, the people of Syria have seen their country torn apart by an appalling conflict. The permanent members of the Council are deeply divided on the issue. The prospects for a renewal of the mechanism were not good.

But we believed that we could succeed, by focusing on the concrete realities of the humanitarian situation on the ground.

And through patient and careful diplomacy, working with Norway, we managed to broker an agreement that was acceptable for all, and to keep the life-saving aid operation running.

During our time on the Council, it has twice renewed the UN cross-border operation.

This has had real, tangible results for millions of vulnerable people.

We will work until the very end of our term to help to keep that critical lifeline open...

READ MORE...

Tech Leaders Gather in Ireland

Conference outlines Ireland’s position as a global and European digital hub

Tech leaders were today told that Ireland remains a strong and attractive destination for investment from the digital and technology sector.

In a video address to the Digital Ireland Conference in Dublin Castle, the Taoiseach Micheál Martin TD, said:

“Today’s event reflects the high priority we attach to the digital transition in Ireland. Ensuring that enterprise and wider society can benefit from digital technologies is more important than ever, given the challenges both businesses and the public are facing in the current economic climate.

“We are particularly conscious of the challenges facing the tech sector and will do all we can to support those impacted. Ireland remains committed to being a digital leader in Europe, and beyond; to driving our own digital transformation; and to ensuring that Ireland’s regulatory framework is equipped to play its part.”

Delivering the Opening Address in Dublin Castle, the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar TD, said:

“The future is digital. The world has been transformed in the last twenty years by the internet, social media, smart phones, apps and electronic payments and services. This transformation has only just begun. It’s just been a taster of what’s yet to come. In the next twenty years it will continue with virtual and augmented reality, artificial intelligence and robotics making our lives unrecognisable compared to the lives we live today.

“Today’s Conference demonstrates Ireland’s ambition and focus as a leading global digital hub – a great place for continued investment; a digital front-runner; and the location of some of the most important regulators in the digital sphere in Europe.

“Our Conference comes at a challenging time for the tech sector. My sympathies are with all those who have received bad news in recent weeks. The Government will assist those affected as they seek alternative employment or other opportunities. There is still high demand for tech, marketing and other skills in the Irish economy and there is a strong pipeline of new investments from overseas and within Ireland.

“Embracing digital technologies is crucial for our continued economic progress as well as for meeting the demands of our people in a modern society. A competitive, innovative and resilient enterprise base will provide high-quality jobs and employment opportunities for people to live and prosper in all parts of the country. Businesses can harness digital technologies in many ways – including to better understand their customers, reduce their costs and improve their products.”

The high-level, one-day Digital Ireland Conference explored Ireland’s unique offering as a digital front-runner in Europe and how Ireland can maximise its strong digital track record, through the presence of leading global tech companies, innovative start-ups and related regulatory requirements.

Addressing the Conference, the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin TD, said:

“The opportunities that digital technologies provide for Ireland’s creative sector and cultural output cannot be understated. Ireland’s position as a digital hub places these opportunities at our fingertips and this Government is committed to realising these and supporting creativity and innovation.

“Ireland also has an obligation to deliver and resource a modern and robust regulatory framework to ensure that people, especially children, are kept safe online. We are driving that agenda strongly with the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill which I hope to have enacted by the end of the year which will enable the establishment of a new regulator, Coimisiún na Meán. Through our National Digital Strategy, Ireland has committed to delivering a balanced digital regulatory framework which will help to foster and sustain a dynamic, creative and innovative online culture.”

Closing the Conference, the Minister of State for Company Regulation, Digital and Trade Promotion, Dara Calleary TD, said:

“If we are to seize the opportunities presented by new technologies and the digital economy, we must ensure the right regulatory frameworks are in place. Ireland recognises the unique role that we have in regulating some of the leading global technology firms in the world. We take our obligations very seriously, and we are committed to a coherent, effective, modern, well-resourced regulatory framework.”

What to see in Ireland

There's nothing quite like a visit to the Emerald Isle to cleanse your soul and reinvigorate your spirit. Home to some of the world's greenest, most breathtaking landscape, Ireland brims with tourist attractions so appealing, you'll want to visit them all.

From the captivating Cliffs of Moher that will leave you gob-smacked to the bright lights of Dublin's Grafton Street to the hallowed halls of Trinity College, you'll find plenty of fun things to do in Ireland. The hard part will be choosing which fascinating attractions should top your must-see list.

Whether you're hoping to spend time pursuing Ireland's endless number of outdoor activities (we're talking horseback riding, waterfall hiking, golf, and sailing) or hope to study the works of some of the country's most famed artists in state museums and galleries, you won't be at a loss for intriguing ways to spend your time.

Discover all the things to do in this stunningly attractive country with our list of the top tourist attractions in Ireland.

1. The Cliffs of Moher (see photo above)
2. Grafton Street, Dublin
3. Killarney National Park and Muckross House & Gardens
4. The Book of Kells and Trinity College, Dublin
5. Kilmainham Gaol, Dublin
6. The Ring of Kerry
7. Glendalough, Co. Wicklow
8. Powerscourt House and Gardens, Co. Wicklow
9. The Rock of Cashel
10. National Museum of Ireland, Dublin and County Mayo
11. Blarney Castle and the Blarney Stone
12. Kinsale, Co. Cork
13. The Dingle Peninsula and the Wild Atlantic Way
14. Torc Waterfall, Killarney National Park
15. St. Stephen's Green, Dublin
16. Bunratty Castle & Folk Park
17. National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin
18. The English Market, Cork
19. The Aran Islands
20. Kilkenny Castle, Kilkenny
21. The Little Museum of Dublin

READ MORE...

Ireland Facts and Figures

President: Michael D. Higgins (2011)

Taoiseach (Prime Minister): Leo Varadkar (2023) (Micheál Martin will serve until December 2022)

Land area: 26,598 sq mi (68,889 sq km); total area: 27,135 sq mi (70,280 sq km)

Population (2022 est.): 5,275,004 (growth rate: .94%); birth rate: 12.32/1000; infant mortality rate: 3.47/1000; life expectancy: 81.66

Capital (2022 est.): Dublin, 1.256 million

Monetary unit: Euro (formerly Irish pound [punt])

National name: Éire

Current government officials

Languages: English (official, the language generally used), Irish (Gaelic or Gaeilge) (official, spoken by approximately 39.8% of the population as of 2016)

Ethnicity/race: Irish 82.2%, Irish travelers 0.7%, other White 9.5%, Asian 2.1%, Black 1.4%, other 1.5%, unspecified 2.6% (2016 est.)

Religions: Roman Catholic 78.3%, Church of Ireland 2.7%, other Christian 1.6%, Orthodox 1.3%, Muslim 1.3%, other 2.4%, none 9.8%, unspecified 2.6% (2016 est.)

National Holiday: Saint Patrick's Day, March 17

Literacy rate: 99% (2003 est.)

Economic summary: 

GDP/PPP(2020 est.): $447.97 billion; per capita $89,700. Real growth rate: 5.86%. 

Inflation: 0.9%. 

Unemployment: 4.98%. Arable land: 15.4%. 

Agriculture: turnips, barley, potatoes, sugar beets, wheat; beef, dairy products. 

Labor force: 2.289 million (2020 est.); agriculture 5%, industry 11%, services 84% (2016 est.).

Industries: steel, lead, zinc, silver, aluminum, barite, and gypsum mining processing; food products, brewing, textiles, clothing; chemicals, pharmaceuticals; machinery, rail transportation equipment, passenger and commercial vehicles, ship construction and refurbishment; glass and crystal; software, tourism. 

Natural resources: zinc, lead, natural gas, barite, copper, gypsum, limestone, dolomite, peat, silver. 

Exports: $502.31 billion (2019 est.): machinery and equipment, computers, chemicals, pharmaceuticals; live animals, animal products. Major trading partners (exports): United States 28%, Belgium 10%, Germany 10%, UK 9%, China 5%, Netherlands 5% (2019). 

Imports: $452.98 billion (2019 est.): data processing equipment, other machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum and petroleum products, textiles, clothing. 

Major trading partners (imports): United Kingdom 31%, United States 16%, Germany 10%, Netherlands 5%, France 5% (2019).

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 1,678,651 (2020); mobile cellular: 5,234,027 (2020). Broadcast media: publicly owned broadcaster Radio Telefis Eireann (RTE) operates 4 TV stations; commercial TV stations are available; about 75% of households utilize multi-channel satellite and TV services that provide access to a wide range of stations; RTE operates 4 national radio stations and has launched digital audio broadcasts on several stations; a number of commercial broadcast stations operate at the national, regional, and local levels (2019). Internet hosts: 1.387 million (2010). Internet users: 4,586,820 (2020).

Transportation: Railways: total: 4,301 km (2018). Roadways: total: 99,830 km; paved: 96,036 km (including 1,224 km of expressways) (2018). Waterways: 956 km (pleasure craft only) (2010). Ports and harbors: Cork, Dublin, Shannon Foynes, Waterford. Airports: 40 (2021).

Major sources and definitions

Geography
Ireland is situated in the Atlantic Ocean and separated from Great Britain by the Irish Sea. Half the size of Arkansas, it occupies the entire island except for the six counties that make up Northern Ireland. Ireland resembles a basin—a central plain rimmed with mountains, except in the Dublin region. The mountains are low, with the highest peak, Carrantuohill in County Kerry, rising to 3,415 ft (1,041 m). The principal river is the Shannon, which begins in the north-central area, flows south and southwest for about 240 mi (386 km), and empties into the Atlantic.


Government
Republic.



History
In the Stone and Bronze Ages, Ireland was inhabited by Picts in the north and a people called the Erainn in the south, the same stock, apparently, as in all the isles before the Anglo-Saxon invasion of Britain. Around the 4th century B.C., tall, red-haired Celts arrived from Gaul or Galicia. They subdued and assimilated the inhabitants and established a Gaelic civilization. By the beginning of the Christian Era, Ireland was divided into five kingdoms—Ulster, Connacht, Leinster, Meath, and Munster. Saint Patrick introduced Christianity in 432, and the country developed into a center of Gaelic and Latin learning. Irish monasteries, the equivalent of universities, attracted intellectuals as well as the pious and sent out missionaries to many parts of Europe and, some believe, to North America.

Norse incursions along the coasts, starting in 795, ended in 1014 with Norse defeat at the Battle of Clontarf by forces under Brian Boru. In the 12th century, the pope gave all of Ireland to the English Crown as a papal fief. In 1171, Henry II of England was acknowledged “Lord of Ireland,” but local sectional rule continued for centuries, and English control over the whole island was not reasonably secure until the 17th century. In the Battle of the Boyne (1690), the Catholic King James II and his French supporters were defeated by the Protestant King William III (of Orange). An era of Protestant political and economic supremacy began.

By the Act of Union (1801), Great Britain and Ireland became the “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.” A steady decline in the Irish economy followed in the next decades. The population had reached 8.25 million when the great potato famine of 1846–1848 took many lives and drove more than 2 million people to immigrate to North America.  READ MORE...

All About Ireland

The magnificent scenery of Ireland’s Atlantic coastline faces a 2,000-mile- (3,200-km-) wide expanse of ocean, and its geographic isolation has helped it to develop a rich heritage of culture and tradition that was linked initially to the Gaelic language. Washed by abundant rain, the country’s pervasive grasslands create a green-hued landscape that is responsible for the popular sobriquet Emerald Isle. 

Ireland is also renowned for its wealth of folklore, from tales of tiny leprechauns with hidden pots of gold to that of the patron saint, Patrick, with his legendary ridding the island of snakes and his reputed use of the three-leaved shamrock as a symbol for the Christian Trinity. But while many may think of Ireland as an enchanted land, the republic has been beset with perennial concerns—emigration, cultural and political identity, and relations with Northern Ireland (comprising the 6 of Ireland’s 32 counties within the province of Ulster that remain part of the United Kingdom). 

At the beginning of the 21st century, Ireland’s long-standing economic problems were abating, owing to its diverse export-driven economy, but calamity struck again in 2008 when a new financial and economic crisis befell the country, culminating in a very costly bailout of the Irish economy by the European Union (EU) and the International Monetary Fund.

The emergence of Ireland as an independent country is a fairly recent phenomenon. Until the 17th century, political power was widely shared among a rather loosely constructed network of small earldoms in often-shifting alliances. Following the so-called “Flight of the Earls” after an unsuccessful uprising in the early 17th century, Ireland effectively became an English colony. 

It was formally incorporated into the United Kingdom in 1801. A 1914 Home Rule Act was passed but never implemented due to pro-union militancy in the north, the onset of World War I, and the subsequent Irish War of Independence. 

In 1920 the island was effectively partitioned with the creation of Northern Ireland, a six-county area with devolved powers within the United Kingdom, whereas under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 6, 1921, the other 26 counties became the Irish Free State, a self-governing dominion within the British Commonwealth and Empire. In 1937 the southern state passed a new constitution that offered a more robust expression of sovereignty, and in 1949 it formally left the Commonwealth as the Republic of Ireland.  SOURCE:  Britannica

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